More than 20 graduate assistants in the university’s Housing Department participated in emergency response and preparedness training at the Faulkner County Office of Emergency Management on Aug. 4-6.
The training is a part of the Community Emergency Response Team Program, which educates people about disaster preparedness and how to respond to hazards that may impact their communities. CERT members can assist when professional responders are not available to help.
Students took part in sessions on disaster medical operations, terrorism, fire safety and small fire suppression, light search and rescue, and disaster psychology.
“In an event of a disaster on campus, we might have to rely on our own resources for a time while we wait for local, state and federal agencies to reach us with assistance,” said Arch Jones, director of organizational and community services for UCA Police Department.
Future CERT training will include faculty and staff, Jones said. Officials hope to have at least one CERT member in every building on campus.
Gared Croley, a graduate assistant, felt the training was crucial for the Housing Department.
“It was something that was definitely necessary and something that needs to be in place,” he said. “I have had a lot of first aid training in the past, but this was different. It taught you how to handle everything after the event – rescue victims trapped in a collapsed building, size up the scene, and how to cut off the utilities. We all know what our roles and responsibilities are to keep members of the community safe.”
Graduate assistants participated in a tornado scenario on the last day of training. They were divided in teams to conduct search and rescue at a school. Team members were told there were students waiting for rides and teachers were preparing for the next day when the tornado struck the school at 3:45 p.m. The tornado knocked down walls and collapsed ceilings. There were many injuries and a few fatalities.
CERT members searched a dimly lit classroom for survivors. Some of the victims were found behind overturned tables, chairs and fallen debris. Those injured were carried out on gurneys and treated by graduate assistants in an area set up for triage.
The team was evaluated by the Faulkner County Office of Emergency Management staff.
Ray Owens, area coordinator for the Housing Department, said the training was informative and interactive.
“You really have to be prepared for the unexpected,” he said. “What I took away from the training is that preparedness is the key. There are steps we, as a university, have to take to make sure we can respond to a disaster.”
Dr. Jennifer M. Wang, a research associate in the Department of Biology, and Dr. David Mitchell, an assistant professor in economics, have received a grant in the amount of $34,996 from the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium to investigate the effects of nonprofit assistance on home rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Wang and Dr. Mitchell are partnering with a nonprofit organization, the Phoenix of New Orleans, to apply spatial and econometric analysis to a five-year dataset of rebuilding and recovery in the Mid-City district of New Orleans. In addition to providing substantive research on spatial spillover effects and the optimal spatial allocation of resources, the researchers will produce a guidance document for nonprofit, public, and private organizations participating in redevelopment and recovery projects.
Dr. Joe McGarrity’s research was mentioned in a recent article in The New Yorker. The article, “Jobs and the G.O.P.” by James Surowiecki, refers to a study of elections from 1916 to 1994 by political scientists Kevin Grier and Dr. McGarrity which shows that the “state of the economy has a major impact on the outcome of congressional elections.” Dr. McGarrity is a professor of economics.
Dr. Roy Whitehead’s article, “Can Corporate Directors be Liable For Taxes When They Are Duped by a Dishonest Accountant?”, has been accepted for publication by The CPA Journal. Dr. Whitehead is an associate professor in the Accounting Department.
The UCA College of Education College Student Personnel and Administrative Services (CSPA) student organization, Graduate Association of Student Personnel (GASP), and the Department of Leadership Studies honored Dr. Charlotte Cone during the GASP 2011 spring banquet by announcing the establishment of a scholarship in her name.
UCA’s College of Education Dean Diana Pounder is being recognized by the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) at their fall conference with its 2011 Master Professor Award. UCEA is a national consortium research/doctoral granting universities committed to the preparation and practice of educational leaders for the benefit of schools and children.
Dr. Patty Phelps has been appointed to its Advisory Board for a two-year term by Dr. Maryellen Weimer, editor of The Teaching Professor newsletter. She has presented for the past three years at the annual Teaching Professor Conference.
Mark Spitzer, associate professor of writing, had his latest book Proze Attack: Selected Essays, Reviews, Polemics, Rants and Red-Headed Stepfictions 2004-2010 accepted and published by Six Gallery Press over the summer. He debuted it at a reading at Modern Formations art gallery in Pittsburgh in July. Other recent acceptances and publications include his essay “Polemic: The History of Pirated English-Language Translations of Jean Genet’s Poetry (with Chronology)” in Jean Genet: Translation and Censorship (Federation of International Translators, 2011), his poem “For And/Or Not Withstanding” in Truck, his poem “Snakehead Terror” in allwritethen, his feature “#AuthorFail 1: Mark Spitzer” on Big Other, and his poem “Tyranny of the XXXXXXX” in 100,000 Poets for Change. Spitzer’s novel Monstropocalypse was a finalist in the 2011 William Faulkner-William Wisdom novel contest in New Orleans.
Lyndsey Ingram was awarded Best Undergraduate Poster Presentation for her research project entitled “Reliability and validity of measuring scapular upward rotation using an electrical inclinometer” at the National Athletic Trainers2’ Association annual meeting held in New Orleans in June. She competed with students from research institutions throughout the United States. The award was based on the combined scores from a panel of judges. Posters were judged on research design, methods, analysis, conclusions and appearance. Lyndsey’s accomplishment was printed in the NATA News, the national publication of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.
Ellen Epping, KPED clinical instructor II and the program director of the Athletic Training Education Program, was honored this past summer with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) 25 Year Award in recognition of continuous service to the NATA. Epping has been at UCA since August of 2001. With her guidance, she has directed the program into the premier ATEP program in the state of Arkansas. Recently, the UCA Athletic Training Education Program was awarded a ten-year continuing accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation Athletic Training Education (CAATE). Epping has served as a site visitor for CAATE the past three years. In 2004, she received the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and Athletic Trainer Service Award.
Assistant Professor Mitchum Parker, PhD and Clinical Instructor Suzi Wilcox, MS, of the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, presented this past July at the Health Education Summer Academy. This all day event on the campus of UCA was funded by the Arkansas Department of Education and co-hosted with the UCA Department of Health Sciences. In his fourth year at UCA, Dr. Parker presented a presentation entitled “Fitness education: Coordinated School Health in Physical Education.” Mrs. Wilcox, who is beginning her seventh year at UCA, lead a “hands on” presentation, entitled “Fitness Gram Physical Fitness Test” in which the participants were able to engage in the different components of the test. The seminar was directed towards middle school and high school health and physical education instructors from around the state of Arkansas.
Meghan Robinson, a senior in the ATEP program in the Department of Kinesiology, has been selected to be a member of the Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association Student Senate Committee. The mission of the committee is to strengthen and advance the profession of athletic training by promoting student involvement, leadership, professionalism and education. Meghan is one of eight students who were selected to represent state of Arkansas and Texas.
Senior Athletic Training Education Program student Meghann Brewer has been awarded a Southwest Athletic Training Association and a National Athletic Training Association Scholarship.
