College of Health and Behavioral Sciences

Posted on April 29, 2011
A team of researchers will highlight the developing role of school-based occupational therapists serving secondary students with disabilities at the Fifth Annual Secondary Transition State Planning Institute in Charlotte, NC, May 17 – 20, 2011. The intent of this federally-supported institute is to support state transition teams in the delivery of services that can most effectively improve national post-secondary transition outcomes. Doris Pierce, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA and Karen Summers, M.S., OTR/L, of Eastern Kentucky University, and Tina Mankey, Ed.D., OTR/L, of the University of Central Arkansas, will provide a workshop in which transition planning teams will use current occupational therapy research and demonstration projects to plan best use of existing occupational therapy resources to improve post-secondary transition outcomes in their home states.

Dr. Charlotte Yates and Dr. Kevin Garrison, assistant professors in the Physical Therapy Department, presented research recently at the American Physical Therapy Associations Combined Sections Meeting in New Orleans. Drs. Yates and Garrison were assisted by Doctor of Physical Therapy students Allison Burba-Horgan and Brittany Sexson, both of the DPT Class scheduled to graduate in August 2011, as well as two researchers from UAMS. Their abstracts and poster presentations were titled:“Outcome Measures for Exploring the Mechanisms of Hyper-Reflexia and Spasticity that Develops Post SCI in the Rat and the Effects of Passive Exercise Intervention on Each Outcome Measure.” Yates, CC, Garrison K, Burba-Horgan A, Franz J and“Regional CX-36 Changes Following Complete SCI and Interventions in the Rat.” Garrison K, Yates CC, Charlesworth A, Sexson B, Burba-Horgan A

Park Tipton, Doctor of Physical Therapy student in the DPT Class scheduled to graduate in August 2011,  presented research completed with former UCA faculty member Dr. Hao Liu, now of University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth and Dr. Clayton Holmes also of the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Their abstract and poster presentation entitled “Effect of a Selected 6-Form Tai Chi on Improvement in Balance and Quality of Life Among Older Adults” was presented at the American Physical Therapy Associations Combined Sections Meeting in New Orleans.

Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist John Consalvi Shares Insight

John Consalvi, CCC-SLP, a bilingual speech-language pathologist and owner of Lingua Health and Groupo Lingua, visited the UCA Speech-Language Pathology Department on March 30-31. Bilingual speech-language pathology is a major growth area as the U.S. has an increase in individuals whose first language is not English.

Consalvi presented a lecture on bilingual speech-language pathology and how to provide speech and language services with clients of different cultures and languages. His second presentation, on entrepreneurial speech-language pathology, encouraged students to consider their passions and turn those passions into innovative goods and services for the profession. He explained how his passion to improve bilingual speech-language pathology service led him to start the first bilingual staffing company for speech-language pathology and to created Spanish language therapy materials. Consalvi also had lunch with the department’s student group, Comida y Conversacion, which encourages students to learn about bilingual speech-language pathology.

Morgan Bennett Receives Cynthia B. Cole Outstanding Fieldwork Educator Award for 2010

The Occupational Therapy Department presented the Cynthia B. Cole Outstanding Fieldwork Educator Award for 2010 to Morgan Maxwell Bennett, MS, OTR/L.

Morgan is a pediatric occupational therapist at Kidsource Therapy located in Benton, Arkansas, and she is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Arkansas Occupational Therapy Association. In addition to her work in the clinic, Morgan assists in Special Olympics events and fundraising for Freedom Reins, Kidsource’s new hippotherapy program. Recently, she developed a tennis clinic for children with special needs that will take place in the fall of 2011 in partnership with the Arkansas Tennis Association.

In 2007, the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Central Arkansas established the Cynthia B. Cole Outstanding Fieldwork Educator Award to recognize exemplary practitioners that provide clinical education reflecting the values of the profession of occupational therapy. This award was named in honor of Cynthia B. Cole. Mrs. Cole not only acted as the academic coordinator for several years but she also excelled in her commitment to fieldwork education, students, the university and the profession. Nominations by occupational therapy students and faculty are based on the individual’s ability to use occupation as the core of their practice. In this spirit, Morgan was nominated for her exceptional contributions within the community as well as to her clients and occupational therapy students.

2009 Alumnus Honored as Hero

Todd Ross, LAT, ATC, a 2009 Kinesiology graduate from the Athletic Training Education Program, was responsible for saving a spectator’s life. He is employed by OrthoSurgeons and serves as the head athletic trainer at Pulaski Academy. Lauren Knight, a senior in the UCA ATE Program, was interning with Todd Ross at the time. She was able to assist Todd and others during the emergency situation. The UCA family is very proud of both Todd and Lauren as their quick and deliberate actions helped save a life.Below is a statement written and shared by Bill Mott, President of Pulaski Academy in a press release after the event:

Seldom is there an opportunity to witness a hero in action. Last night I was privileged to see one of our own display his skills, training, and professionalism in the midst of a genuine crisis. One of the spectators at the Regional Basketball Tournament collapsed and was in serious distress. Our amazing Athletic Trainer, Todd Ross, was on the scene immediately and knew exactly what to do. The individual stopped breathing and Todd’s quick action in using the defibrillator literally saved the man’s life.My sincere thanks and congratulations to Todd, as well as Kevin Kelley, Tim Johnson, Roger Franks and everyone on the scene whose response was instrumental in making a difference. The police, fire, and paramedics were all very complimentary of the way in which Todd responded.Please join me in thanking Todd for job very well done!

Ingram Receives Undergraduate Research Award from National Athletic Trainer’s Association

Lyndsey Ingram, a senior in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education majoring in athletic training, received one of five undergraduate research awards from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. She will present her research study, entitled “Reliability and validity of measuring scapular upward rotation using an electrical inclinometer,” this June at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Annual Meeting & Clinical Symposia in New Orleans, LA. Steve Tucker, PhD, ATC, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, was the faculty mentor and co-author on the study.

Lyndsey was also this year’s recipient of the Fletcher B. Lowry Award. This is an award presented annually to the outstanding student in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Lyndsey was chosen by our own faculty to represent the department based on her outstanding academic endeavors and her exceptional service in volunteer work and extracurricular organizations.

Publications and Presentations

Nail, P. R., & Boniecki, K.(2011). Inconsistency in cognition: Cognitive dissonance. In D. Chadee (Ed.), Theories in social psychology. Oxford, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell.

MacDonald, G., Nail, P. R.,& Harper, J. (2011). Do people use reverse psychology? An exploration of strategic self-anticonformity. Social Influence, 6, 1-14.

Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). Engaging activities for students who are learning research methods. In R. L. Miller (Ed.), Student Engagement in Psychology Courses. E-book published online by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. http://teachpsych.org/resources/e-books/e-books.php.

Hopper, J., Archie, D., & Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). Conversation hour: Practical methods of obtaining feedback as a first-time instructor. Presented at Southwestern Psychological Association, San Antonio, TX.

Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). Conversation Hour: Tips for Getting Into Graduate School and Upcoming Changes to the GRE. Presented at Southwestern Psychological Association, San Antonio, TX.

Gibbs, V., Simpson, A., Smith, B., Trigg, A., & Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). How surface texture affects perception of personality. Presented at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

Ahne, J., Cobian, Y., Conley, C., & Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). Understanding body language. Presented at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

Emerson, A., Salling, A., Stallings, S., & Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). A look at intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation in higher education. Presented at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

DeYoung, M., Dillon, M., Wood, K., & Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). Shades of red, eyes of green: An examination of rejection as a fuel for jealousy. Presented at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

Lyra, S., Colvert, B., Carter, J., & Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). Aggressive personality and dream content. Presented at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

Cole, C., Holzhauer, D. A., Hudson, S., & Lammers, W. J.(April, 2011). Neuroticism, self-esteem, and use of music for emotional regulation. Presented at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

Koscik, L., Munson, R., Knight, C., & Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). Do similar personalities attract? Presented at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

Gambill, R., Mitchell, D., Proctor, C., & Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). Religion and rationality: When oil meets water. Presented at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

Matos, S., Mendelssohn, S., Erby, R., & Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). Anxiety levels in relation to drinking habits. Presented at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

Kumari, K. & Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). Barriers to the student-professor connection: Professors’ perspectives. Presented at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

Cobian, Y., Wood, M., & Lammers, W. J. (April, 2011). Exploring reasons why students do not seek help from professors. Presented at the Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students, University of Arkansas-Monticello.

College of Liberal Arts News

Posted on April 29, 2011

Five members of the UCA English faculty presented papers at the 2011 joint conference of the National Popular Culture & American Culture Association in San Antonio, April 20-23. Wayne Stengel presented a paper called “Filmed Words Becoming Transformative Movie Images: the Vagaries of Adaption in Ford, Antonioni, and Kurosawa.” Mary Ruth Marotte gave a paper on “Why a Peggy Can’t Be a Don: Mad Men and the Rise of Feminism.” Conrad Shumaker spoke on “Gender, Culture, and the Definition of America in Sarah Orne Jewett’s A White Heron.”Mike Schaefer chaired a session on the Civil War and Reconstruction devoted to the theme of “Literary and Theatrical Representations of War,” and presented the paper “‘But That’s the Old Wound, You See’: The Effect of the Civil War on the Poetry of Ambrose Bierce. Jeff Johnson presented on “Appalachia and the Sertão circa 1900.”

Dr. Lorien Foote, associate professor of history, has been awarded an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship at the Huntington Research Library in Los Angeles.  The highly competitive fellowship will fund two months of research at the library’s extensive manuscript and rare book collection.  Dr. Foote is conducting research for a book that uncovers an extensive network of southern civilians who aided fugitives escaping from Confederate prison camps during the Civil War.
Dr. Brent Ruswick, visiting assistant professor of history, had an article, “Teaching Historical Skills through JSTOR: An Online Research Project for Survey Courses,” published in the February 2011 issue of The History Teacher.
Dr. Paige Reynolds, assistant professor, of the English Department, had her article “Female Piety in the Reign of Elizabeth I,” accepted for publication in the journal Explorations in Renaissance Culture.
Dr. Brent Ruswick, visiting assistant professor of history, had an article, “Teaching Historical Skills through JSTOR: An Online Research Project for Survey Courses,” published in the February 2011 issue of The History Teacher.
Dr. Story Matkin-Rawn, assistant professor of history, has been chosen to participate in a summer institute of the National Endowment for the Humanities, entitled “African American Struggles for Freedom and Civil Rights, 1865-1965.”  The program will be hosted by the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard University, under the direction of Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  It will brings in over a dozen leading scholars to facilitate discussion and introduce primary source materials on their areas of expertise, which include African American music, history, popular culture, and religion.  Institute participants also collaborate in small groups to redesign their undergraduate classes and develop new curriculum.
Dr. Michael Yoder,associate professor of geography and director of the Master of Science in Community and Economic Development (MSCED) was awarded a grant by the Arkansas Humanities Council (AHC) to conduct research on four small cities in Arkansas.  The project is titled “Highway Commercial Strips and Evolving Micropolitan Geographies of Arkansas.”  The research will include archival and field work to examine the ways that automobile-oriented real estate development contributes to the sprawling of four micropolitan cities: Batesville, Blytheville, Hope, and Magnolia.  The research will also address the complex relationships between those cities’ downtown areas and the automobile strips emanating from them.

Dr. Michael Yoder, associate professor of geography, presented a paper titled “Micropolitan Sprawl in Arkansas:   Annexation/Consolidation, and Retail and Industrial Land Use at the Urban Fringe” at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers in Seattle on April 16.  The paper was part of a special session titled “Micropolitan America: Understanding Space in America’s Small Cities.”  The paper compared patterns of sprawl of small cities with those of larger cities, and concluded that small cities mimic the spatial layouts of larger cities in some ways, but that small-city sprawl is a more recent phenomenon, and is more tightly clustered along arterial highways, which produces unique challenges for municipal governments lacking the resources to employ urban planners.

The Natural State of America, written and produced by Dr. Brian C. Campbell, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, and directed by Terrell Case, Corey Gattin, and Timothy Wistrand won the Society for Applied Anthropology Applied Video Festival at the 71st Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington. The film was screened at the award ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Theater in Seattle on March 30.   Dr. Campbell received a prize of $250 and free registration to attend the conference.  The prize money will be re-invested in the distribution for the film.

The film trailer and information about the film cast, crew, and subject can be viewed at http://naturalstateofamerica.com/ and you can receive updates on local screenings if you “like” the film at http://www.facebook.com/NaturalStateofAmerica.



Dr. Clayton Crockett, associate professor of religion and director of religious studies, was accepted for a 2011 NEH Summer Seminar for College and University Teachers on “The Study of Religion,” to be held in Charlottesville, VA. The NEH sponsors between 10-15 seminars each summer, and “The Study of Religion” is a competitive program with 16 applicants selected out of over a hundred for a three-week program, July 16-29. The seminar will be run by two leading scholars in Religious Studies at the University of Virginia, and participants will attend seminars designed to improve their understanding and develop their teaching on important topics concerning the academic study of religion as well as pursue their own research projects. Acceptance into the seminar comes with a stipend of $2700. During the seminar, Dr. Crockett will do research on cognitive sciences and evolutionary biology and neurology, and study their significance for contemporary understandings of religion.
Indiana University Press has just published the book Race in American Science Fiction, by Isiah Lavender III,associate professor in UCA’s English department. The book argues that “racial alterity is fundamental to the genre’s [i.e., Science Fiction’s] narrative strategy,” and discusses writers like Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, and Ursula K. Le Guin, as well as Octavia Butler, Charles Saunders, and other African American novelists.
Dr. Jim Shelton, professor of philosophy and member of the Philosophy and Religion Department, gave two lectures in China during Spring break.  One lecture, “The Theory of Knowledge of Moritz Schlick,” was presented to philosophy graduate students of East China Normal University in Shanghai.  The second, “Was Descartes a Mental Substance?” was presented to undergraduates in philosophy at the Zhejiang Gongshang University in Hangzhou.
Raymond-Jean Frontain, professor of English, delivered an address titled “Since That I May Know:  Donne, Salvation, and the Biblical Basis of Poetic Action” following his inauguration as the 26th president of the international John Donne Society. He also read a paper titled “Donne’s A Litanie the ‘change to evennesse,’ and the Orality of Salvation” at the 60th annual meeting of the South Central Renaissance Conference in St. Louis.  Most recently he has published “Donne’s Suns and the Condition of More,” John Donne Journal 29 (2010); “James Coco, AIDS, and the Genesis of A Perfect Ganesh,” ANQ:  American Notes and Queries 23 (Fall 2010); “Mutual admiration: Sondheim and McNally,” Sondheim Review 17 (Spring 2011); and “Donne, Tagore, and Love’s Passing Moment,” Papers on Language and Literature 47 (Feb. 2011).
Jesse Butler, assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, has a new article published in the Journal of Consciousness Studies (Volume 18, No. 2, 2011). Dr. Butler’s article, titled “Introspective Knowledge of Experience and Its Role in Consciousness Studies” offers a philosophical critique of recent work on first-person methodologies in the study of consciousness and presents a new model for understanding our knowledge of our own conscious experiences. He will also be presenting related work at two upcoming conferences: the Midsouth Philosophy Conference in Memphis, TN and the annual meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness in Kyoto, Japan.
Benjamin Rider, assistant professor of philosophy, had two journal articles published during Spring 2011:  “A Socratic Seduction:  Philosophical Protreptic in Plato’s Lysis” in Apeiron, a journal for ancient Greek and Roman philosophy and science, and “Self-Care, Self-Knowledge, and Politics in the Alcibiades I” in Epoche, a journal publishing articles on the history of philosophy.

English Departments Hosts Fifth Annual English Graduate Conference on Literature

The Department of English held its fifth annual English Graduate Conference on Literature April 14-15 in the UCA Student Center. The conference theme this year was “Shakespeare: Pedagogy, Scholarship, Performance,” and featured as keynote speaker Dr. Jacqueline Vanhoutte, associate professor in the Department of English at the University of North Texas, whose Nolte-Behrens lecture was entitled “‘Age in Love’: Falstaff at the Court of Elizabeth I.” Conference participants and others were also entertained by the poet Greg Brownderville, 2007 winner of Arkansas’s prestigious Porter Prize for literature. A total of 43 papers were presented by English graduate students as well as undergraduate English majors and minors; this is the largest number of papers in the history of the conference. Prizes were given to Jeremy Ellis for his paper “The Structure of Ideals in Antony and Cleopatra” as the Outstanding Undergraduate Paper; and to Sarah Sweatt Orsborn for her paper “‘Parts unparted’: Julian of Norwich’s Theology of Wholeness” for the Outstanding Graduate Paper given at the conference

College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics News

Posted on April 29, 2011

The Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education (ACMSE) is now the UCA Institute for STEM Professional Development and Education Research (UCA STEM Institute). The name change reflects the Institute’s renewed commitment to educational research and the services it provides.

According to the Arkansas STEM Coalition, during the next decade the demand for scientists and engineers in the United States is expected to increase at least four times the rate for all other occupations. But in general, today’s high school students are not performing well in mathematics and sciences and even fewer are pursuing degrees in technical fields.

As part of the state’s effort to address this issue, the Institute is playing a vital role in building a program to support the UCA’s mission on teacher education and working closely with the new UCA STEM Residential College on various outreach and service

learning activities to motivate teachers and students to take an interest in STEM programs. The Institute has been expanding its offerings to include technology training to pre-service teachers, in service teachers, and K-12 students.

Since 2008, the Institute has had significant impact in education and educators:

• Grant funds of about $925,530 have been received.

• More than 50 professional development programs for the K-12 teachers and students have been offered.

• About 600 teachers and 300 students have been through grant programs and special projects.

• Involved 31 UCA faculty members in various teacher training projects.

• Strong collaborations with several Educational Cooperatives and more than 15 school districts have been fostered.

• Collaborative work with College of Education and College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics has been established.

Dr. Yu Sun, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, and Jin Yang, a Ph.D. student at the University of Electronic Science and Engineering Technology of China, published a peer-reviewed paper at the IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom 2010), a premier conference in Telecommunications in the world. The acceptance rate of this conference is 35.6%. In this research, the team developed a new rate control algorithm for the emerging H.264 Scalable Video Coding standard. The proposed algorithm can accurately regulate the compression bit rates for miscellaneous networked video applications with diverse needs in resolution, video quality and frame rate.

Dr. Debra Burris, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is working toward completing her training to become a certified Arkansas Master Naturalist.  To achieve certification she must complete 40 hours of initial training plus an additional 8 hours per year of advanced training and 40 hours of volunteerism through the program.

Team UCA Ursus Places Third in Microsoft Imagine Cup

An automated system designed by two UCA students that allows people to self monitor their diagnosed skin cancer using cell phones placed third in software design in the U.S. finals of the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011.

The Imagine Cup is the world’s premier student technology competition sponsored and hosted by Microsoft. This year, 74,000 students from 400 different schools participated in the competition. The top 10 teams competed in the finals held April 9-11 in Redmond, Washington.

Team UCA Ursus — sophomore Brendan Lee of Alma and Muhyeddin Ercan, an international graduate student from Turkey — competed against students from Harvard, Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania, Central Connecticut State University, Wayne State University, University of Michigan, Arizona State University, Brigham Young University, University of California-Los Angeles and University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Lee and Ercan received a $3,000 prize for their third place finish.

The teams competing in the Imagine Cup created real-world software applications using Microsoft technologies. The software applications addressed this year’s theme: Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems.

UCA Selected as Computer Science NSF Research Experiences Undergraduate Site

The National Science Foundation has selected the University of Central Arkansas to become the first Computer Science NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduate Students (REU) site in Arkansas.

UCA is one of the seven newly selected REU sites across the nation. Currently, there are about 60 sites sponsored by the Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) Directory of NSF. The primary objective of the REU program is to encourage talented undergraduate students to pursue graduate study and research careers in computer science by providing them a competitive research experience.

UCA’s Computer Science Department will receive a $324,977 grant over a three-year period for the program. The project will be lead by Dr. Vamsi Paruchuri and Dr. Yu Sun, both faculty of UCA’s Computer Science Department.

The REU site at UCA is titled Applied Research in Health Information Technology. The program will attract ten talented undergraduates nationwide to UCA to gain nine week-long competitive research experiences during the summer. Each of these students will receive a $4,500 stipend in addition to about $2,000 for travel and accommodation for participation.

Seven faculty members at UCA will work with the students on carefully designed research projects range from medical image processing to health informatics and secure and privacy preserving electronic health records transmission. The interdisciplinary nature of this REU program offers students the right opportunities to perceive the importance and applications of computer science and continue their education in this field. The research environment will offer the participants the opportunity to interact with computer scientists, medical physicists, and industry personnel.

UCA Partners with Conway Regional to Build Healthcare Education Center

Posted on February 28, 2011

The University of Central Arkansas and Conway Regional Health System are working together to advance healthcare in the region by establishing a healthcare education center.

The UCA Board of Trustees passed a resolution Friday to use property at Western Avenue and College for the construction of The Center for Collaborative Healthcare Education. The building will be shared by the university and Conway Regional Health System to address healthcare education needs of the hospital staff, academic programs at UCA and the citizens of Conway and the region. Conway Regional Board of Directors supports the proposed project and will fund a detailed schematic of the building.

The center will house state-of-the-art healthcare simulation labs, classrooms, offices, and an auditorium for use by students, staff, and the community. UCA and Conway Regional Health System officials plan to raise the money through donations to cover the construction costs.

“Education is at the very core of this community and the fact that we can develop a joint project like this; a first of its kind that we know of; is a testimony to the progressive nature that exists here in Conway, in our education community and in our health care community as well,” said Jim Lambert, president and CEO of Conway Regional Health System. “The Center for Collaborative Healthcare Education is a great example of how Conway Regional and UCA are leading the way with unique partnerships in an effort to improve the health of those we serve.”

The proposed site would be within a short walking distance to the main UCA campus and will be accessible to Conway Regional staff and to community members participating in healthcare education and health promotion programs offered in the center.

“I think it is a wonderful partnership,” said UCA President Allen Meadors.  “This will bring tremendous benefits to the Faulkner County and to UCA’s health professional students.  UCA and Conway Regional have a longstanding relationship. This will serve as a model to other universities in how they can work with their area healthcare systems.”

For Conway Regional, this new facility will provide a home to its Education Department which works to maintain and sharpen the skills of its clinicians.

“The advanced simulation technology we use here with our own doctors and nurses will now be available in the new facility for the nursing students at UCA to provide the latest in training,” Lambert said. “Our staff will benefit by being closer to the latest theories and research being studied in the nursing field.  It is a great combination of text book practice and real world experience which we believe will result in improved care for patients. “

Barbara Williams, chair of the Department of Nursing and member of the Conway Regional Health System Board of Directors, said over the years a division has developed between nursing education and practice to the detriment of both areas.

“To address the future health care environment significant changes must be made in terms of how both parties work together,” Williams said.  “The proposed building to be shared by UCA and Conway Regional Health System is a bold strategic move that will serve as a role model as a sustained effective collaboration between education and practice. One way this will be accomplished is that we will not each have a separate part of the building, but will work side-by-side sharing the same spaces and resources to the extent possible.”

In other business, the UCA Board of Trustees approved:

  • A 3 percent increase in room and board rate from $2,515 to $2,590 per semester for a double-occupancy rate and the 15-meal plan. The additional revenue from the increase would assistance in the maintenance and upgrades of housing facilities. Estimated revenue generated from the proposed rate is $305,000 per year.  The new rates remain competitive compared to other state institutions.
  • A 3.8 percent increase in food services rates to cover an increase in food supplies and operating cost. Students will also see an expansion in their dining options with an Einstein’s Brother’s Bagels and another chain that will provide a late night option for students.
  • Several contacts to provide needed maintenance on  the campus —  more than $1 million in capital reserves fund for sidewalks, roof replacement and a heating and air conditioning system; $1.4 million from Bond and Housing Repair and Replacement funds for fire sprinklers, restroom renovations, and fan coil units in Arkansas Hall; $1.5 million in private gifts and Foundation borrowing for Pepsi Center additional weight training facility and bathroom facilities; and $1 million from capital reserves for artificial turf for the football and softball fields.

The board also approved an amphitheater to be built in the Student Center courtyard.  The project is a part of “Think Big! Project,” a Student Government Association initiative that allows students, faculty and staff to submit proposals that would benefit the UCA community. SGA has allocated $50,000 towards the amphitheater and Housing has contributed $25,000. UCA Board of Trustee Rush Harding donated $112,500 in private funds to the project. The board allocated an additional $112,500 from its Board of Trustees fund.

Old Main Named to National Register of Historic Places

Posted on February 28, 2011

Old Main has joined the prestigious list of landmarks in the state. The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program announced Feb.11 that Old Main, formerly Main Hall, has been named to the National Register of Historic Places.

Old Main was among the 11 properties in the state under consideration for the designation. The National Historic Register recognizes properties based on its history, architectural, or archaeological significance. The designation is made by the National Parks Service in Washington, D.C.

Old Main was built in 1919 as the administration building for Arkansas’s first Normal School. It was designed by architect John Parks Almand and built by George Donaghey who had served as governor of Arkansas from 1909 to 1913. It currently houses classrooms, an advising center, offices, University College, and Ida Waldran Auditorium.

The designation will provide opportunities for preservation grants, federal investment tax credits, possible state tax benefit and grant opportunities.

Campus Projects to Address Safety, Energy Efficiency

Posted on February 28, 2011

UCA officials have awarded nearly $200,000 in bids to replace an aging heating and cooling system and windows at the President’s home.

The window and heating and cooling system projects are a part of more than $1.3 million in funds allocated for several projects across campus that address safety and energy efficiency. This does not include additional monies allocated for exterior lighting and smaller projects funded from Physical Plant budgets or Housing renovations.

These projects will also allow the university to continue to comply with Act 1494, which promotes conservation of energy and natural resources in buildings owned by the state or institutions of higher education.

The president’s home was abated for mold in December. A lead investigation report by Environmental Enterprise Group, Inc. showed evidence of lead in the nearly 75-year-old residence.

Lead based paint was discovered in the window frame, casing and ledge in several areas of the home. There are also water leaks and condensation on the exterior of the window panes of several windows. Cost for the replacement of the windows is $98,662.

The estimated cost to replace the existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system is nearly $100,000. The existing system is 15 years old and nearing its useful life.  Several air conditioning compressors have failed in recent years resulting in expensive repairs, said Diane Newton, vice president of finance and administration.

Also, the existing system uses hot water boilers for heat and are checked twice daily by physical plant staff. The heating and cooling project includes the removal and demolition of the boiler system and the installation of gas furnaces that are more efficient and easier to maintain.

 “The President’s home is a highly visible and important gateway to the UCA campus,” said Newton. “It is frequently the location of choice for entertaining dignitaries and distinguished guests who come to the university. For this reason and because it is a personal residence as well as a state-owned building, it is essential to maintain both the appearance and function of this facility at all times.”

Other projects across campus include a new lighted crosswalk on Bruce Street; water proofing and roof replacement Meadors Hall; installation of new doors at south Baridon Hall entry; the purchasing of a new 800 ton chiller at Central Plant West near Estes Stadium; and a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system in McCastlain.

More than $1.4 million has been allocated for housing improvements. Projects include a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system in Arkansas Hall; fire sprinklers in State and Conway halls; and installation of security cameras in all residence halls. The cameras allow surveillance on all exits and entrances in residence halls to address safety and security.

Lorien Foote Finalist for Lincoln Prize

Posted on February 28, 2011

Lorien Foote, an associate professor of history, was among the seven finalists competing for the 2011 Lincoln Prize.

The Lincoln Prize is awarded annually for scholarly work on Abraham Lincoln, the American Civil War soldier or a subject related to the Civil War era. The winner receives a $50,000 prize.

Foote’s book, “The Gentlemen and the Roughs: Violence, Honor, and Manhood in the Union Army” (New York University Press) received Honorable Mention. The book explores persistent tensions and overt conflicts within the Union army over notions of “manliness” and “honor.”

The Lincoln Prize was co-founded in 1990 by businessmen and philanthropists Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman, co-chairmen of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York and co-creators of the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the largest private archives of documents and artifacts in the nation, according to a release from the Institute. The Institute is devoted to history education, supporting history theme schools, teacher training, digital archives, curriculum development, exhibitions and publications, and the national History Teacher of the Year Award program.

“I am honored and thrilled to be a finalist and Honorable Mention for the Lincoln Prize.  It is the most prestigious prize in my field of history and to be a finalist is considered a major award in and of itself,”  Foote said. “It is a recognition that my book makes a significant and original contribution to our understanding of the Civil War.”

Foote’s book examines the conflict with the Union army over ideals of manhood — whether men needed to be moral, have honor, be genteel, or display strength and aggressiveness.

“One of the most important contributions of my book is that it shows how important honor was to Union soldiers.  Most scholars believe that only southerners held ideals of honor by the time of the Civil War,”  she said.   “I explored records that other historians had ignored — courts-martial records – and discovered that affairs of honor were common for northern men and that they had recognized rituals of honor.  Indeed, what makes my book unique is its use of military records to explore cultural issues.”

The three-member 2011 Lincoln Prize jury considered 106 titles for the award before recommending the finalists to the Lincoln Prize Board which makes the final decision.  Past Lincoln Prize winners include Ken Burns in 1991 for his documentary, “The Civil War.”

Foote will be recognized in May at the Union League Club in New York.

“I received great support from UCA that enabled me to research and write this book.  I am thankful to the University Research Council for funding my work in the National Archives,”  Foote said. “The book was conceptually difficult, and I am grateful to my colleagues in the History Department for their conversation and support.  Writing a book is a stressful process and my wonderful colleagues made it a lot easier.”

Hinkle Reappointed to UCA Board of Trustees

Posted on February 28, 2011

Kay Hinkle has been reappointed to the University of Central Arkansas Board of Trustees by Gov. Mike Beebe.

Hinkle, of Mountain View, was first appointed to the board in 2004. She is a 1970 graduate of UCA with a degree in business. Hinkle’s current term will expire January 2018.

“I am honored and excited about serving another term on the UCA Board of Trustees,” Hinkle said. “It is a privilege to give back to my Alma Mater, and I am very appreciative that the Governor had the confidence in me for this reappointment.”

One of Hinkle’s goals is to see the university continue to stabilize its finances.

“By doing that, the university can be more progressive for the students, faculty and staff,” she said. “Recruiting new students is important so we can continue to grow at a steady pace.”

Hinkle is a member and president of the Stone County Scholarship Foundation Board, and a member of the Committee of 100 for the Ozark Folk Center. She and her husband, Jim, were Stone County Distinguished Citizens for 2010. Jim Hinkle serves as chairman of the Board for Centennial Bank in Mountain View. They are active members of Flatwoods Baptist Church and have two daughters, both UCA graduates, and three grandchildren. Kay Hinkle also served on the Mountain View School Board for ten years.

“In my opinion, UCA has a very promising future even though our state and country are experiencing difficult times,” Hinkle said. “It is extremely important that we put more emphasis on educating our youth so they can become responsible and successful adults.  UCA’s beautiful campus, location, and excellent faculty are reasons why the University will continue to experience success. Everyone working together with common goals is also a vital key to UCA’s future.”

Officials Address Issues Identified During Operation Safe Walk

Posted on February 28, 2011
 

UCA officials are addressing safety concerns discovered by students, administrators and University Police during Operation Safe Walk in November.

Six safe walk teams – consisting of representatives from UCA Police Department, Student Government Association, UCA Executive Staff, Physical Plant and Housing — compiled a list of safety hazards found during the walk.  A Safe Walk 2010 report was created by the UCA Police from the information gathered by the teams. The report gives an overview of how the walk was conducted and an itemized list of potential safety hazards noted by the teams. A status report of the identified hazards and priority lists of proposed projects are available at the UCA Police Department website.

Over 80 % of all lights that were out have been repaired and lights have been added in areas that were considered to be dimly lit, said Larry Lawrence, Physical Plant director.

“By the end of this semester we hope to have all of the prioritized issues completed and we will also continue to work into the summer to address other areas that are of concern,” Lawrence said. “The campus will see a notable difference in the lighting of the campus after dark. We also have addressed most issues related to over grown bushes as far as the landscaping on campus. We will continue to monitor landscape in an effort to create open and visible spaces.”

The walk allowed UCA administrators to get a good sense of what the campus is like from a student’s perspective after hours and after dark, he continued.

“My hope is that we can address the concerns of UCA’s students and that they will feel safe on our campus not only during the day but after dark as well,” he said. “We appreciate the joint effort put forth from students and administrators to make Operation Safe Walk a success. It is an event that we will continue to do and it will only make UCA a better place to work and live.”

All departments involved have made significant strides to address these issues with time and money, said University Police Chief Larry James.

“The information has not just sat on a shelf collecting dust,” he said. “There is action behind this collaborative effort and it shows that safety is a top priority at UCA.”

Upcoming Events Around Campus

Posted on February 28, 2011

Film Critic, Producer to be in Residence March 1

Film critic Gerald Peary and film producer Amy Geller will be artists in residence for a screening of their documentary film, For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1 at Reynolds Performance Hall.

The screening is free and open to the public.  Peary wrote and directed the film; his wife, Geller, produced it. It follows the history of American film criticism. For the Love of Movies offers viewers an inside glimpse at the life of a film critic as well as commentaries from popular film reviewers such as Roger Ebert and A.O. Scott.

For more information about the residency, contact Greg Brown at (501) 450-3162 or gbrown@uca.edu.

Job Fair Scheduled for March 2

UCA Career Services will be hosting the 2011 Spring Job Fair March 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom. Individuals participating in the job fair are encouraged to bring plenty of resumes.  For more information, call 450-3134

Arkatext Literary Festival set for March 1-4

UCA Department of Writing will host the annual literary festival ArkaText March 1-4. The festival celebrates Arkansas’s literary voice as well as student writers from UCA. All ArkaText events are free and open to the public. The festival will kick off on Tuesday, March 1 with a UCA faculty reading from 1:40 to 2:40 p.m. in Thompson Hall’s Grand Foyer. The reading will feature Shelle Stormoe, Sandy Rankin, John Vanderslice and Deb Moore.

On March 2 at 11 a.m. in Thompson Hall’s Grand Foyer, Hendrix College Writer in Residence Tyrone Jaeger will speak about the art of capitalizing on writing residencies, profiting from literary awards and being a 21st-century hipster committed to fiction. At 2 p.m., Jaeger will read prose.

On March 3 at 3 p.m. in the Grand Foyer, creative writing majors from UCA will join forces with undergraduates from the University of Kansas for a student exchange of poetry, fiction, and innovative discourse. Also on March 3  from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Conway Country Club, faculty from the Department of Writing at UCA will team up with faculty from the Department of English at KU. Authors include fiction writer Adam Desnoyers from KU, poet Megan Kaminski from KU, and UCA’s poet/digital artist Terry Wright.

The festival will conclude March 4 at 8 p.m. on the Michelangelo’s rooftop with a launch party for the Toad Suck Review.  Featured readers at the Michelangelo’s celebration include novelist Kevin Brockmeier, poet Marck Beggs and Arkansas Times journalist Bernard Reed. For more information about the ArkaText festival, contact Terry Wright at (501) 450-5108 or terryw@uca.edu.

Blood, Sweat & Tears and The Buckinghams to Perform March 4

The Buckinghams and Blood, Sweat & Tears will perform at the Reynolds Peformance Hall at 7:30 p.m. , March 4.  Blood, Sweat & Tears, formed in New York City in 1967, is known for such 1960s and ‘70s hits as “And When I Die,” “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” and “Spinning Wheel,” all of which reached No. 2 on the charts in 1969. In the ‘70s, the group also had hits with “Hi-De-Ho,” “Lucretia MacEvil,” “So Long Dixie,” and “Got To Get You Into My Life.” The Buckinghams will also perform, and fans of the group will surely remember their No. 1 hit from 1967, “Kind Of A Drag,” as well as other ‘60s favorites “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” “Don’t You Care,” and “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.”

Tickets, available at the UCA Ticket Central Box Office, are $30-$40 for adults, $27-$37 for senior citizens, $25-$35 for UCA alumni, $23-$33 for UCA faculty and staff, and $10 for UCA students with a current student I.D. For tickets, call (501) 450-3265  or go to www.uca.edu/tickets.

Grammy-Winning Composer to be in Residence

Grammy-winning composer Libby Larsen will be on the University of Central Arkansas campus as artist in residence with the College of Fine Arts and Communication the week of March 7. Larsen’s appearance is part of the “Songs Across the Americas Festival: Songs of the American West” at UCA, which will run March 9-12,  with pre-festival activities for guest composers March 7 and 8.

Performances of Larsen’s music will be scattered throughout the four-day festival in both daytime and March 9 and 12 evening concerts, said Dr. Kay Kraeft, president of Songs Unlimited, Inc., which sponsors the Songs Across the Americas Festival.

The CFAC residency will include an open dress rehearsal for a Faculty Chamber Concert on Wednesday, March 9, at 6:30 p.m. in the Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall; a lecture for students on Thursday, March 10, at 1:40 p.m., in Snow’s Bridges/Larson Theatre; an open rehearsal with the Conway Symphony Orchestra at 2:40 p.m. on Thursday, March 10 in Snow 120; the Faculty Chamber Concert (The Music of Libby Larsen) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 10 in the Snow Recital Hall; a composition seminar with UCA composition students at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 11 in Snow 312; and a performance of Deep Summer Music on the Conway Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Songs of the American West: Myths, Romance and Reality, on Saturday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. in Reynolds Performance Hall.

All Larsen residency events listed above except for the CSO concert are free and open to the public. Those tickets range from $20-$38 and may be purchased at the UCA Box Office at www.uca.edu/tickets or by calling (501) 450-3265.  For more information about the CFAC residency, contact Paul Dickinson at (501) 450-3242 or pauld@uca.edu.

Percussion Festival Set for March 5

The UCA Percussion Studio will host the UCA Percussion festival on Saturday, March 5 at the Snow Fine Arts Recital Hall. Events ranging from clinics to distinguished performances will be held all day. Events are free and open to the public. The festival will feature guest artist and virtuoso percussionist Payton MacDonald, as well as a lineup of UCA percussion alumni. The alumni who will be returning are currently respected band directors, university professors, soloists, composers, orchestral musicians and recording artists.  It will also include performances by several high school percussion bands across the state.For more information, contact  Blake Tyson, assistant professor of music and the studio’s director, at (501) 450-5263 or blake@blaketyson.com.

Concert Choir to Celebrate “Season of Light”

The University of Central Arkansas Concert Choir will sing various pieces relating to the “Season of Light” on Monday, March 7, in Reynolds Performance Hall.  The Chamber Singers will sing on the program as well. The 7:30 p.m. concert is free and open to the public. This year’s concert choir consists of 58 singers, including 30 Chamber Singers.  For more information, call (501) 450-5751 or e-mail John Erwin at johne@uca.edu.

Student Competitive Art Exhibition Opens March 10

The Annual Student Competitive Art Exhibition will open at the University of Central Arkansas’s Baum Gallery in McCastlain Hall on Thursday, March 10.  Opening receptions will be March 10 from 4-6 p.m. and Sunday, March 13, from 2-4 p.m. Both the exhibition and receptions are free and open to the public.  The competitive, sponsored by the UCA Department of Art, will be on display until March 31.  Hours for the Baum Gallery are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. For more information, contact  Barbara Satterfield at (501) 450-5793 or e-mail barbaras@uca.edu.

Great Bear Writing Project to Host National Writing Project 2011 Rural Sites Network Conference in March

The Great Bear Writing Project at UCA will host the National Writing Project 2011 Rural Sites Network Conference March 11-12 at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock.  Titled, “Overcoming Inequity: Creating Opportunities for All Rural Students,” the Conference will feature workshops and sessions on literacy and rural education, as well as a daylong pre-conference event focusing on rural English Language Learners.  Over two hundred education leaders from across the US and as far as Hawaii are expected to attend.  Speakers include Spirit Trickey and Barnard professor and author of Storytelling for Social Justice, Lee Anne Bell.  For more information, see http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/events/417.

Bus Stop to Continue Broadway Series

The Montana Repertory Theatre’s production of William Inge’s Tony-nominated play Bus Stop will continue the University of Central Arkansas’s Broadway Series with a 7:30 p.m. performance on Monday, March 14 in the Reynolds Performance Hall.

Bus Stop tells the comedic story of eight characters who find themselves in a weather-enforced layover in a Kansas street corner diner. During the course of the night, extraordinary qualities are revealed in seemingly ordinary people. Tickets, available at the UCA Ticket Central Box Office, are $30-$40 for adults, $27-$37 for senior citizens, $25-35 for UCA alumni, $28-$33 for UCA faculty and staff, and $10 for all students. For tickets, call (501) 450-3265  or visit www.uca.edu/tickets.

An Evening with Holocaust Survivor Martin Weiss Slated March 9 

Conway Senior High School, UCA Department of Philosophy and Religion, UCA Department of History, UCA College of Liberal Arts, University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum are sponsoring “An Evening with Holocaust Survivor Martin Weiss.” Marty Weiss will share his heroic story of survival in Conway Senior High School’s James H. Clark  Auditorium on Wednesday, March 9 at 7 p.m.  This event is open to the public.

“Martin (Marty) was one of nine children born to orthodox Jewish parents in Polana, a rural village in the Carpathian Mountains. His father owned a farm and a meat business, and his mother attended to the children and the home. Everyone in the family helped take care of the horses and cows.

Martin was liberated from Gunskirchen, a subcamp of Mauthausen, by the 71st Infantry Division in May 1945. He returned to Czechoslovakia, where he found some surviving family members. In 1946 they immigrated to the United States.

Nicholas Sparks to Continue Distinguished Lecture Series

The University of Central Arkansas’s Distinguished Lecture Series will continue with literary sensation Nicholas Sparks at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 15 in the Reynolds Performance Hall. The evening will include a lecture followed by a question and answer session and a book signing.

Sparks has landed at the top of the New York Times Best Sellers List with more than 50 million copies sold of his 14 books. Among those, six were made into Hollywood motion pictures. They include The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song. These movies grossed more than $360 million and have been translated to more than 30 different languages.

Tickets, available at the UCA Ticket Central Box Office, are $10 for general public, $5 for University staff and faculty, $5 for students from other colleges, and free for students from UCA. For tickets, call (501) 450-3265 or  visit www.uca.edu/tickets.

Educational Seminars and Professional Development

Sexual Harassment

March 7, 2 – 3 p.m., Student Center #215

Diversity

This year’s topic of discussion – Sexual Orientation

Feb. 17, 2:30-4 p.m., Student Center #215

March 9, 9 -10:30 a.m., Student Center #215

March 16, 2- 3:30 p.m., Student Center #215

Professional Development

March 10, 12 -1:30 p.m.    SC #215

Criticism & Discipline Skills for Managers — Charlotte Strickland, education seminar coordinator

The problem employee is a person who consistently performs below the established standards of quality, quantity and time, or fails to maintain the expected record of attendance, or whose behavior is detrimental to accomplishing the organization’s goals. This seminar will discuss professional methods of approaching and dealing with a problem employee.

UCA Foundation Awards Faculty Grants

Posted on February 28, 2011

The University of Central Arkansas Foundation awarded five grants totaling $12,550 to faculty programs and projects for the Fall of 2010.

The UCA Foundation awards grants each year to faculty for programs that enhance learning opportunities at UCA. These grants, generally in amounts less than $3,000, are intended to encourage creative programs that may serve as “seeds” for future programs and provide for deserving programs and activities.

Cliff Beacham, Sociology, and Emileigh Selman were awarded $3,000 for “Urban Farming Project.” The grant will allow Beacham and students to continue the development and growth of a community garden project that was a joint effort of students of the UCA Sociology Club and the Honors College. The project, which began last spring, resulted in more than 300 lbs. of food being donated to the area food bank.

Paige Rose and Ryan Fisher, Music, were awarded $3,000 for “Music Education Professional Development Series.” The grant will provide start-up funding for a UCA-sponsored series of professional development events in music learning for 2011. These events often bring hundreds of people to the campus, sparking and renewing interest in the music program.

Daniel Barrington, Early Childhood and Special Education, was awarded $2,550 for “Development of UCA Summer Enrichment – 2011 Summer Program.” The grant will allow Barrington to restructure and enhance the UCA Summer Enrichment Program, which has been an asset to the graduate program and a service to the community by providing services to young students with exceptional learning needs.

Drs. Brian Campbell and Alison Hall, Sociology, were awarded $2,000 for “Anthropology Lab Upgrade.” The grant will provide for new lighting and storage supplies for the new anthropology lab that was allotted space this year in Burdick Hall. The new lighting and supplies will benefit students who are supervised by Drs. Campbell and Hall as they work on a variety of projects from research on heirloom seeds to the gathering of data for the West Mexican Shaft Tomb collection.

Dr. Mary Ruth Marotte (Executive Director of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre), English, was awarded $2,000 for “AST Alliance with English Department Annual Literature Conference, Topic for 2011 Conference: Shakespeare: Pedagogy, Scholarship and Performance.” The grant will allow Marotte to secure Dr. Jacqueline Vanhoutte as the featured speaker for the conference. Vanhoutte has published a number of essays on early English drama and court culture. The conference is expected to have a local and regional draw and it will help promote the upcoming AST season.