The Bear Ledger

Concussions are currently at the forefront of discussions regarding student-athletes’ safe participation in sports. The NCAA has recommended that each institution have a concussion policy in place for student-athletes that sustain a concussion.

David Strickland, head athletic trainer and clinical instructor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, has spent countless hours researching and developing a policy that outlines how the UCA medical personnel will recognize, assess, diagnosis and care for concussion injuries. The policy includes how coaches and athletes will be educated about the recognition of a concussion and the importance of proper assessment and management by licensed athletic trainers and the team physician.

Tom Burnett, commissioner of the Southland Conference, contacted UCA Athletic Director Brad Teague about the university’s policy. Burnett stated that he was impressed with the UCA concussion policy and sent it to all the Southland Conference members as a model plan to use in the development of their institutional policy.

A UCA program that focuses on developing pediatric physical therapists has been credentialed by the American Physical Therapy Association.

The University of Central Arkansas’s Pediatric Physical Therapy Residency Program is the first physical therapy residency program in the state and one of six pediatric programs nationally to be credentialed. Other pediatric physical therapy residency programs that have received the designation include Duke University and the University of Oregon.

“As one of six pediatric physical therapy residencies, our program will have the opportunity to contribute to the future of pediatric physical therapy,” said Misty Booth, director of Clinical Education in the Department of Physical Therapy who serves as the coordinator of the residency program. “Through participation in this credentialed residency program, residents will be prepared to be leaders who will demonstrate UCA’s commitment to developing outstanding physical therapists who advance the profession.”

The American Physical Therapy Association is a national professional organization representing more than 74,000 members. Its goal is to foster advancements in physical therapy practice, research, and education, according to the association’s website.

The UCA Pediatric Physical Therapy Residency Program is a post-professional program that offers opportunities for advancing clinical practice in pediatric physical therapy. The program is a collaborative initiative between the University of Central Arkansas, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Allied Therapy and Consulting Services.

Clinical opportunities include acute care, outpatient specialty clinics, outpatient therapy, early intervention, school-based therapy, home health, aquatics and hippotherapy. The didactic component focuses on preparing residents to contribute to the profession through scholarship and teaching and improving knowledge of the dynamics involved in collaborative care.

“This program has the potential to attract physical therapists to Arkansas from across the U.S. for training in pediatrics,” said Dr. Nancy Reese, professor and chair of the Physical Therapy Department. “Through participation in an intensive period of study incorporating both clinical and didactic opportunities, residents are provided avenues to advance skill and knowledge related to Pediatric Physical Therapy.”

Quality physical therapy services in the pediatric population are critical because Arkansas has higher than average percentages of teen pregnancy and low-birth weight and pre-term infants, Dr. Reese added.

Pediatric physical therapy is an exciting, dynamic, challenging and fulfilling specialty within the practice of physical therapy, Booth said.

“Residents have the opportunity to share moments of joy and triumph with patients and their families as well as develop specialized knowledge to enhance their ability to provide support and encouragement during more challenging times,” she said.

Judy Jones, an administrative specialist II in the Archives Department, retired July 31 after 31 years of service.

James Stephens, a maintenance assistant in the Grounds Maintenance Department, retired July 23 after 13 years of service.

Charlotte Mulford, a librarian in Torreyson Library, retired Aug. 12 after 30 years of service.

The following individuals have joined UCA faculty and staff since July 1:

Christina Bergmann, registered medical assistant, Office of Student Health Services, July 1.

Dallas Black, assistant coach, men’s baseball, July 1.

Nathan Brown, assistant coach, football, July 1.

Taylor Gober, development officer, Office of Director of Athletics, July 1.

Allen Gum, head coach, men’s baseball, July 1.

James Hikins, department chairperson, Department of Speech and Public Relations, July 1.

Alisha Moody, institutional services assistant, custodial care, July 1.

Valeri Pushkarev, project director, College of Education, July 1.

Heather Chapman, fiscal support specialist, Student Accounts, July 6.

Alexander Chen, associate vice president of International Engagement, International Programs, July 15.

Bryan Allen, project/program specialist, Department of Mass Communications and Theatre, July 16.

Grace Yokem, student recruitment specialist, Admissions, July 26.

Jon Black, shipping and receiving clerk, Warehouse, Aug. 1.

Crystal Glidewell, project director, Educational Research Initiative, Aug. 1.

Gary Lawson, apprentice tradesman, Grounds Maintenance, Aug. 1

Carey Smitherman, associate professor, Department of Writing, Aug. 1.

Carolyn Baker, assistant librarian, Torreyson Library, Aug. 2.

Kristin Heffington, computer support specialist, Admissions, Aug. 2.

Naa Sowah, fiscal support analyst, Housing, Aug. 2.

Colleen Elliott, registrar’s assistant, Registrar’s Office, Aug. 9.

Daniel Klotz, library technician, Torreyson Library, Aug. 9.

Sherry Jones, administrative specialist III, College of Education, Aug. 16.

Eric Larson, instructor, Department of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures, Aug. 16.

Sandra Rankin, visiting assistant professor, Department of Writing, Aug. 16.

Shelle Stormoe, instructor, Department of Writing, Aug. 16.

Hollie Whittaker, instructor, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, Aug. 16.

Art A. Lichtenstein, director of the Torreyson Library, was recently elected to a three-year term on the Board of Directors of Amigos Library Services. Amigos Library Services is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to serving libraries. Amigos is governed by a 12-member Board of Directors elected by representatives of member institutions at the annual Amigos Member Meeting. The board, which meets quarterly, consists of nine librarians and three non-librarian Directors, each of whom is elected to three-year terms and can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. The Amigos membership consists of over 750 libraries and cultural-heritage institutions, located primarily in the southwestern United States, who utilize Amigos’ comprehensive line of services, including cataloging, reference, resource sharing, preservation, digital imaging, consulting, and training. The mission of Amigos Library Services is to: provide innovative services to libraries; promote library cooperation and resource sharing; strengthen libraries as leaders of their community; and support libraries as education and information providers. Amigos Library Services is one of the largest U.S. library networks and is similar in scope to other library-oriented consortia such as Bibliographical Center for Research, OhioLINK, and LYRASIS.

Kelly Hunt Lyon, director of the Center for Community and Economic Development, was nominated and sponsored by Entergy to attend The National Women’s Leadership Summit. The summit is an opportunity to convene women leaders at the local, state and federal level in the public, private and academic sectors to bring a different perspective to issues such as energy, the environment, immigration, health care, or the economy. The National Women’s Leadership Summit, housed at Nicholls State University, is modeled after the Oxford Summit and the 2006 Louisiana Women’s Leadership Conference. 2010 summit locations were Anchorage, Alaska in June and upcoming in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sept. 9-11.

Charlotte Strickland, education seminar coordinator, and Wendy Holbrook, associate dean of students, have provided diversity training seminars for the more than 300 employees at Tokusen Incorporated. Tokusen manufactures wire and wire related products. Its home headquarters is Ono City, Japan. The Conway plant is one of two in the United States.

Charlotte Strickland, education seminar coordinator, has been hired as a part-time speaker/consultant by Strategic Health Solutions, based in Fayetteville. She provides Customer Service training for hospitals and medical clinics in the states of Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

The Web Development team spent the summer working with the university’s marketing firm, Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, to develop an iPhone application for UCA. After testing the project, it has been sent to Apple for their review. We hope to have approval for the application, which will be free to download, by the end of September or mid-October.

Over the past three months, the division has increased its use of social media. More content has been added to UCA’s YouTube page. Previously, videos posted on the page were limited to footage from ad campaigns. Today, there are more videos that feature faculty members, report on various events on campus, and videos of faculty members providing expert opinions on national news topics. Earlier this month, we filmed a therapy session at Arkansas Children’s Hospital to accompany a story about the Pediatrics Physical Therapy Program.

The division also covered this year’s Summer Commencement, Move-In Day, Conway Daze, National Conference of Deans, The Great Bear Writing Project, as well as several summer programs.

Before the United States entered World War I, it seemed remote to the students and faculty of Arkansas State Normal School. However, that attitude changed when the U.S. declared war on Germany in April 1917.

Military Drills at the Normal: Professors R.E. Womack and Guy Dan Estes organized 75 male students into military units and began drilling on the campus. It was noted that one female student, Nora Brown, also participated in the military drills.

Male Students Leaving Campus: The men did not leave campus all at once but rather on a steady and gradual basis. When the U.S. declared war on Germany in the spring of 1917 there were 200 men on campus; one year later there were only 12. There were two reasons for this huge drop in the male population – most of the men had gone into the U.S. Armed Forces and there were fewer men going into the education profession.

Contributions by the Female Students: The women on campus contributed mightily to the war effort. At one point the Conway Draft Board had more paperwork than they could handle and asked for help from the Normal. Six women from the Normal volunteered to assist the Conway Draft Board and helped alleviate their backlog of paperwork.

The Y.W.C.A. staged an “Old Maids” Convention to raise money for Liberty Bonds. The women of the Normal Y.W.C.A. created a time machine that transformed older women into young women, much to the delight of the crowd. There was a 25-cent charge to see the show. In another fund raising event female students attending in the summer of 1918 created a show based on vaudeville acts and charged ten cents for admission.

The Crestomath Literary Society, the first literary society on campus, held a bazaar on December 20, 1917, to raise money for Liberty Bonds. Many former Crestos also contributed to their fund-raising efforts and it was deemed a great success. The women were quite pleased because they had sold virtually everything they had brought to the bazaar. After the bazaar had ended and the Crestomath women visited among themselves about the great success that day and these comments were in the Normal Echo, “Things were in order about this time, and with happiness in their hearts, the Crestos started off merrily across the snow covered lawns to their home at Doyne Hall.”

Normal Service Flag: The Normal Service Flag was unfurled and shown to the public on May 22, 1918. There were 98 stars on the Normal flag; each represented a Normal student who was engaged in World War I.

Faculty in the Armed Forces: Several faculty members also served in the military including Coach and Professor Guy Dan Estes, J. C. Cook – head of Normal Athletics and D.D. McBrien – head of the Department of History. Heber McAlister, future third president of UCA, accepted a job with the Normal as head of the Department of Mathematics, but went to Europe as a major in the Army before his employment began.

Source: “From the Archives” by Jimmy Bryant, director of Archives & Special Collections

UCA has received $712,000 in General Improvement Funds from state Sen. Gilbert Baker. The one-time funds will be used for travel, professional development and to build reserves.

About $200,000 has been allocated for faculty and $100,000 for staff for travel and professional development, said Diane Newton, vice president of finance and administration. Remaining funds will be used to replenish the university’s fund balance.

Officials are working out the details on how the money will be allocated among staff. Professional development speakers may be brought in to provide training and staff development.

“While one of our major priorities is building reserves, the president felt we needed to take a substantial portion and reinvest in the employees,” Newton said. “Travel budgets have taken a major hit during this rebuilding process. I am glad we are able to provide this support.”