The Bear Ledger

The groundwork for a strategic plan for university is underway. Four task forces have been formed to create preliminary documents on planning assumptions, driving forces, values, and distinctiveness.

Professor Mike Schaefer, who serves as chairman of the Strategic Planning and Resources Council, addressed the task forces’ members March 2 during a meeting. He shared information gathered by a preliminary working group in February.

“You can refine or delete some of those ideas and add new ones,” Schaefer told the task forces. “Each list is meant to be partly a summary of where we are now and partly a projection of where we want to go.”

Schaefer gave examples of driving forces such as state cuts and state mandates regarding scholarships as well as core values such as academic excellence and shared governance.

Each task force must have a draft version of its area statement ready for the Strategic Planning and Resources Council by April 5, Schaefer said. A campus-wide forum to receive input from the UCA community is tentatively scheduled for April 15 in the Ida Waldran Auditorium.

The overall task is to have a set of goals established by the fall semester. A number of initiatives will be generated from those goals. The administration has agreed to commit resources to carry out the strategic plan, Schaefer said.

“Our experience in strategic planning before is that we created the goals and so on, and then the entire report was placed on a shelf somewhere,” he said. “…The administration will commit resources to getting those goals met.”

The Strategic Planning and Resources Council consists of representatives from the staff, faculty, students, alumni, UCA board of trustees and the community. The council is charged with developing a strategic plan that will:

• Identify the various forces acting on the university as a whole–including finances, public perceptions and expectations, demographics, and technology.
• Assess the resources of various types the university has at its disposal for carrying out its planning.
• Examine and articulate the mission and vision of the university–our sense of our purpose and our aspirations for the future–which will be informed by the core shared values of the university community.
• Identify particular attributes of the university that set us apart from our sister institutions and that thus constitute our distinctive strengths.

Provost Lance Grahn told the task forces the strategic plan is critical for the university’s future.

“What is UCA? What will UCA be?” asked Grahn. “We cannot allow our future simply to happen. We need to define our future. We must take control of our future.”

Grahn thanked the council and task force members for taking on the project.

“We have a tight timeline as Mike explained,” he said. “… This will be very meaningful for UCA. We are not going to have you go through all this work just to have it sit on the shelf or posted somewhere on the internet.”

UCA Kicks Off Green Week March 15

UCA Environmental Alliance, SGA, and Biology Club are hosting 2010 Green Week the week of March 15. All events will be held in the Student Center courtyard. In case of rain, the events will be held in the Student Center.

Green Week events are:

GREEN BUSINESS/ART DAY
March 16, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Recycled Original Origami
X-Period: Local Bands
Cerro Gordo
Michael Sutterfield & Paul Sammons

NATURAL ORGANIZATIONS & RESOURCES DAY
March 17, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Growing Green! Planting Event
WORKSHOP: Wilderness Survival Skills

ALTERNATIVE TECH/TRANSPORTATION DAY
March 18, 10a.m.-3 p.m.
X-Period: UCA Bike Rental Kickoff
WORKSHOP: CAB led Bike Repair
Recycled Recreations: Practical Plastic Tote Making

Habitat for Human Campus Chapter Meeting March 16

UCA students, staff and faculty who are interested in joining the Habitat for Humanity campus chapter are invited to a meeting on Tuesday, March 16 in the lobby of STATE Residential College at 1:30pm. We welcome anyone who is interested in working with this organization to build housing for deserving local families. For more information, e-mail Dr. Catherine Swift at cswift@uca.edu.

UCA Japanese Student Association Sponsors Sakura Festival

Spring is here and it is once again time for the Sakura (Cherry-blossom) Festival. The Sakura Festival is a Japanese cultural festival featuring traditional dance, contemporary live music, food, Japanese calligraphy, origami, games, and much more! The festival is open to everyone. This festival is sponsored primarily by the UCA Japanese Student Association with a little help from the UCA Japanese Club. It will be held March 18 during X-period in the Student Center Ballroom. For more information, contact J.S. Stansel at JSStansel@uca.edu

UCA Baum Gallery to Host Student Competitive Exhibition

The annual Student Competitive Art Exhibition will be on display at the Baum Gallery in McCastlain Hall until April 1. 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 Satterfield at (501) 450-5793.

New Staff Orientation Set for March 19

New Staff Orientation is scheduled for Friday, March 19 from 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the Student Center in Room 213-214. The orientation is open to new staff employees hired this academic year who have not attended the New Staff Orientation held in October. The program includes information on FERPA, Human Resources, Staff Senate, University Education Seminars, Campus Life, and Purchasing. Lunch and a campus tour are included. To register, send name, department, and ID# to training@uca.edu no later than March 15, 2010. For more information, contact Charlotte Strickland, Education Seminar Coordinator, at 450-5470 or chars@uca.edu.

Limited Funding Available for Faculty Development Workshop

A faculty development workshop on “Chinese Ways: History, Philosophy, Religion, Art, and Medicine” is scheduled for March25-27 at Missouri State University. The workshop is sponsored by the Asian Studies Development Program, which UCA is affiliated as a Regional Center, and is sure to stimulate productive thinking among faculty across disciplines about how to incorporate study about China more effectively into their courses. Limited funding from the Confucius Institute is available to support registration and travel costs. Contact Dr. Jim Deitrick, director of Humanities and World Cultures Institute, for more information at deitrick@uca.edu or 450-5592.

Captured Live from the Met at UCA slated for March 28

Two events remain of the second season of the Captured Live from the Met @ UCA series. William Shakespeare’s famous Hamlet will grace the Reynolds stage virtually on Sunday, March 28 at 2 p.m. An encore showing is scheduled for Monday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. Approximately 200 seats are available for each performance at UCA. Tickets are $15 for the public and $5 for students with valid I.D.

Davis Schneiderman Reading, Book Signing March 30

Innovative writer and multimedia artist Davis Schneiderman will participate in the University of Central Arkansas’s 2010 Artist in Residence program March 30-31. Schneiderman will give a reading and book signing on March 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Lewis Science Center room 102. On March 31, he will teach two masters classes, at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., in Winfred Thompson Hall room 331. The first class will consist of various writing games and exercises; the second class will give students an opportunity to interview Schneiderman about his career in creative writing. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call the Office of the Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication, at (501) 450-3293 or e-mail smaiden@uca.edu.

Author Charlaine Harris Lecture, Book-signing April 1

New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris will hold a free lecture and book signing at the University of Central Arkansas’s Reynolds Performance Hall on Thursday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. The book signing will immediately follow the lecture. Harris, a Mississippi native who now lives in southern Arkansas, writes the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries novels on which the HBO hit series True Blood is based.
For more information, call the Office of the Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication, at (501) 450-3293 or e-mail smaiden.uca.edu

University Women Offering Book Scholarships

University Women, a nonprofit campus organization at the University of Central Arkansas, will award three $200 book scholarships to non-traditional women students who can demonstrate a need for financial assistance. Applicants should be at least 23 years old, currently enrolled at UCA with a minimum overall GPA of 3.0, and already must have earned at least 12 hours with no more than nine hours being in transitional classes. Both graduate students and undergraduate students are eligible. Application forms are now available for the scholarships and interested students may pick up these forms at the Graduate Office in Torreyson Library 328, Undergraduate Office in Harrin Hall and Torreyson Library Reference Desk. Completed applications must be received no later than April 9. Please send completed application to University Women, c/o Carol Hanan, Torreyson Library #110. For more information, contact Carol Hanan, president of University Women, chanan@uca.edu.

UCA Smoking Cessation Classes

Smoking Cessation class will be offered to help individuals kick the habit.
All classes will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the Student Health Center 307. The following classes are scheduled: April 6, Understanding Affects of Nicotine; April 13, Coping Techniques and Strategies; April 20, Preparing to Quit; April 27, Quitting; May 4, Staying Quit; and May 11, Congratulations!

Caputo Lecture Rescheduled to April 7

John D. Caputo, the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Syracuse University, will present a lecture on April 7 in the Doyne Health Sciences Auditorium. His lecture will be entitled “What is Radical Theology? A Postmodern Proposal.” Caputo is a nationally and internationally acclaimed philosopher of religion, and one of the foremost interpreters of Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction and postmodernism. Caputo’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy of Religion at UCA, UCA College of Liberal Arts, UCA Honors College, and the Norbert and Carol Schedler Endowment Fund. For more information, contact Dr. Clayton Crockett at 450-5506.

Aramark Conducts Survey to Improve Service

Aramark is conducting a survey to gain valuable insight that can help it improve the overall campus dining experience. The online survey will take 5 to 10 minutes, and your responses are confidential. The survey is available at: http://www.collegesurvey.com/uca

Seminars

Sexual Harassment

Participants have the option of attending a sexual harassment seminar on-site or online at http://training.newmedialearning.com/psh/ucentralarkansas/choice.htm.

An on-site seminar will be held:

• April 15, 9-10 a.m., Student Center Room 214

Diversity

• March 30, 5:30 -7 p.m., Student Center Room 215

To register for an on-site seminar, send name, department and ID# to training@uca.edu. You may reach the Office of University Training by calling 450-5470.

Education leaders from across the state will gather later this month to discuss ways to improve graduation and retention rates.

The annual Arkansas Student Success Symposium will be held March 31 and April 1 on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas.

The Student Success Symposium is a collaborative event between the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, Pulaski Technical College, and the University of Central Arkansas coordinated in conjunction with the Arkansas Student Success Collaborative.

“The governor and the Arkansas state legislators believe that colleges and universities should be doing more to improve graduation rates in the state of Arkansas,” said Dr. Sally Roden, associate provost and dean of undergraduate studies. “The Governor has stated on numerous occasions that the future economy of Arkansas will have to be a knowledge-based economy with more citizens completing college degrees.

Two years ago, two faculty members from Pulaski Tech and one from UCA worked to form a partnership between UCA and Pulaski Tech and obtained grants and support from the Department of Higher Education to host the first student symposium.

The state symposium allows education leaders to combine ideas and efforts and work together to enhance student success, Roden added.

“By working together, we can increase the adult population with college degrees, thereby helping the students with their individual careers and also enhancing the state economy,” she said. “The Student Symposium is a win- win situation, for the professionals and for the students.”

The key note speakers for this year’s symposium are Dr. Vincent Tinto, a nationally known author and scholar on student retention, and Dr. John Gardner, leader of an international reform movement to enhance the learning, success, retention and graduation of students.

Dr. Allen Meadors, UCA President, is hosting a reception and session on retention and graduation for all Arkansas presidents, chancellors and chief academic and student affairs officers.

For more information about the symposium, visit www.arkansasstudentsuccess.org or contact Larry Burns at lburns@uca.edu or (501)450-5245.

At the Capitol, the Arkansas General Assembly ended its fiscal session during the first week in March. The budget recommendation was for higher education institutions to return to their pre-January budget levels, which means an increase of approximately $1.2 million in state funding to UCA for the fiscal year 2011 budget year from its current level.

This is still not to the level originally budgeted from the 2009 legislative session, but the budget forecasters recommend the increase and are projecting actual growth in Arkansas’ revenue picture.

The legislature also set the lottery scholarship levels at $2,500 per year at the two-year college level and $5,000 per year at the four-year university level. High School students must either score a 19 on the ACT test or have a 2.5 grade point average. Current college students can also qualify for this scholarship if they meet certain criteria and maintain a 2.5 grade point average as well.

The University of Central Arkansas welcomed five new employees to campus recently. They are:

February

William Stanton, education counselor, Undergaduate Studies, Feb. 16.

March

Kathryn Bruich, HE Inst Program Coordinator, Student Financial Aid, March 1.

Robert Arbogast, administrative specialist III, Upward Bound 08-13, March 1.

Stephanie Vest, institutional services assistant, College Square Retirement, March 8.

Charlotte Stewart, administrative specialist III, Undergraduate Studies, March 8.

Bill McIntire, an apprentice tradesman in the Building Maintenance Department, announced his retirement after 18 years of service. McIntire will retire March 31.

Don Whistler, a professor in the Political Science Department, will retire May 15 after 38 years of service.

James Weller, an assistant professor of Management Information Systems, will retire May 15 after 27 years of service.

Dr. John Watt, associate professor of OBHR in the Marketing and Management Department, and his wife, Deidra, announce the birth of their daughter, Catherine August Watt. Catherine arrived February 15 at 7:42am. She weighed 7.5 pounds and was 19 inches long.

Brent Passmore, director of web development, and his wife Alison, an UCA alumna, announce the birth of their daughter, Charlotte Parker Passmore. Charlotte was born Jan. 18 at 11:29 a.m. She weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 21.5 inches long.

Banner upgrades will begin at 6 p.m. on Thurs., March 18, and the system will remain offline until Thurs., March 25. Banner, the university’s administrative computing system, is a collection of business applications that support university functions.

Campus “power users” have completed extensive pre-upgrade testing and have developed a post-upgrade testing plan to ensure that the university’s mission-critical processes come back online successfully after the upgrade.

Critical Dates:

March 16, 4:30 p.m.: Requisitions must be complete and approved.
March 18, 6 p.m.: Banner offline
March 25, start of business day: Banner online

The upgrade will cause a major disruption in the campus’ ability to carry on the day- to-day business. In order to make this transition as seamless as possible UCA has opted to close the campus on Mon., March 22 and Tues., March 23 to allow for Information Technology to install the new software. This will be a one-time Spring Break closing.

Employees will use George Washington’s Birthday & Daisy Gatson Bates Day, both observed the third Monday in February, and one leave day for this break. George Washington’s Birthday & Daisy Gatson Bates Day is usually used to cover one of the days between Christmas and New Year’s when UCA is closed. Employees may also use comp time in lieu of the leave day.

For more information, email Lee Stevens at lees@uca.edu.

The end of fiscal year 2010 is three months away, which means deadlines for submissions of purchase requisitions are near. Requisitions must be received early enough to allow the Purchasing Department to bid, purchase, receive and pay for the order by June 30.

Items requested after the noted deadlines will be considered on an emergency basis and will require approval from Diane Newton, vice president of finance and administration before Purchasing will process the request.

The deadlines below apply to all accounts, including grants.

DEADLINES

• Physical Plant “new” projects to pay with this fiscal year funds April 9

• Bid Request and Capital Equipment Purchases – including grants May 5
($2,500 and above)

• Last date to process Requisitions – excluding grants May 19
(Note: Requisitions must be completed in Banner by May 19)

• Last day to process Grant Requisitions June 8

• P-Card (last date to make charges) – including grants June 8

• Supply Storeroom Purchases June 24
Supply Storeroom will close for Annual Inventory June 25-30.
Storeroom will reopen on July 1 at 9 a.m.

For more information or questions, contact the Purchasing Office at 450-3173.

Olive Hilliard, an instructor in the Department of Speech and Public Relations, died on Feb. 24. Ms. Hilliard, who taught at UCA since 2003, was respected by her colleagues and admired by her students.

She had taught in the areas of Academic Outreach, the Department of Writing, and the Department of Speech and Public Relations.

Ms. Hilliard graduated from Arkansas High School in Texarkana in 1974 and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Secondary Education from Texas A & M University, Texarkana, formerly East Texas State University in Texarkana, Texas. She completed her Master of Arts Degree in Journalism at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.

She was actively involved in the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, where she served as Founding Advisor/Contributing Artist and Writer; a board member for Habitat for Humanity, Faulkner County; former member of Arkansas Realtors Association; Faulkner County Board of Realtors; National Board of Realtors; and Coldwell Banker Advantage Realtors, Pam McDowell Properties.

Friends and colleagues described Olive as a kind, gracious, and admirable woman.

“Olive was a wonderful, talented teacher,” said Jayme Stone, director of Learning Communities. “She was full of grace, beauty and humor. She was a very classy woman and she will be sorely missed.”

Ms. Hilliard leaves behind her children, Joseph King, II, Cameron King, Andrea King Jasper, Jamel King, Arpaya King, Brittany Hervey, and Brianna Hervey.

She was preceded in death by her parents, N.H. and Ollie Hilliard; her first-born daughter, Courtney Bianca Hilliard-James; and her sister, Sharon Lynn Hilliard Lyles.

The College of Fine Arts and Communication plans a memorial fund to honor the memory of their valued colleague, friend, and talented, caring university educator.

UCA’s Physical Plant continues to oversee a large number of construction projects. These projects were paid for with bond money and stimulus funds. More than $2.6 million of bond money was used for repairs, maintenance, and equipment purchase. A majority of the $4.7 million is stimulus funds- about $3 million- was used for roof repairs, waterproofing of buildings and lighting projects. About $1 million was set aside for housing needs.

Some of the ongoing projects around campus are:

• Waterproofing work continues on 22 buildings on campus. The contractor is approximately 30% complete.

• Roof work is complete at Burdick and nearing completion on McCastlain. The flat portion of the roof at McCastlain has been slowed due to weather and cold temperatures.

• New fire alarm systems are underway at Mashburn, Burdick and Farris Center.

• Roof work should begin at Stadium Park around April 1, where twelve roofs will be replaced.

• New stage curtains and window curtains are being bid for Ida Waldran Auditorium. In addition, some stage repairs and painting will occur as well.

• Work is continuing in some areas of Burdick. Painting, floor coverings, locksets, ceiling tile replacement, etc., are examples of work.

• Specifications and bids are being finalized for summer work in Housing residence halls. The majority of renovations will occur in Arkansas Hall, but all halls and apartments will have cleaning take place as well as strip and waxing of hard surface floors and carpets cleaned.

• Sidewalk work is still progress with completion expected late April or early May.

• Two cell tower contracts are nearing finalization. One location is the parking lot on Donaghey where the shuttles pick up at softball fields and the other is at the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management property that was purchased by UCA a few years ago.

• Installation of a new emergency generator is underway at the University Police building. Completion estimated at mid-April.

• Harding Fountain will have L.E.D. lighting installed during Spring break.

• Cooling tower work is underway at Torreyson Library and Doyne Health Science.

• Library carpet replacement still in progress.

• 1951 South Boulevard-guest house-renovation in progress.

• Renovation of (9) Stadium Park apartments (interior)-in progress.

• Exterior doors being replaced at Thompson Hall-in progress.

• Entry doors to Farris pool being replaced-in progress.

• Routine and daily work-general custodial cleaning, campus filter changes, chiller maintenance, athletic field maintenance and various general work orders.

• Work underway at Meadors building (ROTC). Examples of work-floors, paint, lead abatement, pigeon feces abatement and window repairs.

• New instrument lockers have been installed at Snow Fine Arts-job complete.

• Work to replace incandescent light bulbs in all University owned apartments with compact fluorescent bulbs will begin late March and complete by May 15.

• New fan coil units will be installed at Burdick and Health Science by August 31, barring any unforeseen issues.

• New cabling being installed in Mashburn, Irby and Main Hall-in progress.

• New overhang/porch work to begin late March at north entry to Doyne Health Science.

• New carpet in hallways of Main Hall-work to begin early April and complete near mid-May.

• All new trashcans for campus have been received and have been placed on campus.

• The two charter buses manufactured by Motor Coach Industries have been received by Physical Plant. We are currently working to get the buses painted to UCA colors. By mid-March the schedule is heavy and the buses will be used often.

• Physical Plant will soon receive a new 65’ man-lift as well as a new fork lift. These were purchased with bond funds and will help Physical Plant to better serve the campus with exterior lighting issues and tree trimming, and events.