The Bear Ledger

UCA’s Department of Physics will partner with the Arkansas Center for Mathematics in developing a content-rich course: “Special Topics in Astronomy – Solar System Exploration”. This course will adapt the curriculum toolkit provided by the Aerospace Education Services Project to the Arkansas State Standards and will be offered in summer 2010 to in-service teachers for graduate credit and in fall 2011 to pre-service college students for undergraduate/graduate credit. The primary instructor of this course will be Dr. Debra Burris, assistant professor of physics. Dr. Uma Garimella will assist Dr. Burris to align the course content to the Arkansas state standards. Ms. Minnietta Ready, state science instructional facilitator, with the help of John F. Weis, AESP education specialist, will work with the participants to develop lesson plans and evaluation items for the course. Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education (ACMSE) received a $29,642 AESP Implementation Mini-Grant from the National Space Grant Foundation to develop a new university-based course for K-12 teachers of STEM subjects and pays graduate tuition for 20 students.
　
The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics will be embarking on the development of a dual-degree program with up to four partner institutions in Arkansas. The goal of this program will be to allow students majoring in mathematics or science at another institution to simultaneously earn a bachelor of science in education degree, along with a recommendation for teacher licensure from UCA. We will also be forming an ad hoc committee to explore the possibility of designing a college framework for alternative delivery courses and degree programs. The first degree program to be explored for alternative delivery will be the MA in Natural Science for in-service teachers.

Drs. Ginny Adams, Sally Entrekin, and Reid Adams, faculty in the Department of Biology, and 17 UCA undergraduate and graduate students attended the American Fisheries Society Arkansas and Oklahoma Joint Chapter Meeting held in Fort Smith on Feb. 3-4. The meeting was attended by approximately 180 participants representing universities, state and federal resource agencies, and non profit organizations from both states. Students and faculty from UCA gave 13 presentations — eight oral and five posters– on topics ranging from northern snakehead life history and alligator gar movements to the impacts of gas drilling on aquatic ecosystems. A UCA graduate student, Ram Pandey (co-mentored by Dr. Laurie Warren and Dr. Ginny Adams) won the Best Student Paper Award for his presentation entitled “Acute effects of atrazine and nitrate on Hyalella azteca (Amphipoda) in laboratory exposures.” Dr. Ginny Adams, current president of the Arkansas Chapter, planned and organized the meeting in conjunction with the president of the Oklahoma Chapter. Many members of the UCA Fisheries Club, a nationally recognized student sub-unit of the American Fisheries Society, played an integral role in coordinating meeting events. Richard Walker was awarded Outstanding Subunit Student for the UCA Fisheries Club, as he has been instrumental in organizing activities for this relatively new Registered Student Organization on campus. Student attendance at the meeting was aided by funding from the UCA Student Government Association, the Department of Biology, and extramural grant funding to faculty. The following students attended the meeting: Clint Johnson, Ed Kluender, David Mitchell, Richard Walker, Loren Stearman, Ram Pandey, Chris Fuller, Kasey Nix, Nicki Jensen, Allyn Fuell, Harry Richardson, Kyle Meeks, Michael Edmonson, Brandon Clemons, Brandon King, Sarah Pavan, and Joe Larson.

• The Irby Demonstration School, one of the oldest institutions on campus, was discontinued after the spring semester of 1962. The reason to close the school was attributed to the growth of the student body and the need for classroom space for college students.
• An Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program began in the fall of 1968. The first commanding officer was Lt. Col. George Edward Pickett IV, the great-grandson of Confederate General George E. Pickett.
• The university went through two name changes during the Silas Snow administration. The first took place on Jan. 18, 1967 when the Arkansas General Assembly passed an Act renaming the school the State College of Arkansas. On Jan. 21, 1975, the university became the University of Central Arkansas.

Source: The Centennial History of the University of Central Arkansas by Jimmy Bryant.

The University of Central Arkansas’s new College of Business was officially dedicated during a reception Feb. 11. The construction of the new $16 million building began in May 2008.

Highlights of the building include a 168-seat auditorium; eight tiered lecture halls; two flat classrooms; two computer labs; and 61 faculty offices. The new building also features several conference rooms, a graduate lounge, and houses all of the College’s Centers/Institutes.

Classes began in the 78,456 square-foot facility on Jan. 14.

“The new UCA College of Business building will provide our students opportunities to learn in a business-like environment where students can prepare for a rewarding career after leaving UCA,” said Dean Pat Cantrell. “This new building has allowed the college to regain critical space for students, faculty and business leaders to gather and interact. I am very excited to be part of this new building and look forward to continuing to find ways to improve our approaches to student learning.”

The UCA College of Business formerly resided in the Burdick Business Administration Center, which opened in 1974. Originally, Burdick offered the College of Business space for student and faculty lounges, rooms for student clubs to meet, a library and a group study room, but all of those spaces have since been converted to classrooms and offices.

“Our former business building was built more than a decade before the introduction of the personal computer in offices and laboratories,” Cantrell said. “This new state-of-the-art building is not only equipped with the essential tools necessary to teach business education in the 21st century, but it will also allow the college of regain critical space for students, faculty, and community members to gather and interact. By giving our students the opportunity to network and collaborate with business professionals, the full education process is enhanced.”

The university can now offer an online MBA program to compliment its traditional campus-based MBA and Master of Accountancy programs, Cantrell said.

“We now have the facility that will make our students feel comfortable entering the corporate world and the architecture to extend their vision and their aspirations,”she added.

UCA President Allen Meadors said the new building has many attributes that will help prepare students for their future careers in the corporate world.

“But, I want to make sure that we never forget the reason that they will be great employees. It is because of the faculty,” he said. “They are tremendous and they care about the students. They will do whatever it takes to help a young man and woman to be ready to enter the workforce. All this does is make it easier.”

Diane Newton, vice president of finance and administration, provided an overview of the university’s finances during a finance forum Feb. 11 at the Ida Waldran Auditorium.

The presentation looked at the fiscal 2011budget and how the university spent $7 million in bond money and $4.7 million in stimulus funds.

About $1.3 million in bond funds was allocated for the purchase of computers. Academics was allotted $900,000 of the bond money. More than $2.6 million of bond money was used for repairs, maintenance, and equipment purchase, Newton said.

The bond money was also used for security enhancements and to address safety issues. Newton pointed out that the new sidewalks are not just for beautification. Some were raised because of flooding issues.

“We also addressed about 20 accessible ramps,” she said. “So, there is a lot more than just beautification in those.”

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. Stimulus money was also used to provide bonuses to non-classified employees in December.

The university has experienced revenue shortfalls, she said. UCA received $2.3 million less in state appropriations due to budget cuts. In addition, there was a $1.7 million loss in tuition revenue, she said. However, there was a $3.2 million in scholarship savings. The university had to cut back on scholarships to meet the state mandate, Newton explained.

“Even with those impacts, we feel like we are going to end the year with about $5 million in cash balances,” she said. “Not all of that is spendable money. Of that amount, about $1.5 million is unrestricted.”

The university has not used the line of credit in more than a year.

There are still a number of unknowns for the fiscal 2011 budget, Newton said.

UCA President Allen Meadors has made it a priority to include a salary increase for employees in the 2011 fiscal budget, she added.

“We are not sure of the specifics of it other than we are going to do all we can to make that happen,” she said.

Another priority, Newton said, is making sure rebuilding the fund balances is a part of the budget.

Newton hopes the presentation will help the campus community understand what the university is dealing with and the challenges in next year’s budget, she said.

The University of Central Arkansas Board of Trustees approved a three percent increase in room and board fees for the 2010-11 academic year during its meeting Feb. 5.

Diane Newton, vice president of finance and administration, said the three percent increase in room fees is due to the university‘s daunting maintenance list. Currently, repairs to the residence halls and university-owned apartments are estimated at more than $22 million.

“The needs of the housing facilities are great,” she said. “… Obviously, we can’t fix everything at one time.”

The revenue generated from the three-percent is estimated at $315,000. The funds will be used to address immediate maintenance improvements and repairs. Newton told the board that UCA’s rates are still very competitive compared with other universities in the state and remains one of the lowest.

Also, the board approved a three percent board fee to cover an increase in food supplies and operation cost. Aramark Inc.’s food service contract with the university has increased by three percent.

Aramark has agreed to increase donations from $38,000 to $63,000; provide student dining options over Labor Day, fall break, and the Thanksgiving holiday; and dining options when faculty and staff are present Monday through Friday.

In other business, UCA President Allen Meadors informed the board the university will finish this fiscal year with approximately $5 million in fund balance, which includes about $4 million of restricted funds. Also, Meadors told the board that the university has the largest percentage of traditional students – students age 18 to 24 — of any other university in the state. UCA’s remediation rates are the second lowest of any public university, he added.

By the end of the fiscal year, more than $17 million worth of renovations and repairs would have been completed and new equipment purchased, Meadors said. The projects were paid for with bond money that had to be spent by the end of May and stimulus money that had to be committed or spent by June.

Also during the Feb. 5 meeting the board:

• approved the academic calendar for the fall 2010 through the summer 2012.
• approved an amendment to board policy regarding the naming of university facilities.
• approved an increase in parking fee for employees. The annual parking fee will increase from $51 to $66; summer term parking fee will increase from $25 to $33; and fee for employees riding motorcycles will increase from $5 to $10. Revenue from the fees will be used to pay for security measures, providing parking structures, and the rising cost of shuttle service.
• approved an academic integrity policy.
• approved the purchase of two 55-seat motor coaches. The two used charter-type buses cost $465,000. The university spends $65,000 to $80,000 a year on charter bus services. The purchase of the buses could save the university $750,000 to $1 million over a 10-year period. Bond money will be used to pay for the buses.

The University of Central Arkansas has announced that it raised $36,765,084 for New Vision, New Century: The Centennial Campaign for UCA, the university’s first ever comprehensive fundraising campaign which ended on Dec. 31.

The original goal of $35 million was publicly announced in the fall of 2007, coinciding with the university’s 100-year anniversary. During the course of the five-year fundraising period, 7,617 individuals and organizations contributed to the campaign.

In addition to surpassing the goal of the university’s first major fundraising effort, several other milestones were achieved:

• More than $7.5 million in planned gifts matured during the campaign.
• More than 223 new funds were created, 101 of which were for student scholarships.
• New scholarships were established for students studying in each of the six academic colleges.
• A goal of establishing at least two new scholarship funds for African American students studying in each of the academic colleges was achieved.
• 52 faculty members received faculty grants of up to $3,000 for various programs and research projects.
• 36 individuals or organizations contributed $100,000 or more to the campaign.
• Faculty and staff giving more than doubled to just over 50 percent.
The largest single gift was a $5.3 million contribution from the Walton Family Foundation, Inc. to establish the Arkansas Public School Resource Center in 2008. The center was established to provide comprehensive services to advance and support school choice initiative and the implementation of high-quality open enrollment public charter schools in Arkansas, as well as providing a variety of support services critical to the fiscal and academic success of rural public schools in the state.

The foundation also accepted more than $7.5 million in planned gifts which matured over the course of the campaign. The estate of Jake and Mary Ellen White Crow directed a bequest of more than $4.2 million to the university to be used for scholarships for descendents of the family, as well as students from Phillips and Faulkner counties.

Since the fundraising efforts began in 2004, the amount of scholarship funds annually awarded to students through the foundation has nearly doubled to more than $474,000. The number of students receiving private scholarships has also continued to climb. This academic year, the university awarded private scholarships to 321 UCA students, 42 percent more students than in 2004-05.