As we close out another year in the College of Business, we want to thank all our friends and supporters, and look back at some of the milestones and achievements of the last year.
UCA Day of Giving
In 24 hours, our college received nearly $200,000 in donations, named three spaces in the college and created seven scholarships for our students. The UCA Day of Giving included Greenway Equipment establishing the Greenway Equipment Cultivating Successful Leaders Scholarship Fund, Modern Woodmen sponsoring a classroom, C.H. Robinson sponsoring our Imagine Lab used for the Innovation & Entrepreneurship program, and Leanna Godley, of Goddess Products, establishing the first Minority in Business scholarship in the college.
Diversity in Business Night
How do we achieve diversity in business? It was the discussion our accounting and Biz@Bear students had with business community members in our college in March.
Student Awards Banquet
In April, we honored the best of the best in the college, awarding our students for their academic and service achievements throughout the 2018-19 academic year. Kelsey Carter, an accounting major, was won our 2019 Outstanding College of Business Student Award.
MIS Student Wins Student Worker Award
Darby Ketron, an MIS student, was awarded the 2018-19 Student Worker of the Year Award by UCA Career Services in April.
John W. Allison Entrepreneurial Speaker Series: Bunny Adcock
Bunny Adcock, chair of the UCA Board of Trustees, spoke to our Innovation & Entrepreneurship students in April as the latest speaker of our John W. Allison Entrepreneurial Speaker Series. Adcock shared about the work he does with his organization, Opportunity Matters, which assists undocumented immigrants purchase a home.
HR Club Wins at State Competition
Danesha McCraney and Kaitlyn Reeves won the student case competition at the Arkansas Society for Human Resource Management Conference in April. Reeves was also named a recipient of the J.C. Cote Scholarship.
Phi Beta Lambda Racks Up Awards
Our Phi Beta Lambda students won 11 awards in April at the State Leadership Conference. The awards covered categories such as contemporary sports issues, sports management and marketing, computer applications, information. Management and insurance concepts.
Beta Gamma Sigma Inducts New Class
Beta Gamma Sigma is the premier business honor society in academics. Being a part of AACSB allows the exceptional students from the College of Business to enjoy membership. In April, we had the pleasure of inducting our newest class of members.
Beta Alpha Psi Named Student Organization of the Year
Beta Alpha Psi, the national honors organization for financial information professionals at UCA, was named the campus’ Student Organization of the Year in April.
Celebrating 50 Years of Business Education Excellence
July 1, 1969. The day our college was established. Much has changed since then. What was the State College of Arkansas became the University of Central Arkansas. We’ve called multiple buildings across campus our home, established new departments, created new programs and started new fields of study.
In all our growth and advancement, the one thing left untouched is our mission. We have the same commitment to providing a high-quality business education to our students as we did a half-century ago. We are honored to be celebrating 50 years.
Standridges Establish First Endowed Scholarship in Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Jeff and Lori Standridge established the first endowed scholarship in Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the UCA College of Business in June. The Dr. Jeff and Lori Standridge Innovation & Entrepreneurship Scholarship will be awarded to one upperclassman majoring in Innovation & Entrepreneurship each year.
UCA/Acxiom IT Careers Camp
Our IT Careers Camp brings together young students interested in information technology with young business professionals for a two-day camp on our campus. The students enjoy an engaging series of sessions with hands-on learning and activities.
Insurance Program Named Global Center of Insurance Excellence
This summer, our Insurance & Risk Management program was designated a Global Center of Insurance Excellence by the International Insurance Society. Our program is the only four-year program of its kind in Arkansas. UCA is one of 34 universities in 11 countries to have obtained the designation.
Insurance Hall of Fame Inducts New Class
Six new members were inducted into the Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame in October. The inductees were: James Howard Atkins, of Herrington, Inc.; Matthew Cashion, of Cashion Company, Inc.; Daryl Coker, of Spradley & Coker; Gail James, of Bituminous Insurance Companies; Ron Lensing, of BancorpSouth; and Jim Spradley, of Spradley & Coker.
The Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame was created to recognize leaders of the insurance industry in Arkansas, and to remind the public of the important role insurance plays in securing the well-being of both individuals and businesses. The Hall of Fame is housed in the UCA College of Business, which offers the only insurance and risk management program in the state.
Dean Hargis Appears on Talk Business
Dean Michael Hargis appeared on Talk Business & Politics with Roby Brock in August to discuss the college’s 50th anniversary and the future of higher education.
Meet The Firms 2019
Business suits, polished resumes and big smiles were on full-display in September as our accounting students met with dozens of firms and companies at our annual Meet The Firms event on-campus.
Anthony McMullen Wins Master Teacher Award
Anthony McMullen, associate professor of business law, is a long-time fan of “The Simpsons.” With a little inspiration, he found a way to incorporate clips of the popular animated show in his classroom to teach aspects of business law. His efforts won him the Academy of Legal Studies in Business’ Charles M. Hewitt Master Teacher Award.
#ArcBestDay in the COB
ArcBest took over our building Tuesday, visiting several classes and setting up tables to visit with students and tell them about the opportunities in various fields that await them at the company.
Davis Family Lecture Series Welcomes Curtis Barnett
Curtis Barnett’s career at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield has taken him across several divisions of the company from product development, primary care network and operations on his way to being president and CEO of the largest health insurer of the state.
Barnett’s journey began at the University of Central Arkansas. He shared that journey today with students as the keynote speaker of our Davis Family Lecture Series. Our students learned the occurrences in Barnett’s life that impacted his future and how he leveraged those moments to his advantage. It was an honor to host Barnett and allow our students to be inspired by his story.
TIDA Awards 3 Scholarships in the COB
Karen Xiao, Lane Granberry and Lani Meares are the latest recipients of scholarships from the Trucking Industry Defense Association. We appreciate TIDA for its continued support of our Logistics and Supply Chain Management program.
MBA Program Named to Best Business Schools List
Our MBA program was named recently to The Princeton Review’s Best Business Schools list of Best On-Campus MBA programs. The MBA program has 141 students and offers concentrations in finance, health care administration, information management and international business. It is accredited through the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AASCB).
Accounting CPE Workshop
One-hundred and twenty accounting professionals were on-campus in December for the Department of Accounting’s annual Continuing Professional Education in Accounting Workshop. The participants received updates on real estate taxes, estate and financial planning, compliance issues for financial institutions, current expected credit losses and auditing.