UCA Magazine

UCA Breaks Ground on Integrated Health Sciences Building

The new 80,000-square-foot, four-story facility will be home to the School of Nursing and the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, along with the Nabholz Center for Healthcare Simulation and Interprofessional Teaching Center to be utilized by the entire College of Health and Behavioral Sciences.

Up Close with Jeff Standridge ’90

If you’ve taken notice of the bustling startup culture that’s been making its way through central Arkansas for the past several years, you’ve probably taken note of Jeff Standridge ’90.

Up Close with Stacy Smith-Foley ’96

Smith-Foley’s time at UCA, during which she was a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority and an oboe player, was positively impacted by the Schedler Honors College and encouragement from its founder, the late Norbert O. Schedler.

Up Close with Nancy B. Reese ’80

Reese graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a degree in physical therapy, and though she completed additional degrees at other institutions, she’s been a part of UCA’s physical therapy department since 1988 and has never left. She was named chair in 2004.

Up Close with Alan Bandala

The sophomore nursing major is a recent recipient of an Arch Ford Endowed Scholarship that is helping to ease the stress of paying for college for him and his family.

Remembering Norb Schedler

As the founding director of UCA’s Honors College, Schedler charted a path for the “severely gifted” student in establishing the college, which was the first honors college in the state.

Making History: Windgate Foundation

With numerous television cameras rolling, Mandumbwa spoke before a standing room-only crowd gathered in McCastlain Hall on Jan. 22. Just moments earlier, students, alumni, donors and others listened with rapt attention as President Houston Davis announced the largest gift UCA has received in its 111 years — a $20 million challenge gift from the Windgate Foundation.

Cyber Range

With new technology, and a new degree program to boot, the University of Central Arkansas is now a resource for cyberdefense training. Thanks to a $500,000 grant from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, UCA houses a fully functional cyber range, the first to launch at an Arkansas institution for educational training purposes.

Arkansas Coding Academy Opens Doors to Software Development Industry

In six months or less, a program at the University of Central Arkansas can take those with novice computer skills and train them to be entry-level software developers. Arkansas Coding Academy, housed in UCA’s Division of Outreach and Community Engagement, opened in August 2016 as a way to address the shortage of software developers in the state.

Nabholz Center for Healthcare Simulation

Supported by a $500,000 gift from the Nabholz Charitable Foundation — the philanthropic arm of construction company Nabholz Corp. — the university opened the new Nabholz Center for Healthcare Simulation and unveiled upgrades to its existing skills lab wing in the Doyne Health Sciences Building in August 2016.