The University of Central Arkansas will host the National Conference of Academic Deans from July 30 to Aug. 1 at Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center on campus and the Hilton Garden Inn in Conway. More than 60 college and university provosts, deans and associate deans will be in attendance, with some coming from as far away as Oregon, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. The three-day conference mixes … [Read more...]

Miss Ouachita River Sarah Slocum won the title of Miss Arkansas 2009 Saturday night at Summit Arena in Hot Springs in front of a crowd of 2,000 people. As a result, Slocum won a $20,000 scholarship provided by Ted and Shannon Boy Skokos and more than $50,000 in awards, wardrobe, transportation, and gifts. Slocum, 23, will represent Arkansas at the 2010 Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas and will … [Read more...]

The University of Central Arkansas Archives recently acquired the collection of John L. Ward, the Bee Branch resident who was a senior aide to Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, was managing editor of the Log Cabin Democrat newspaper in Conway, and who also served as vice president of public affairs at UCA. According to Jimmy Bryant, director of the UCA Archives, the John Ward collection … [Read more...]

Diana Pounder is the new dean of the College of Education at the University of Central Arkansas. Pounder, who served previously as the chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Utah, began her new role at UCA on July 1.Pounder is an Arkansas native who earned a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics (1971) and a Master's of Education in Guidance and Counseling … [Read more...]

UCA faculty recently won grants totaling over $450,000. These include: Principal Investigator Dr. J. D. Swanson, Assistant Professor in Biology, along with his Co-PIs Dr. Lance Bridges, Assistant Professor in Chemistry, Dr. Brent Hill, Assistant Professor in Biology, Dr. Melissa Kelley, Assistant Professor in Chemistry, Dr. Kari Naylor, Assistant Professor in Biology, Dr. Ben Rowley, Assistant … [Read more...]

The University of Central Arkansas today announced the names of 831 students who qualified for the undergraduate Presidential Scholars List based on their academic performance during the Spring 2009 semester. "Qualifying as a UCA Presidential Scholar is a remarkable achievement, because it requires a perfect grade point average," said UCA Provost Lance Grahn. "We are proud that so many UCA … [Read more...]

The University of Central Arkansas today announced the names of 1,309 students who qualified for the undergraduate Dean's List based on their academic performance during the Spring 2009 semester."The impressive number of UCA students qualifying for the Dean's List is an indication of the high level of academic commitment and achievement at UCA," said UCA Provost Lance Grahn. "It reflects not only … [Read more...]

UCA's Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre was profiled in the "Summer Stages" guide in the weekend Arts section in the May 10 edition of The New York Times."Summer Stages" profiles summer theatre festivals happening around the country and this year included such prestigious festivals as the Stratford Festival, Oregon and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre … [Read more...]

Six of the seven films that played in the Arkansas Shorts program of the Little Rock Film Festival have ties to UCA. They include Surfacing, written, directed and produced by faculty member Bruce Hutchinson; Memories of Viola, written, directed and produced by faculty member Mike Gunter; What Happened to My Brother, written, directed and produced by Levi Agee, a Master of Fine Arts student; … [Read more...]

UCA Provost Lance Grahn recently presented the 2009 Faculty Excellence Awards to three UCA faculty members at a special campus ceremony. Dr. Nolan Carter of the UCA Department of Chemistry won the Teaching Excellence Award. As an Assistant Professor teaching Organic Chemistry I and II, Dr. Carter believes he must convince those students, particularly the non-majors, that organic chemistry is … [Read more...]