The University of Central Arkansas College of Liberal Arts, College of Fine Arts and Communication and Learning Communities welcome William (Bill) A. Schwab as the 2013 Scholar-in-Residence for Civic Engagement.
Schwab will participate in a public lecture entitled, “What will we become? Immigration and America’s future,” at 7 p.m. Monday, September 30 in the College of Business Auditorium. A book signing follows at 8:30 p.m.
The Scholar-In-Residence for Civil Engagement was started in 2012 by the College of Liberal Arts, College of Fine Arts and Communication and Learning Communities to highlight the importance of civic engagement and transdisciplinary scholarship in higher education and for contemporary society.
Schwab is a university professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Arkansas. He is the second Scholar-In-Residence for Civil Engagement.
Other events are Tuesday, October 1:
• 10:50 a.m. Dr. Jim Hikins, Perspectives in Human Communication – Thompson Hall foyer
• 1:40 p.m. Latino Student Association – Burdick 205
Named Dean of the Fulbright College of Art and Sciences in July of 2008, Schwab completed his appointment in 2011 and returned to the sociology faculty. He served as associate dean of Fulbright College from 1993 to 1998and was chair of the sociology and criminal justice department twice, from 1989 to 1993 and from 1998 to 2008. Prior to his appointment as dean, Schwab served as professor, department chair and associate dean. His contributions at the national level include work with organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Office of University Partnerships in the U.S. State Department.
He has written four books and numerous articles, papers and technical reports, and has received research grants totaling more than $2.5 million. The University of Arkansas Press published his newest work, Right to DREAM: Immigration Reform and America’s Future, in March.
His research areas of specialization include urban ecology, community and demography, with interests in urban change on the neighborhood level, economic development in the less developed world and cultural resource management. He has been studying Northwest Arkansas’ Hispanic community since 2007, and has focused his research on undocumented children and youth since 2011. His newest book reports the findings of this research.
Schwab has a baccalaureate degree in chemistry and master’s degrees in both urban planning and sociology. He earned his doctoral degree in sociology from Ohio State University in 1976 and joined the University of Arkansas faculty the same year.
