UCA students Alison Page and Tatum Branaman were among a group selected by the National Academies to represent Arkansas at a national economic convocationin Washington D.C. at the end of April.The event, titled, “”Rising Above the Gathering Storm Two Years Later: Accelerating Progress toward a Brighter Future,” was organized to highlight growing economic challenges. Thirteen Arkansas delegates were selected by the National Academies for their involvement with the Arkansas STEM Coalition (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and Arkansas ASSET Initiative (Advancing and Supporting Science, Engineering and Technology).
Other Arkansas representatives included Greg Nabholz, vice president of Nabholz Construction and chair of the Arkansas STEM Coalition; Mike Gealt, dean of the College of Science & Mathematics at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and vice chair of the Arkansas STEM Coalition; Jerry Adams, executive director of the Arkansas Research Alliance and past vice chair of the Arkansas STEM Coalition; and James Hendren, software developer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and past chair of the Arkansas STEM Coalition.
Following the convocation, all participants and members of Congress were invited to a reception on Capitol Hill hosted by the National Math and Science Initiative, an organization that partnered in the effort.