UCA students participate in the 61st Midwest Model United Nations (MMUN) conference

Four UCA students participated as delegates to the 61st annual Midwest Model United Nations (MMUN) conference on February 18-20, 2021.  Students from 28 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. participated in the three-day virtual conference, including delegations from the University of Central Arkansas, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro, John Brown University, Northwest Arkansas Community College, and Ouachita Baptist University.  Akin Aytekin, a journalist in Istanbul, and Irfan Saeed, Deputy Coordinator (Acting) of Prevention & Detention Office in the Bureau of Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State, gave the keynote speeches during the opening session of the conference on Thursday, February 18th.  The UCA delegation, which represented the People’s Republic of China, consisted of Abby Mattingly, Sarah Fulmer, Michael Langley, and Vito Whitmore.  Dr. Mark Elrod, faculty member in the Department of Political Science, served as the faculty advisor for the UCA delegation to the MMUN conference.  Dr. Elrod was re-elected to a three-year term as a faculty representative on the Board of Directors of the MMUN.  The UCA delegation representing the People’s Republic of China was recognized for several awards during the closing ceremony, including Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention (General Assembly First Committee-Sarah Fulmer), Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention (Security Council-North, Abby Mattingly), and Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention (Security Council-North, Crisis Simulation, Abby Mattingly).  The UCA delegation representing the People’s Republic of China was also recognized as Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention for its overall performance.