Dr. Mark Mullenbach, Chair of the Department of Government, Public Service, and International Studies, presented distinguished alumni awards to Benjamin W. Hovland (Class of 2000) and Troy B. Braswell, Jr. (Class of 2002) during a reception hosted by the department in Buffalo Alumni Hall on Thursday, September 18, 2025. Several alumni, faculty, students, and other guests attending the reception were welcomed by UCA President Houston Davis. A graduate of the University of Central Arkansas in May 2000 with a BA degree in Political Science, Benjamin Hovland earned a JD degree from the University of Oregon in 2007. After serving for six years as Senior Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration, Hovland was appointed to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) in Washington DC in 2018. Hovland’s appointment was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a unanimous vote on January 2, 2019. Hovland served as chair of the EAC in 2020-2021 and 2024-2025. Troy Braswell, Jr. graduated from UCA in August 2002 with a BS degree in Political Science and from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law with a JD degree in 2005. Between 2005 and 2024, Braswell worked as a law clerk for Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox, deputy prosecuting attorney in Pulaski County, and chief deputy prosecutor for the Arkansas 20th Judicial District, which covers Faulkner, Van Buren, and Searcy counties in Arkansas. In 2014, Braswell was elected to a six-year term as Circuit Court Judge in the Second Division of the 20th Judicial District. He was elected to a second term in 2020. Among his other responsibilities, Judge Braswell presides over the Juvenile Court in the Arkansas 20th Judicial District.
