The Department of Government, Public Service, and International Studies hosted the 58th Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference at the University of Central Arkansas on November 17-18, 2023.  More than 500 delegates from 27 high schools in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma participated in the conference.  Gabriel Mince served as Secretary-General, and  Sarah Fulmer served as Deputy Secretary-General of the conference.  Several UCA students, as well as students from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, University of Texas-Dallas, and Oklahoma State University, served as committee chairs, co-chairs, and legal counsels.  Dr. Mark Elrod served as AMUN Conference Coordinator, and Dr. Mark Mullenbach served as AMUN Faculty Advisor Liaison.

During the opening session held in Ida Waldran Auditorium in Main Hall on Friday, November 17th, UCA President Houston Davis gave the welcoming address to the participating delegates.  In addition, six students nominated by their faculty advisors gave delegate speeches during the opening session, including Avery Thomsen (Bentonville-West High School), Jillian Bradshaw (Conway High School), Pranav Neupane (Haas Hall Academy-Bentonville), Daniel Taft (Conway High School), Daniel Hiles (Rockhurst High School), and Lake Nall (Pulaski Academy).

During the closing session, the nine students who were elected Rapporteurs in their respective committees were recognized for speeches, including Omar Ghalayini (European Union), Avery Ferguson (Mexico), Solomon Naraine (Slovenia), Mary Caroline Grimes (Mexico), Michaela Stevens (Kazakhstan), Dylan Mercer (Slovak Republic), Nora Shitandi (Mozambique), Sophia Bogart (Belgium), and Caleb Bowman (Germany).  In addition, the Outstanding Delegates for each of the committees were recognized during the closing session — European Union (Har-Ber High School) – DISEC; Saudi Arabia (Haas Hall Academy-Bentonville) – ECOFIN; Greece (Bryant High School) – SOCHUM; Jordan (Pulaski Academy) – Novice GA Committee; Guatemala (ASMSA) – ECOSOC; Mexico (Conway High School) – HRC; Slovenia (Rockhurst High School) – Council of the EU; Mozambique (Har-Ber High School) – Security Council; USA (Pulaski Academy) – Historical Security Council; and Morocco (Haas Hall Academy-Bentonville) – MICJ.

Following the conference, the delegation representing the United States of America (Pulaski Academy) was presented the Outstanding Delegation award.  The delegations representing the Russian Federation (Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville) and Slovenia (Rockhurst High School) were presented the Outstanding Delegation Runner-Up awards.  Twelve additional delegations were presented the Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention awards, including Azerbaijan (Pulaski Academy), Greece (Bryant High School), Iceland (Haas Hall Academy-Rogers), Jordan (Pulaski Academy), Kenya (Pulaski Academy), Lebanon (Rockhurst High School), Mexico (Conway High School), Nigeria (Pulaski Academy), Pakistan (Pulaski Academy), Poland (Pulaski Academy), Slovak Republic (Conway High School), and Ukraine (Bentonville High School).

The Department of Political Science hosted the 57th annual Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference at the University of Central Arkansas on November 18-19, 2022.  Some 420 delegates from 27 high schools in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas participated in the conference.  Sarah Fulmer served as Secretary-General, and Abby Mattingly served as Deputy Secretary-General of the conference.  Dr. Mark Elrod served as AMUN Conference Coordinator, and Dr. Mark Mullenbach served as AMUN Faculty Advisor Liaison.

During the opening session held in Ida Waldran Auditorium in Main Hall on Friday, November 18th, Dr. Mark Elrod gave the welcoming address to the participating delegates.  In addition, six students nominated by their faculty advisors gave delegate speeches during the opening session, including Jake Bodishbaugh (Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville), Rohan Collins (Bentonville West High School), Ahilan Eraniyan (Haas Hall Academy-Bentonville), Sydney Evans (Conway High School), Mariam Parray (Pulaski Academy), and Cassidy Waide (Haas Hall Academy-Springdale).

During the closing session, the nine students who were elected Rapporteurs in their respective committees were recognized for speeches, including Kai Hu (Venezuela), Claire Brandon (Norway), Veronica Rhoten (India), Alexandra Kruse (Denmark), Ava Sophia Palacios (Honduras), Avery Ferguson (Indonesia), Alejandra Avila (Norway), Mimi Smith (Czechoslovakia), and Maylee Rollins (India).  In addition, position paper awards were presented to the head delegates of the following delegations during the closing session — Austria (St. Michael Catholic High School), Belgium (St. Michael Catholic High School), Brazil (ASMSA), Czech Republic (St. Michael Catholic High School), Denmark (St. Michael Catholic High School), Ethiopia (Pulaski Academy), Greece (St. Michael Catholic High School), Iceland (Brookland High School), India (Pulaski Academy), Italy (ASMSA), Lithuania (St. Michael Catholic High School), New Zealand (Bentonville High School), Pakistan (Pulaski Academy), Philippines (Rockhurst High School), Portugal (St. Michael Catholic High School), Russian Federation (Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville), Spain (Bentonville High School), Tunisia (Pulaski Academy), Venezuela (Pulaski Academy), and Zimbabwe (Benton High School).

Following the conference, the delegation representing India (Pulaski Academy) was presented the Outstanding Delegation award.  The delegations representing the Czech Republic (St. Michael Catholic High School) and the Russian Federation (Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville) were presented the Outstanding Delegation Runner-Up awards following the conference.  Ten additional delegations were presented the Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention awards, including Albania (Haas Hall Academy-Bentonville), Denmark (St. Michael Catholic High School), Iran (Pulaski Academy), Italy (ASMSA), New Zealand (Bentonville High School), Pakistan (Pulaski Academy), Philippines (Rockhurst High School), Tunisia (Pulaski Academy), Ukraine (ASMSA), and Venezuela (Pulaski Academy).

 

The Department of Political Science hosted the 56th Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference on November 19-20, 2021.  Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the conference was held virtually for the second year.  Delegates from more than 20 high schools in Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas, as well as one high school in Bolivia, participated in the virtual conference.  Sarah Fulmer served as Secretary-General of the conference.  Dr. Mark Elrod, Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, served as AMUN Conference Coordinator.  Dr. Mark Mullenbach, Associate Professor of Political Science, served as AMUN Faculty Advisor Liaison.  Dr. Houston Davis, UCA President, gave the welcoming address to the participating delegates during the Opening Session.  The Opening Session also featured a speech by Sarah Fulmer, AMUN secretary-general.

The delegation representing Ukraine (Rockhurst High School) won the Outstanding Delegation award.  The delegations representing Japan (Bentonville High School) and Kenya (Haas Hall Academy) won the Outstanding Delegation-Runner Up awards.  Nine additional delegations won Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention awards, including Australia (Little Rock Catholic High School), Bangladesh (ASMSA), Jamaica (Rogers Heritage High School), Lebanon (ASMSA), Mexico (Conway High School), New Zealand (Brookland High School), Panama (ASMSA), People’s Republic of China (HarBer High School), and United Kingdom (Rogers Heritage High School).

Outstanding Delegate awards were presented to the top delegates in each of the committees, including Daniel Hiles (Ukraine) – First Committee; Nicholas Esarte (DPRK) – Second Committee; Pete Mandacina (Ukraine) – Third Committee; Veera Unnam (Guinea) – Novice General Assembly Committee; Arindam Deb (Vietnam) – Joint Security Council (SC) – Peace & Security Council (PSC) Emergency Session; Breck Tyler (Australia) – Historical Security Council; Miceala Morana (Switzerland) – Economic and Social Council; Gabriel Guerra-York (Ukraine) – Human Rights Council; and Addu Minton (Japan) – Model International Court of Justice.

The Department of Political Science hosted the 55th Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference on November 20-21, 2020.  Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the conference was held virtually.  Delegates from 18 high schools in Arkansas participated in the conference.  Nelson Graves served as Secretary-General of the conference.  Dr. Mark Elrod, Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, served as AMUN Conference Coordinator.  Dr. Mark Mullenbach, Associate Professor of Political Science, served as AMUN Faculty Advisor Liaison.  Dr. Houston Davis, UCA President, gave the welcoming address to the participating delegates during the Opening Session.  The Opening Session also featured speeches by Nelson Graves (AMUN secretary-general) and Alex Battaglia (former AMUN secretary-general and Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic), who gave the keynote address.

The delegation representing the Czech Republic (Conway High School) won the Outstanding Delegation award.  The delegations representing Canada (Bentonville High School) and Zimbabwe (ASMSA) won the Outstanding Delegation-Runner Up awards.  Ten additional delegations won Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention awards, including Argentina (Conway High School), Brazil (Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville), Democratic Republic of Congo (Bentonville High School), Egypt (Conway High School), Indonesia (Conway High School), Russian Federation (Bryant High School), South Africa (Pulaski Academy), United Arab Emirates (Thaden School), United Kingdom (Thaden School), and United States of America (Bryant High School).

Outstanding Delegate awards were presented to the top delegates in each of the ten committees, including Aardra Menon (Japan) – First Committee; James Quirk (Canada) – Second Committee; Lydia Quinn (Indonesia) – Third Committee; Janet Fu (Slovak Republic) – Novice General Assembly Committee; Knox Graham (PRC) – Security Council; Mariam Parray (Iran) – Historical Security Council; Jackson Guthrie (Mexico) – Economic and Social Council; Zoe Russell (Czech Republic) – Human Rights Council; Masheyat Rahman (Brazil) – Model International Court of Justice; and Courtney McGarrah (Mexico) – Permanent Council of the Organizations of American States (OAS).

The Department of Political Science hosted the 54th Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference at the University of Central Arkansas on November 22-23, 2019.  Some 515 delegates from 30 high schools in Arkansas participated in the conference.  Abby Mattingly served as Secretary-General, and Willis Arnold served as Deputy Secretary-General of the conference.  Dr. Mark Elrod, Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, served as AMUN Conference Coordinator.  Dr. Mark Mullenbach, Associate Professor of Political Science, served as AMUN Faculty Advisor Liaison.

During the opening session held in Ida Waldran Auditorium in Main Hall on Friday, November 22nd, Dr. Houston Davis, UCA President, gave the welcoming address to the participating delegates.  In addition, seven students gave delegate speeches during the opening session, including Kriti Edala (Kuwait) of Pulaski Academy, Olivia Farris (Egypt) of Jonesboro High School, Aniya James (Pakistan) of Pulaski Academy, Donavon Millington (Ireland) of Bentonville West High School, Anshuman Nandy (France) of Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville, DJ Quezada (People’s Republic of China) of Haas Hall Academy-Bentonville, and Lia Wilson (Germany) of Conway High School.  The delegation representing Pakistan (Pulaski Academy) was presented the Outstanding Delegation award during the closing session on Saturday, November 23rd.  The delegations representing the France (Haas Hall Academy) and Kuwait (Pulaski Academy) were presented the Outstanding Delegation Runner-Up awards during the closing session.  Eight additional delegations were presented the Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention awards, including Benin (Haas Hall Academy-Bentonville), Egypt (Jonesboro High School), Germany (Conway High School), Mexico (Central Junior High School-Springdale), People’s Republic of China (Haas Hall Academy-Bentonville), Philippines (Pulaski Academy), Sri Lanka (Pulaski Academy), and Turkey (Bryant High School).

The Department of Political Science hosted the 53rd Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference at the University of Central Arkansas on November 16-17, 2018.  Some 560 delegates from 30 high schools in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas participated in the conference.  Spencer Burton served as Secretary-General, and Willis Arnold served as Deputy Secretary-General of the conference.  Dr. Mark Elrod served as AMUN Conference Coordinator, and Dr. Mark Mullenbach served as AMUN Faculty Advisor Liaison.

During the opening session held in Ida Waldran Auditorium in Main Hall on Friday, November 16th, Dr. Tom Williams, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, gave the welcoming address to the assembled delegates.  In addition, four students spoke to the assembled delegates, including Drew Janes (United Kingdom) of Pope John Paul II High School, Landon Perdue (Equatorial Guinea) of Brookland High School, Genrietta Churbanova (Russian Federation) of Pulaski Academy, Seylor Cluck (France) of Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville, and Madi Bagsby (Morocco) of Pope John Paul II High School.  The delegation representing France (Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville)  was presented the Outstanding Delegation award during the closing session on Saturday, November 17th.  The delegations representing the Russian Federation (Pulaski Academy) and the United Kingdom (Pope John Paul II High School) were presented the Outstanding Delegation Runner-Up awards during the closing session.

The Department of Political Science sponsored the 52nd Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference at the University of Central Arkansas on November 17-18, 2017.  More than 500 delegates from 25 high schools in Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee participated in the conference.  Carolyn Casey served as Secretary-General, and Alex Battaglia served as Deputy Secretary-General of the conference.  Dr. Mark Mullenbach served as AMUN Conference Coordinator, and Stephanie Gray served as Assistant AMUN Coordinator.  Dr. Marl Elrod served as Coordinator of the Model International Court of Justice (MICJ), and Kayla Close served as Deputy Secretary-General and Coordinator of the Novice General Assembly Committees.  During the opening session held in Ida Waldran Auditorium in Main Hall on Friday, November 17th, three students addressed the assembled delegates, including Mohammed Abuelem (France) of Pulaski Academy, Ana Estrada (Brazil) of Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville, and Anushka Yadava (Egypt) of Little Rock Central High School.  The delegation representing France (Pulaski Academy) was presented the Outstanding Delegation award during the closing session on Saturday, November 19th.  The delegations representing Brazil (Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville) and Sweden (Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville) were presented the Outstanding Delegation Runner-Up awards during the closing session.

The Department of Political Science sponsored the 51st Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference at the University of Central Arkansas on November 18-19, 2016. Nearly 600 delegates from 27 high schools in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee participated in the conference. Alex Battaglia, a senior majoring in International Studies at UCA, served as Secretary-General.  Dr. Mark Mullenbach served as Coordinator of the AMUN Conference.  Robert Andrew, U.S. Department of State Diplomat-in-Residence at the University of Oklahoma, gave the keynote address during the opening session on Friday, November 18th. The delegation representing the United Kingdom (Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, TN) was presented the Outstanding Delegation award during the closing session on Saturday, November 19th.

Alex Battaglia, Secretary-General of the 51st AMUN, presided
over the closing session on Saturday, November 19th

The Department of Political Science sponsored the 50th Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference at the University of Central Arkansas on November 20-21, 2015.  More than 560 delegates representing 122 countries from 29 high schools in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Oklahoma participated in the conference.  Breanna Wilbanks from Russellville, Sociology (major) and Anthropology (minor) at UCA, served as AMUN Secretary-General (pictured below, bottom-left) and Dr. Mark Mullenbach served as Coordinator of the AMUN conference.  UCA President Tom Courtway gave the welcoming address to the delegates during the Opening Session in Ida Waldran Auditorium on Friday, November 20th.  Mr. Bernd G. Reindl, Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Houston, gave the keynote address during the Opening Session (pictured below, bottom-right).

Committee chairs included Jesus Torres (Special Political Committee), Kayla Close (Social & Humanitarian Committee), Willis Arnold (Economic & Finance Committee), Alex Battaglia (Security Council), Stephanie Gray (Historical Security Council), Katelyn Wilkins (Economic & Social Council), Ashley Semiche (Model Arab League), and Nick Cartwright (Human Rights Council).  Dr. Mark Elrod, Visiting Assistant Professor in the UCA Department of Political Science, served as Coordinator of the Model International Court of Justice (MICJ).  During the Closing Session on November 21st, the “Outstanding Delegation” award was presented to the Nigerian delegation (Pulaski Academy, Little Rock) and the “Outstanding Delegation Runner-Up” awards were presented to the French delegation (Conway High School, Conway) and United Kingdom delegation (Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville).  Several students were also awarded “Outstanding Delegate” awards for performance in each of the nine committees.

On Friday evening, a 50th AMUN Anniversary reception and dinner were held in Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center.  Sixteen former AMUN secretaries-general (pictured below, top-left) and several other invited guests participated in the event, including Mr. David Gruber (AMUN secretary-general in 1967) and Mr. Brett Newcomb (AMUN secretary-general in 1968).  Mr. Robert B. Andrew, U.S. Department of State Diplomat-in-Residence at the University of Oklahoma, was the guest speaker during the dinner.

The Department of Political Science sponsored the 49th Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference at the University of Central Arkansas on November 21-22, 2014.  Some 425 delegates representing 90 countries from 24 high schools in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Oklahoma participated in the conference.  Stephanie Gray, a student majoring in International Studies, served as AMUN Secretary-General and Dr. Mark Mullenbach served as Coordinator of the AMUN conference.  UCA President Tom Courtway gave the welcoming address to the delegates during the Opening Session in Ida Waldran Auditorium on Friday, November 21st.

Jose Guzzardi (pictured below in the middle) gave the keynote address during the Opening Session.  Jose Guzzardi, who served as AMUN Secretary-General for the 41st AMUN conference held in 2006, graduated with a B.A. degree in International Studies from UCA in 2007.  He is currently employed as a Sourcing Manager for Wal-Mart (E-Commerce) in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Jose Guzzardi earned a Master’s degree from the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock in 2009, and he was previously employed as the Manager of Institutional Relations for Wal-Mart in Brazil from January 2011 to August 2014.

Committee chairs included Juan Mayen (Special Political Committee), Kayla Close (Social & Humanitarian Committee), Jordan Kemp (Economic & Finance Committee), Kate Loyd (Security Council), Breanna Wilbanks (Economic & Social Council), Nora Bouzihay (Model Arab League), and Helena Burrow (Human Rights Council).  Dr. Mark Elrod, Visiting Assistant Professor in the UCA Department of Political Science, served as Coordinator of the Model International Court of Justice (MICJ).  During the Closing Session on November 22nd, the “Outstanding Delegation” award was presented to the German delegation (Pope John Paul II High School, Hendersonville, TN), and the “Outstanding Delegation Runner-Up” award was presented to the Syrian delegation (Conway High School).