The UCA Department of Political Science and the UCA Model United Nations (MUN) student organization hosted the Arkansas High School Model Arab League (AHSMAL) Conference in the UCA Student Center on March 10-11, 2023.  The conference was sponsored by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR) in Washington DC.  The AHSMAL conference, originally known as the South Central States Model Arab League (SCSMAL) conference, was previously held at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville from 1996 to 2010 and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock from 2011 to 2020.

More than 150 students from ten high schools, representing the 22 member-states and several observer states of the League of Arab States, participated in the conference.  UCA graduate, Sarah Fulmer, served as Secretary-General for the Conference.  UCA student, Gabriel Mince, served as Assistant Secretary-General, and UCA student, Julien Mrad, served as chair of the Council on Social Affairs.  Dr. Mark Mullenbach and Dr. Mark Elrod of the Department of Political Science served as faculty advisors for the UCA MUN student organization.

During the closing session, outstanding delegation awards were presented to the following delegations: Algeria (Pulaski Academy), Eritrea (Pulaski Academy), Sudan (Pulaski Academy), and the Syrian National Coalition (Conway High School).  In addition, distinguished delegation awards were presented to the following delegations: Egypt (Haas Hall Academy-Bentonville), Morocco (Bryant High School), Oman (ASMSA), and Yemen (Haas Hall Academy-Fayetteville).

Eight UCA students participated as delegates to the 63rd annual Midwest Model United Nations (MMUN) conference in St. Louis, Missouri on February 22-25, 2023.  Students from 26 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. participated in the conference, including delegations from the University of Central Arkansas, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro, John Brown University, Northwest Arkansas Community College, and Ouachita Baptist University.  The UCA delegation, which represented the United States of America and the Czech Republic (Czechia), consisted of Allison Hellard, Kyle Urban, Gabriel Mince, Julien Mrad, Lauren Clark, Emily Temple, Aminatou Adeniji, and Kayla-Anne Rocher.  Dr. Mark Elrod, a faculty member in the UCA Department of Political Science, was the faculty advisor for the UCA delegation to the MMUN conference.  Dr. Elrod also serves as a faculty representative on the Board of Directors of the MMUN.  The UCA delegation representing the United States and Czechia were recognized as Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mentions for their overall performances during the conference.  Lauren Clark (Czechia) won the Outstanding Delegate and Delegate’s Choice awards in the First Committee (General Assembly).  Julien Mrad (USA) won the Outstanding Delegate-Honorable Mention and Crisis awards in the Security Council.

Fifteen UCA students representing the UCA Model United Nations (MUN) student organization participated in the 12th annual Arkansas Collegiate Model United Nations (ACMUN) Conference at Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) on Friday, November 4, 2022.  The group, which included Julien Mrad, Allison Hellard, Gabriel Mince, Cooper Horton, Skyler Austen, Makenna Goss, Ryan Webb, Claire Okoma, Joshua Waack, Jaycie Sturdivant, Aminatou Adeniji, Emily Temple, Erin Smith, Jackson Rogers, and Brooke DeSalvo, represented the countries of Gabon, People’s Republic of China, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Kingdom.  The conference included simulations of the UN Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC), UN Human Rights Council (HRC), UN Security Council, and the Council of the Arab League.  Dr. Mark Elrod, a lecturer in the UCA Department of Political Science, was the faculty advisor for the UCA students.

The following UCA students were recognized for their performance at the 12th ACMUN Conference: Joshua Waack – Outstanding Delegate-Honorable Mention (ECOSOC, Cote d’Ivoire); Makenna Goss – Outstanding Delegate-Honorable Mention (ECOSOC, PRC); Julien Mrad – Outstanding Delegate-Honorable Mention (Security Council, UK); and Ryan Webb – Outstanding Delegate-Honorable Mention (Security Council, Gabon).  In addition, the PRC Delegation (Cooper Horton, Skyler Austen, and Makenna Goss) was selected as Best Delegation in the Plenary Session of the General Assembly and Overall Best Delegation-Honorable Mention.

Six UCA students participated as delegates to the 62nd annual Midwest Model United Nations (MMUN) conference in St. Louis, Missouri on February 23-26, 2022.  Students from more than 30 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. participated in the conference, including delegations from the University of Central Arkansas, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro, John Brown University, Lyon College, Northwest Arkansas Community College, and Ouachita Baptist University.  Rachel Bowen Pittman, who serves as Executive Director of UNA-USA, gave the keynote speech during the opening session of the conference on Wednesday, Thursday, February 23rd.  The UCA delegation, which represented Vietnam, consisted of Lauren Clark, Cooper Horton, Isabella Kopittke, Julien Mrad, Becca Owen, and Joshua Waack.  Dr. Mark Elrod, a faculty member in the UCA Department of Political Science, was the faculty advisor for the UCA delegation to the MMUN conference.  Dr. Elrod also serves as a faculty representative on the Board of Directors of the MMUN.  The UCA delegation representing Vietnam was recognized as Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention for its overall performance during the conference.

(l to r):  Dr. Mark Elrod, Julien Mrad, Cooper Horton, Joshua Waack, Isabella Kopittke, Becca Owen, and Lauren Clark

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.

The Department of Political Science and the UCA Model United Nations (MUN) student organization sponsored the 10th annual Arkansas College Model United Nations (ACMUN) Conference on Friday, November 6, 2020.  Delegates from seven colleges and universities in Arkansas, as well as Oklahoma State University and Universidad de La Salle in Bogotá, Colombia, participated in the first virtual Model United Nations conference sponsored by UCA. The delegates represented 40 countries in simulations of four committees, including the Economic & Social Council, Human Rights Council, Council of the Arab League, and Security Council. Twenty-seven of the participating delegates received Outstanding Delegation and Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention awards.  Abby Mattingly, a senior majoring in International Studies and French, served as the President of the UCA Model UN student organization in 2020-2021.  Dr. Mark Elrod and Dr. Mark Mullenbach serve as faculty advisors for the UCA MUN student organization.

Six UCA students participated in the 60th annual Midwest Model United Nations (MMUN) conference held in St. Louis, Missouri on February 19-22, 2020.  Several hundred students from 35 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. participated in the four-day conference held at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet.  Carlos Suarez, President of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) of St. Louis gave the keynote speech during the opening session of the conference on Wednesday, February 19th.  The UCA delegation, which represented France, consisted of Analese Cash, Dylan Garrison, Jaylan Harris, Hope Menendez, Quade Reed (head delegate), 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 is also currently serving as a faculty representative on the Board of Directors of the MMUN.  During the closing session on Saturday, February 22nd, the UCA students were recognized for several awards, including Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention in the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) – France (Dylan Garrison and Hope Menendez); Delegates’ Choice Award in the UNEA – France (Dylan Garrison and Hope Menendez); Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mention in the General Assembly Plenary – France (Dylan Garrison, Hope Menendez, Analese Cash, and Vito Whitmore); and Delegates’ Choice Award in the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) – France (Jaylan Harris).

The Department of Political Science and the UCA Model United Nations (MUN) student organization hosted the 9th annual Arkansas Collegiate Model United Nations (ACMUN) conference at UCA on Friday, November 1, 2019.  More than 100 college and university students from Arkansas State University-Beebe, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro, Hendrix College, Harding University, Lyon College, Northeastern State University (Tahlequah, Oklahoma), Northwest Arkansas Community College-Bentonville, University of Arkansas-Little Rock, University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton, and UCA participated in the conference, including simulations of the Security Council, Human Rights Council (HRC), Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC), and the Council of the Arab League.  Members of the UCA Model United Nations (MUN) student organization represented the countries of Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, France, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Poland, and Venezuela.  Dr. Mark Elrod and Dr. Mark Mullenbach served as faculty advisors for the UCA MUN delegations participating in the conference.

Outstanding Delegations:
Security Council – United Kingdom (Hendrix College)
Economic & Social Council – Philippines (Hendrix College)
Human Rights Council – United Kingdom (Hendrix College)
Council of the Arab League – Morocco (University of Arkansas-Little Rock)

Outstanding Delegation-Honorable Mentions:
Security Council – Equatorial Guinea (Northwest Arkansas Community College), Indonesia (Lyon College), Poland (University of Central Arkansas), Russian Federation (Northeastern State University), South Africa (Harding University), and United States of America (Lyon College).

Economic & Social Council – Canada (University of Central Arkansas), Denmark (Hendrix College), Ethiopia (Northwest Arkansas Community College), Ireland (University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton), Japan (University of Central Arkansas), Mexico (Northwestern Arkansas Community College), Morocco (University of Arkansas-Little Rock), People’s Republic of China (Harding University), Russian Federation (Northeastern State University), Sudan (University of Arkansas-Little Rock), and United Kingdom (Hendrix College).

Human Rights Council – Argentina (Harding University), Brazil (University of Central Arkansas), Denmark (Hendrix College), Italy (Hendrix College), People’s Republic of China (Harding University), Philippines (Hendrix College), Qatar (University of Arkansas-Little Rock), and Saudi Arabia (University of Arkansas-Little Rock).

Council of the Arab League – Algeria (University of Central Arkansas), Israel (Arkansas State University-Jonesboro), Kuwait (University of Arkansas-Little Rock), Lebanon (University of Central Arkansas), Saudi Arabia (University of Arkansas-Little Rock), and Sudan (University of Arkansas-Little Rock).

Best Delegation/Plenary Session:
Ireland – University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton

Best Delegation/Plenary Session – Honorable Mentions:
Denmark – Hendrix College
Italy – Hendrix College
Morocco – University of Arkansas-Little Rock
People’s Republic of China – Harding University
Philippines – Hendrix College
United Kingdom – Hendrix College

Twelve UCA students participated in the 59th annual Midwest Model United Nations (MMUN) conference held in St. Louis, Missouri on February 20-23, 2019.  More than 350 students from some 30 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. participated in the four-day conference held at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet.  Wes Rogerson, an Officer for Global Health Advocacy at the United Nations Foundation (UNF) in Washington DC, gave the keynote speech during the opening session of the conference on Wednesday, February 20th.  The UCA delegations, which represented Afghanistan and Peru, consisted of Layla Alhajjaj, Skyler Austen, Carolyn Casey, Dylan Garrison, Nelson Graves, Mya Hall, Ganell Jones, Cagney Kilgroe, Abby Mattingly, Quade Reed, Riley Tribble, and Kenny Vo.  Dr. Mark Elrod and Dr. Mark Mullenbach, faculty members in the Department of Political Science, served as faculty advisors for the UCA delegations to the MMUN conference.