- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

How Bella Vita Jewelry adapts business during a pandemic with assistance from ASBTDC

John Hill — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 14:33:42 +0000

Brandy McNair has had a passion for jewelry making since she was 10 years old. In 2008, she combined her creative and business skills to create Bella Vita Jewelry in Little Rock. “I went to college and got a degree in interior design,” McNair said. “After my first real job as an executive assistant, I realized I didn’t care for the office life. After that, I got my beads out and started Bella Vita. It means ‘beautiful life’ in Italian and is a tribute to my mom’s side of the family. I also believe that life is a lot better if you live with good design and pay attention to detail. Beautiful design leads to beautiful lives.” McNair and her three employees make about 95 percent of the jewelry sold in the store on site. The rest is handmade or fair trade jewelry created by female entrepreneurs. As an entrepreneur on the lookout for best business practices, she’s been working with the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC), based at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, since 2016. “In the beginning, they mentored me with social media and marketing strategies and finances,” McNair said. “It’s always nice to bounce ideas on what is going on in my business with other people. Right now, every small business needs mentoring and business assistance. I’ve been emailing with my business consultant regularly to discuss what grants to apply for. I’ve also taken advantage of watching all the free webinars the ASBTDC has been putting out.” McNair has been working with Patricia Long, a business consultant at ASBTDC, since last year, when she was making plans to move her business to a bigger location. “When I first began working with Brandy, Bella Vita Jewelry was a thriving business, and she was interested in moving to a new, larger space,” Long said. “Concerned about the risk to her current business operation considering the move and taking on additional expenses, she and I worked on some financial projections to see what would happen to her cash flow given the new expenses. As a result, Brandy did move and her new space is amazing due to her dedication, talent, and business acumen.”

Bella Vita Jewelry

In the wake of the pandemic, the ASBTDC also helped McNair apply for federal assistance available to small businesses. “Recently, Brandy and I worked together to navigate the various economic injury loan programs including the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan and the CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program as well as a number of COVID-related grant opportunities to small businesses who have been impacted by the outbreak,” Long said. “I provided information on these programs to include the criteria for eligibility, the process of applying, and their individual features.” Bella Vita closed in mid-March but reopened in the middle of May. While her storefront was closed, McNair found innovative ways to adapt her business in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak. She connected with her audience through expanded social media posts. She began offering virtual shopping events and deliveries. “We are known for our charm bracelets,” McNair said. “People love to come to the store to pick out charms. How do I offer this service during a pandemic? We created an online calendar, and our customers could pick out their favorite charms via Zoom or Facetime. We would assemble the bracelets and ship them out. I never would have thought of that if the pandemic never happened. We have a pretty widespread customer base with people who live out of town. Now, virtual shopping is something we will do from now on along with curbside pickup.” In the upper right photo, Bella Vita Jewelry owner Brandy McNair makes jewelry for her business.

Three ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students attend CRA URMD graduate cohort workshop in Austin

John Hill — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 21:48:34 +0000

Three graduate students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock were selected for a prestigious workshop designed to prepare graduate students for careers in the computer science industry. Adewale Obadimu, a computer science doctoral student, and graduate students Oluwaseun Johnson and Uche Umoga participated in the 2020 March 5-7, 2020 in Austin, Texas. The three-day event was hosted by the Computing Research Association (CRA), an organization dedicated to bringing industry, government and academia together to support research and advanced education in computing. The third annual CRA Grad Cohort for Underrepresented Minorities and Persons with Disabilities (URMD) Workshop attracted students from schools across the United States and Canada. CRA covered the travel expenses for all selected students that collectively represent a diverse set of computing-related research areas and institutions. Participants attended a wide variety of professional development sessions on topics including academic workflow, career options, and mental wellbeing. The focus was to learn from one another leaving not only with more knowledge, but also a greater professional network. “I enjoyed networking with graduate students from other institutions and professionals from IBM, Google, Microsoft, and Bloomberg,” said Johnson. “I had an opportunity to discuss my research with other participants and hear talks on networking, building your professional persona, summer internships, balancing graduate school and personal life, strategies for human to human interaction, and entrepreneurship.” Obadimu presented his poster titled “Identifying Latent Toxic Features on YouTube Using Non-negative Matrix Factorization.” The contribution of this work is to help understand the relationship between the impact of negativity, or toxicity, of a video on the comments, to enable us to predict the likely toxicity of a commenter based on their past history, and to allow us to determine what kind of comments a video will generate based on prior toxicity matrix. “During the poster session, I reviewed other research projects and gained some valuable insights into the do’s and don’ts of effectively convey poster information,” Umoga said. Obadimu, Johnson, and Umoga are the lead developers of the Blogtrackers tool that helps COSMOS conduct discourse analysis and event analysis on blogs, including assessment of misinformation and fake news.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to research effectiveness of violent crime prevention efforts with LRPD

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 10:26:52 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock criminal justice professor has partnered with the Little Rock Police Department (LRPD) to investigate the effectiveness of the department’s increased efforts to combat the rise of violent crime in the city.�� Dr. Trisha Rhodes, assistant professor of criminal justice, will receive $30,000 from a $750,000 grant LRPD recently received from U.S. Department of Justice. The Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative Grant will allow the LRPD Gun Crimes Intelligence Unit to establish its own in-house ballistics testing unit.�� “NIBIN, the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, is a national database that police officers use,” Rhodes said. “Police officers collect shell casings, and occasionally guns, as evidence. Once they enter all the information in NIBIN, it goes into a national database, which can lead to matches to previous crimes and produce leads and suspects.”�� The specialized computer system is connected to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives database that police use to connect bullets gathered from crime scenes to firearms. The main issue with NIBIN is time. When crime labs get backlogged, it takes time for evidence to be entered and processed through NIBIN. With its own system, LRPD will be able to analyze evidence much faster. Rhodes noted that being able to connect crimes through NIBIN will be especially useful in long-term efforts to reduce violent crime, since a large number of these crimes are often perpetrated by repeat offenders.�� “With these types of violent crimes, it’s often not that many people who are responsible,” Rhodes said. “It’s often the same people committing similar crimes. It’s often a small subset that is accounting for a majority of the violent crimes. Once you identify those people and get them off the street, it will likely have a huge impact on reducing crime.”�� Rhodes is already familiar with the Gun Crimes Intelligence Unit. For the past two years, Rhodes, along with Criminal Justice Department Chair Mary Parker and criminal justice professor Jim Golden, have studied LRPD’s efforts to prevent violent crime in Little Rock, ever since the Gun Crimes Intelligence Unit was created in early 2018.�� LRPD received a nearly $500,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Technology Innovation for Public Safety program. The criminal justice professors received $62,800 from the grant to analyze the effectiveness of the Gun Crimes Intelligence Unit and to study whether Little Rock’s previous increase in violent crime was an anomaly or a pattern of increased crime across the city.�� Little Rock had 44 homicides in 2014 followed by 31 in 2015, a 35-year low in overall crime, including violent crime. This was followed by two years of increasing crime rates with 42 homicides in 2016 and 54 in 2017. Last year showed a decrease to 40 homicides, a 13.19 percent decrease from 2017. The professors will release the results of their current research in 2020. Meanwhile, the new three-year research project will end in October 2022. Rhodes will continue to evaluate the Gun Crimes Intelligence Unit to determine if the unit’s actions are leading to reduced violent crime in the city and to determine the effects of the in-house NIBIN system.�� “We will be looking at changes in violent crimes in Little Rock that involve a gun, such as homicides, shootings, robberies, and terroristic acts like drive-by shootings,” Rhodes said. “We are also looking at clearance rates and the number of cases that are prosecuted and yield convictions in this area.”�� Rhodes looks forward to discovering what changes the continued efforts of the Gun Crimes Intelligence Unit, along with their new equipment, will bring.�� “The Criminal Justice Department is excited about continuing our partnership with the City of Little Rock and the Little Rock Police Department,” Rhodes said. “LRPD has made a great effort with this unit to fight gun violence in the city. They have seen a reduction in violent crime in the past year.�� The combination of the new equipment and old-fashioned detective work is what will really help address violent crime issues in the city.” The funds will pay for Madison Doyle, a master’s student in the criminal justice program, to serve as Rhodes’ research assistant.��

Little Rock Trojans cross country coach Webb balances celebrity status, coaching duties

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 17:51:28 +0000

Before every race this season, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s cross country runners stretch, jog and focus on the upcoming course in front of them. But looking up from their warm up area, they often see a steady stream of their opposing runners … waiting around to meet Trojan distance coach Alan Webb. Webb is a household name in the running world and is the American record holder in the mile while also having competed in the Olympics.�� “It is like having Tom Brady as your coach,” explained freshman runner Jose Vivanco.�� Well’s admiration from people who attend the meets where Little Rock competes has brought an extra level of attention to the Trojans in the midst of the program’s resurgence under second-year Director of Track and Field and Cross Country J.P. Behnke.�� The attention on the Little Rock coach has become commonplace at meets where scores of runners try to find the right time for an introduction, autograph, or picture with the Olympian. Webb, humble despite this rock star status, deftly manages being able to focus on guiding his team while still acquiescing to request upon request. The impact is immeasurable.�� “I remember at the Chile Pepper Invitational,” sophomore Ricardo Banks II recalled of Little Rock’s meet in Fayetteville, “there were a bunch of high school kids there and they all crowded near us. We knew who they wanted to see, so we just moved out of the way, and they went up to meet him and talk to him. Their faces lit up and you could see how happy and excited they were. I used to get upset but now I just feel happy. You see how happy he makes people by taking just a little time and how he can change them.”�� There is plenty of cheering during races, especially as runners approach the finish line. The addition of a celebrity to Little Rock’s appearances adds an extra level of audible reactions as Webb is seen.�� “It is definitely surreal,” junior Jarred O’Connor said as he attempted to describe the experience.�� But more so than just the collective fan appeal, having Webb guiding the Trojans has led to vast improvements across the board.�� “There has been a complete 180 with the team,” explained O’Connor. “The team chemistry has been better and the training has been 10 times better. Everyone has run faster this year, everyone has set a PR (personal record). Pretty much everybody ran faster in the first race this year than they did at any point last year by a significant amount. The fifth guy this year ran faster than our first guy last year. We have been improving like no other.”�� As the season progresses, Webb is continuing to unveil his vast knowledge of running to the team.�� “He is like a supercomputer on how running can change your life and how you can get better at it,” said Banks.�� Trojan student-athletes should get used to the attention coming to the program and its coaches, because Webb is not the only star to join the staff this year. Pole vault Olympian Lexi Jacobus is the team’s new pole vault coach. Jacobus in continuing her professional career following her time at the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville), where she became the first woman to ever win four NCAA Championships in the pole vault.�� She joins her husband, Derek Jacobus, who joined the staff last spring following a standout career in Fayetteville where he garnered multiple All-America and All-Southeastern Conference honors.�� “I think it sets a standard and, in a good sense, puts a little pressure on you as well as a little pride,” Banks explained. “You know that what you are being told is something they applied and it got them somewhere. You know if you follow their guidance, there is a chance you can go somewhere great. I love it.”�� “It just feels so elite,” O’Connor summarized.�� For the latest information on Little Rock Cross Country, make sure to check out . You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockTFXC on and .

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host “Hamilton”-inspired musical theatre program

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 16:59:59 +0000

The Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education at the University for Arkansas at Little Rock will hold a musical theatre program inspired by the breakout Broadway hit “Hamilton.”�� “Mt Stage: The Hamilton Experience” will take place 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. June 26-30. The program is open to 30 seventh- and eighth-graders who will choose between the “performance and musicality track” and the “stagecraft and engineering” track. “It is a unique opportunity for high-ability students to express creativity in musical theater, stagecraft, and civics,” said Ann Robinson, director of the Jodie Mahony Center. During the program, students will work together to stage, create costumes, and perform musical numbers inspired by “Hamilton.” The week will conclude with a special performance led by the participants. Activities will include historical analysis of creative trends in musical theater and analysis of selected scenes from “Hamilton.” Students will participate in “Talk Back” sessions where they meet performers and stage professionals from the Arkansas Repertory Theater, Murray’s Dinner Playhouse, The Main Thing, The Studio Theater, Argenta Community Theater, and the Red Curtain Theater. The enrichment program is free to all participants, funded by an Academic Enrichment for the Gifted and Talented in the Summer (AEGIS) grant from the Arkansas Department of Education. Applications are due April 17. Applications can be found at ualr.edu/gifted. For more information, contact the Jodie Mahony Center at 501.569.3410 or visit the website.

Little Rock’s Big Fan

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 20:25:25 +0000

One of the Trojans’ biggest, and littlest, fans is Charlie Teich from Milwaukee. The 7-year-old chose Little Rock to go all the way in the NCAA Tournament, because “I’m little and I like rocks,” from his father, Mitch Teich.�� As the Trojans played two games in the NCAA Tournament, Charlie’s dad posted photos of Charlie carrying a sign that read “��Vlog��ýLR Rocks!” all over the streets of Milwaukee. Charlie’s bracket predicted Little Rock would win the tournament championship against the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. After the Trojans lost to Iowa State in the second round, Charlie changed his sign to proclaim “��Vlog��ýLR Still Rocks!” A final tweet from his dad asserts that young Charlie is now a ��Vlog��ýLR fan for life.

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Student Research Exp

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:49:27 +0000

Thursday Gala Celebrates ��Vlog��ýLR-CI Partnership

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:57:04 +0000

More than 50 children and youth will celebrate the 15^th year anniversary of ��Vlog��ýLR Children International, honoring friends, sponsors, and partners through song and dance, at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28 at University Theatre in ��Vlog��ýLR’s Center for Performing Arts. The event will include a video detailing the work of Children International at ��Vlog��ýLR, which has touched more than 17,000 students through its programs. Members of the audience will include representatives from more than 20 organizations working in partnership with CI, parents, ��Vlog��ýLR faculty, staff, and students; CI graduates, and volunteers. CI students enrolled in the seven-year College Prep Program will serve as ushers A reception following will include tables with children selling products from businesses they created in CI’s after school Kids Biz Entrepreneurship Class. The performance – directed by Dr. Wayne Chapman, professor in ��Vlog��ýLR’s Department of Theatre and Dance – will reflect all aspects of ��Vlog��ýLR Children International and will include a variety of community artists and volunteers working side-by-side with children. “The piece, “Antema Africana,” celebrates Children International’s connection with Africa and our own African American and European roots,” he said. Artists participating in the performance include former Chicago Lyric Opera soprano Susan Belcher as musical director, pianist, and keyboardist; and guitarist Michael Heavner. Both are members of the ��Vlog��ýLR faculty. Also participating are African percussionist and storyteller Zinse Agginie, Valerie Foster and the ��Vlog��ýLR Children International Gospel Choir; Charlie Simpson and the ��Vlog��ýLR Children International Steppers; and Amaria Caruthers Jones and the ��Vlog��ýLR Children International Dancers. Jim Cook, president of Children International, will attend the event. ��Vlog��ýLR CI students and director Cheryl Chapman will make a special announcement of a new ��Vlog��ýLR CI initative.

Summer 2010

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:01:34 +0000

Fall 2009 Commencement Ceremony

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:25:21 +0000

All Fall graduates and all students who graduated at the end of the summer 2009 term are invited to participate in the Fall 2009 Commencement Ceremonies. These events will be held Thursday, December 17, at 7:00 p.m. in the . See Also:

Fall 2009 Commencement Instructions for Students
Show your pride. Keep the connection by joining the Alumni Association.

Parking:There is ample parking near the ��Vlog��ýLR Jack Stephens Center (see campus map). Please encourage your guests to park in Lot 13, Lot 14 and Lot 15. Highlights from past commencement ceremonies: Reminders:

Participate Online

#��Vlog��ýLRgrad for your Tweets, and post your grad photos to the .

The ��Vlog��ýLR Jack Stephens Center will open at 5 p.m. for guests
There is a special seating area in the Jack Stephens Center for guests with disabilities. To help these guests and since the number of seats are limited, early arrival is suggested. For more information, please call Disability Resource Center at 569-3143.
Please request that your guests stay for the entire ceremony. Leaving before the end of the ceremony causes disruption and disturbs those families whose students have not yet been recognized.

The commencement exercise is a ceremony filled with pomp, color, and music, and steeped in traditions, some of which date back to the Middle Ages. Learn more…

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock