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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Alum Competes in Boston Marathon

John Hill — Mon, 02 May 2022 20:22:46 +0000

For many long-distance runners, competing in the elite Boston Marathon is the stuff of dreams. It was no different for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alum Margaret “Meg” Berry, who ran the Boston Marathon April 18.�� “It was an experience that I will never forget,” Berry said. “If you are going to run a marathon, Boston is the one to do.” Unlike most of the 30,000 runners who ran the race, Berry completed the Boston Marathon with a smaller group of approximately 300 people who ran in the marathon’s . Presented by the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, the program provides support for athletes with visual, physical, or intellectual impairments to take part in the Boston Marathon. Born three months premature, Berry is blind in her right eye. Runners with a visual impairment can apply to race the adaptive program of the Boston Marathon if they have previously completed a marathon with a time of under five hours. Berry did so with a time of 4:41:03 at the Louisiana Marathon in 2020. She hopefully applied and waited for her chance at the Boston Marathon. “I still can’t believe I was accepted,” Berry said. “It’s still surreal that I got to run in the Boston Marathon. I had to choose my own guide runner. My friend, Chris Shuptrine, has run some marathons with me. Marathons are hard, but the whole atmosphere was incredible.” Adaptive program runners begin the marathon after the elite men and women but before the general runners. “We got up to the start line, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe we are at the Boston Marathon,” Berry said. “There were crowds on either side, and it was incredible. Eventually, the largest wave of runners came after it. We had to move to the right side, so we didn’t get run over. Chris made sure I didn’t trip over anyone for a few miles as 30,000 runners passed us.” Berry said the most incredible part of the experience was the support she received from crowds of fans who lined the streets to watch the marathon as well as her fellow racers. “The spectators out there were incredible,” Berry said. “There is one section where we go right past Wellesley College, an all-girls school. They call it the scream tunnel. You’ve got all these girls screaming at you and giving you high fives. We could hear the screams before we even got there. That was pretty cool. We had so many runners who passed and told us we were their heroes. We had the support of so many runners that it was incredible.”

Meg Berry and Chris Shuptrine compete in the Boston Marathon.

Berry said that she and Shuptrine encountered some tough obstacles to finishing the race. They both encountered stomach problems throughout the race. Starting at mile 17, the course took on rolling hills that made the final miles tough. “I’m grateful to God and to Chris for being willing to go to Boston with me,” Berry said. “We helped each other through the later miles. You end the race in Boston, and the crowds are amazing. It was so loud that Chris said his ears were ringing. At that point, you are just tired and want to stop. The crowds are what kept me going. I owe so much to Chris. I couldn’t have done this without him.” With her time of 4:50:47, Berry has qualified to run in next year’s Boston Marathon and plans to apply for the race. The time came as a surprise to Berry, who feared that she wouldn’t complete the race in under five hours due to injuries she’s had over the past two years that has interfered with her running. “I never thought I would have another marathon under five hours, and I am just overjoyed and surprised,” she said. “I injured my hip and hamstrings back in 2020, and it really put a stop to my running. 2020 and 2021 were tough so I am so grateful to be doing better now and able to run again! To prepare for the marathon, Berry follows Hal Higdon’s marathon training schedule, which culminates with a 20-mile run a few weeks before the marathon. “Chris and his wife Anita surprised me on the day I was doing my 20 miler,” Berry said. “They secretly got my friends together, and they all made signs along the route. There were also people who came out to run with us. It’s tough doing 20 miles by yourself. That was a good day.” A 2012 graduate of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Master of Social Work program, Berry spent nine years working at the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. This year, she began work as a social worker/therapist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. “I work with adolescents with eating disorders,” she said. “I love working here. It’s an amazing place to be.”

Runner Meg Berry and her guide Chris Shuptrine celebrate after running the Boston Marathon.

In 2016, Berry started running by completing a training program with the Women Run Arkansas group. During the 10-week program, runners trained and competed in their first 5k races. “I loved it, and I started signing up for more races,” Berry said. “Eventually, I progressed to marathons. I’ve done 18 marathons so far, including Boston. I can’t imagine my life without running and all the amazing people I’ve met within our running community. I am so grateful to running for bringing such wonderful friends into my life.” Berry, who will turn 40 on May 7, said she will celebrate her milestone birthday with a 4-mile run. For her next marathon, she will travel to New York to compete in the New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 6. Meanwhile, she’s thankful for the newfound strength and friends that running has brought to her life. “Running has really changed my life with the people it’s brought into my life and the overall confidence it’s given me that I can persevere,” Berry said. “I guess I’m stronger than I think I am. Running a marathon is all about perseverance and making it through the pain and the fatigue. It’s all about your strength. It’s really shown me that I am capable of more than I thought I was.”

Daril Joins ��Vlog��ý Little Rock as Director of Development for Planned Giving and University Initiatives��

John Hill — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 14:02:12 +0000

A veteran broadcast journalist and experienced public relations professional has joined��the Alumni and Development team at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as the new director of development for planned giving and university initiatives.�� In her new role, Ginger Daril, of Little Rock, will assist with the university’s Centennial Fundraising Campaign. She will work with industry leaders and alumni to promote the university and secure major and planned gifts to support student scholarships and university initiatives.�� “The gift of higher education is one of the greatest gifts that a person can have. It equips them for a better future,” Daril said. “I love to work with people across the city, state, and country who have a passion for this university and want to invest in these students and in the future of this university. I’m glad to be back at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and happy to be part of the Centennial Campaign that is working to secure the university’s future for the next 100 years.”�� Before joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Daril worked as director of public relations for the Sells Agency, where she created and managed public relations initiatives for clients in the banking, healthcare, tourism, restaurant and pet services industries.�� Daril graduated from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in communication. She’s also a lifetime member of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Alumni Association and served on ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Alumni Board of Directors, where she helped on projects that include alumni recruitment, Taste of Little Rock, and others. Daril began her career in broadcast journalism with KARK, where she worked as a newscast producer, general assignment reporter, executive producer, news director, and news operations manager. After leaving KARK, Daril served as the senior media relations specialist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and public relations manager for Verizon Wireless’s South Central Region.�� “My career has really evolved since I graduated from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock,” Daril said. “I spent 14 years in TV news. I loved that part of my career. I was really in the heart of history in the making – from interviewing Bill Clinton during his presidential campaign to meeting and having dinner with the Little Rock Nine. Those years were filled with leading major local, state and national news events, including spot news, natural disasters, political elections and so much more. It was incredibly exciting. Now I’m focusing more on leaving a legacy and impacting student lives for generations to come.”�� In her free time, Daril is an avid deer hunter who enjoys outdoor activities in the Natural State. She’s also an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America. She says she’s looking forward to telling ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s story far and wide.�� “When we succeed for our students, Arkansas thrives. The investment in our students and in our university directly benefits businesses in the capital city and across the state,” Daril said. “We are teaching and equipping tomorrow’s workforce and tomorrow’s leaders. That is certainly evidenced by the caliber of our alumni today. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s graduates are leaders or entrepreneurs across every industry. It’s exciting to be back on campus where those future success stories begin.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Children International receives $10,000 grant from Delta Dental of Arkansas

John Hill — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 20:16:52 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Children International has received a $10,000 grant from the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation to provide dental treatment to children in the Little Rock School District. “I’d like to thank Delta Dental for being the most supportive organization of the Future Smiles Dental Clinic since we opened in 2005,” said Jolene Perkins, manager of the Future Smiles Dental Clinic. “They have contributed over $300,000 in support of the clinic over the years.” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Children International provides dental care to approximately 2,000 students a year in the Little Rock School District through its Future Smiles Dental Clinic. The grant will fund the purchase of dental supplies and equipment needed for the clinic based at Wakefield Elementary School. The clinic provides dental screenings, fluoride varnish, oral health education, sealants, and other forms of comprehensive dental care. Since 2000, the dental program has provided dental screenings to more than 42,000 children. The clinic is staffed with a dentist from Arkansas Children’s Hospital and dental hygiene students from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. More than $3.3 million of dental care has been provided to children at the dental clinic at no cost to their families. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock was one of 23 nonprofit organizations in Arkansas who received a total of $500,000 in grants from the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation. The awards will support community-focused oral health initiatives across the state. The funding, awarded through the foundation’s annual Community Grants Program, will ultimately benefit hundreds of thousands of Arkansans, especially low-income, uninsured, and underserved residents. “We are thrilled to award these grants,” said Chrissy Chatham, executive director of Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation. “They support and nurture meaningful, transformational projects that promote improved oral health for individuals who need it the most. It’s our goal for all Arkansans to achieve good oral health and therefore, improve their quality of life.” The 2021 Community Grants are being awarded to projects that offer treatment, prevention programs, and/or educational programs related to oral health. Since 2015, the foundation has contributed an average of $1 million per year to local communities to support oral health education, prevention, and treatment programs.

Future Smiles Dental Clinic receives $30,000 grant from Delta Dental

John Hill — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 16:17:15 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Children International will help many children in the central Arkansas area keep a bright and healthy smile, thanks to a $30,000 grant from Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Children International received the grant to provide dental treatment to students in the Little Rock School District through the Future Smiles Dental Clinic. The clinic provides dental care to approximately 2,000 students a year. “Delta Dental has been a longtime supporter of the Future Smiles Dental Clinic and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Children International,” said Jolene Perkins, program coordinator of the dental clinic. “They helped us fund a tooth sealant project for Little Rock children even before we started the clinic. We are thankful for all the support they’ve offered over the years.” The grant will fund the purchase of dental supplies and equipment that is necessary to run the clinic based at Wakefield Elementary School. The clinic provides dental screenings, fluoride varnish, oral health education, sealants, and other forms of comprehensive dental care. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Children International was one of 21 nonprofit and community organizations that received a grant. The $500,000 of funding in the foundation’s Community Grant Program will improve the oral health of hundreds of thousands of Arkansans. Grant recipients were selected based on a number of criteria, including the number of at-risk children or adults served by the program, the level of community engagement in providing oral health prevention and treatment, and the ability to measure success and long-term results. “Organizations receiving funding fit into four categories which best align with goals of the foundation: low-cost clinics, providing oral health educational opportunities, service-connecting organizations, and those incorporating oral health while addressing social determinants of health,” said Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation Executive Director Chrissy Chatham. “The categories support a comprehensive approach to oral health, and we believe these organizations can create a positive impact on oral health in our state.” Since 2000, the dental program has provided dental screenings to more than 40,000 children. The clinic is staffed with a dentist from Arkansas Children’s Hospital and dental hygiene students from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. More than $3 million of dental care has been provided to children at the dental clinic at no cost to their families. One of the clinic’s main goals is to increase the number of children who receive preventative tooth sealants and decrease the number of children with cavities. Between 2000 and 2019, the number of children screened with cavities has reduced from 37.6 percent to 21.9 percent. It was the clinic’s goal to reach the United States Healthy People 2020 Goal of 28 percent of the children they screen to have dental sealants; a goal that they’ve successfully reached. Sealants can reduce tooth decay in school children by more than 20 percent and eliminate the need for expensive restorative treatments like fillings and crowns, according to the Surgeon General’s report on oral health. The number of children being screened with sealants has increased from 2.5 percent in 2000 to 38.2 percent in 2019. “The objective of the dental clinic aligns with the state and the nation, which is to increase the number of children who receive preventative sealants and decrease the number of kids with cavities,” Perkins said. “We’ve had a great reduction in children affected by cavities over the years. Our state is headed in the right direction.”

Bowen Law Student uses legal knowledge to serve others with Legal Aid of Arkansas internship

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 12:53:17 +0000

You probably recognize Caleb Conrad, a 25-year-old student at the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, as part of a trio of talented Benton natives, aptly named Triple Threat, which made it to the 2015 quarterfinals of “America’s Got Talent.”�� Now the singing sensation is using his talents to help Arkansans in need of a lawyer through a law clerk internship with Legal Aid of Arkansas’s Medical-Legal Partnership. The nonprofit partners with health care providers across the state to achieve lasting positive health outcomes for low-income patients and clients. Since 2011, Legal Aid of Arkansas has partnered with Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Walmart to create the first that integrates a corporate legal department into the service model. The partnership leverages the skills of the health care providers with those of attorneys who can help solve civil legal issues that impact health. Stationed at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Conrad handles cases that involve child and adult custody issues, orders of protection, special education plans, supplemental or income benefits, and health-related legal matters. “I’ve been to court multiple times getting adult guardianships for 18-year-olds with a condition like autism who still need care and supervision for their daily activities. That’s what the family needs,” he said. “A good attorney might charge thousands of dollars up front, and I know many families that cannot afford that much money. We try our best to equip our clients so they can best face their situation. It’s rewarding to meet these people and get that order of protection or that order of guardianship that will positively impact their lives.” Conrad recalls one case that he feels had a huge impact on a woman’s life. “We had an emergency case with a client who had a child being treated at Arkansas Children’s Hospital,” Conrad said. “The mother had a seizure in her child’s room. It was found that she had a massive brain tumor. She didn’t have a living will or power of attorney or guardianship for her children assigned. Sometimes, we do big things. Just being able to step in as a lawyer on that short notice without her having to pay anything was a blessing for her.” Over the course of his internship, Conrad has recognized the void that the nonprofit fills for those who cannot afford a lawyer.

Bowen law student Caleb Conrad is working a summer internship at Arkansas Children’s Hospital with Legal Aid of Arkansas’s Medical-Legal Partnership offering legal aid to patients and their families. Photo by Ben Krain.

“Legal Aid provides direct legal representation to people who can’t afford it,” Conrad said. “These people wouldn’t have a voice in our legal system without the help of Legal Aid. It’s changed the way I look at things. Unfortunately, our system excludes a large portion of our population from getting what they need. We deal with a lot of low-income clients who just really don’t have a fair shake in our judicial system a lot of times. I’ve always wanted to help people. I think it’s important to try to use my legal knowledge to walk people through the system since not everyone understands the law.” Conrad traces his strong desire to help people to the women in his family who served as his role models for public service.�� “My mom is a public school teacher for K-5 students, and she grew up working at Camp Aldersgate and has always had a heart for working with people with physical and mental disabilities,” said Conrad. “Growing up with her students and seeing her having this role of stability and positivity in their lives has been very inspiring to me. My love of public service has evolved from the strong women in my life who have inspired me to take a step in that arena. Even my grandmother is off on mission trips all the time.” When he’s not pursuing justice for others, the law student is lifting up spirits as the director of praise and worship at Asbury United Methodist Church. Set to graduate from Bowen in 2020, Conrad is also spending the summer as a student attorney at Bowen’s Delta Clinic and will travel to the state’s Delta region to provide legal assistance to low-income residents. In the fall, he’ll serve as a law clerk for Friday, Eldredge & Clark in Little Rock. Legal Aid of Arkansas’s Medical-Legal Partnership will also offer an externship to Bowen students in the spring 2020 semester.��

Doctoral student creates software that can detect emotions

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 22 May 2019 12:47:32 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate has created a computer program that can identify emotions on a person’s face in real time.�� Suzan Anwar, of Little Rock, graduated May 11 from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock with a Ph.D. in computer and information science. In August, she will begin a new position as an assistant professor of computer science at Philander Smith College, where she has taught robotics courses for the past year. �� Anwar and her dissertation advisor, Dr. Mariofanna Milanova, professor of computer science, created a face analysis package that uses face and eye detection and eye tracking software to recognize emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise. The second part of the system can track the position of a person’s head and what their eyes are looking at when they feel a specific emotion. The software has the potential for a variety of real-world applications. “I’d like for it to be used in the medical field to help kids with special needs,” Anwar said. “It can be used in marketing to see what products are grabbing people’s attention. In education, you can use it for non-native speakers to see what emotions they experience while learning a new language.” The software has already been used to ensure that weary truck drivers do not fall asleep at the wheel. “A trucking company uses it to give alerts to truck drivers who are falling asleep while driving,” Anwar said. “An alarm will go off on the driver’s phone, and the trucking company will receive a call to say they have a driver asleep.” Anwar also sees a future for the application in security to identify people who are about to commit a criminal act. “We’ve previously worked on a project for airport security,” she said. “We can link facial and emotion recognition with behaviors to learn if a person is acting suspiciously. When we see images or videos of attacks in the news, the people responsible are often acting suspiciously. If someone had noticed, I think eventually we could avoid a lot of these attacks.” Anwar earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science in Iraq, where she worked as a lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at Salahaddin University for 12 years. “My husband (Jarjees Khaidir) started here in 2009 while I was back in Iraq completing my master’s degree,” she said. “He encouraged me to apply to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock after he saw how good the Department of Computer Science is.”

Suzan Anwar is a graduate student researching real-time facial recognition and eye-gaze estimation. Photo by Ben Krain.

Now that her studies are completed, Anwar, her husband, and three children are going on a trip to visit her family in Iraq before she begins her faculty position at Philander Smith in August. The couple has two daughters, 14 and 17, as well as a 4-year-old son, whom Anwar calls her “Ph.D. baby,” since she had him during her first year of doctoral studies. As an instructor and research assistant at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Anwar’s research all began with a memorable trip to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. “I had a course with Dr. Milanova, and you have to submit a project at the end of the semester,” she said. “We took a trip to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where the researchers showed us a computer with a special camera. Children with autism would sit in front of the computer, and it would do emotion detection and eye gaze analysis. The problem is that kids don’t want to sit still for the research. The researchers asked if we could develop software that can detect emotions and gaze estimation on a tablet.” After a year, Anwar and Milanova completed a program that can track the children’s emotion and eye gaze all while they are playing games on a tablet. “The kids don’t even know the system is working while they are playing on the tablet,” Anwar said. “Children with autism don’t often look people in the eye. Sometimes, they only communicate through games. We saw that children show emotion while they are playing on the tablet, and the researchers are hoping to learn how this can help children with autism communicate better.” At ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Anwar has won several awards, including the Outstanding First Year Ph.D. Student Award and the Top Ph.D. Student Award from the Department of Computer Science. Additionally, she has won the Applied Innovation Award and Outstanding Publication Award at the College of Engineering and Information Technology Open House.

French interns at Emerging Analytics Center create 3D virtual tour of campus, games for Arkansas Children’s Hospital

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 14:35:46 +0000

Five college students from France who interned at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Emerging Analytics Center have created a 3D virtual tour of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock campus as well as augmented reality games to entertain children at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.�� The Emerging Analytics Center, led by Director Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, has an internship exchange program with the University of Poitiers in France. The five students interned at the Emerging Analytics Center from March 27 to June 17. “We had the opportunity to do our internship abroad, so we can discover visualization, virtual reality, and learn more about English,” said intern Sebastien Four. “We have a chance to see new technologies that aren’t on the markets yet. We have learned lots, and we discovered a new culture and new people. This is a great opportunity for us to work here for three months.” Four and Lea Poignant spent their internship creating a 3D virtual tour of campus that can be viewed via Google Cardboard, a low-cost virtual reality viewer for smartphones. “We had to think about a way for students to visit the campus from just a map and how students can really experience this campus from a 3D map,” Four said. “Hopefully, one day it will be an app on the app store and prospective students can use it. The skills that we learned here will be great for our resume for future jobs and school.”

Julie Couture, left, and Pauline Rouillon, two of several students from France interning at the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Emerging Analytics Center during the summer, demonstrate an augmented reality game they developed for Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Photo by Ben Krain/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications.

The second intern team, Pauline Rouillon and Julie Couture, worked on the creation of three virtual and augmented reality games in development for use at. The plan is for the individual/multiplayer games to be available on a cell phone app that can be accessed from waiting rooms and patient rooms, so that kids in the hospital can play games together virtually, even if they cannot meet physically. The fifth and final intern, Antoine Guillard, used the game development platform Unity to develop ways to more easily visualize big data. He created a 3D visualization of the factors involved in the World Happiness Report, an annual publication of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network that contains rankings of national happiness. In the upper right photo, intern Lea Poignant demonstrates a 360-degree virtual tour of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock campus. Photo by Ben Krain/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock basketball games will raise money for Arkansas Children’s Hospital

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 14:09:14 +0000

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Athletics will team up with on Saturday, Jan. 13, to raise money for the hospital’s Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit as the Trojans play a Sun Belt Conference doubleheader against Texas State at the Jack Stephens Center.�� The Trojans will help support ACH’s Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, raising funds to purchase the new EASE Application to support families. Two dollars from each ticket sold for the Jan. 13 doubleheader will go towards the cause, giving Trojan fans a chance to assist young patients locally. EASE Application is a program that will improve patient experience and engagement through communication between care givers and patients. With this technology, the cardiovascular unit and operating room will be able to securely and safely update families on their child’s status from the preparatory stage, through surgery, and into recovery. The technology allows parents and family members to have immediate updates on their children from their bedside, including video and text updates. By obtaining this application, Arkansas Children’s Hospital will be able to enhance its commitment to communication, reduce anxiety, and increase patient satisfaction. The Jan. 13 doubleheader gets underway with the Little Rock women facing Texas State at 3 p.m. at the Jack, followed by the men’s game at approximately 5:15 p.m. To secure your tickets for ACH Night, contact the Trojan ticket office at 565-8257.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumnae publish book of stories of Arkansas rescue dogs

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 13:14:47 +0000

Grace Vest owes a lot to the many four-legged friends she has adopted and fostered over the years.�� The most memorable event for Vest, a 2015 mass communication graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, was a chance encounter that led to meeting her husband. “When I was 19, I rescued a dog called Rascal,” Vest said. “I went to Murray Park in Little Rock and met a guy with a rescue dog named Jake. Seven years later, we are married.” Now Vest, a marketing coordinator for, is sharing her love of dogs by creating a book, “Arkansas Rescue Dogs and Their Stories,” and donating a portion of the profits to animal rescue groups. Erin Wood, a fellow ��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate and co-owner of, which specializes in books on local histories, emerging artists, and health and wellness, is publishing the book. Box Turtle, 2616 Kavanaugh Blvd. in Little Rock, will host a launch party during First Thursday Shop n’ Sip from 6-9 p.m. Nov. 2. Partygoers will have the opportunity to meet rescue dogs featured in the book and check out dogs available for adoption from. Another event will be hosted by Bark Bar, 1201 S. Spring St. in Little Rock, from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11.

Legacy of love

Vest’s father instilled in her from a young age a love of working with animals. “My dad would take us to shelters and teach us that happiness doesn’t come from extravagant trips,” she said. “You can get a rescue animal and bring it home.” After receiving some inspiration from “The Dogist,” a popular blog that photographs and documents the stories of dogs, Vest decided to write a book that documents the lives of rescue dogs in Arkansas. “This is the love story of my love for animals,” Vest said. “I’ve always volunteered at rescue organizations. I just wanted to find a special way to help dogs in need and show my passion. That is what inspired me to do this book.” Vest found a love of writing during her days at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock when she worked for Trojan Athletics and wrote for the university’s newspaper, The Forum. “My favorite thing about ��Vlog��ý Little Rock was the culture,” she said. “It was very laid back. I loved being involved in athletics, and all of my teachers were just amazing. I am still friends with many of them.” In October 2016, Vest put out a call for stories about rescue dogs on the Internet and received more than 560 submissions. As she was looking for a publisher, Emese Boone, the owner of Box Turtle, introduced Vest to Wood, who was immediately interested in joining the project. “I could tell that Grace was a go-getter and had a firm idea,” Wood recalled. “My best friend was a 138-pound bull mastiff, and I still miss him every day, five years after he passed away. I was moved reading the dogs’ stories.” Wood first got experience editing publications while working for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s literary magazine, “Quills and Pixels.” Wood’s professors were of great help with her graduate experience in the professional and technical writing program. One of her professors, Dr. George Jensen, former chair of the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, is also a partner in Et Alia Press. “The support and encouragement of the professors and graduates sticks with me,” Wood said. “I love maintaining those connections. We support each other in our pursuits.” Vest’s book includes heartwarming stories of dogs in Arkansas. There is the tale of Frankie, a dog found in a shopping center parking lot in Little Rock that would go on to become the first dog trained to detect thyroid cancer through a sniff of his nose. �� Steve and Judy Ostrowski adopted Rocky after Steve found him abandoned while deployed to Louisiana with the Arkansas National Guard after Hurricane Katrina. Tripp was fortunate enough to survive and be adopted by Anna Serpente after a puppy mill locked Tripp and other puppies in an abandoned school bus and left the animals to die. Priscilla Louise, a dog found abandoned in a box at 10 weeks old, grew up to be a therapy dog at Arkansas Children’s Hospital as part of the Therapeutic Animal Interventions Lifts Spirits (TAILS) program. Priscilla’s owner, Rennie Karnovich, moved to Phoenix in 2016 so Priscilla could work at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Vest and Wood hope that the book will inspire people to rescue, and adopt dogs, and to support rescue organizations in Arkansas. “I had nights where I would go to bed crying from some of these stories,” Vest said. “But they all have happy endings, and the dogs all ended up in good homes. I hope all the rescue dogs in Arkansas will go to loving homes.”

Health Care and the Law symposium will discuss cost of health care in Arkansas

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 20:22:29 +0000

The second symposium of a three-year series on health care policy and law in Arkansas will be held at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law Friday, Oct. 20.�� This year’s Health Care Policy and the Law Symposium will focus on the cost of health care in Arkansas. Speakers will include local and national health care professionals and policy makers who will discuss factors that drive the cost of health care in the state. These topics include health care payment reform and how socioeconomic factors like income and county of residence affect a person’s health care and health behaviors. The symposium will also cover the, where health care and legal professionals work together to promote a healthy population. “Bowen is excited to host this second symposium focusing on addressing Arkansas’ significant health care challenges, many of which do not lend themselves to easy answers,” said John DiPippa, dean of Bowen School of Law. “We believe that our second topic, the cost of health care in Arkansas, will demonstrate the opportunities possible when we collaboratively look for solutions.” The keynote speaker is Michael Chernew, the Leonard D. Schaeffer Professor of Health Care Policy and the director of the Healthcare Markets and Regulation Lab in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School. His speech is entitled, “Payment Reform: Evidence and Future Directions.” �� Featured speakers include Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Vic Snyder, former Arkansas state senator and U.S. congressman. “By bringing together some of the most sophisticated health care and legal thinkers in the state as well as experts from elsewhere in the country, we hope to promote an informed discussion and to serve as a source of information and ideas for Arkansas’ policymakers,” DiPippa said. Additional speakers include:

��Joseph Bates, senior public health advisor for the Arkansas Department of Health
��Lori Chumbler, senior associate counsel for Walmart on the employment legal team
��Marcy Doderer, president and chief executive officer of Arkansas Children’s Hospital
��Mary Claire Hyatt, staff attorney with Legal Aid of Arkansas working with the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Medical-Legal Partnership
��Judge Mary Spencer McGowan
��Josh Rosenthal, co-founder and chief scientific officer of RowdMap, Inc.
��Anna Strong, executive director of child advocacy and public health at Arkansas Children’s Hospital
��John Tilford, professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

The symposium series, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield, is designed to foster thoughtful, intellectual debate about health care issues in Arkansas. The goal is to promote informed policy making and to establish a platform for generating research projects. The event is also sponsored by University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Clinton School of Public Service. Attorneys, physicians, pharmacists, and nurses have the opportunity to earn professional development credits through the conference. Registration is $20 . Students may attend the event for free. Lunch and snacks will be provided. For more information, call 501.324.9973 or email tmmedlock@ualr.edu.

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

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Alum Competes in Boston Marathon

Daril Joins ����Vlog��ý Little Rock as Director of Development for Planned Giving and University Initiatives��

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Children International receives $10,000 grant from Delta Dental of Arkansas