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

Mason to be Honored at Jazz & Juleps May 22

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:14:09 +0000

��Vlog��ýLR’s will celebrate Better Hearing and Speech Month as well as the springtime tradition of the Kentucky Derby at the third annual Jazz and Juleps reception from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, at the . This year, proceeds from the $50 per person tickets will benefit the Dwane Treat Student Scholarship Fund for the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. For more information and reservations, contact Angela Elizandro at 501-683-7501 or Una Carroll at 501-944-9621. “Dwane Treat and the Scottish Rite Masons have been outstanding friends of the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology for over 20 years,” said Dr. Thomas Guyette, chair of the department. “It is through their generosity that many children with speech, language, and hearing disorders have been able to receive treatment at the .” The Jazz and Juleps event will feature hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, a live auction with Craig O’Neill, and music by Bishop, Davies, Jackson, and Winter. Gabe Gentry and Nan Ellen East are co-chairs of this year’s event. Treat, a resident of Searcy, Ark., and is a 33 degree Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, a fraternal organization that has made services for children with language, literacy and hearing problems its primary fundraising and service focus. “Through Dwane Treat’s leadership, the has provided generous scholarships to speech, language, and hearing programs in Arkansas,” said ��Vlog��ýLR Chancellor Joel E. Anderson. “Many families would not be able to provide their children the evaluations and treatment or summer programs that have been available thanks to the long-term program support provided by Scottish Rite.”

Criminology Theorist Felson to Lecture Feb. 6

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:53:17 +0000

Dr. Marcus Felson, co-creator of the criminological theory of routine activities, will inaugurate the ��Vlog��ýLR Department of Criminal Justice Sheriff Orval Walker Lecture Series from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6, in Arkla Room 116 in Ross Hall. The event is free and open to the public. Felson, currently a professor of criminology at Texas State University, has spent over four decades studying neighborhood factors in crime. He developed the routine activity theory of criminology with Lawrence E. Cohen that says crime is normal and its rate depends on opportunities available. According to the theory, crime does not need hardened offenders, super-predators, convicted felons, or wicked people to occur. Crime just needs an opportunity. The theory has created controversy among sociologists who believe in the social causes of crime, such as poverty and other social factors. Felson has taught at Rutgers, the University of Illinois, and the University of Stockholm. He received his B.A. from the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He has lectured in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. He also has authored more than 80 professional papers and multiple books. The ��Vlog��ýLR Sheriff Orval Walker Lecture Series honors a police officer of Mena and sheriff of Polk County. He was one of the first American paratroopers, serving in the 501st Airborne Division and was on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He died last August at the age of 92. He was the father of Dr. Jeffrey Walker, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice. The family of Sheriff Walker created the lecture series in his memory.

$1.15 Million Endows Business Deanship

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:41:40 +0000

Trustees of The Stephen Harrow Smith Revocable Trust announced a $1.15 million gift to ��Vlog��ýLR to establish a dean’s endowment and seminar room for the College of Business that will honor the late Little Rock financier. J. French Hill, chief executive officer of Delta Trust and a trustee of the Smith Trust, said the gift would establish the Stephen Harrow Smith Endowed Dean of Business and the Stephen Harrow Smith Seminar Room in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Business and Economic Development Building, which houses the College of Business. “The purpose of the Stephen Harrow Smith Endowed Dean of Business is to honor the memory of Stephen Harrow Smith, recognize his lifetime of exemplary business leadership, and his passionate belief in America and its free market economy,” Hill said. The gift also will provide for the greatest need in the College of Business and may include student scholarship, internships, study abroad, career placement, and competitive support for gifted and talented students and faculty. “Leadership is key to maintaining the ��Vlog��ýLR College of Business as a leader in business education and economic development,” said ��Vlog��ýLR Chancellor Joel E. Anderson. “The trustees of the Stephen Harrow Smith Trust have helped to ensure the strength of our business programs by providing endowment resources for the business dean. We are grateful to the trustees of the Stephen Harrow Smith Trust for honoring Mr. Smith’s memory in this important way.” The gift also will make possible several enhancements near the newly named Stephen Harrow Smith Seminar Room on the third floor the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Business and Economic Development. Those include an interactive touch screen LCD video wall and full color 12-foot LED stock market ticker along with continued support for seminar room care and equipment. “This gift marks a significant milestone for the College of Business and helps ensure that we will continue to make significant contributions to the growth and viability of our businesses, communities, and state,” said Dr. Anthony F. Chelte, dean of the College of Business. “The Stephen Harrow Smith Endowment will provide the resources necessary to help achieve the college’s mission to provide high quality business education, serving as a catalyst for economic development across the state of Arkansas, and to continue to provide career-ready, well-prepared, and outstanding students for Arkansas’ business and broader communities.” After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a degree in economics, Smith returned to his hometown of Little Rock in 1933 and began pursuing his main interest, investments. He worked for three small investment companies until World War II broke out and he was stationed at Wilmington, Del., Air Base as administrative officer for the Ferrying Division of the Air Transport Command. After the war, Smith returned to Little Rock and joined Walter R. Bass Investments until 1957. When Bass died, Smith bought the firm and operated it as Harrow Smith Co. until he retired in 1987. Smith also served on the boards of the Visiting Nurses Association, the local Red Cross, the Metropolitan YMCA, and the Roselawn Memorial Park Cemetery Board.

Social Workers Aim For More Scholarships

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:26:20 +0000

In the wake of their success creating their first endowed scholarship, friends of ��Vlog��ýLR’s School of Social Work will gather Friday, Sept. 30, for the annual Blue Jeans and Birkenstocks bash to benefit more scholarships. The 6 p.m. event at the Pleasant Valley Country Club at 1 Pleasant Valley Drive will feature live music, a fajita bar, silent auction, a cash bar, and dancing. Tickets are $50. Contact Angela Elizandro at 501-683-7501 or by email at ajelizandro@ualr.edu. Licensed certified social worker Stasia Myers is chair this year of the annual event. She said the focus this year is to raise money for the bachelor of social work scholarship program.

“As we grow, needs for scholarship grow. This is an important event for the future of the School of Social Work,” she said.

Blue Jeans and Birkenstocks is an annual event that has successfully raised over $100,000 to endow the Rebecca Fuller Ward Endowed Scholarship. The event began in a living room where a few supporters of the school met to determine what they could do to help the school.

“From that living room we began an event that brings together alumni, friends, and supporters of the School of Social Work,” said Dr. Howard M. Turney, director of the School of Social Work. “Our first event was held at the Oyster Bar. We quickly outgrew that event. Now we have an overwhelming response.”

Arvest Gift to Finance Terminals, Data for COB

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:32:26 +0000

��Vlog��ýLR’s College of Business has received a gift of $41,550 from Arvest Mortgage Co. to provide the Bloomberg data system that enables financial professionals to monitor and analyze real-time financial market data movements. Bill Roehrenbeck, chief executive officer of Arvest Mortgage and a ��Vlog��ýLR business graduate, said the gift will provide students and faculty access to the system’s price quotes, and messaging across its proprietary secure network for three years. “Arvest Mortgage, under the leadership of CEO Bill Roehrenbeck, has demonstrated its commitment to preparing students to make significant contributions to Arkansas’ businesses,” said Dr. Anthony Chelte, dean of the College of Business. “The recent gift will provide students with direct experience with Bloomberg Terminals and financial analytics that will prepare them to add immediate value to companies like Arvest Mortgage upon graduation. “The ��Vlog��ýLR College of Business appreciates Arvest Mortgages’ continuing support and remains committed to providing high quality business education and serving the economic development needs of Central Arkansas and beyond.” Dr. H. Andy Terry, chair of the Department of Economics and Finance, said Bloomberg is one of the premier data sources for financial institutions and traders. “The Bloomberg terminals will provide our students access to data that professionals on Wall Street use daily in real time,” he said. “In addition, they are a tremendous source of financial and economic data that should facilitate faculty research.” Both the dean and the chair said the access to Bloomberg data should provide a real boost to the school’s specific effort to recruit more high-quality economics and finance students.

AT&T Grant Expands EIT’s High School Programs

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:40:50 +0000

High school students representing 21 hometowns across Arkansas were able to attend on-campus, no-cost summer academic programs this summer at ��Vlog��ýLR’s Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology (EIT), thanks in part to a $40,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation. The AT&T gift was the largest received in EIT’s campaign to increase the number of students the summer programs could afford to accept. “For more than 25 years, AT&T and the AT&T Foundation have been committed to strengthening communities through advancing education,” said Ed Drilling, president, AT&T Arkansas. “An educated workforce for the future is critical to the success of our nation, and to the success of our company as well. The summer program at ��Vlog��ýLR gives these students a greater opportunity for success, and improves our state’s ability to compete – today and tomorrow.” During June and July camps, 43 high school students studied mathematics, science, technology, and engineering in two innovative programs that have proven successful in encouraging participants to go on to major in those subjects in college. This summer’s high school STEM camp enrollment represented a 48 percent increase over the number accepted in 2010, thanks in large part to the support of Arkansas companies that have helped fund the programs growth. That growth is expected to continue in 2012 when additional residence hall space is available. The two summer programs are:

Engineering Scholars Program, June 19-July 1, in which 24 students representing 15 towns in the state received hands-on instruction from engineering faculty on college-level projects. One student from Oklahoma also participated. The 24 participants have a collective 3.77 grade-point average in high school.

The High School Research Program, July 10-29, included 19 students representing seven Arkansas towns the chance to spend three weeks at ��Vlog��ýLR, working with EIT professors to engage in meaningful research and other academic projects. Two students from Tennessee also participated. The 19 participants average a 3.96 grade-point average in high school.

“Getting students energized about engineering and technology is critical to developing the passion and commitment it requires to pursue these challenging fields in college,” said Dr. Eric Sandgren, EIT’s dean. “Our summer programs have been successful in inspiring students to major in science, technology, engineering, or math in college, and now – thanks to the generosity of AT&T and other Arkansas companies – we can extend that opportunity to many more deserving Arkansas youth.” Nearly 80 percent of the high school students who have attended EIT summer camps have gone on to college to major in STEM subjects.

New Scholarship Honors Judge Howard

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:47:39 +0000

A new scholarship at the ��Vlog��ýLR William H. Bowen School of Law will honor the late U.S. District Court Judge George Howard Jr. of Pine Bluff, the first African American federal district judge in Arkansas and one of the “Six Pioneers” who racially integrated the law school at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. The Judge George Howard Jr. Memorial Scholarship will honor the jurist and provide education-related expenses to an outstanding student who may be among the first in his or her immediate family to pursue a graduate degree or who in other ways is economically disadvantaged. The scholarship was funded with memorial gifts honoring Howard after he died in April 2007 and from donations from his widow, Vivian Howard, and daughter, Bowen Professor Sarah Howard Jenkins-Hobbs. “A World War II veteran, attorney, and federal judge, Judge Howard was the epitome of fairness and was committed to civil rights in and out of the courtroom,” said Dean John DiPippa. “He blazed trails toward access to justice for all Arkansans, and we know the student who will receive this scholarship will work to continue Judge Howard’s legacy.” Howard served first on the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas and was then transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. In 1977, Gov. David Pryor named him to the Arkansas Supreme Court, and in 1979, Gov. Bill Clinton appointed Howard to the Arkansas Court of Appeals. Howard would hold this position only briefly, as President Carter appointed him federal judge for the Eastern and Western districts of Arkansas in 1980, a position he would hold until his death. Judge Howard played an important judicial role in the Whitewater trial, which led to the downfall of then Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker and the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998. “Just as Judge Howard made a lasting impact on our state, we hope to give this scholarship to a student who has demonstrated social commitment and whose mission is to enrich his or her community,” said Wanda G. Hoover, assistant dean for external relations. “The Judge George Howard Jr. Scholar will endeavor to live with honor, act with intelligence, and lead with integrity.”

Students Benefit from Family’s Scholarships

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:04:57 +0000

Four ��Vlog��ýLR students will benefit this year from scholarships established by father and son benefactors of ��Vlog��ýLR. The late B.A. Hardy Sr., a member of the ��Vlog��ýLR faculty for 25 years, established the B.A. Hardy Scholarship Fund in 1989 in the College of Business. This year, Aaron Rothberg of Little Rock and Yan “Jessie” Zhang of China each received this $1,200 scholarship at the college’s awards ceremony May 6. Rothberg and Zhang are juniors majoring in management information systems. Inspired by his father’s philanthropy, Ben Hardy Jr., who graduated from ��Vlog��ýLR in 1967 with a degree in English, has established two other scholarships. This year, the $250 Ben Hardy Jr. Kappa Sigma Excellence Award was awarded to Thomas Starnes to recognize the Theta Eta Chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity member’s service to the fraternity and ��Vlog��ýLR. Starnes, a political science major with a minor in criminal justice, is the grand treasurer of the chapter. He was honored at the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences awards ceremony May 10. Senior English major Deannah Johnson received the Rosalyn L. Knutson Award of $250 at the same ceremony. Hardy established the award in 2004 to honor the longtime ��Vlog��ýLR English professor. Hardy Jr., a former member of ��Vlog��ýLR’s , currently lives in Mentone, Ala. and is on the faculty of Jacksonville State University.

Gwatney Family Extends Memorial Scholarship

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:51:55 +0000

Harold and Syble Gwatney, parents of the late state senator and Democratic Party chair Bill Gwatney, have presented ��Vlog��ýLR with an additional gift of $50,000 to increase the endowment of a political science scholarship in their son’s memory. The Bill Gwatney Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established shortly after the younger Gwatney was shot and killed in the state Democratic Party headquarters in 2008. His parents made a gift of $100,000 in December 2008 to endow the scholarship. The additional gift will provide more scholarships for deserving political science students at ��Vlog��ýLR. Mr. and Mrs. Gwatney said that they decided to increase the endowment after reading letters from ��Vlog��ýLR political science students who had received Gwatney Memorial Scholarships. “Harold said he wanted more scholarships awarded and that he hoped his gift could serve that purpose,” said Dr. Art English, professor of political science. “He had received personal letters of thanks written by students awarded Gwatney scholarships, and those letters inspired him to want to help more students each year. Together, he and Syble decided to make a gift that would ensure additional scholarships awarded each year.” Harold Gwatney, chair of the Gwatney Companies, began his career in the automobile sales industry in 1947 and 10 years later was awarded a Chevrolet dealership, which launched a series of business ventures. Gwatney also rose through the ranks of the Arkansas National Guard, retiring in 1989 as a major general. He also was active in his community, serving two terms on the North Little Rock City Council – public service that his son emulated. Prior to being named state chair of the Arkansas Democratic Party, Bill Gwatney served 10 years in the state senate representing Jacksonville, Ark. He also was the financial chair of then-candidate Mike Beebe’s campaign for governor in 2006 prior to becoming state party chair. The younger Gwatney was a fixture at all ��Vlog��ýLR home basketball games. The Athletic Department posthumously inducted Gwatney into their Hall of Fame during a ceremony prior to the tip-off of the men’s basketball game against New Orleans on Feb. 26, 2009.

Estate Provides Endowment for Bowen Law School

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 03:34:22 +0000

��Vlog��ýLR’s has received a gift of $134,000 from the estate of Anne C. Haley, completing a $184,000 endowment honoring her late husband, John Thomas Haley. A partner in the firm of Haley, Claycomb, Roper, and Anderson, Haley never attended the Bowen School, but worked and received scholarships to complete his education. The donations from his widow were made because he appreciated Bowen’s mission of providing access to justice to students in central Arkansas. H. Murray Claycomb, a partner in Haley’s firm, presented a check to Bowen Dean John DiPippa from the Anne C. Haley estate. The Haley scholarship was established with an initial gift of $50,000 upon the death of Anne Haley in February 2010. The latest gift makes the total endowment the largest estate gift the school has ever received. “Although Mr. Haley was not a graduate of the ��Vlog��ýLR Bowen School of Law, he had an affinity for our goal of providing the best legal education in the business, legislative, and cultural center of the state,” said Wanda G. Hoover, assistant dean for external affairs at the law school. “Mrs. Haley’s gift will help us provide an opportunity to share Bowen’s core values of professionalism, public service, and access to justice with another deserving student.”

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