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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host first Self-Care Fair

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 14:14:21 +0000

��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Counseling Services will host its first Self-Care Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will raise awareness about counseling services and other self-care services available at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Five booths, each representing one of Maslow’s five Hierarchy of Needs, will be set up in Ottenheimer Library as well as the Donaghey Student Center’s foyer and mall. Booths will represent physical needs, safety, relationships, self-esteem, and self actualization. The one-day fair will be held in lieu of Suicide Prevention Week in order to focus on the broader issues of self-care, though suicide prevention resources and awareness will remain a key part of its offerings. “Whether it’s mental health, physical health, or both, we want to show our ��Vlog��ý Little Rock community that we have resources available to help them and that we are here for them,” said Counseling Services Director Dr. Mike Kirk. The fair will feature a myriad of self-care resources, from massage chairs to opportunities to meet and talk to campus police. All attendees will receive a ticket that can be exchanged at Kona Ice for a free shaved ice after visiting each booth. Attendance is free and open to all members of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock community.

College of Education and Health Professions honors top faculty, staff, and students

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 13:10:50 +0000

Dr. Raymond Ortega, assistant professor in the School of Counseling, Human Performance and Rehabilitation, was recognized for his outstanding service to the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Ortega received the Faculty Above and Beyond award at the college’s annual awards ceremony April 7 in Dickinson Hall. In addition to teaching four classes and coordinating the second-largest graduate program on campus, Ortega took on additional administrative responsibilities due to the departure of the program support person. “Dr. Ortega is extremely humble and has continued to go above and beyond for his students, peers, the program, the college, and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock,” Jason Kushner, professor of counselor education, wrote in his nomination letter. “He is highly regarded as a motivated, professional, detail-oriented, inspiring professor who uses his extensive knowledge of the field of rehabilitation in informing the next generation of practitioners in the area of disability students and rehabilitation.” Linda Stauffer, associate professor of interpreter education and program coordinator of the Interpreter Education Program, received the Faculty Excellence in Teaching award for the college. “Dr. Stauffer’s commendable record of teaching exemplifies the caliber and type of individuals many universities desire among faculty members,” said Dr. Glenn Anderson, Stauffer’s co-worker and assistant professor of the American Sign Language and English Interpreter Education program. Cari Reeves, director of the Environmental and Spatial Technology program, received the Trojan Excellence Award, which goes to an outstanding College of Education and Health Professions staff member. Sara Fruechting, assistant professor of nursing, and Catherine Crisp, associate professor of social work, were the recipients of the Dean’s Awards. The student award winners include:

��Outstanding Associates Degree Seeking Student: Dawn Moline, nursing major
��Outstanding Bachelors Degree Seeking Student: Josh Gray, interpreting major
��Outstanding Master’s Degree Seeking Student: Suzanne Rogers, communications and speech disorders major
��Outstanding Doctoral Degree Seeking Student: Lindsey Sloan, audiology major

At the ceremony, departmental friends were recognized for their outstanding service and commitment to the College of Education and Health Professions, including:

��Friend of the Audiology and Speech Pathology Department: Little Rock School District
��Friend of the School of Counseling, Human Performance and Rehabilitation: Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
��Friend of the School of Education: Dr. Danyell Crutchfield Cummings, director of testing and evaluation at Little Rock School District
��Friend of the Jodie Mahony Center: Family of Martha Gaunt Bass
��Friend of the School of Social Work: Dave Hoffpauir
��Friend of MidSouth: Shelia Garrett, cessation section chief for the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program at the Arkansas Department of Health
Friend of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Speech and Hearing Clinic: Martha Alman

Jennifer Holtz named director of School of Counseling, Human Performance and Rehabilitation

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 14:55:25 +0000

Jennifer Holtz has been named the new head of the School of Counseling, Human Performance, and Rehabilitation at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. As director, Holtz is in charge of the school’s nine graduate and undergraduate academic programs. She is also the coordinator of the ��Vlog��ýLR Master of Education in adult and professional learning program. While working as an assistant professor at DePaul University, Holtz began her ��Vlog��ýLR career as an adjunct faculty member in 2010. She was hired as an assistant professor in 2012 and promoted to associate professor in 2015. She has also worked as a clinical instructor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and as a visiting scholar at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Holtz has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Newman University and a master’s degree in gerontology from Wichita State University. She received her doctoral degree in adult, continuing, and occupational education from Kansas State University in 2002. Hailing from Chicago, Holtz is an avid gardener and reader with an appreciation for French and German history and pre-Soviet Russian social history. She has two basset hounds, Miki and Ditka, who are named after retired professional athletes. Miki is named after Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks, and Ditka is named for Mike Ditka of the Chicago Bears.

Gift to boost student support services, help more graduate

Shanna Fitzgerald — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 22:23:53 +0000

Mike Wingfield, a retired director of counseling and career services at ��Vlog��ýLR, didn’t expect the call. He was even more caught off guard by what he heard. The family of a 1991 ��Vlog��ýLR graduate, Tabitha Jordan, wanted to donate $75,000 to the university to honor Wingfield for the help he extended to Tabitha as a first-generation student. It would be a “pay-it-forward” gift to help future ��Vlog��ýLR students. Through the C. Michael Wingfield Endowment, the Adam J. Weissman Foundation established the fund to support a counseling intern stipend for years to come in the ��Vlog��ýLR Office of Counseling Services. Jordan, a former Donaghey Scholar, is executive director of the foundation named after her husband, a technology entrepreneur. “My motivation is to help students at the university graduate,” she said. Jordan remembers how important counseling services were for her, when as a freshman in the late ’80s, she sought academic and career advice. At the time, Wingfield worked in a university office that offered everything from resume tips and academic advising to services for people dealing with severe bouts of depression. Although Wingfield specialized in mental health counseling, he was the only staff member in the office when Jordan arrived. He provided guidance and further got to know her through the years. They stayed in touch after Jordan graduated. “She’s a special person to me, a very good friend,” Wingfield said. “As time has gone by, in many ways we’re like family.” Jordan said Wingfield is like a godfather to her children, and they have a lot of common friends they met through the university. “We have a wonderful friendship,” Jordan said.

Help for the helpers

Today, ��Vlog��ýLR’s Counseling Services department provides support, encouragement and psychotherapy to students dealing with issues ranging from relationship struggles, time management problems, and roommate angst to more serious mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, said Mike Kirk, ��Vlog��ýLR director of Counseling Services. For aspiring counselors, there’s a dearth of paid internships, and internships are required for those seeking jobs in the counseling profession. “These students are going to need a place for an internship,” Kirk said, “and we need the help desperately.” Some years, however, it has been difficult to find enough quality interns. The gift from the Weissman Foundation will give a boost to that process, Kirk said. “It really is a godsend to have someone walk in and say, ‘I want to help you,’” Kirk said. Jordan continues to be grateful for the guidance she received as a student, and she knows the value of support services. In providing the gift to the university, Jordan hopes more students will “cross the finish line” and earn the degree that she knows can make a big difference in their future.

Memories of student life

In the late 1980s, Jordan was a first-generation student who didn’t know much of the world outside her Little Rock-area hometown. She excelled in math and science and was considering a pre-med major. The Donaghey Scholars program exposed her to the humanities, and also gave her the opportunity to study in France. That was life-changing. In a short time, Jordan went from being an 18-year-old who had never been on an airplane to someone who developed a passion for international studies and French — her eventual majors. “That was a big transformation for me in just four years,” Jordan said. “I just became very interested in the world.” At the same time, she realized her academic opportunities were only parts of the equation. Jordan remembers the pressure, the difficulties, and the stress from being a student who also held a job while pursuing a degree. Support services that help students manage finances, time, and personal challenges play vital roles on campus, she said.

Tabitha Jordan and Mike Wingfield (contributed photo)

Where they are now

Jordan, who lives in the San Francisco Bay area, has made a career out of her love of technology and helping people. Her work often has international connections. Immediately after graduation, she took a job at Heifer International, where she put her French language skills to use by translating letters from African farmers seeking aid. She currently works in philanthropy, serving a leadership role in her family foundation and on nonprofit boards. Her family’s foundation also donated money to the C. Earl and Kathy Ramsey Distinguished Lecture Series at ��Vlog��ýLR, honoring Earl Ramsey for his leadership in the Donaghey Program that was so influential on Jordan’s life. Wingfield, who still lives in central Arkansas, devoted his career to giving students the support they needed for the challenges they faced. He said a lot of people want to make a difference. “The counseling services, to me, is a really excellent way to do that,” he said. ��Vlog��ýLR’s counseling services staff members are available to meet with students to discuss just about any topic in a secure, confidential manner, Kirk said. The department can be reached at 501.569.3185. Thanks to the donation from the Adam J. Weissman Foundation, ��Vlog��ýLR has more resources to assist future students. “It was a great gift,” Wingfield said.

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

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to host first Self-Care Fair

College of Education and Health Professions honors top faculty, staff, and students

Jennifer Holtz named director of School of Counseling, Human Performance and Rehabilitation

Gift to boost student support services, help more graduate

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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host first Self-Care Fair