- University News Archive - 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock /news-archive/tag/elizabeth-huckaby/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Thu, 25 Apr 2019 18:04:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Ursin named 2019 Edward L. Whitbeck Memorial Award Winner /news-archive/2019/04/25/ursin-2019-edward-whitbeck-winner/ Thu, 25 Apr 2019 18:04:07 +0000 /news/?p=74121 ... Ursin named 2019 Edward L. Whitbeck Memorial Award Winner]]> A Donaghey Scholar who is passionate about preserving and sharing history through her work at museums has been chosen as this year鈥檚 recipient of the Edward L. Whitbeck Memorial Award at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.聽 Nicole Ursin, 21, of Batesville, has earned a 4.0 GPA while double majoring in anthropology and history with a minor in nonprofit leadership studies, all while working at nine different museums and historical organizations throughout her college career. The Whitbeck Memorial Award is the single greatest distinction the university annually bestows on a graduating student through a competitive application process that comes with a $2,000 prize. Ursin will receive the award during a luncheon beginning at 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 10, at the Clinton Presidential Center Great Hall in Little Rock. In the fall, Ursin will begin a dual master鈥檚 degree program in applied anthropology and historic preservation at the University of Maryland. Once her education is complete, she would like to continue her historic preservation and education work at a museum and consult for communities that want to 聽increase tourism based on historical sites. When she started college in 2015, Ursin looked to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little for an affordable, in-state education the provided her access to museums and culture in the heart of the capital city. She was also accepted into the prestigious Donaghey Scholars program, which provides tuition, fees, an on-campus housing subsidy, and a yearly stipend for up to four years, as well as financial assistance toward a Study Abroad program and a computer. 鈥淚 wanted to stay in Arkansas for the affordability of staying in state, but I also wanted to be in Little Rock where I would be at the center of where things are happening in heritage and culture,鈥 Ursin said. 鈥淚 wanted to work and intern at museums and historical organizations, and being a part of the Donaghey Scholars helped me get the liberal arts education that I wanted.鈥 During her study abroad experience, Ursin interned at the N谩rodn铆 (National) Museum in the Czech Republic. She preserved historic human remains from medieval times as well as worked in the N谩prstek Museum of Asian, African and Native American Cultures. 鈥淚 even got to piece together a human skull that was broken into fragments,鈥 she said. In Little Rock, Ursin has interned the National Archives and Records Administration, the Center for Arkansas History and Culture, and the Clinton Foundation. For the past two years, she has worked at the Historic Arkansas Museum, where she researched the factors that drive museum audience demographics and diversity. Throughout her internships, she has developed educational materials for the Clinton Presidential Center鈥檚 traveling exhibits and photographed and rehoused museum artifacts from President Bill Clinton鈥檚 administration. She also created an online exhibit about the life of, the vice principal for girls at Little Rock Central High School who was responsible for protecting the six female members of the Little Rock Nine. Ursin loves the opportunity to bring history to life for people to better understand the past. During her last two years with the Historic Arkansas Museum, she has learned some invaluable 19th-century skills like candle making and butter churning, to the delight of visiting children.
Nicole Ursin, the 2019 Whitbeck award winner, has worked at the Arkansas Historic Museum for two years. Photo by Benjamin Krain.

Nicole Ursin, the 2019 Whitbeck award winner, has worked at the Arkansas Historic Museum for two years. Photo by Benjamin Krain.

鈥淚 love my time at the Historic Arkansas Museum,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 have learned the most and been given the most opportunities to work in different parts of the museum. I am on the education staff, so I help coordinate programs and give historic tours. Recently, I coordinated the museum鈥檚 spring break week activities where we do a lot of living history demonstrations. We show people how to do historic cooking and laundry, candle making, butter churning, and a printing press. Kids usually love to make butter. People often don鈥檛 understand how much of a chore it would be to do these activities back in the 1840s.鈥 聽 Additionally, Ursin has volunteered at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Sequoyah National Research Center, the Quapaw Quarter Association, and the Old Independence Regional Museum in Batesville. She has curated a permanent exhibit panel about school in early Arkansas, helped develop a database of Arkansas obituaries from newspaper records, and researched historic buildings in Arkansas to aid in historic preservation. On the anthropology side, Ursin put her skills to use by studying an immigrant community of Micronesians living in Corsicana, Texas. Along with her mentor, Dr. Juliana Flinn, professor of anthropology and gender studies, she has visited Corsicana on multiple occasions to meet with community leaders and longtime residents to learn about daily life in the community. 鈥淚 think one of the most interesting components of the research is how much the immigrants are working to preserve their culture while maintaining a deep connection by visiting the island, sending money back to relatives, and staying active in politics,鈥 Ursin said. 鈥淭hey are really trying hard to preserve their culture and share their culture in Texas.鈥 The 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Faculty Senate Honors and Awards Committee selects the Whitbeck scholar based on t citizenship, scholarship, and leadership. Frank L. and Beverly Whitbeck established the award in memory of their son, Edward Lynn Whitbeck, who was a senior at Little Rock University, the predecessor of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, at the time of his death in 1965. Each scholar receives a personalized plaque and a monetary award and will lead the graduating students during the academic processional at spring graduation on May 11.]]> 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock completes digitization of history of segregation, integration of Arkansas schools /news-archive/2018/11/29/digital-project-segregation/ Thu, 29 Nov 2018 22:07:31 +0000 /news/?p=72847 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock completes digitization of history of segregation, integration of Arkansas schools]]> The University of Arkansas at Little Rock鈥檚 Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC) has completed work on a $106,908 grant to digitize materials related to the history of segregation and integration of Arkansas鈥檚 educational system. The award was part of the Digitizing Hidden Collections and Archives initiative sponsored by the (CLIR) and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This two-and-a-half year project brought together CAHC, the Central Arkansas Library System鈥檚 and the to create a rare collection of materials, housed in three different archives, yet digitally available in a single location. As a result of this project, a unique group of archival collections are now easily accessible online to students and scholars of civil rights, race, education, and the law, as well as the general public. Anyone around the world now has the opportunity to study the evolution of education in Central Arkansas through the lens of religion, the judicial system, and contemporary students and educators. In addition to the more than 350,000 digital files now available online, CAHC has also published a featuring digital objects from the project along with a timeline, lesson plans, and short essays by scholars. 鈥淯nderstanding the multiple dimensions of segregation and integration in Arkansas is greatly enhanced as a result of the grant-funded work completed by 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock archivists and students,鈥 said Deborah Baldwin, associate provost of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture. Despite the creation of digital files, each repository will continue to retain the originals in perpetuity. Collections digitized as part of the project include the following:
  • The contains materials pertaining to Dunbar High School, Little Rock鈥檚 high school for black students before integration. This collection originated from a joint effort of the National Dunbar Alumni Association and 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.
  • The was received by 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in 1981 through FOIA requests. Judge Ronald Davies requested the U.S. Attorney authorize an FBI investigation after receiving information the National Guard had turned away nine African American students who had attempted to attend classes at Central High School in September 1957.
  • , Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas during the Central High integration crisis, spoke out against Gov. Orval Faubus鈥檚 handling of the school crisis. Included in Brown鈥檚 papers are letters both supporting and criticizing his position.
  • taught English at Central High School for more than 40 years. She kept a journal during the integration crisis and published a book that was later made into a film.
  • s 1958 ruling in the case Aaron v. Cooper temporarily halted the integration of Little Rock鈥檚 Central High School. His papers contain a scrapbook and correspondence detailing his role in the desegregation crisis.
  • houses material related to the Little Rock Nine, Women鈥檚 Emergency Committee, the organization of the Central High Museum prior to its affiliation with the National Park Service, and oral histories.
  • The (ODM) is a federal office resulting from a Pulaski County school desegregation case (filed Nov. 30, 1982) and charged with monitoring and assisting efforts of three school districts to meet desegregation obligations and mandates. ODM records include documents, court filings and exhibits, and correspondence, maps, school profiles, and reports concerning compliances, operations, and policies.
Th top right photo (included in the digital archive) shows Daisy Bates looking off from the camera as she and members of the Little Rock Nine wait outside of a door marked “District Attorney Library.” Photo courtesy of Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site]]>