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

Concurrent Law Students Taking on Law Clerkships in Fall Semester

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 13:47:44 +0000

Students from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law who are pursuing concurrent degrees with the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service are taking on clerkships, fellowships, and externships with law firms and judges this fall. Below is a closer look at their work. Mark Cameron is working with , assisting with cases primarily focused on defense litigation and transactional law. Corinne Kwapis is working with the . Kwapis is working directly with the public and cooperatively with surrounding police departments in handling misdemeanor criminal offense. Wes Manus is working with , an Arkansas-based financial services startup catering to the legal cannabis industry in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Manus conducts research on securities, finance, business transactions, regulatory compliance, and public records to enable financial transactions for cultivators, dispensaries, research laboratories, and other businesses serving thousands of patients who benefit from the implementation of marijuana laws. Aisosa Osaretin is working with on researching and writing memos on policies and laws that affect the telecommunications industry, which helps assure the corporation is up to date with new laws and regulations. Osaretin also works to keep in touch with information concerning prosecutions of other members of the telecommunication industry. Alexis Pinkston is working as a law clerk at , which is a defense firm specializing in insurance issues. Pinkston conducts research, prepares lawsuit reports, and attends depositions and trials. Dillon Pitts is working in the Civil Department of the , specifically with the Assistant Attorneys General, researching legal issues, drafting legal memoranda, and reviewing documents for the State of Arkansas, its officers, boards, commissions, and employees. Madhav Shroff is working with , assisting in representing plaintiffs and defendants in employment law issues including wage and labor law disputes, FLSA violations, overtime issues, discrimination, sexual harassment, and more. Joseph Stepina is working in the Legal Defense Program, a service offered by the League whereby participating members can pool their resources and provide limited protection of city and employee assets. Members of the defense program are represented by the League in state and federal courts. Connor Thompson is working with the Defense Program as a litigation law clerk working in the Municipal Legal Defense Program in North Little Rock. The organization defends Arkansas municipalities involved in litigation. Thompson’s work consists of assisting the attorneys with legal research and drafting briefs and pleadings. Allison Tschiemer is working with the , a full-service firm that focuses on civil defense litigation and business transactions. Some areas of practice at the firm include product liability, malpractice, toxic torts, workers’ compensation, environmental and commercial litigation. This clerkship allows Tschiemer the opportunity to expand her legal research and writing skills in various areas of law. Jerome Wilson is working with the as a law clerk in the Complaints Department, where clerks are tasked with the role of taking complaints from the residents of Pulaski County. This clerkship requires interviewing residents regarding incidents of criminal nature and processing the complaints about misdemeanor offenses. Resident complaints usually result in one of the following solutions: no action, the delivery of a warning letter, or an affidavit for the associated offense. All of these resolutions will be completed by the designated law clerk assigned to the case. This story was provided by the Clinton School of Public Service.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student interns at NASA

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 14:21:27 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student spent his summer interning at the in Norfolk, Virginia. John Siratt, a graduate student in mathematics from Malvern, was one of the student researchers accepted into the highly competitive . He worked with the Formal Methods Research Program within the Safety Critical Avionics Division at NASA Langley Research Center from May to August. Siratt was able to secure an internship with the space agency thanks to help from his professors. Dr. Lakeshia Jones, assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, supervised Siratt’s independent studies and encouraged him to develop research topics and search for specialized internship opportunities. “Dr. Jones encouraged me to think about research topics, and I did a practice research statement,” he said. “The topic I got interested in seemed to have obvious applications for aerospace. The Arkansas Space Grant Consortium said that NASA has internships, so I reached out to them and had a conference call to some researchers at NASA Langley Research Center. They invited me to apply, and the next thing I knew they were asking what kind of computer I wanted when I got there.” In addition to the help Jones provided, Dr. Steven Minsker, professor of computer science, helped Siratt prepare for the internship by supervising an independent study. “Without Dr. Jones and Dr. Minsker, I would not have had the background to make the progress I made while at Langley,” he said. “My NASA mentors were very impressed with my skills and knowledge, and none of that would have been possible without the willingness of these faculty members to supervise relevant independent study.” His internship was supported through a Workforce Development grant from the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium. He worked with Dr. Anthony Narkawicz, Ricky Butler, and Dr. Cesar Munoz from NASA. At the research center, Siratt was assigned a three-month project that he wrapped up in five weeks. Siratt studies automated theorem proving, a subfield of artificial intelligence and mathematical logic that deals with proving mathematical theorems with computer programs. Siratt and his mentors redesigned and improved a library of trigonometry proofs used to prove mathematical concepts the Formal Methods team is using to verify algorithms for air traffic control systems. This work was performed in the prototype verification system (PVS) theorem prover, a system which allows users to rigorously prove mathematical statements. “Let’s say we are having a debate with a very meticulous person who wants you to justify everything,” Siratt said. “That is what it’s like to justify everything to a computer. We program a drone or autopilot system or air traffic control system, and the computer wants you to prove your mathematical concepts. We use trigonometry a lot. We don’t want to have to re-prove trigonometry to the computer every time, so we have a trigonometry library where the proofs are contained.” Siratt and his mentors generated more than 100 trigonometry proofs during his internship. “The computer is going to hammer and hammer you on the details of the computer programming until it is convinced it is right,” he said. “You can look at my work for the summer as finding ways to argue the truth of the facts of trigonometry in as simple a way as possible.” With the additional time, Siratt was able to work with other research projects and explore his own research topics with the other scientists. “I really enjoyed the internship,” he said. “It was a great atmosphere with great people to work with. People are coming in and out and discussing ideas. The people enjoy what they do and are self motivated.” Siratt is planning to apply for another internship at NASA Langley Research Center for summer 2018. In the upper right photo, John Siratt (right) and his wife, Chassidy (left), attend the 2016 Fribourgh Award Reception at Pleasant Valley Country Club. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications.

‘Dean of the Capitol press corp’ honored with endowed scholarship

Shanna Fitzgerald — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 18:33:39 +0000

In the mid-1980s, the current and former living governors of Arkansas gathered to honor George Douthit, the “dean of the Capitol press corp.” The distinguished guest list included Sid McMath, Orval Faubus, Win Paul Rockefeller, son of the late Winthrop Rockefeller, Dale Bumpers, David Pryor, Frank White, and Bill Clinton. About 800 people attended. Had he been alive, though, Douthit probably would not have been among them. In fact, Douthit would have been “horrified” that all those people gathered on his account, said his daughter Lana Bethune. It’s not that Douthit wasn’t in favor of raising money to help future journalists — mentoring inexperienced reporters was one of his passions. Douthit just thought journalists should remain behind the scenes. “He was very professional,” Bethune said. “He would not accept a cup of coffee. He was really just there to write a story.” Douthit’s former colleagues honored that legacy of professionalism when they established the George C. Douthit Scholarship Trust for journalism students attending Arkansas colleges and universities in the 1980s. They made Bethune, Douthit’s only child, a trustee, and held other fundraisers through the years. Recently, the remaining funds of that trust — more than $75,000 — were donated to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to create the George C. Douthit Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship will support ��Vlog��ýLR College of Social Sciences and Communication student participation in an internship or graduate fellowship with any news outlet in central Arkansas, said Christian O’Neal, ��Vlog��ýLR vice chancellor for advancement. “This is just terrific,” O’Neal said. “Central Arkansas is the best place in Arkansas for future journalists to receive hands-on experience at state-level news organizations that will help them be job-ready when they graduate. This endowed scholarship will enable ��Vlog��ýLR to educate journalists who will be the news leaders of tomorrow.” One of the outlets where future journalists might work is the newly launched — a statewide multi-platform news collaboration that includes K��Vlog��ýR at ��Vlog��ýLR. The funds will support hands-on applied teaching and learning that is already a feature of the College of Social Sciences and Communication, said Lisa Bond-Maupin, founding dean of the college. Helping students get experience with a news organization such as Arkansas Public Media, which is connected to NPR and PBS, is an especially exciting aspect of the donation, Bond-Maupin said. “It involves new voices in public radio and promotes dedication to writing about issues of concern to Arkansans,” Bond-Maupin said. “We are proud to partner with the donors to honor Mr. Douthit’s service to the state and his incredible career in this way.”

George Douthit’s developing journalism career

Douthit got his start in journalism as a teenager, covering sports for the San Antonio Express. He later moved to the Texarkana Gazette as a sports editor, worked for the Associated Press in Fort Smith and Hot Springs, and then joined the Arkansas Democrat.

Artist caricature of George Douthit

During World War II, he served in Europe under General Patton in the Army. Following the war, he became convinced that photography — previously featured infrequently by newspapers — was as important as reporting with words and could greatly enhance storytelling. Douthit decided to teach himself how to take photographs. “He used me as a Guinea pig,” his daughter said, recalling that her father created family Christmas cards as he experimented. Douthit had an eye for beauty and was observant — qualities that served him well as a photographer and reporter, Bethune said. During the later part of his 40-year career, Douthit started his own news service, the State News Bureau, providing issue-based coverage of the Arkansas Legislature to small weekly publications throughout the state that otherwise wouldn’t have regular contact with their lawmakers.

Family and politics

Bethune was 9 years old when Douthit married her mother. She really admired the man she calls both Dad and George. She said the two of them probably worked harder on their relationship than they would have had they been related by blood. Douthit smoked cigars, usually while sporting long-sleeved shirts and ties. Bethune recalls thinking her dad wore his pants too high. “His pants always seemed to be above the waist,” she said. Douthit had a knack for being in the thick of where the news was happening. “It was an interesting ride for me growing up, and I learned a lot about politics,” Bethune said. “Not much happened that he didn’t know about.” Thanks to Douthit’s passion for photography, Bethune also had the opportunity to meet stars such as Gene Autry, Dick Powell, and June Allyson, as well as President Dwight D. Eisenhower. “He always got a story, and he always got the picture,” Bethune said.

Tough questions

Douthit was soft-hearted with Bethune and other family members, but he was notorious for being a tough interviewer. “Everyone knew him,” she said, “and many feared him because he always had the most difficult questions.” Making politicians ill at ease was a point of pride for Douthit: He saw probing questions as an important part of the job. Douthit also was known for giving reporters new to the Capitol beat a hard time — but then he took them under his wing. As someone who skipped college and started in the journalism business at the age of 16, Douthit could relate to the inexperienced but determined. “I think that’s why he was so interested in helping people who came into the business,” said Bethune, who met her husband, Ed, a former U.S. representative from the 2nd District, while attending Little Rock Junior College, which later became ��Vlog��ýLR. Douthit often exhorted young reporters to “get the facts and get them straight.” “To him, that was the whole ballgame,” Bethune said. Douthit was so respected that after he died in 1985, his colleagues and the people he used to make squirm during interviews held a memorial for him on the Capitol steps. His photograph still hangs in the Capitol press room. Bethune remembers and admires the well-known journalist, but she also fondly recalls the kind-hearted man who became her adopted father. “I loved him very much.”

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