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

Estes named new interim dean of College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 22 Jun 2018 14:15:53 +0000

Dr. Sarah Beth Estes has been named the new interim dean of the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Estes will succeed Dr. Thomas Clifton, who will return to the Department of Art and Design as chairperson. Estes will begin her new appointment July 1. She currently serves as the associate provost of community, careers, and extended education and will continue to serve in that role in addition to the interim dean position. “In his two years of service as interim dean of Arts, Letters, and Sciences, Professor Clifton has made many contributions, most notably overseeing the opening of the Windgate Center for Art and Design as well as initiating a Science Advisory Council,” said Dr. Velmer Burton Jr., executive vice chancellor and provost of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, who also welcomed Estes to her new role. “I know Dr. Estes will ably expand current initiatives as well as bring some new opportunities to the college,” Burton said. “Her experience in working across disciplines as well as her leadership experience in multiple roles lends itself well to the interdisciplinary nature of the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences. Her work in experiential learning and career services will be of great benefit to the many students who are majoring in arts, letters, and sciences. I thank Professor Clifton for his service and Dr. Estes for accepting this appointment.” Estes is a 1988 graduate of Hendrix College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She also holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. She was a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati and affiliate of the Kunz Center for Work and Family before arriving at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2006. Estes began her ��Vlog��ý Little Rock career as the coordinator of the gender studies program and as a faculty member in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, where she taught courses on gender, social statistics and research methods, and interdisciplinary courses in the Donaghey Scholars Program. She has held many leadership roles at the university, including associate dean for research, engagement, and interdisciplinary programs in the College of Social Sciences and Communication; associate dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; and associate chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Much of Estes’ heavily cited research has focused on how work-family policies are related to aspects of family life, including parenting behavior, children’s well-being, and the gendered division of household labor. In the last few years, she has collaborated with the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas to produce several research studies, including “Economic Indicators for Women in Arkansas: State, Region, County,” published earlier this year. Estes serves as first vice president on the board of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, which is dedicated to improving economic outcomes for women and girls in Arkansas. She was also the founding chair of the Green Dot Violence Prevention Program established at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2013, was voted the Faculty Member of the Year by the Student Government Association in 2014, and has coordinated the Stonewall Scholarship Committee, which awards an annual scholarship to students whose research incorporates lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender issues.

Graduating student wants to be a mentor for others like him

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 11 May 2018 13:09:54 +0000

For Nigel Spears, serving as a mentor has been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. He understands how important it is for young people to have positive role models in their lives, so he has volunteered as a mentor for the African American Male Initiative and Charles W. Donaldson Scholars Academy at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “My dad was in the U.S. Army for 22 years and wasn’t really around when I was growing up,” he said. “He was gone for months and years at a time. I didn’t have any male figures that I felt comfortable looking up to. I want to give back to those who are in the same situation as me. I understand that feeling like you have no male to live up to is hard, especially for African-American men. There are a lot of things you miss out on. If I can be the one that an African-American male wants to model themselves after, if I am able to influence them in any positive way, I want to be that person.” Spears, a native of Fort Smith and a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve, will graduate May 12 from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock with a bachelor’s degree in applied communication. After graduation, he plans to earn a master’s degree in applied communication from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and then attend seminary school. Spears plans to work as a motivational speaker, trainer, and consultant for mediation conflict, social media, conflict management, and customer service. “I want to see everybody be successful in life,” he said. “I want to give back to my community.” In 2017, Nigel Spears found himself at a point in life where nothing seemed to be going right. “I wasn’t talking to my family. The relationship I was in was going south. I didn’t have a job, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do in my life. I was in a horrible space,” he said. He credits Dr. Gerald Driskill’s class with giving him a new lease on life. “I took Dr. Driskill’s Human Communications Concepts class, and it saved my life,” he said. “Taking his class made me realize how much I needed to grow. It gave me a reality check. I learned the foundations and the principles of self-reflecting, being able to look at yourself and be honest with yourself, and how to fix the problems going forward. His class is what laid the foundation of how I operate my relationships today. I say it saved my life because without those core principles, I probably wouldn’t be here today.”

Photo of Nigel Spears by Ben Krain.

Spears funneled his new life lessons into a motivational video series called SELFISH, which stands for Self, Expand, Language, Forgiveness, Invest, Strategy, and Hone. “In the period between me dropping business finance as a major and finding applied communication, I had to reevaluate myself,” Spears said. “I had to figure out who I was. There are a lot of people, especially students, who live their lives for other people. You have to be able to know who you are, what you want to do, and how to accomplish that.” Spears’ project caught the attention of his applied communication professors. “Nigel won our departmental Making a Difference award in 2017 for his work in developing a video series focusing on showing teens and young adults how to incorporate positive communication into their relationships and their environment,” said Dr. April Chatham-Carpenter, chair of the Department of Applied Communication. “His messages impart practical advice about the impact of such things as word choice in dealing with conflicts.” The catch phrase of Spears’ video series is “Salute Your Struggle.” He believes that every struggle in his life has helped him become the person he is today and wants to help others to embrace their struggles as well. Spears started at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in the Summer Bridge Academy, a three-week residential program aimed at preparing incoming freshmen for college-level work by eliminating the need for them to take remedial math and English courses. He built good relationships with Jonathon Bobo and Kalan Horton. He also worked as an aide for the Green Dot Program and interned as a patient advocate at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He also credits his fraternity brothers in Alpha Phi Alpha for helping him become a leader and providing a support system. Spears is also thankful to his “school mom,” Kristen McIntyre, Chatham-Carpenter, Mia Phillips, Melissa Johnston, and girlfriend, Marqueashia Thompson, for helping him through his ��Vlog��ý Little Rock journey.

��Vlog��ýLR presents September Safety Month

Jenny Lambert — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 14:11:03 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is celebrating September Safety Month with numerous on-campus activities. Students, faculty, and staff have been working tirelessly to prepare the campus for this month’s activities, which focus on Title IX, suicide prevention, active shooter training, Green Dot bystander intervention, and hazing prevention. A few of the September Safety Month activities that students can look forward to include the active shooter presentation, the chancellor’s campus safety roundtable and Department of Public Safety meet and greet, and the Green Dot Amazing Race. Suicide prevention activities are scheduled to run through the week of Sept. 19-24. The active shooter presentation, which will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, in Ledbetter Hall, is an important event for students and faculty at ��Vlog��ýLR. During this event, campus police will show participants how to react and respond during a shooting crisis. The chancellor’s campus safety roundtable and Department of Public Safety meet and greet will run from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, in Ledbetter C. This event will give students the opportunity to have an open dialogue regarding safety with the chancellor and campus police. The final event of the month will be the highly anticipated Green Dot Amazing Race. It’s scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at the Coleman Sports and Recreation Complex. Students will team up in groups of six to 10 people and race through an obstacle course. After each obstacle, students must answer a question regarding campus safety. “September Safety Month truly concerns the overall safety of the campus,” said Mia Phillips, communications and special projects coordinator in the Office of the Chancellor. “Safety is the responsibility of all of us, not just DPS (Department of Public Safety). We have to protect each other.” Although many of the activities during this month will be fun, organizers seek to drive home the importance of students knowing their options. “We’re talking about heavy subjects, so we want to make it as engaging as we can while still trying to get the point across,” said Phillips. “When situations happen, some people don’t report it, know who to report it to, or know how to react. We want to show students how to not only protect themselves, but protect others even if they don’t know the person. That doesn’t mean jump in front of a bullet, but it could simply be calling the police.” University officials are pushing the culture of inclusion and non-violence on campus and in the community. During this year’s Green Dot race, the university will host a supply drive for Women and Children First, a shelter and safe-haven for battered women and children. Campus organizations that have contributed to September Safety Month include the Department of Public Safety, Counseling Services, Green Dot, and Student Affairs. Outside sponsor Verizon has also made major contributions to this month’s events. For more information on campus safety, visit ualr.edu/greendot.

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

Estes named new interim dean of College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences

Graduating student wants to be a mentor for others like him

����Vlog��ýLR presents September Safety Month

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

��Vlog��ýLR presents September Safety Month