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

��Vlog��ýLR launches new School of Public Affairs

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 20:32:36 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will launch its new School of Public Affairs on July 1 to serve as a hub for ��Vlog��ýLR programs that share a focus on government, politics, nonprofit organizations, and public service. �ճ��Institute of Government��and the Department of Political Science will merge to form the new school, which will be housed in the ��Vlog��ýLR College of Social Sciences and Communication. “Bringing these programs together opens up new opportunities for collaboration among the faculty and professional staff that will serve both students and the community,” said Joe Giammo, a professor of political science and interim director of the School of Public Affairs. Faculty from the political science department, which did not have a graduate program, will now be able to teach graduate courses through the Institute of Government’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program. Undergraduate students interested in entering the MPA program can sign up for an early entry program, which will allow them to take graduate classes that will count toward their undergraduate and master’s degrees. The new school will serve as a home to existing programs in public administration, political science, international studies, presidential studies, nonprofit leadership, conflict mediation, and nonprofit organizations. “The ��Vlog��ýLR School of Public Affairs is a perfect expression of our college commitment to interdisciplinary and community-based knowledge and research, engagement, and public service,” said Lisa Bond-Maupin, dean of the College of Social Sciences and Communication. “Students drawn to a careers related to government, law, community development, and nonprofit or public sector leadership will find opportunities here for deep and diverse learning opportunities inside and outside of the classroom,” she said. Additionally, the school plans to implement two new majors that are pending final approval. The school’s new community management and development major will prepare students for professional positions in public and nonprofit management, community organizing, social entrepreneurship, and advocacy. The major will focus on developing student competency in four areas that community stakeholders identified as central needs for careers in this field: professional written and interpersonal communication, managerial skills, analytic thinking, and expertise in urban social science. Meanwhile, a legal studies supplementary major is designed, in partnership across colleges including the William H. Bowen School of Law, as a second major for students who plan to enter law school. Students will be mentored by law students to help gain critical legal skills and guide their entrance into law school. In addition to its academic programs, the school will also house the Arkansas Public Administration Consortium, the Survey Research Center, the Center for Public Collaboration, and the Center for Nonprofit Organization. Jolie Busby, executive director of the Arkansas Public Administration Consortium, said the merger will provide an opportunity for ��Vlog��ýLR faculty to collaborate more with the university’s government policy organizations. “It’s a benefit to have improved access to the faculty from political science,” Busby said. “They are subject manner experts in public policy, and that serves our programs well since we draw subject matter experts from ��Vlog��ýLR faculty.”

Students land internships to serve the poor

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:03:01 +0000

Three ��Vlog��ýLR students will each complete eight-week internships in other parts of the country this summer as part of their study of poverty in the United States. Sophomores Elvie Pearson, Victoria Medina, and Caprice Phillips are all enrolled in the ��Vlog��ýLR Shepherd Poverty Studies Program and active in the ��Vlog��ýLR Friday Fellows Program, which provides students leadership experience through service work. Pearson, an international studies and Spanish major, will work with staff and volunteers in the Peter Paul Development Center in Richmond, Va. The program serves children and seniors in Richmond’s East End by enhancing academic achievement, cultural enrichment, and self sufficiency. Pearson is a graduate of Beebe High School. Medina is majoring in political science and international studies and will work in the LIFT project in Washington, D.C. The project combats multi-generational poverty by helping community residents achieve economic stability and secure safe housing. Medina is from Dermott and a graduate of McGehee High School Phillips, a physics major, will spend her eight-week summer internship with Camp Interactive in New York. The organization, now in its 10th year, seeks to empower inner-city youth in the Bronx through outdoor adventures and creative use of technology. Phillips graduated from Hot Springs High School. ��Vlog��ýLR is a charter member of the . The headquarters are located at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va. Twenty universities, mostly in the eastern half of the United States, are members of the consortium. Pearson, Medina, and Phillips will join more than 70 students from those universities serving in poverty studies-related internships this summer. The ��Vlog��ýLR program is underwritten by the Morris Foundation of Hot Springs and headed by Vice Chancellor Bill Walker and Associate Vice Chancellor Joni Lee, both of University Advancement. Dr. David Sink, professor in the ��Vlog��ýLR Institute of Government, and Betsy Hart, director of the ��Vlog��ýLR Office of Community Engagement, are administrators of the program.

Institute awards over $23,000 in research grants

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:39:44 +0000

Priscilla McChristian, interim director of the ��Vlog��ýLR Institute on Race and Ethnicity, announced today that the Institute will fund six research projects aimed at reducing and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in Arkansas communities.

The Institute’s grant program was established to use academic research for the development of programs to investigate and inform possible solutions to identified structural racism.

“The selected projects address a variety of important topics in the areas of criminal justice, community outreach, immigration, and higher education. Each of the projects selected will provide data that will aid the Institute in implementing tangible programs and initiatives,’’ said McChristian.

Dr. Michael Craw, assistant professor and coordinator of the Center for Public Collaboration in the Institute of Government, was awarded $4,980 to determine the effect active neighborhood associations have on the quality of life of residents in low-income areas. By using data collected in the evaluation of eight Little Rock communities, Craw will examine partnerships between community-led organizations and area residents. He will also use data to make recommendations that promote neighborhood stability and development.

A multi-disciplinary project was submitted by faculty members Dr. Timothy Brown, Department of Criminal Justice; Dr. Ken Galchus, director of the Kenneth Pat Wilson Center for Economic Education, Department of Economics; and Dr. Andy Terry, Department of Economics and Finance. The project was awarded a $4,500 grant to study how the lack of financial literacy creates higher instances of recidivism among ex-offenders. Outcomes of the study will be used to develop and implement a training curriculum that will be applied to re-entry programs of the Arkansas Department of Corrections.

Dr. John A. Kuykendall, associate professor of higher education in the Department of Educational Leadership, submitted a proposal that addresses academic success rates of black male athletes attending universities in Arkansas. The study was granted $3,550 and data collected will be used to help policymakers and university administrators expand college access, improve graduation rates, and eradicate racial disparities in intercollegiate athletics.

Jennifer Miller, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Criminal Justice, received $5,000 to research sentencing disparities for violent felonies excluding homicides in Arkansas between 2000 and 2010. Miller will analyze high crime rates in Jefferson County, especially Pine Bluff, which has been listed among the top ten most dangerous cities in the country since the 1990s. Miller hopes her research will influence future legislation regarding sentencing policies in the state.

A collaborative project proposed by faculty in criminal justice and social work will focus on the Arkansas juvenile justice system. Dr. Shaun A. Thomas, Dr. Timothy C. Brown, Dr. Emily R. Berthalot, of the Department of Criminal Justice, and Dr. John Miller of the School of Social Work, will use data collected from 10 years of Racial Attitudes Surveys to augment previous research aimed at understanding the causes of disproportionate minority contact in the juvenile justice system. The research project was awarded $2,750.

Dr. Haiyan Xie, associate professor and coordinator of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering, has been awarded $4,500 to investigate immigration issues in the construction industry in Arkansas. Through data analysis and interviews, Xie will identify what factors influence inefficiency, malfunction, and violations of equal hire in the industry and provide best practices for future productivity and improvement strategies.

These faculty and graduate student awards were chosen by a five-person committee of faculty and professional staff from the Chancellor’s Committee on Race and Ethnicity, chaired by McChristian.

The ��Vlog��ýLR Institute on Race and Ethnicity was founded in July 2011 to seek racial and ethnic justice in Arkansas by remembering and understanding the past, informing and engaging the present, and shaping and defining the future. It serves as a resource for producing multidisciplinary, research-driven data— including historical, sociological, educational, and economic analyses—to fulfill its mission.

For more information, contact the Institute at race-ethnicity@ualr.edu or by phone at 501-569-8932.

Sink honored with state volunteerism award

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:11:11 +0000

Dr. David Sink, professor of public administration and senior research specialist at the ��Vlog��ýLR Institute of Government, is the recipient of the 2013 Billie Ann Myers Paragon Award.

The award is presented each year to a person who works to further the ideas of volunteerism in the state of Arkansas.

Sink was honored on April 18 during The Summit, the annual conference sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Human Services. Sherry Middleton, current director of the volunteer division, presented Sink with the award.

“When I survey the list of former recipients of the Paragon Award, I realize I stand on the shoulders of giants,” Sink said. “We benefit from our mentors, our role models, and our colleagues and friends, and our families to light the way.”

Sink added that he particularly wanted to recognize Billie Ann Myers, for whom the award is named. Myers was the founder and first director of the DHS Division of Volunteerism (now the DHS Division of Community Service and Nonprofit Support).

“Billie Ann was the pioneer and set the bar of quality very high,” he said.

Past recipients of the Paragon Award include: Willie Oates, famed Little Rock socialite and community volunteer; ��Vlog��ýLR Professor of Public Administration Roby Robertson; and two first ladies of Arkansas, Ginger Beebe and Betty Bumpers.

Teaching young people to lead

Sink has many years of passionate work in the nonprofit sector. As one of the inaugural professors at the , he firmly believes in the power of people to make changes in their community.

His 22 years of training in the Certified Volunteer Management (CVM) program has contributed to better volunteer leadership in Arkansas.

Regarding his work with CVM, Sink said that one of his favorite writers on leadership, John Gardner, wrote about the overall ineffectiveness of the modern approach to teaching.

Quoting Gardner, Sink said, “All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants. That is what we are trying to do with CVM.”

Dedicated to ending homelessness

Through Sink’s leadership, Little Rock officials have developed a 10-year plan aimed at ending chronic homelessness. He continues to serve on the Mayor’s Commission on Homelessness and assist with the plan’s implementation.

Sink also contributed to the University District surrounding ��Vlog��ýLR. Through lasting partnerships between the university, businesses, and residents, the district has developed a collaborative vision.

Since 2004, he has served as the governor’s representative for the Southern Growth Policies Board’s Council on the Southern Community. He is also a member of the Arkansas Volunteer Coordinators Board, American Society for Public Administration, and the National Civic League.

Sink earned a doctorate of public administration from the University of Georgia. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in geography from Miami University.

Nonprofit Center Offers Tax-Exempt Workshop

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:05:16 +0000

IRS revenue agents and tax law specialists will present advice to help small- and medium-sized nonprofit organizations maintain their tax-exempt status at a daylong workshop offered Tuesday, Dec. 4, and Wednesday, Dec. 5. The workshop is sponsored by ��Vlog��ýLR’s Center for Nonprofit Support, the Arkansas Coalition for Excellence, and the IRS. The cost of the workshop is $29.50 and includes breakfast and lunch as well as ��a handbook and relevant IRS forms and publications. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. workshop in the Donaghey Student Center’s Ledbetter Hall A, B, and C. is required at or by calling Dr. Vickie Edwards at 501-569-8026. Workshop topics will include an in-depth discussion of activities that can jeopardize 501(c)(3) status, unrelated business income, gaming, and employment issues. Particular emphasis will be given to explaining resources available to help with completing the revised Form 990 and 990-EZ annual information returns��that tax-exempt organizations submit to the IRS.

Chancellor: ‘Neighborhood Panel Positive Step’

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Thu, 31 May 2012 20:32:22 +0000

The creation of a Neighborhood Housing Committee by members of the Little Rock Technology Park Authority Board is a positive step that will give neighbors input into the park’s site selection, ��Vlog��ýLR Chancellor Joel E. Anderson said Thursday. He offered the university’s resources to help organize a series of neighborhood meetings by the new panel, created earlier in the week by the Little Rock Technology Park Authority Board. “Our goal, through the involvement of the ��Vlog��ýLR Institute of Government and the ��Vlog��ýLR Institute on Race and Ethnicity, is to provide information on best practices derived from experience in other cities and to work toward trust among stakeholders here in Little Rock through informed and unhurried discussion of all aspects of urban tech parks,” the chancellor said. “I believe that if we proceed carefully, the Technology Park will be a significant asset in our city’s future – one that provides us an unprecedented opportunity to link local research, economic development, new jobs, and community revitalization for the benefit of us all.” Dr. Anderson has asked the ��Vlog��ýLR Institute of Government to provide a short report on tech park site location best practices from examples across the country. The region’s first technology park is sponsored by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, City of Little Rock, ��Vlog��ýLR, and ��Vlog��ýMS. The ANGLE Technology group, hired in 2008 to do a research park study for the region, identified three proposed locations for the park. These locations have come under fire by some residents in the affected neighborhoods who don’t want to sell their homes to make way for the park. Chancellor Anderson said the debate over the technology park brought to the surface tensions over historic inequalities in Little Rock, particularly in city investment, income, and segregated housing patterns. ��Vlog��ýLR has a long history of working with the community to tackle difficult issues head-on – issues like racial and ethnic inequality. Anderson and ��Vlog��ýMS Chancellor Dan Rahn urged the board at the May 16 meeting to create a neighborhood committee to receive input from representatives from neighbors and other interested parties during the entire process. They suggested that the board be receptive to input from representatives from the neighborhoods and other interested parties during the entire process. Anderson said ��that the delivery of clear and detailed information from the board to the community is essential for a smooth transition once a site is chosen. Chancellor Anderson also urged members of the Little Rock Technology Park Authority Board to consider other potential sites for the research park, in addition to those already proposed. “If you try to develop a tech park in the wrong place, it will fail,” he said at the May 16 meeting. “As a city we cannot afford to invest millions of dollars in a tech park in the wrong place. The people of this city are depending on this board to make a wise site selection.” The new neighborhood committee will include representatives from the Fair Park Residents Association, Forest Hills Residents Association, Better Community Developers, City of Little Rock, ��Vlog��ýMS, ��Vlog��ýLR, Habitat for Humanity, and Little Rock Housing Authority. Chairman Mary Good named authority members C.J. Duvall and Jay Chesshir to chair the new panel. All meetings will be open to the public.

Bacot to Lead Institute of Government

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:16:53 +0000

Dr. Hunter Bacot, director of a quarterly statewide public opinion survey on public policy issues in North Carolina, is the new director of ��Vlog��ýLR’s Institute of Government, Dr. Angi Brenton, dean of the College of Professional Studies, has announced. Bacot succeeds Dr. Roby Robertson, who served as director of IOG for 18 years before returning to the ��Vlog��ýLR faculty this summer. Bacot ��comes to ��Vlog��ýLR from Elon University in North Carolina, where he served as director of the Elon University Poll, recognized as the “poll of record in North Carolina.” He previously taught public administration at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, Valdosta State University in Georgia, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Tennessee and his masters of public administration at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His special academic focus is environmental policy issues. “Dr. Roby Robertson is a hard act to follow after his many years of service as the founding director of the Institute of Government,” Brenton said. “We are confident that we have found a dynamic leader with an ambitious vision for the future in Hunter Bacot and are eager to welcome him to Arkansas.” In a profile published by the , Bacot, 49, attributes his interest in politics to a heavily political family. His grandfather was sheriff of Mecklenburg County from the 1940s to the 1960s, and his father and brother ran for Charlotte City Council.

Ruth Craw to Retire

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:59:24 +0000

Ruth Craw, director of the Center for Public Collaboration in the ��Vlog��ýLR’s Institute of Government, is retiring after 22 years of service to the university. A reception to bid her farewell is scheduled for 2 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, at the sixth floor reception area in Ross Hall.

Racial Attitudes on Crime Conference March 11

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:41:41 +0000

“Crime” is the central focus of the ��Vlog��ýLR’s seventh annual mini conference, “Conversation on Racial Attitudes in Pulaski County,” Thursday, March 11, at the Donaghey Student Center’s Ledbetter Hall. The ��Vlog��ýLR Institute of Government will release the results of the survey of Pulaski County residents. The study is one way in which ��Vlog��ýLR seeks to promote a continuing, frank, and constructive discussion of race in the community. This year’s panel includes Beverly Divers-White of BSW Consulting and Technology and BSW Development, chair of the Arkansas Cradle to Prison Pipeline Initiative; Ray Hobbs, interim director of the Arkansas Department of Correction; and Doc Holladay, sheriff of Pulaski County and a 32-year veteran of the Little Rock Police Department. Jim Golden, professor in the ��Vlog��ýLR Department of Criminal Justice, will present Pulaski County crime statistics. Following registration and a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m., the program will begin at 9 a.m. No registration fee is required, but attendees are asked to register ahead of time on the ��Vlog��ýLR Racial Attitudes website or contact Larry Rhodes at 501-569-8561.

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

����Vlog��ýLR launches new School of Public Affairs