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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Receives $40,000 Donation to Create Dr. Moira Maguire Student Support Fund for History Students

John Hill — Wed, 19 May 2021 14:26:56 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received a $40,000 donation to create a student support fund in honor of Dr. Moira Maguire, a history professor who worked at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for 15 years and had a reputation of going above and beyond to help students succeed.�� The Dr. Moira Maguire Student Support Fund will help students in the Department of History in times of need. The fund, a quasi-endowment, will help students with housing, car repairs, utilities, food insecurity, and other expenses.�� Patricia Merry, of Rhode Island, made the donation in honor of her daughter, who was always looking for ways to help students. “Moira was the most caring person I ever knew,” Merry said. “After enjoying her time at ��Vlog��ýLR, she moved back to Massachusetts to be closer to family. Moira also gave generously of her time. She helped with the Feed the Hungry program in Little Rock and was a tireless worker for FuRR, Feline Rescue and Rehome. This past year Moira organized a campaign to distribute backpacks loaded with school supplies to students in need.” Maguire was born in Boston and went to high school in Reading, Massachusetts. In 1982, the family moved to Little Rock when her parents received job offers to build Channel 16. Maguire graduated from Mount St. Mary Academy. She earned a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University, a master’s degree from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. in history from American University. After spending six years conducting research for her dissertation in Ireland, Maguire taught in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of History from 2000 to 2015. She also served as dean of liberal arts at Schenectady County Community College and dean of social sciences for Holyoke Community College. She is remembered by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of History as a tireless and fierce advocate for students.�� “The fund’s unique purpose couldn’t be more fitting for its namesake,” said Dr. Jess Porter, chair of the Department of History. “Dr. Maguire had a heart of gold and was a true servant to her students and her community. She worked so hard for her students in the classroom, but also as an advisor. I know there are many, many history graduates out there that benefited from her time and attention. Our students face so many challenges and it seems like this has become even more acute during the past two years. To be able to draw upon this fund in a student’s time of need is something that Moira would cherish.” Dr. Kristin Dutcher Mann, a professor of history and friend of Maguire’s, recalls how she would often hear Maguire on the phone helping students find temporary housing, ensuring they had groceries, and helping secure scholarships. “Moira took time to research the specific circumstances of each student’s journey to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and to ask questions that would help determine the most advantageous paths for them to follow to complete their degrees,” Dutcher-Mann said. “As a first-generation college student, she understood the challenges that many of our students often face. Throughout it all, she aimed to cultivate skills of organization, self-reliance, critical thinking, and writing in her students so that they would be prepared to manage whatever challenges came their way after college. I can think of no more fitting way to honor her than to establish this fund in her honor.” Providing students with financial support helps increase student retention, since financial difficulties are a common barrier for students to remain in college. “Students can face many large and small barriers to completing their educational goals,” said Heather Reed, director of student retention initiatives. “Making funds available for students can help meet needs such as car repairs, food, and housing expenses. Donations such as the Moira Maguire Student Support Fund can be a life saver for students. A sum of $2,500 from the donation will be used to help students beginning in the fall semester. History students who would like to apply for assistance from the fund in the fall may contact Chair Jess Porter or a history department faculty member.�� Maguire passed away Nov. 3, 2020, from a blood clot. She was 55 years old. Memorial services for Maguire will be held on June 4 in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and June 5 in Green Harbor, Massachusetts. In the upper right photo, Dr. Moira Maguire celebrates the launch of her book in Ireland in 2010.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Jan. 19 roundtable discussion on 2020 election

John Hill — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 21:04:40 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of History will host a roundtable discussion to talk about the historical significance of the 2020 election cycle.

The roundtable, “Election 2020: An Immediate History,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19. Moderated by Dr. Jess Porter, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of History, the event will feature history professors Drs. David Baylis, John Kirk, Brian Mitchell, and Jim Ross.

The roundtable discussion features the first event for the 2021 Evenings with History Lecture Series.

Those interested in attending the roundtable may register��. For more information, Contact Dr. Michael Heil at��mwheil@ualr.edu.

$2.25 million gift to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture to help secure Rockefeller legacy in Arkansas

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 22:30:15 +0000

The Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust has gifted $2.25 million to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture to preserve and educate the public about the history of Arkansas, including the notable contributions of Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller.�� The gift, announced Sept. 10 at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown, will create the Winthrop Rockefeller Archival Fund, a quasi-endowment. It is the sixth largest cash gift in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s history. Funds will be used to preserve, house, and catalog historical items from the Rockefeller Collection and to support topics and activities related to the center’s mission. “Almost a half a century ago, Arkansas lost a great leader, and I lost a friend with the passing of Winthrop Rockefeller,” said Marion Burton, executive trustee of the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust. “The trust that bears his name was established at the time of his death and has carried on his vision for the state. “The Charitable Trust and the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock center have been good partners in bringing the Arkansas story to the community. The Trustees have always carefully considered the impact of its donations, and this gift was no exception. The Charitable Trust recognizes the strengths and reputation of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture and is pleased to make this further commitment to their work.” The collection is comprised of papers, memorabilia, and historic records related to Gov. Rockefeller, Arkansas’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction and celebrated philanthropist. The Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust donated the collection to the center in 1980. The Rockefeller Collection, which was instrumental in establishing ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s archives program, represents the center’s largest collection with more than 2,000 boxes. The gift will allow the center to create educational activities, research initiatives, and events associated with the Rockefeller Collection and other collections housed in the center. “I want to thank Will Rockefeller and his family for their support for the Center for Arkansas History and Culture and the state,” said Deborah Baldwin, director of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture and associate provost for collections and archives. “We hope that the family will continue to see the center as the place to secure the Arkansas Rockefeller legacy. We are pleased that the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust has confidence in our vision and execution of the work.” Baldwin said plans for the center include increasing its archives to include collections of underrepresented groups that will complement its collection of records related to state leaders. The center will also increase efforts to digitize collections housed in the archive, making this historic information more accessible to the public. “Our archival collections can become a more complete reflection of the state’s people and organizations,” Baldwin said. “Scholars can better explore the ‘why’ questions of history with more complete information. This gift will make a difference. Positive change is a hallmark of Winthrop Rockefeller’s work. Behind all of these initiatives is our goal to inspire people to engage with Arkansas history and the future it maps for us.” Additionally, the center will offer more educational opportunities for students by granting awards to conduct research and providing experiential learning opportunities. “The Department of History views this remarkable gift as a watershed moment in its efforts to prepare students for professional careers through experiential education,” said Jess Porter, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of History. “The Center for Arkansas History and Culture has long been an indispensable partner of our graduate program in Public History. Under the leadership of Dr. Baldwin, the center has trained a generation of graduate students who have gone on to become leaders in the humanities in central Arkansas and beyond.” Porter added that the center’s “hands-on experiences and cutting-edge technologies for undergraduates offer an applied dimension of archival education that is unparalleled in Arkansas.” The Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust was created by Gov. Rockefeller in 1972 to support charitable organizations. Rockefeller moved to Arkansas in 1953 where he established Winrock Enterprises and Winrock Farms, chaired the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission, and initiated many philanthropic projects. Rockefeller’s progressive and philanthropic vision is reflected in the papers he left behind and remains alive through the work of organizations he founded and inspired.�� “Governor Rockefeller believed that if others knew more about his adopted state, they would value it as much as he did,” said Burton. “They would then want to visit and invest in the place he chose as home.” The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock center has created special digital archive projects with the assistance of the Charitable Trust for educational programs for teachers and others around the state. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture The Center for Arkansas History and Culture collects, keeps safe, and makes available Arkansas history that connects people to each other and their shared experiences. The center collects materials on a variety of topics, with a strength in materials related to Arkansas governors, state legislators, civil rights history, environmental issues, urban and metropolitan development, family papers, the built environment, and women’s history. Reflecting the changes Arkansas has experienced over time, the center seeks additional collections in underrepresented populations and on cultural organizations. Collections are primarily paper, but also include multimedia and digital material. In the upper right photo, Deborah Baldwin, front left, associate provost of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture, watches archive footage of the Rockefellers with Rockefeller family members, Win Rockefeller Jr, center, Will Rockefeller,�� far back, and Lisenne Rockefeller, right, during an event at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown announcing a $2.25 million gift from the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture to preserve and educate the public about the history of Arkansas. Photo by Ben Krain.

Tell-Hall receives Little Rock Nine Endowed Scholarship

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 18:26:47 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student with a passion for history has received a $5,000 scholarship from the Department of History for her inspirational civil rights research.�� Nancy Tell-Hall, a graduate student in public history, received the department’s Little Rock Nine Endowed Scholarship, which is awarded to a graduate student focused on race relations and community development.�� “It took me a very long time to return to school, so I greatly appreciate this scholarship,” Tell-Hall said. “I am humbled by it. I have worked very hard. However, I enjoy studying history so I don’t consider it work.” Tell-Hall dropped out of college as a single parent in 1979. She left college to concentrate on raising her son, who graduated from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2017. After three additional children, and earning her associate degree in 2014, Tell-Hall joined ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and achieved her ultimate goal of earning a bachelor’s degree in history in 2017. “Nancy is a departmental stalwart, and she exemplifies the great students of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock History,” said Dr. Jess Porter, chair of the Department of History. “Nancy has made herself a part of the departmental fabric from her participation and leadership in our honor society, Phi Alpha Theta, to her service learning research in association with Dr. Brian Mitchell.” Tell-Hall recalls something a professor told her that inspired her to pursue a master’s degree in public history. His words opened opportunities for her to investigate the histories of marginalized people. “When I came back to school, I decided to do something I always wanted to do, which was to study history,” Tell-Hall said. “In class, Dr. Carl Moneyhon said that history had been written by certain people and that certain people’s narratives weren’t a part of America’s public record. It just made sense to me. My mother’s family had a rich oral history. I knew my great-grandmother was 15 when the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted. We knew nothing of my father’s history. I found out from my mother he possibly had Native American blood. It took me six years of research to confirm it, and in 2012, I became a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.” While at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Tell-Hall has worked as a graduate assistant with the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, interned with the City of Little Rock Planning and Development Department and the Sequoyah National Research Center, and volunteered with the National Register of Historic Places. Porter said that her list of accolades and hard work made her a perfect choice for the scholarship. “Her smiling face is always a welcome sight in the halls of the department. The Little Rock Nine Endowed Scholarship is a fitting honor for Nancy to receive,” Porter said. “Her research and career goals align with the mission of the scholarship to improve race relations and enhance community development. We look forward to watching Ms. Tell-Hall positively impact the Little Rock community.” Tell-Hall plans to graduate in December. She is spending the semester completing her thesis, “PROJECT ARK-4: Urban Renewal, Forced Relocation, and Possible Reparations: The Demise of West Rock, Arkansas, 1884–1960.” West Rock, located in what is presently known as the Riverdale area, eventually became a vibrant all African-American community that provided affordable housing and accessibility to many domestic, service, and labor jobs located in the nearby Pulaski Heights neighborhood. “The Little Rock Housing Authority and city leaders had all of them removed by 1960,” Tell-Hall said. “The plan to remove West Rock�� started in 1926 because the city needed to open the westward corridor, and they knew the property would be very valuable one day.” In the new year, Tell-Hall and her husband, Jeffrey, of 37 years plan to move to Okmulgee, Oklahoma, the capital of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. There, she plans to put her history research skills to work at the historic Creek Council House Museum which was the capital of the Nation from 1878 through 1907.�� “I’m living the dream at 58,” Tell-Hall said. “My husband and I have 14 grandchildren, and the thought of building a home with lots of land where they can all run around is exciting. My plan is to travel around the country and to get some of our artifacts back for the Muscogee Nation.”

Moneyhon to give lecture on the end of Reconstruction Era

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 19:01:52 +0000

Dr. Carl Moneyhon, a University of Arkansas at Little Rock history professor and Civil War expert, will give a lecture on the end of the Reconstruction Era in the South on April 2. The Evenings with History lecture, “The End of Reconstruction and the Long-Term Cost of Conservative Redemption,” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, at Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St. in Little Rock. Refreshments will be served at 7 p.m. “Progressive and bi-racial governments created following Congressional intervention in the Reconstruction of the South in 1867 all came to end in the period 1870 to 1875,” Moneyhon said. This talk examines how Conservative and Democratic opponents of these governments used a variety of tactics that included violence, appeals to racial hatred, and charges of government corruption to achieve this end. It also considers the long-term social and economic impact of such tactics on the history of the South and the rest of the nation. The, sponsored by the University History Institute, features presentations by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty members sharing their current research. Admission to the series is by subscription to the, although visitors to individual talks are welcome to attend for free. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students may attend free of charge. For more information, contact Dr. Jess Porter, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of History, at jcporter@ualr.edu or 501-569-3236.

Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series to feature Pulitzer Prize winner Matthew Desmond

Janea Snyder — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 20:30:40 +0000

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmond will be the featured speaker this fall during the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series. Desmond’s visit on Tuesday, Nov. 13, will include a lecture and question-and-answer session beginning at 4:30 p.m. in the University Theatre. A reception and book signing will follow in the Fine Arts building. The lecture is free and open to the public.�� Desmond, a social scientist and professor at Princeton University, wrote “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” which examines the impact of eviction on the lives of the urban poor and its role in perpetuating racial and economic inequality. The book chronicles the stories of eight families living in Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods. As part of his research, he lived in tenement houses and a trailer park, spending time with residents and landlords. Desmond concludes that eviction is a cause, rather than merely a symptom, of poverty. “Desmond’s ethnographic research and nationwide eviction database give us tools to better understand the wide-ranging impact evictions have on other community health indicators such as poverty and homelessness,” said Sarah Beth Estes, also a sociologist and associate provost at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “This topic may be of special importance in Arkansas, where tenants have fewer rights than in other states.” �� For his work, Desmond was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. He also received a in 2015. His latest project is at Princeton University, where researchers and students have built the nation’s first database of evictions. They have collected more than 83 million records from 48 states and the District of Columbia. Several ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty are using “Evicted” in their fall courses. Dr. Heidi Skurat Harris, associate professor of rhetoric and writing and coordinator of the is incorporating Desmond’s book into her rhetoric course ��“Research in Nonfiction Writing.” “Students are reading the book to learn about how to write about ethnographic research for a more general audience,” she said. “Students will be analyzing his writing and applying his writing style to their own nonfiction work.” Dr. Jess Porter, a geographer who chairs the history department, is using “Evicted” in his course “History, Geography and the News,” a current-events based course that helps students understand the broader historical and geographical contexts of what’s happening in the world right now. “We will tackle a dozen contemporary issues this semester, one of which is poverty and housing,” Porter said. “We’ll read an excerpt from Desmond’s book, then explore and discuss the Eviction Lab to get a better spatial sense of the problem.” The History Department will also be giving away a number of hardback copies of “Evicted” via its social media platforms, he said. Students in Dr. Rebecca Glazier’s survey research methods class are discussing Demond’s research in class and plan to attend the public talk on Nov. 13. “In this class we are mostly focusing on quantitative survey research methods, but Desmond’s work uses both qualitative participant observation as well as data-driven survey research,” Glazier said. “This balance is really interesting for answering important questions like those about how and why evictions happen. My class is also doing community-based research this semester into how congregations and nonprofits partner to provide services in the community. Desmond’s methods provide great discussion fodder about how to answer these tough community problems.” Desmond’s work has been in the national spotlight recently. He has been interviewed by , the , and by . Desmond is a former associate professor of social sciences at Harvard University, where he was co-director of the Justice and Poverty Project. He’s a former member of the Harvard Society of Fellows, the author of the award-winning book, “On the Fireline,” co-author of two books on race, and editor of a collection of studies on severe deprivation in America.

Spring Break Abroad: Southeast Asia

Janea Snyder — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 21:52:52 +0000

While many college students spent their Spring Break on a beach, a group of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students spent their spring break exploring the historical and cultural sites in Vietnam, Cambodia and China. Eight students traveled to Southeast Asia for a study abroad led by Dr. Jess Porter, chair of history and associate professor of geography, and Dr. Jeff Kyong-McClain, associate professor of history. The two professors have led three previous trips to China and one to Korea, but Vietnam and Cambodia were new destinations for everyone in the group. Porter and Kyong-McClain taught a class on Vietnam history and geography last semester, so many of the students in that class got to see first-hand some of the sites they had studied. The trip, though, was open to anyone.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students enjoy a traditional Vietnamese lunch in Hanoi.

“We like to blend history and geography to help students have a better understanding of the world at large,” Porter said. “It’s not easy to get unless you go out and see something.” The group left March 15 and returned March 26, visiting the three countries in 11 days. Because there are no direct flights from the U.S. into Vietnam, they flew to Hong Kong, where they spent two days. One of their first sightseeing stops was Victoria Peak, the mountain that rises just beyond Hong Kong City.

The Bayon temple in Angkor in Cambodia was one of many temples ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students visited over spring break.

From there, they flew to Hanoi, Vietnam, where they spent the next five five days. They visited the National Museum of Vietnamese History; the One Pillar Pagoda, a famous Buddhist temple; Ho Chi Minh’s tomb; Hỏa Lò Prison, where Senator John McCain was held as a prisoner of war; and the Temple of Literature, which is dedicated to Confucius. The group also cruised along Halong Bay, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and visited University of Transport and Communications, where they met students and faculty. “The Vietnamese students were eager to get to know us and arranged activities,” Kyong-McClain said. “We saw a performance, and they served us a traditional Vietnamese lunch and then challenged us to a game of soccer.” In Hanoi, the group stayed in a section of the city call the “Old Quarter,” a lively area marked by colorful French Colonial shops and cafes along narrow streets. “Because Vietnam was ruled by France for so long, there’s still very much a French influence,” Kyong-McClain said. “Our students were very impressed with the breakfast crepes in our Hanoi hotel.” The group then traveled to Siem Reap, a city of about 300,000 in northwestern Cambodia. The city is a popular tourist destination because of its proximity to the Angkor Temples. For Gene Thompson, a religious studies major who is minoring in history, the Buddhist and Confucian temples in Hong Kong and Vietnam were the highlight of the trip.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students took in sites from cable cars in Hong Kong.

“I am a Vietnam era veteran that did not serve ‘in country’ during the war. Instead I served for four years (1969-1973) in Washington DC,” he said. “I have heard many stories about the beauty of the country, the temperament of the people and wanted to experience it myself. This trip combined everything that I could have hoped for.” Thompson said he was most impressed with the depth of the history for this part of the world. �� “Their struggle against colonialism, their work ethic, just the planning for the future and determination to become a first world country impressed me most. Their focus on utilizing education to prepare Vietnam for an active role in the economies of the future was amazing and extremely impressive.” On most days, the group had structured activities in the mornings and early afternoons and free time to explore in the evenings. They got around via public transportation in most places – from buses in Hanoi, to double decker buses and cable cars in Hong Kong, to boats and tuk tuks in Cambodia. Porter and Kyong-McClain hope to lead another trip in 2020. The top right photo shows Vietnam’s Halong Bay,��a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which a group of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students visited over spring break 2018.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host best teachers panel discussion

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 15:45:46 +0000

Five of the best instructors at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will share their secrets for successful teaching during a panel discussion on Thursday, March 9.�� Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence��will host the Best Teachers at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock panel discussion March 9 in Donaghey Student Center Room 205D. The event will feature ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty members who were recognized with the college-level 2016 Faculty Excellence Awards in teaching.�� Panel members include Kelly Terry, professor of law; Gary Geissler, professor of marketing and advertising; Kristen McIntyre, associate professor of applied communication; Jess Porter, chair of the Department of History; and Ann Robinson, professor of gifted and talented education. Fill out this to register for the event. For more information, visit the Academy for Teaching and Learning Excellence website.

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

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Receives $40,000 Donation to Create Dr. Moira Maguire Student Support Fund for History Students

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Jan. 19 roundtable discussion on 2020 election

$2.25 million gift to ����Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture to help secure Rockefeller legacy in Arkansas