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

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/joshua-silverstein/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Wed, 07 Dec 2022 15:11:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock to Celebrate Commencement Dec. 17 /news-archive/2022/12/07/fall-2022-commencement/ Wed, 07 Dec 2022 15:11:02 +0000 /news/?p=84033 ...]]> The commencement ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. in the Jack Stephens Center. Doors will open at 11:30 a.m. to the public, and graduates need to arrive by noon. Parking information is available online. The 1 p.m. ceremony will feature undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Business, Health, and Human Services, the Donaghey College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education, and the William H. Bowen School of Law. Dr. Dean Kumpuris, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Board of Visitors, and Joshua Silverstein, professor of law and recipient of the 2022 Bailey Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching, will serve as the commencement speakers. Back by popular demand will be celebratory photo backdrops created by Just Peachy. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock will also hold contests for the best-decorated graduation cap. The William H. Bowen School of Law will hold a hooding ceremony to celebrate 15 graduating law students as well as the first graduate of the Master of Studies in Law program. Dean Theresa Beiner and the Honorable Melanie Martin, Little Rock District Court Criminal Judge and president of Bowen’s Alumni Association, will speak at the event, which will take place at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, in the Friday Courtroom at Bowen. The event will be live-streamed . The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock commencement ceremony will be live-streamed on the and the .]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Selects Silverstein, Siraj, Kirk as 2022 Faculty Excellence Award Winners /news-archive/2022/04/07/faculty-excellence-2022/ Fri, 08 Apr 2022 00:19:22 +0000 /news/?p=81305 ...]]> Faculty Excellence Awards. Silverstein, a professor at the William H. Bowen School of Law, has won the Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching. He has gained a reputation among students and colleagues as a stellar educator who goes to great lengths to ensure the success of his students. Siraj, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, has received the Faculty Excellence Award in Research and Creative Endeavors. With her research being cited more than 700 times since 2016, Siraj is a well-respected researcher in the development of nanomaterials for biomedical applications and solar cell applications. Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History, has been awarded the Faculty Excellence Award in Public Service. Ever since Kirk arrived at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock 11 years ago, his extensive service and research has been dedicated to unveiling the history of the Arkansas fight for civil rights against the brutality of racial injustice. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock annually celebrates the achievements of the top professors of the year who are making a difference in the community through their contributions in teaching, research and creative works, and public service. This is the highest honor ��Vlog��ý Little Rock awards its faculty members. “Our faculty excellence winners represent the university’s commitment to superb instruction, outstanding research, and community service,” Provost Ann Bain said. “Each of the winners has made immeasurable contributions to the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock community and to the lives of their students and colleagues. We thank them for their service.” Created in 1989, the Faculty Excellence Awards has provided a way to recognize the great work of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty for the past 33 years and is made possible through the valued contributions of the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost, the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor’s Circle, and the Bailey Foundation. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Board of Visitors selected the university-wide winners from the 12 faculty members who were selected as the top faculty members for the 2021-22 academic year in each of the three categories in their respective colleges and the William H. Bowen School of Law.

Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching

Silverstein’s students and colleagues describe him as a stellar educator with a wealth of knowledge and genuine interest in guiding students effectively throughout their studies. Tori Percifield, a former student, described Silverstein as “quite simply the best teacher I have ever had.” His strengths as a teacher include “immeasurable enthusiasm, meticulous organization, limitless knowledge, and genuine compassion for the students.” Those traits are repeated in former students’ letters of endorsement. They discuss Silverstein’s passion for teaching, his engaging presentation of complex topics, and his commitment to ensuring they fully comprehend the material, including his extensive use of visual aids. Michael Hunter Schwartz, former dean of the William H. Bowen School of Law, described Silverstein’s student evaluations as “the highest I have ever seen for any Bowen faculty member.” In 2021, Silverstein was chosen by Bowen students as the first law school recipient of the We HEART Faculty Award. This is the second time he has been recognized for excellence in teaching. Silverstein received a J.D. from the New York University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

Faculty Excellence Award in Research and Creative Endeavors

Siraj has developed a reputation as a prolific researcher in the development of nanomaterials for biomedical applications and solar cell applications. In the past five years, she has received more than $570,000 in funding from federal, state, and local agencies, including a nearly $190,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for the “Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of FRET based Ionic Materials.” Over the past five years, Siraj has published 34 peer-reviewed papers, given 59 conference presentations, mentored six Ph.D. students and 18 undergraduate students, and served on eight Ph.D. committees. Her research has been cited more than 700 times since 2016. In order to promote STEM education, Siraj begins mentoring students in middle school, at a time when some students, especially girls, begin to lose interest in the sciences. She has hosted 19 middle and high school students for their science fair projects. In 2018, Meghana Bollimpalli, one of Siraj’s mentees from Central High School, earned more than $58,000 in scholarships for her science fair project at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Meanwhile, Stuti Chaterjee, who worked in Siraj’s lab, won the 2021 Whitbeck Memorial Award, the highest award granted to a graduating student from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Dr. Siraj is an outstanding scientist and one of the best researchers on our campus,” said Dr. Brian Berry, vice provost for research and dean of the Graduate School. “Dr. Siraj has leveraged her expertise in frozen ionic liquids to develop a very active research group. The work of this group is nationally and internationally known. Out of all the faculty members that I have observed since joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, she is one of the most promising.” She earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Karachi in Pakistan. Siraj earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Graz University of Technology in Austria and completed postdoctoral research at Louisiana State University.

Faculty Excellence Award in Public Service

A scholar of the civil rights movement, Kirk has previously served five years as chair of the Department of History and four years as the director of the former Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, where he helped develop the award-winning Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail. Kirk helped a dedicated Arkansan, Leatrice Russ-Glenns, gain recognition for the life of her brother, Carnell Russ, who was killed by the police in Star City, Arkansas, in 1971. Kirk researched and wrote articles about Russ in the Arkansas Times and Arkansas Historic Quarterly and helped establish the Carnell Russ Day Community Unity Festival in Star City, which offers a series of events to bring together the Black and white residents of the community. Kirk has also hosted “Arkansas Moments,” a show on K��Vlog��ýR, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s National Public Radio affiliate, for 10 years. He has researched and written more than 100 radio segments that provide lessons on civil rights and Black history. Since 2004, Kirk has served on the editorial board of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, the premier journal for historical studies in the state. “John has been one of the finest and most prolific scholars in the fields of Arkansas and U.S. civil rights history,” said Patrick Williams, editor of Arkansas Historical Quarterly. “Over the past quarter-century, he has been among the most frequently published authors in the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, offering deeply researched and skillfully crafted studies on such topics as the desegregation of the state’s schools and public facilities, race and urban development in Little Rock, the Black Power movement, and policing and the African American community. His books and essays have repeatedly been honored for excellence, winning four of the Arkansas Historical Association’s top prizes.” Kirk’s newest book, “Winthrop Rockefeller: From New Yorker to Arkansawyer, 1912-1956,” examines the first 44 years of former Arkansas governor Winthrop Rockefeller’s life. It also looks into the history of Rockefeller’s work with civil rights and race relations. It began in New York, where he served on the executive board of the National Urban League, a leading organization in the civil rights movement. Rockefeller took an active and enthusiastic interest in its affairs and made a donation to pay for the Urban League’s new national headquarters just before he moved to Arkansas. Before joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Kirk earned the rank of a full professor at the University of London. He received a bachelor’s degree in American studies from the University of Nottingham and a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students honor one-of-a-kind faculty members /news-archive/2021/04/15/we-heart-faculty-winners/ Thu, 15 Apr 2021 15:28:37 +0000 /news/?p=78729 ...]]> University of Arkansas at Little Rock students are honoring faculty members who have made a positive impact in their lives through the 2021 We Heart Our Faculty Awards. Overall, six ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty members were selected by undergraduate, graduate, and law school students. Each of the recipients will receive a certificate and a one-of-a-kind, handmade glass heart created by in the colors of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. The glass hearts symbolize positive, influential support that makes a real difference in the lives of students. As students enter the university to pursue their education, faculty often play a nurturing role, guiding students through the learning process and working hard to foster an environment that best ensures success. “There is no doubt that this school year has been extremely challenging for our students, but oftentimes we fail to acknowledge the enormous amount of work that our faculty members put into ensuring that our students excel,” SGA President Landon DeKay said. For the 2021 year, the We Heart Our Faculty Awards awards were expanded to also highlight graduate and law school faculty who were selected by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Graduate Student Government Association and the William H. Bowen School of Law students. “These awards originated with our student government leaders, and this initiative clearly demonstrates that our students recognize the positive impact that faculty have on their lives,” said Dr. Ann Bain, executive vice chancellor and provost. “Our faculty make a difference in ensuring our students complete their degree and achieve their career goals, and they do this in a manner that is supportive and inclusive.” The 2021 award recipients include: ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Student Government Association

David Briscoe, professor of sociology
John Talburt, professor of information science and coordinator for the Information Quality Graduate Program
Cynthia Johnson, advanced instructor of accounting

Graduate Student Government Association

Barbara L’eplattenier, professor of rhetoric and writing
John Talburt, professor of information science and coordinator for the Information Quality Graduate Program
Jason Kushner, professor of counseling and graduate program coordinator

William H. Bowen School of Law

Joshua Silverstein, professor of law

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