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

BBQ at Bailey Celebrates ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Alumni Support and Fellowship

John Hill — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 13:09:55 +0000

BBQ at Bailey returned to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for their 14th annual gathering inviting faculty, students, and graduates to the Bailey Alumni and Friends Center on Oct. 12. Participants ate a delicious lunch catered by Whole Hog Café, followed by dessert from Community Bakery. “We didn’t get the chance to do it last year, so the goal is to welcome back people to the campus, get students to come out, get to know everyone in the alumni center, and get to know other graduates,” said Derrick Newby, associate director for alumni membership and engagement. “Typically, we do this at the beginning of the year but we had to push it back to make sure everyone was safe.” The enjoyment for the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock fellowship was a constant trend in conversations at the BBQ. “It is so great to see everyone back together for BBQ at Bailey to see all the students, teachers and alumni all coming together to rally around this amazing school,” said Heide Harrell (‘10), executive committee member of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Board of Directors. “Who doesn’t love some free BBQ on a beautiful October day?” Harrell has a deep passion for the work that the faculty provides and the caliber of students who work hard to get their degrees. “I am a proud graduate and advocate for this university,” said Harrell. Kristi Smith, director of alumni and development, indicated the importance of joining the Alumni Association because a portion of proceeds from memberships go towards student scholarships.

Kristi Smith and student-athlete volunteers for the BBQ at Bailey picnic. Photo by Benjamin Krain.

The BBQ highlights support for the Alumni Association, which annually offers around $100,000 in student scholarships, in addition to helping people create connections. During the BBQ, the Alumni Association recruited numerous new members. “This event is important to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock because it’s a great time for everyone to come together,” said Smith. “We work in different areas and rarely get to see people due to the pandemic. Now that everyone is back on campus, this is a great unifying event.” The favored fall event gathered around 1,200 people. “We get student athletes to help; we get faculty and staff involved, and it’s great,” said Smith. Career Services and other campus organizations attended the event to participate and raise awareness. “We are promoting the Trojan Career Closet available for all students at the university,” said Shannon Gwinn (98’), director of career services for the College of Business, Health, and Human Services. “We want to make them aware of the fabulous items that they can come shop for. Whether you are going to a job interview and need a suit or need an outfit for an internship, we can help.” The career closet has suits, sport coats, dresses, accessories, and plenty of ties. Students can select five items per year. It can be found on the first floor of the Reynolds Building.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students and staff enjoying the music at Baileys back-to-school picnic. Photo by Benjamin Krain.

After including it in their annual National Pan-Hellenic Council week of activities, several Greek groups participated in the luncheon. “This event went well since it was my first time attending,” said Kenyon Clay, sophomore criminal justice and music major and Kappa Psi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. president. “This gave me motivation to finish college so I can come back and experience being an alumni. We added BBQ at Bailey to the event list because we believe NPHC should be more involved in campus events. We are here to show our support for them and hopefully gain support back.” NPHC not only enjoyed the food but also the music as they simultaneously strolled to many songs played. “The event today had a great turn out, good food, and great laughs,” said Kevin Davidson, senior mechanical engineering technology major and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. “It was a good time to connect with friends and alumni. I know this will be an event that I will come back to as a future alumni.” People can help ��Vlog��ý Little Rock by joining the Alumni Association, contributing to annual fundraisers, making a donation, or putting the university in their estate plans, in addition to investing for their own financial goals. The Office of Alumni and Development is happy to accept donations. The Office of the Chancellor, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Office of Alumni and Development all sponsored the BBQ at Bailey.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Greek members urge fellow college students to get out and vote

John Hill — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 14:30:52 +0000

Members of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Greek life are taking the message to go vote to their fellow college students by creating their own videos and posting them on social media.�� This follows a national movement of videos produced by the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the coordinating body for nine historically African American fraternities and sororities. Nakiah Willis, a sophomore ASL/speech pathology major and treasurer of Zeta Phi Beta, said she and her fellow sorority members are committed to spreading the word about the need to vote to fellow college students. They’ve even volunteered at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s voter registrations drives this fall to encourage more students to vote. “It’s important that we get younger people to vote, especially for those that just turned 18,” Willis said. “Like I said in my video, your voice is your power. Every single vote counts. There are a lot of college students who are eligible to vote, and we need to exercise our right and our power to do so. I wanted to volunteer to be an example for other college students to tell them to vote. If you want to see a change in your community, that starts at the poll.” Willis also to encourage people to vote in sign language, because she wanted to empower those in the deaf and hard of hearing community to vote. “I wanted to do the video in ASL to cater to the deaf community,” Willis said. “There is also closed captioning for everyone to read what’s being signed. I think the deaf community is overlooked, and I didn’t want to happen, especially when I am giving out an important message on why you should vote.”��

Keyonna Thomas

Zavian Wilburn, a senior marketing major from Lake Village, Arkansas, also created a with two of his Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers. “I believe this voting is critical, and a lot of people don’t believe their vote counts,” Wilburn said. “We wanted to make sure that we got the word out, and that everyone’s vote matters.”�� In his video, Willis encourages people to visit the to learn about the voting process in Arkansas. “Other chapters have been doing videos nationwide,” Wilburn said. “Our national office has been promoting it. The people we know at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock have been engaged by our videos.” Keyonna Thomas, a junior nursing major from North Little Rock, to encourage people to vote with her sorority sisters in Delta Sigma Theta. “It is important for college students to vote because there have been many times when I have heard, ‘Our vote doesn’t matter,” when indeed it does,” Thomas said. “There is power in the voice of college students as we are the future of America, and we have a right to let our voices be heard, for our lives could be potentially impacted.” In the upper right photo, Nakiah Willis, a sophomore ASL/speech pathology major and treasurer of Zeta Phi Beta, made a video to encourage people to vote in sign language.

New director seeks to enhance student experience

Jenny Lambert — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 19:00:21 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has named Jenny Dodson its new director of the Student Experience Center, formerly known as the Office of Campus Life. Dodson began her career with ��Vlog��ýLR nine years ago, working with both the Interfraternal and Pan-Hellenic councils, the governing bodies of ��Vlog��ýLR’s sororities and fraternities. Six months later, she was assigned an additional group, the National Pan-Hellenic Council. “I’ve had a fantastic experience working alongside these student organizations,” she said. Four years later, she was promoted to associate director of campus life. In this position, she worked directly with fraternities and sororities, but also supervised the non-traditional program coordinator, the student development specialists, and the diversity program’s coordinator. In her new role, Dodson will have the opportunity to make a major impact on students as she reimagines the student experience. She has designed the Student Experience Center to house some of the same components of campus life, such as the University Program Council and fraternity and sorority life. The center will soon be updated to include different curriculum like leadership and classification programs. “My ultimate goal is for all of the students that come to ��Vlog��ýLR to have a very positive student engagement experience,” she said. Dodson said her education and personal experience have prepared her for this position. As she now works toward a doctorate degree in leadership studies at the University of Central Arkansas, Dodson is reminded of her time as an undergraduate student at UCA. “I was a member of Tri Sigma at UCA where I fell in love with student affairs,” she said. “I was very involved on campus and in my sorority and decided this would be fun to do when I grow up.” Now that Dodson is living out her dream, she hopes to provide students with an even better college experience than she had.

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

BBQ at Bailey Celebrates ����Vlog��ý Little Rock Alumni Support and Fellowship

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Greek members urge fellow college students to get out and vote

New director seeks to enhance student experience

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

BBQ at Bailey Celebrates ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Alumni Support and Fellowship

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Greek members urge fellow college students to get out and vote