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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Researchers Explore the Role of Congregations in Racial Justice

John Hill — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 13:15:58 +0000

A trio of University of Arkansas at Little Rock investigators are exploring the role that Little Rock congregations play in faith-based, racial justice efforts, including the response of congregations after the 2020 death of George Floyd. The paper, “Race and Faith: The Role of Congregations in Racial Justice,” was presented at the American Political Science Association Conference in Montreal in September. The paper’s authors include Dr. Rebecca Glazier, a professor in the School of Public Affairs and the director of the , Dr. Gerald Driskill, a professor of applied communication, and Dominika Hanson, a graduate student in rhetoric and writing. They collected data that included a survey of 2,293 congregants from 35 congregations in Little Rock; an analysis of 90 sermons from 15 congregations that reveal how clergy talked about race in the weeks following Floyd’s death, 21 clergy interviews that illustrate how clergy use religion to engage on racial issues, and interviews with seven national leaders and focus groups with six congregations. “We have been talking with and listening to members of the Little Rock faith community for many years,” Glazier said. “For us, it began in 2019 when we held the Religious Leaders Summit. Race was one of the key issues that congregation leaders told us they wanted us to explore more. Because of what we learned at that summit, our research team has spent more than two years studying race and faith issues.” of nearly 2,300 people from 35 diverse congregations across Little Rock, researchers found that the No. 1 issue participants wanted their congregation to do something about was race relations. Further research with clergy members found that 88 percent of them said that Little Rock has a problem with racial division, while 64 percent believe race relations will get better and that clergy are in a position to help make that happen. The professors had already decided to investigate the role of congregations in racial justice efforts, but the 2020 killing of Floyd had such an impact on the country that it presented a unique opportunity to understand how congregations in Little Rock respond. “During the summer of 2020 when America’s reckoning with race relations happened, we did interviews with clergy to understand what was happening in the community after the death of George Floyd,” Glazier said. “A lot of people turned to their places of worship and their faith to determine what they should be doing in this moment. How do we handle such a volatile time in our history? How do we grapple with racism?” The researchers found that Little Rock congregations were very active in engaging with faith-based racial justice work in many diverse ways that include forming book discussion groups, creating podcasts with people from other congregations, conducting audits of their church, and engaging with conversations with people from different backgrounds and religions. “Events like what happened to George Floyd have been going on for a long time,” Driskill said. “Many of our congregations find that listening to different viewpoints is the right thing to do. We’re looking at the event in a larger context, and our congregations are stepping up by better engaging the community and being proactive. Some congregations are doing remarkable work with getting those bridges built.” Driskill described how one Little Rock church who provided food and other services to the homeless took an organic approach to really try to get to know the people they helped, many of whom are people of color. “Members started realizing that they really needed to get to know the people they are serving and not just give them things,” he said. “Others are engaged in literacy programs to address the disproportionate number of minorities with low literacy rates. In another case, a church leader decided to load up a bus and take other faith leaders on a tour of places of interest in civil rights in the South. Good things are going on, and we hope that those can spark others to look at their options.” In their analysis of sermons following Floyd’s death, the researchers found clear differences based on racial lines. Black congregations see their religion more closely tied to racial justice than white congregations. “I think a lot of congregations, both Black and white, were talking about it,” Glazier said. “Black congregations were more likely to talk about it in collective terms and say that it’s a systemic problem. White congregations were more likely to talk about Floyd’s death in individual terms, like this tragedy is sad on an individual level. We collected six weeks of data when people were out there protesting and talking about it all the time. There were some white congregations that didn’t even say George Floyd’s name.” The researchers’ interviews with national faith leaders and focus groups resulted in a collection of publicly available, faith-based racial justice resources. The free resources will be available to clergy participants of the on Nov. 2. They will also be released to the general public by the Little Rock Studies Congregation later this fall.

Community Leaders Share Experiences with Improving Religious Tolerance in Arkansas

John Hill — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 13:00:30 +0000

Three Little Rock community leaders and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumni shared their efforts to promote religious tolerance in Arkansas during a Sept. 1 community event.�� The panel, “,” was hosted by the Middle Eastern Studies Program at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and organized by students who participated in a study abroad trip to Spain this summer. The students wanted to connect what they learned in Spain with what community leaders in Little Rock are doing to promote religious tolerance. Panel members included Mayor Frank Scott Jr., Dr. Sara Tariq, co-founder of the Madina Institute and board member for the Interfaith Center, the Hon. Annabelle Imber Tuck, board member for the Interfaith Center and , and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students and study abroad participants Torri Richardson and Nick Junker. The course, Islam and Migration in Modern and Historical Spain, included topics like identity, religious head coverings, demographic change, and immigration. Students met with non-government organizations who work with Muslim refugees, visited historical sites of inter-religious cooperation and conflict, and learned about government programs that “help heal past wounds and build bridges today.” “The students wanted to connect what they learned studying in Spain to the challenges our own city faces with religious tolerance, and they wanted to learn about what was happening in Little Rock to address those challenges,” said Dr. Rebecca Glazier, a professor in the School of Public Affairs who led the study abroad trip. “It was inspiring to see them share what they learned and to also hear community leaders talk about great programs in our community, like those hosted by the .” These events include interfaith dialogue events, a summer friendship camp for elementary school students, and monthly dinners for people of different faiths. Dr. Tariq also remarked on how even small events like these can be meaningful in making religious minorities feel like they are no longer in the margins. “I’m a co-founder of the , a mosque that opened five years ago,” she said. “One of the major foundational pillars is interfaith understanding. The only path to peace that I have ever found effective is through interfaith understanding. It occurs conversation by conversation. I’ve been in Little Rock since third grade, and post 9/11, I think you all know what we felt. We’ve always lived in the margins in the south, and 9/11 made us want to hide and made us very defensive. It also created urgency for me. It’s important for us as leaders to help people of all faiths and bring everyone together for these collective conversations.” At 72, Tuck said it’s taken her a long time to learn that promoting religious tolerance happens person to person and through small projects that positively impact other people’s lives. “Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week, and that is really very sad to me,” Tuck said. “One of the biggest problems I see is lack of education. We live in a part of the United States that has been basically populated by Christians, but we are becoming more diverse religion wise. It’s about educating people on different religions. I don’t pretend to know the answer to the mystery of life, but I know every one of us has a soul. Our congregation is sponsoring an Afghani family with Trinity Episcopal. It feels good to help another family integrate into a different culture.” For the city to truly embody religious tolerance, Mayor Scott said he follows three rules:

Respect and love one another
Responsibility to demonstrate peace
Representation matters

“It is my honor and mission to truly ensure the City of Little Rock is an inclusive city, and we are unapologetic about our intention to include,” Mayor Scott said. “We are a melting pot of many different people, religions, sectors, and genders. I have participated in the worship practice of every major religion in the city. A true leader should understand that while there is a separation of religion and state, there is no separation of citizens. We focus on unity and facing real issues. As an alum of this institution, what you see today is Little Rock at its finest. Little Rock is a welcoming and inclusive city. We still have more work to do. We need more events like this to encourage people.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Students, Community Members to Discuss Study Abroad Trip to Spain and Religious Tolerance Efforts in Aug. 31 Panel

John Hill — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 20:42:36 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host a free community panel where students will share their experiences studying abroad in Spain and prominent community members will discuss efforts to promote religious tolerance in Arkansas and their experiences with prejudice.�� The panel discussion, entitled “Together Little Rock,” will take place in the Legends Room of the Jack Stephens Center at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31. The panel will include Mayor Frank Scott Jr., Dr. Sara Tariq, co-founder of the Madina Institute and board member for the Interfaith Center, the Hon. Annabelle Imber Tuck, board member for the Interfaith Center and Congregation B’Nai Israel in Little Rock and the first woman elected as a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students and study abroad participants Torri Richardson and Nick Junker. The students who attended the trip, all part of the course, will also be in attendance to talk about their experiences abroad and share photos and souvenirs with the audience. Students who went on the trip include Steve Abouem, Armando Arellano, Madison Ellis, Scott Filek, Owen Hayes, Nicholas Junker, Kenedy Kuchinski, Torri Richardson, Misty Roberts, Alexander Shahegh, and Isaac Thomas. Dr. Rebecca Glazier, professor in the School of Public Affairs, accompanied the students on this trip as their faculty advisor. The group spent 12 days in Spain this summer visiting spots in Madrid, Toledo, Granada, and Salobreña. “Most of them had never been out of the country, and some hadn’t even been on an airplane before,” Dr. Glazier said. “I’m glad they were all able to come. We went deep and saw much more than just the top tourist attractions, and it was a unique experience that the students wouldn’t have gotten by themselves or with a tour group.” One of the most significant activities was the opportunity to connect with a nonprofit organization centered in Spain called Arco Forum. It is run by refugees, mostly from Turkey, who have set up cultural programs and efforts to help other Muslim refugees integrate to Spain. “The students had a lot of fun, but the trip also opened their eyes to Islamophobia and prejudice in the country and around the world,” Dr. Glazier said. “This event will be a good way to open that conversation here in Little Rock and ask what we can do better and how we can better connect with their community.”

Little Rock Congregations Study Dialogue Reveals How Congregations, Nonprofits Can Work Together to Address Community Issues

John Hill — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 14:05:26 +0000

The (LRCS) research team at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock worked with a team of students from the ��Vlog��ý-Clinton School of Public Service to host a series of community dialogue discussions during the spring semester to explore how congregations and nonprofits in Little Rock can come together to make an impact on important community issues. The three community sessions focused on the issues selected as the most important from a survey of nearly 2,300 congregants from 35 places of worship across Little Rock who took part in the 2020 LRCS Survey. Their responses indicated a particular interest among the community on the issues of education, healthcare, and marriage and family. The LRCS is led by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors Rebecca Glazier, Gerald Driskill, and Kirk Leach, in consultation with the project’s Clergy Advisory Board, a group of eight clergy members in Little Rock who advise the Little Rock Congregations Study. The Clinton School of Public Service students who led the community dialogue sessions include Amanda Cady, Layne Coleman, David Lewis, Oluwaseun Olaniyi, and Essence Thomas. More than 30 people attended the community dialogue sessions from congregations and nonprofit organizations. In each session, participants from a wide variety of backgrounds discussed their own experiences with each of these issues and the ways in which they hoped to collaborate for positive change in the community. Through each session, participants identified barriers to collaboration between congregations and nonprofits, including time and money, religious and political differences, historic racial inequities, and resistance to change. They also discussed ways to overcome these barriers, including open communication, targeted efforts within congregations to raise awareness, and most importantly, building connections within the community. In small-group discussions, participants were able to meet community members with shared interest areas and discuss new and current initiatives in areas of education, healthcare, and marriage and family. “We were excited for this opportunity to bring people together, despite the pandemic,” said Glazier, director of the Little Rock Congregations Study. “The research we have done over the past few years has shown that both congregations and nonprofits in our city really have a heart to serve. The more they can connect with one another and find areas of commonality, the more we can make progress on these important issues in our community.”�� In the dialogue on education, participants discussed the history of Little Rock’s education system as well as numerous limitations to education, including racial inequity, poverty, and school funding. Barriers to collaboration were identified as race relations, time, and lack of economic resources.�� Their collaboration ideas to address issues in education include engaging with different congregations through volunteer opportunities, volunteering in mentoring programs for local students, and having individual congregations partner with a local school. In the healthcare session, participants discussed issues impacting healthcare in Little Rock, including equity and access to healthcare, rising costs, and differing priorities. One focus of the discussion included racial disparities in healthcare issues and access to healthcare. Participants were interested in finding ways to connect with organizations and congregations outside of their usual circles to learn about initiatives taking place across the city.�� Their collaborative ideas to address healthcare issues include collaborating to arrange health screening and vaccine clinics, building conscious connections across community groups, and prioritizing empowerment and education around health issues and rights. During the marriage and family session, participants from a wide variety of backgrounds found common ground in the stressors that marriages and families encounter and how to provide empathy and support to families in times of need. When families have a strong support system, they are able to persevere through challenges, which benefits family members and their community.�� Participants also explored ideas for how congregations and nonprofits can collaborate to address issues in marriage and family. Their ideas included mentoring programs for families and couples, providing support for children in foster care and their families, and outreach programs to identify and address issues facing families. “As Clinton School students, this dialogue series was a wonderful learning experience for us,” said Amanda Cady, a graduate student. “These dialogues allowed us to apply the academic skills we’ve learned in our program while connecting with the community. We learned that people in Little Rock truly care about their neighbors and want to work together to improve their community. As aspiring public service providers, this was a great way to learn from residents and give back to the city!” A of the participants found that the dialogue series overwhelmingly helped them become more willing to work through barriers to collaboration between congregations and nonprofits. Across dialogues, data showed that most participants became more willing to collaborate across differences, including religious and political differences. Additionally, all participants reported that they would participate in a similar dialogue event again.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Announces Events to Recognize Diversity Month

John Hill — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:38:18 +0000

To celebrate Diversity Month, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Diversity Council has scheduled a variety of events set to take place throughout the month of March. Presentations will include discussions on a range of topics, research findings, and historical events. Addressing Microaggressions – Noon, Wednesday, March 3 The Academy for Teaching and Learning Excellence (ATLE) will present this upcoming Lunch and Learn session as an opportunity for faculty to engage in conversations about how to deal with microaggressions in the classroom. Disability and Diversity – Noon, Thursday, March 4 The director for the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Disability Resource Center, Reed Claiborne, will present a discussion on disability and the things that frame perceptions of disabilities such as legal definitions, media portrayals, historical treatments, and more. Anti-Blackness, Social Feelings, and Public Policy: 1964-2020 – 6 p.m. Thursday, March 4 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock English Department’s Cooper Honors Program will present a talk with Dr. Lisa Corrigan, associate professor of communication and director of the Gender Studies program, who will discuss her latest book, “Black Feelings: Race, Affect, and the Long Sixties.” Building Collaborative Relationships to Improve Race Relations – 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 9 A panel of researchers from the Little Rock Congregations Study (LRCS) will discuss findings relevant to race relations from their Fall 2020 survey with 35 community congregations. The panel will consist of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors Gerald Driskill, Rebecca Glazier, and Kirk Leach. In partnership with the Clinton School of Public Service, the panelists will also present a process of facilitating community dialogues on key issues found within their survey results. Modern Warriors of World War I: American Indians in the Great War – Noon, Wednesday, March 10 Presented by Erin Fehr, an archivist with the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Sequoyah National Research Center, this event will highlight the sacrifice and bravery of American Indians and Alaska Natives that served in World War I. It will inform audience members about things such as how they used their language to create a code that was never broken by the Germans. The Sequoyah National Research Center created a to identify all 12,000 American Indians that served in World War I, which can be found online as part of the ’s website. New Funds for Minority Businesses in Little Rock – 2 p.m. Thursday, March 11 The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center will present a panel discussion on new funding opportunities available in Little Rock for minority businesses. We Sing! A Celebration of Women’s Heritage – 3 p.m. Sunday, March 14 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Choirs will host a live-streamed performance celebrating Women’s Heritage Month, featuring historically informed music performances, poetry reading, a speaker with commentary on notable women of the suffrage movement, and a special musical oratory presentation with Dr. Linda Holzer and Dr. Yslan Hicks. Putting the Pieces Together: A look at how Universal Design for Learning, Open Educational Resources, and Affordable Learning Content work together to benefit students and faculty – 3 p.m. Monday, March 15 in the Ottenheimer Library Presented by e-Learning Specialist Hannah Hurdle, will discuss the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Open Educational Resources (OER), and Affordable Learning Content (ALC) frameworks for inclusive learning. Entrepreneurship: My Journey into the Unknown – 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 16 Entrepreneurial Education Specialist Pamela Reed, with the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, will present a panel discussion featuring minority entrepreneurs. Connecting & Utilizing Social Media for Each Generation – 1 p.m. Thursday, March 18 Jennifer McDannold, coordinator of student orientation and transitions, will present information about each generation, focusing on social media and marketing tricks as well as best practices for Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. “This is Not Who We Are:” Discussing Whiteness, Denial, & Division – 10 a.m. Monday, March 29 Laura Casey, a student success coach with the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Student Retention Initiatives (SRI) team, will host a discussion on the experiences of whiteness and confronting denial. She will be utilizing references such as Ibram Kendi’s book “How to Be an Antiracist” in her presentation to unpack what denial mixed with whiteness looks like. Exploring Our Power and Privilege – 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 30 Sharon Downs, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, will present this final event to encourage conversation on the concepts of power and privilege.

Little Rock Congregations Study shows impact of COVID-19 on religious institutions

John Hill — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 23:01:44 +0000

The results of the (LRCS), a research project based at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, shows that COVID-19 had a major impact on religious institutions in Little Rock.�� The study is led by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors Rebecca Glazier, Gerald Driskill, and Kirk Leach, in consultation with the project’s Clergy Advisory Board, a group of eight clergy members in Little Rock who advise the Little Rock Congregations Study. The LRCS researchers, including a class of nine students, worked with 35 diverse congregations in Little Rock to survey nearly 2,300 church members in October 2020. The surveys included questions about congregation priorities, physical, mental, and spiritual health, and community issues.�� The Little Rock Congregations Study research team and the Clinton School of Public Service will host three facilitated dialogues this month on the issues survey participants identified as the most important: education (Feb. 11), healthcare (Feb. 18), and marriage and family (Feb. 25). The Covid-19 pandemic was the most common reason provided for why respondents had changed their attendance behavior. Most (71.88%) of the respondents are attending worship services about as often as they were a year ago before Covid-19, but 21 percent say that they are attending less often and nearly 7 percent say that they are attending more often. “Some people are attending more because the pandemic has sparked a greater need for spiritual connection, but many more people are attending less because the pandemic has reduced service times, made in-person services more difficult, or made online services the only option, which some find less appealing,” Glazier said. Churches also found creative solutions, in addition to online services, to hold worship services during the pandemic. Second Baptist Church Downtown, for example, began holding outdoor services at Lake Nixon, where the church hosts a summer camp and preschool. Meanwhile, City of Refuge Community Church held curbside communion in its parking lot, where members could drive up, receive communion and a prayer, and then drive home. “We married the sacred with safety,” Pastor Neal Scroggins said. “Using what the culture had shifted to in order to survive financially, our local churches used the same principle to survive spiritually. It’s the simple things that stand out. Driving a car to our church parking lot, while remaining physically distant, our masked and gloved servers were able to accomplish convenience, community, connection and communion.” At a time when many people are suffering from mental health issues because of the pandemic, the study also found that having a close connection with a worship community and providing service is associated with better mental health. Those congregation members with better mental health also attend worship services more often, have warmer feelings about their congregation, give more hours of service to their community, and give more hours of service to their congregation. Increased spiritually has positive benefits for congregations and also for communities. About 1/3 of the respondents are more deeply spiritual, compared to the rest of the sample. These are people who feel closer to God today than they did a year ago, who regularly feel thankful for their blessings, who regularly experience God’s love, and who often feel a deep sense of spiritual peace.�� “These people are significantly more likely to provide service to their congregation and to attend worship services, a finding we would expect,” Glazier said. “But their spirituality also has positive consequences for the broader community. Deeply spiritual respondents are also more likely to provide service to the community, believe they can make a difference in their community, and be engaged in talking about and helping to solve community issues.”

Race and Religion in Little Rock

Over the past eight years, race relations have increased in importance as a community issue for the clergy in Little Rock. In 2020, 88 percent of responding clergy leaders agree or strongly agree that Little Rock has a problem with racial division, but the vast majority also believes that things will get better. A lower number of congregation members, 77 percent, agree or strongly agree that Little Rock has a problem with racial division. “Talking about issues of race can be difficult, especially in a city like Little Rock, with a living history of racial injustice, but religious leaders have the moral authority to lead these difficult conversations,” Glazier said. “More than any other community issue, people believe their places of worship should be involved in helping to address the issue of race relations.” The study also showed that a majority of church members want their congregations to help solve issues within the community. The top issues that members want their congregations to solve include: race (90%), foster care (86%), marriage/family (85%), prison (81%), inequality (80.5%), health (74.5%), homelessness (67.5%), and crime (60%).

Community Engagement

Churches were found to adapt their ongoing mission work to meet the new needs of the community during COVID-19. St. James United Methodist Church, for example, shifted meals with the homeless to go-to boxes, changed the on-site food pantry to a drive-thru model, brought meals to medical staff at local hospitals, and sewed thousands of facemasks to donate. “There’s a hunger in people to find ways to make a practical difference with their faith,” Reverend Carness Vaughan said. “As our people are getting more deeply connected with Christ, they’re searching for that outlet to exhibit their faith and to live out their faith.” Likewise, the Madina Institute also started a Community Mask Campaign to financially support women who have lost jobs during the pandemic by giving them sewing machines to help stitch facemasks and donating masks to those in need. “Now we are not only helping Muslims and immigrant communities, but we are also providing face masks to several faith communities, nursing homes, and churches whose congregations primarily consist of colored, marginalized or low-income communities in Central Arkansas,” said Sophia Said, founder of the Madina Institute. Jade McCain, a senior political science major from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, was a student researcher working on the 2020 LRCS as part of a class on Religion and Community Engagement, taught by Glazier. As part of the course, Jade McCain researched the differences between religious minorities and majorities in Little Rock. Black Protestant, Muslim, and Jewish congregations are classified as religious minorities, while Mormon, Mainline Protestant, Catholic, and Evangelical congregations are classified as majorities. “Some of my major findings were that the clergy messages from religious minority congregations were focused more on political advocacy and social action, while the clergy messages from religious majority congregations were more focused on the importance of marriage and family,” McCain said. “Religious minority clergy leaders are also more focused on urging members to vote, while religious majority clergy leaders are focused on personal spiritual growth. My overall findings concluded that religious minorities in Little Rock have more progressive views like advocacy while religious majorities in Little Rock are more traditional views like family.” The Little Rock Congregations Study research team is working with a practicum team of five students from the Clinton School of Public Service this spring to host three facilitated dialogues for the community on the issues survey participants identified as the most important: education (Feb. 11), healthcare (Feb. 18), and marriage and family (Feb. 25). These dialogues will bring together congregations and nonprofits to talk about these important community issues and help make connections for collaboration. The discussions will be held virtually, and those interested can. The LRCS Facilitated Dialogue Series will take place: Thursday, Feb. 11, 6-8 p.m., Education Thursday, Feb. 18, 6-8 p.m., Healthcare Thursday, Feb. 25, 6-8 p.m., Marriage and Family For more information about the LRCS, visit or contact Glazier, at raglazier@ualr.edu. The full 2020 Little Rock Congregations Study Executive Report is available .

Glazier signs contract to publish book on how teachers can build rapport with students in an online environment

John Hill — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 15:35:59 +0000

While most have embraced the importance of online education because of the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Rebecca Glazier has been researching its importance for the past decade and has plenty of advice to share. Glazier, associate professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has signed a contract with John Hopkins University Press to publish her new book on connecting with students in an online environment. The new book is titled, “Connecting in the Online Classroom: Teachers, Students, and Building Rapport in Online Learning.” The experimental and survey research in the book demonstrate how teachers and students can make human connections in online classes as well as how those connections lead to significant improvements in student success. “Even before COVID-19, more students than ever were taking online classes,” Glazier said. “Online higher education can increase access for students who have previously been unable to attend college, including rural students, students of color, low-income students, non-traditional students, and working students.” Higher education is also facing an online retention crisis, Glazier said. Online students are at risk of failing classes, dropping out of college, and ending up with student loan debt and no degree. “Students in online classes fail and drop out at significantly higher rates than students in face-to-face classes,” Glazier said. “This book is about how faculty can make real human connections with the students in their online classes by building rapport with them to reverse this crisis and help their students succeed.” The personal touch brought by faculty members is even more critical to student success during a pandemic, when students might be struggling with financial or emotional issues. “When students connect with faculty, they learn more, earn higher grades, stay enrolled, and are more likely to graduate,” Glazier said. “When they take sterile online classes without a human faculty presence, online retention rates plummet, and students are much less likely to succeed. Making real human connections is really critical for learning online.” While this is Glazier’s first academic book, she’s published 34 articles and book chapters, including five articles on online teaching with two under review. With so many students taking online classes during the pandemic, Glazier is worried that educators may be more focused on technology. A multi-year teaching experiment conducted in her own political science classes shows that making online classes a welcoming place for community and connection resulted in increased students grades and a 13 percent increase in retention. Glazier partnered with Dr. Heidi Skurat, a professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, to conduct an experiment to see if they could improve student retention with only a small amount of rapport-building. In results discussed in depth in the book, Glazier and Skurat found that students who spent as little as 10 minutes in online classes designed with rapport in mind – elements as simple as having a picture of the professor, a welcome message, a flexible late-work policy, and automatic feedback on quizzes – were significantly more likely to say they intended to stay enrolled in the course. “The book is filled with evidence-based strategies that faculty can implement in their online classrooms right away to build rapport with their students and help them succeed,” Glazier says. The book will be available in summer 2021. In the meantime, Glazier is sharing her message of the importance of human connection in online education through workshops, blog posts, and podcasts on and has recently been featured in an with Helix Education.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock working with local congregations on the 2020 Little Rock Congregations Study

John Hill — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 21:03:00 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is working with churches and congregations in Little Rock for the 2020 Little Rock Congregations Study. This year’s study asks congregation members about the community issues that are important to them. One of the long-term goals of the research is to bring together congregations and nonprofit organizations that would like to partner together to tackle Little Rock’s biggest problems. “We are excited to work with these congregations through this community-based research project, because we see it as a mutually beneficial way that the university and the community can connect,” said Dr. Rebecca Glazier. “Our students get a hands-on research experience they will never forget, and participating congregations get a professional report on the attitudes and well-being of their members. The students��are contributing so much passion and creativity to this project to make it possible to do community-based research in the middle of a pandemic.” The is led by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors Rebecca Glazier, Gerald Driskill, and Kirk Leach, in consultation with the project’s Clergy Advisory Board, a group of eight clergy members in Little Rock who advise the Little Rock Congregations Study. Currently, 36 congregations are participating in the study, and thousands of congregation members will have the opportunity to complete the survey distributed through their place of worship. The online survey will be available until Nov. 1. “As a student researcher that is passionate about helping people, I am excited about how the data we collect will impact congregations and nonprofits,” said Alanna Tatum, a Master of Public Administration student from North Little Rock. “This study is going to connect people that want to serve to people that need to be helped in our community.” Every congregation that participates will receive a report that includes data on demographics; worship service attendance; mental, physical, and spiritual health; congregational and community engagement; perceptions of community and racial unity and division; and ways members desire to serve the community. The report will also connect congregations and nonprofit organizations with similar community service goals. “We ask questions about how they are doing spiritually, the community issues that matter to them, and where they would like to get involved,” Glazier said. “The reports the students will help produce will include information on how to connect with nonprofits and other congregations working on the issues that matter most to each congregation’s members, so we hope our work will help facilitate collaboration.” Glazier and her student researchers have been surveying and interviewing religious leaders since the summer and in the current stage of the research, they are now surveying individual congregation members. Some of the study’s early research looked at how religious leaders in Arkansas are growing more concerned with the issue of race relations in the U.S. After hosting a Little Rock Religious Leaders Summit last year, the Little Rock Congregations Study research team decided to address questions of race and social justice. “The work which we are doing gives us the opportunity to bring our community closer together both religiously and socially. Throughout our studies, we are striving to discover the impact religious, religious institutions, and their ideals have in the city of Little Rock,” said Issac Thomas, a political science and history major from Ashdown, Arkansas. “I believe that the research we do now will be a precept by which the social issues facing not only our own city, but the wider world, can be mitigated.” Community members who are interested in learning more about the Little Rock Congregations Study research project can ��or may contact Glazier at raglazier@ualr.edu.

Little Rock Congregations Study shows more clergy are concerned about race relations

John Hill — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 21:32:06 +0000

Research from the at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock shows that religious leaders in Little Rock are growing more concerned with the issue of race relations. The Little Rock Congregations Study is led by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors Rebecca Glazier, Gerald Driskill, and Kirk Leach, in consultation with the project’s Clergy Advisory Board, a group of eight clergy members in Little Rock who advise the Little Rock Congregations Study. Glazier, a professor of political science, and her student researchers are surveying religious leaders over the summer as part of the 2020 study. After seeing the protests that enveloped the community after the death of George Floyd, Glazier turned to the Today, there are no longer any faith leaders in Little Rock who are responding that the issue of race relations is “moderately important” or “slightly important.” A recent look at the results shows that 30 percent of clergy identify the issue of race relations as “important,” while 70 percent identify it as “very important.” “I think the clergy in Little Rock have been concerned about race relations for many years,” Glazier said. “We see a trend of increasing importance in this issue that has been going on for years. I think it reflects a growing awareness of this issue in our society. As we have seen more instances of police brutality caught on video, you see our society saying this is unacceptable. You’ve seen the Black Lives Matter movement grow. We’re seeing how important racial justice issues are.” After hosting a Little Rock Religious Leaders Summit last year, the Little Rock Congregations Study research team decided they would more directly address questions of race and social justice during the 2020 study. Among other topics that faith leaders emphasized at the summit, racial division rose to the top again and again. “When we look at the data we have collected over the years, they tell a story of a city that is deeply divided,” Glazier said. “Little Rock has a history of racial violence, segregation, red-lining, and hate. It is no surprise that the vast majority (86 percent) of 2020 responding clergy strongly agree or agree that ‘Little Rock has a problem with racial division.’” Clergy, historically, have played an important role in civil rights in the United States in terms of mobilizing and healing. Many of the religious leaders participating in the study have talked about their roles as leaders in the current crisis. “I think they can continue to play a very critical role at this moment in history,” Glazier said. “The clergy that I have been talking to for years have said we’ve heard a lot of talk about the need for social justice and better race relations, but we haven’t seen a lot of actions. I believe the religious leadership think now is the time to take more action. They are leading conversations across racial lines, holding meetings with police, protesters, and legislators, holding peaceful protests, and talking about working peacefully toward reconciliation. The call is very much to action and not just to words.” During an interview with Pastor Billy Burris of St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church, Burris recalled the many activities he participated in during a single day, which included a prayer call, an interview on a radio station, and a meeting with other pastors and the chief of police. “We are just trying to help, trying to be a conduit, if you will, between law enforcement and the community, and doing what we can for the peaceful protests,” Burris said. Hope remains strong among religious leaders in Little Rock that the situation will improve. Sixty percent of early clergy respondents agree or strongly agree that race relations are likely to improve in Little Rock in the future. “Places of worship and people of faith have always played a powerful role in mobilizing people to fight for justice and in healing past wounds,” Glazier said. “The early results from our 2020 study reveal that there is still a lot of hope in our city. Communities of faith are key to making that happen.” In the upper right photo, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors and student researchers, from left, Gerald Driskill, Jessica Olson, Jasmine Pugh, Kaylyn Hager, and Rebecca Glazier are researching how partnerships between churches and nonprofit organizations can provide services to the community. Photo by Ben Krain.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock grad looks forward to career in tech industry, starting orphanage

John Hill — Thu, 21 May 2020 13:26:27 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate is looking forward to a future in the tech industry, followed by fulfilling her lifelong goal of helping children.�� Mariam Bouzihay, of Jonesboro, has graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in information technology.�� In the fall, she will attend the New York University Tandon School of Engineering in the Management of Technology program to study user experience and interface design. The program is designed for college graduates and professionals who aim to make a difference in a world where economic and social advancement is increasingly dependent on integrating technology and business. Her lifelong goal, after establishing a career in the tech industry, is to open an orphanage. “My ultimate goal is to open an orphanage, but I want to have a career first,” she said. “I’ve always enjoyed helping people, and I feel if people had that one person who was there for them that they could achieve so much. A child needs a support system, so I want to be there for those children and help others.” Bouzihay’s decision to come to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock was a family affair. Her older sister, Nora, attended ��Vlog��ý Little Rock as a Donaghey Scholar, so, naturally, Bouzihay was intrigued. She has been an active participant in the EAST Scholarship Program at Nettleton High School in Jonesboro and wanted to continue that at her university. After being accepted as an EAST Scholar, Bouzihay has been involved in a number of community service activities. “As an EAST Scholar, you teach yourself technology skills, and you put them to use to create a service project to help your community,” she said. “During my sophomore year, I worked with ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Children International. We created an after-school EAST program at Wakefield Elementary, where the students created designs for their dream playground. During my junior and senior years, I helped plan events and get volunteers for the STEM Education Center, so I coordinated events like the robotics competitions, community engineering nights, and girls coding competition.”�� Throughout her time at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Bouzihay has had some amazing experiences that make her stand out. She was a fellow in the Career Connections Powered by Facebook program, served as a strategic communications intern for the Judge David L. Bazelon Center of Mental Health Law in Washington, D.C., as well as an events and donor relations intern at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. Last year, Bouzihay was one of 10 U.S. college students selected for the Joseph J. Malone Fellowship in Arab and Islamic Studies cultural immersion program in Qatar. Bouzihay traveled to Qatar to learn about the country’s culture, society, and economics, as well as government priorities, concerns, and needs as pertaining to Qatari-U.S. relations. “My favorite off-campus college experience was going to Qatar,” she said. “It was exciting to meet with different diplomats and consulates. We were guests of the government, and we learned about the culture and met other students and professors from the U.S. who shared the experience. We experienced things that most students will never get to see.” Her favorite on-campus experiences included being involved in activities that made a difference to the university and the community, like serving as president of the Model Arab League and the Student Alumni Board as well as serving as the chief of staff and public relations officer for the Student Government Association. “My best on-campus experience is creating connections with people and being able to give back to the university,” Bouzihay said. “I love ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. I think it’s Arkansas’s best kept secret. We have so many amazing programs, and I’ve been glad to help grow and shine some light on these programs. Since my freshman year, I’ve wanted to make changes on this campus, and that has pushed me to succeed. SGA helped me gain connections on campus, like being on the reaccreditation steering committee, and learning how things work in higher education.”�� Bouzihay was thankful to a number of mentors who helped her succeed during her time at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “My biggest mentor is Rebecca Glazier, since I was in Model Arab League. She opened a lot of doors, and that is why I went to Qatar,” Bouzihay said. “Sandra Leitermann at the STEM Education Center has also been an inspiration to me. I really look up to her. I work very closely with Kristi Smith and Samantha Wiley in the Bailey Alumni Center in my job as a communications intern. They have given me great opportunities to grow and advice.” As someone who participated in the Upward Bound college preparation program, Bouzihay knows the importance of having a good mentor, which is why she decided to serve as a mentor to students in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Charles W. Donaldson Scholars Academy and the Student Affairs Success Initiatives. “I saw how important it was to have positive mentors and have someone to relate to you,” she said. “I always wanted to give back, especially since the Charles W. Donaldson Scholars Academy and the Student Affairs Success Initiatives focused on minority students. Some people just need one person to listen and help them. Anyone can be a mentor, but it takes a lot to be a positive mentor. I’m a first-generation student, so I know what it’s like and how to help new students navigate the system.” While looking back at her college career at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Bouzihay is grateful for the journey that has left her with a lifetime of exciting memories. “It was a learning experience. It opened doors I didn’t think would be possible or even existed,” she said. “It showed me the importance of giving back to the university and, no matter what, to give it your all. Without ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, I wouldn’t have had the experiences I’ve had or met the people I have. I thank ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for that. I’m excited to move on to new experiences and use what I’ve learned these past four years.”

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

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Researchers Explore the Role of Congregations in Racial Justice