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

Matson Begins New Tenure as Faculty Senate President at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

John Hill — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 13:12:38 +0000

Dr. Joanne Liebman Matson, professor of rhetoric and writing, started off her two-year term as the new president of the Faculty Senate and University Assembly with the first Faculty Senate meeting of the new school year on Aug. 26. “I am excited to participate in making ��Vlog��ý Little Rock better and helping the university continue to recover from the pandemic,” Matson said. “This will be a good finish to my academic career because I do plan to retire after my two-year term as Faculty Senate president.” Matson has served multiple terms on the Faculty Senate since the 1980s. She’s been a continuous member since 2012 and has served as vice president since 2013. Over the summer, Matson joined 21 other faculty senate leaders from across the country in Houston to discuss national shared governance issues during a meeting of the National Council of Faculty Senates. “One of the things I’d like to do this year is reach out to Faculty Senate presidents across the state,” she said. “I hope to reinvigorate a commitment across campus on the importance of shared governance in faculty and curriculum issues.” Matson has been a part of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for nearly four decades when she joined the Department of English in 1983. She served as the freshman composition coordinator from 1986 to 1992, when she made a move to the provost’s office to serve as the associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. In 2001, Matson returned to the Department of Rhetoric and Writing where she has been teaching full time ever since. Earlier this year, she donated $25,000 to create an endowed scholarship for rhetoric and writing students. Matson is also a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission and teaches Sunday School at Temple B’nai Israel.

Matson Donates $25,000 to Create Scholarship for Rhetoric and Writing Students at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

John Hill — Thu, 19 May 2022 12:45:05 +0000

Dr. Joanne Liebman Matson, professor of rhetoric and writing, is celebrating her department’s and her parents’ commitment to education with the creation of an endowed scholarship at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Matson’s donation of $25,000 will establish the Quarter Century Excellence Endowed Scholarship for the benefit of rhetoric and writing students at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. The scholarship will recognize the progress of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Department of Rhetoric and Writing in its first 25 years of existence, while also honoring the lifelong commitment to learning and education of Matson’s parents, Judith and Jerome Liebman of Cleveland, Ohio. “My parents really believed in education, and that is why I wanted to honor them,” Matson said. “I also wanted to honor the Department of Rhetoric and Writing for their many years of helping students. These students are such an amazing group of people who we can continue to support.” Jerome Liebman was a doctor, pediatric cardiologist, and professor of academic medicine at Case Western Reserve University. “He was very much an educator as much as he was a doctor,” Matson said. “What was important to him was teaching. He was the first pediatric cardiologist between Boston and Chicago. He trained a lot of the first generation of pediatric cardiologists across the country. My mother was a nurse, and they met on a medical ward in Boston. She ended up having three master’s degrees.” Having struggled to afford a college education themselves, the Liebmans always stressed the importance of education to their children. “When my sisters, brother, and I were growing up, our parents’ philosophy was to pay for anything that was education related and nothing else,” Matson said. “Neither could afford a college education. My father paid for college by entering the Army Officer Training program, and my mother worked full-time as a nurse while getting her degree.” Jerome Liebman passed away in 2016, and Judith Liebman passed away at the beginning of the pandemic. “This donation is part of what they left to me,” Matson added. The scholarship is open to part-time or full-time undergraduate and graduate students. Preference will be given to graduate students until the fund can support two annual awards, at which point the award will be given to one graduate and one undergraduate student. The scholarship can provide financial assistance to rhetoric and writing students for education-related expenses like tuition, books, fees, and room and board. Matson has been a staple at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for nearly four decades. She joined ��Vlog��ý Little Rock working in the Department of English in 1983. She served as the freshman composition coordinator from 1986 to 1992, when she made a move to the provost’s office to serve as the associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. In 2001, Matson returned to the Department of Rhetoric and Writing where she has been teaching full time ever since.

Jones Selected for $1,000 Scholarship from Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas

John Hill — Thu, 05 May 2022 15:49:27 +0000

The (HWOA) has selected Christine Jones, a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate student, to receive a $1,000 scholarship. “I’m really honored that I was chosen from so many other qualified Hispanic students across the state,” said Jones, a graduate student in the Professional and Technical Writing program from Cabot. “I’m honored to be a representative of my heritage in the state of Arkansas.” Jones is one of 30 Latino college students who have received scholarships from the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas. HWOA’s goal is to increase the college enrollment and graduation rate of Hispanic students. “We are pleased to celebrate this milestone promoting and supporting higher education of Latinos in Arkansas,” said Margarita Solórzano, HWOA executive director. “Seeing the number of applicants increase every year speaks volumes of the interest among the Latinos families to seek a better life through education.” The students were selected from dozens of applicants for their scholastic achievements, leadership, and community service. The students will be honored during a scholarship presentation from 6-7 p.m. May 7 during the Cinco de Mayo Festival in Springdale, Arkansas. Funds for the scholarship are raised from proceeds from the Cinco de Mayo festival, donations, and the generous support of sponsors and community volunteers. Prior to the ceremony, Jones and Dr. Edma Delgado, assistant professor of Spanish, will set up a recruitment table from 12-5 p.m. during the festival to tell others about ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “I’m looking forward to the Cinco de Mayo celebration and ceremony, and I’m really honored to be a part of it,” Jones said. “I don’t have a big Hispanic community where I’m from so I am definitely interested in being able to connect with Hispanics across the state and form a tighter community.” Jones will graduate from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in December 2022. She currently serves as a graduate assistant in the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education Dean’s Office, a CHASSE senator for the Student Government Association, chair of the Racial Barriers Committee, president of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock chapter of League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and vice president of the Graduate Student Association at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.

Carter Recognized for Outstanding Lifetime Achievements in Engineering Communication

John Hill — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 12:50:32 +0000

Dr. Joyce Carter, chair of the Department of Rhetoric and Writing at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, has received the Alfred N. Goldsmith Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Communication from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Professional Communication Society. Carter will receive the award during the IEEE International Professional Communication Conference July 17-20 in Limerick, Ireland. “It’s very exciting and a real honor to receive this award,” Carter said. “I’ve won small awards before, but this award is from an international body that recognizes a lifetime of work and a career of visionary service to the field.” The Goldsmith Award has been given by IEEE PCS since 1975. Dr. Goldsmith, who held a lifetime appointment as associate professor of electrical engineering at CCNY and was the first director of research, was one of the founders of the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) in 1912. From 1912 to 1954, he was editor of the IRE Proceedings. He was a sponsor and patron of the formation of the IRE Professional Group on Engineering Writing and Speech, forerunner of PCS. Winners of the Goldsmith Award have received distinction in the field of engineering communication as evidenced by a significant reputation in a field associated with engineering communication as well as scholarly publications in the field and innovations that have advanced the practice of engineering communication. Carter was nominated by Dr. Pam Estes Brewer of Mercer University and Dr. Laura Patterson of the University of British Columbia for being a “steady friend of IEEE and a visionary at the confluence of technical communication practice, education, and entrepreneurship.” “Dr. Carter’s disruptive visions in technical communication are so universally applicable and impactful that engineering communication, as a sub-discipline, has benefitted immeasurably from her contributions,” her nomination letter said. “She has shared these visions in both scholarly publications and practical applications that will impact the field of technical and engineering communication for years to come. We believe that Dr. Carter’s work is so impactful to the broader scope of technical communication that it significantly affects engineering communication.” Carter joined ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2016 as a professor and chair of the Rhetoric and Writing department. Prior to that, she served as a professor at Texas Tech University. She is also a founder, investor, and former chief financial officer for EyeGuide, a Texas startup company that creates eye-tracking and concussion hardware and software solutions. Carter has a long history of serving as a technical writer and editor, educator, and researcher in usability testing. At ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, she’s helped to open high-tech classrooms for hybrid learning, created and taught classes with usability testing, and continued research into user experience and design. She is currently researching how the role of light affects usability in apps. “They are recognizing my contributions to the technical writing field in the area of online communication and education,” Carter said. “I’ve been involved in designing online classrooms, software, and online degree programs for the last 40 years. Those experiences would touch all the members of this group.”

Beavers Appointed First Chancellor’s Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

John Hill — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 14:48:13 +0000

Dr. , assistant professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, has been selected as the inaugural Chancellor’s Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). “Dr. Beavers has a proven track record of thought leadership and academic research concerning antiracist pedagogies as a means for broader social change,” Chancellor Christina Drale said. “As the Chancellor’s DEI Fellow, he will have a larger platform from which to guide our institutional endeavors toward more diverse, equitable, and inclusive outcomes.” The fellow is responsible for helping to coordinate and support all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on campus including DEI training, diversity recruitment, and retention for both students and employees, program development, curricular development, and policy advising. “I’m thrilled and excited to be in this new position that is needed and warranted at our institution,” Beavers said. “I really want to be a part of a team effort to reshape how we approach diversity, equity, and inclusion at the university.” In his new role, Beavers will work with existing diversity groups on campus to enhance and coordinate their activities and will also advise the chancellor and cabinet on new initiatives to improve outcomes in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Beavers is a published writer and frequent speaker on the subject of diversity and inclusion. He recently delivered a presentation at Bentley University on “Embodying Race and Language in the Writing Classroom; Becoming an Antiracist Writing Program & Becoming an Antiracist Writing Instructor.” He is also a member of the Institute of Race, Rhetoric, and Literacy, a national organization of scholars that provide expertise on antiracism. Beavers has also written a chapter,” My Journey Toward Antiracist Pedagogy and Praxis: My Language and Identity,” for the “McGraw Hill Instructor’s Guide: Writing for College, Writing for Life.” In addition, he has been working with the Council of Writing Program Administrators to make the outcomes for first-year writing programs more inclusive. These outcomes are often used to evaluate college writing programs and to set goals for writing classes. “It’s about developing an idea of language diversity and pushing against the assumption that there is only one standard way that students should use their language in the writing classroom,” Beavers said. Beavers earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Central Arkansas as well as a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Beavers joined ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2015 as an instructor. He’s also the director of first-year writing at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. His research interests involve writing program administration, composition pedagogy, online writing instruction, rhetorical theory, and popular culture studies. In this position, Beavers said he would love to work with fellow faculty members to showcase how faculty are bringing DEI solutions into the classroom. “I would love to start an intergroup dialogue with other colleges and departments and find out what other faculty are doing that we can spotlight and highlight,” Beavers said. “In my class, I highlight BIPOC scholars and writers that are writing about racial issues or things that help us have these difficult conversations. This is one way faculty can move toward centering diversity within their classrooms.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Web Design and Development Recognized as Great Degree Program

John Hill — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 13:53:05 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has been featured as having one of the best bachelor’s degree programs in web development in the country.�� Vlog��ý Little Rock was ranked fifth on College Rank’s list of . ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Web Design and Development Program is designed to cater to both traditional university students as well as working professionals in multiple fields. This is an interdisciplinary program designed collaboratively by faculty from the departments of Art and Design, Rhetoric and Writing, Mass Communication, Information Science, and the Information Technology Program. “The faculty and community partners instrumental to the Web Design and Development Program are proud of this recognition of the importance of the program,” said Thomas Wallace, web design and development/information technology program coordinator. “The collaboration across campus has allowed us to build a relevant and adaptive curriculum tapping into a broad range of faculty expertise. Recent graduates have found success at securing jobs in the industry, and we have built a solid foundation for the program to continue to grow and succeed in the future.” The program pairs well with another major or minor like bioinformatics or information technology. Students complete 120 credit hours divided up into core, foundation, content, information science, art, and mass communication credits, along with a six-hour cooperative experience capstone course. Sample courses include mobile web design, web technologies, introduction to media production, and usability testing and design. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock web design and development graduates often pursue careers as web designers, UX/UI designers, applications developers, and web content managers. College Rank synthesizes data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the Bureau of Labor Statics, Payscale, and the College Scorecard. Ultimately, colleges are scored based on their commitment to online education, admission rates, student satisfaction, alumni debt, and specialty in the program in question.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Remembers Huey Crisp

John Hill — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 13:46:48 +0000

Dr. Huey Crisp, a professor emeritus of the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, passed away April 9 in Little Rock.�� Crisp’s love of reading and literature began when his ninth grade English teacher warned his class not to read the work of Thomas Wolfe because it was unsuitable for young minds. Of course Crisp went straight to the library to get his hands on a copy of “Look Homeward Angel.” “Huey was one of the most avid readers I have ever known,” said Dr. George Jensen, a professor of rhetoric and writing. “He would read entire series of novels; then, a year or two later, he would go back and reread the entire series. I was lucky enough to see him change lives. You could sit near him and watch it happen in real time.” Crisp was a 1957 graduate of Gaston High School. He served in the U.S. Army with the 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. He received his bachelor’s degree from North Texas University-Denton, his master’s degree from the University of Texas-Arlington, and his doctorate in higher education from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Crisp met the love of his life, Sally Chandler Crisp, at Richland Community College, where they both taught writing courses. The couple married in 1974 and made their home at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 1980. Crisp was a founding member of the Department of Rhetoric and Writing in 1993, where he taught composition, nonfiction, and professional writing courses. He served as the department’s director of composition from 1998 until his retirement in 2011. “Dr. Huey Crisp was a storyteller and a cheerleader. Seemingly everyone who knew him has multiple accounts of his day-brightening and wisdom dispensed through story,” said Dr. Sarah Beth Estes, dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education. “He was also a program builder in his foundational contributions to the Department of Rhetoric and Writing and to our state. Hundreds of his writing students are all around us, carrying Dr. Crisp’s spirit and writing instruction forward.” Crisp organized many writing workshops in business and government organizations and for K-12 and community college teachers. For more than a decade, Crisp taught writing classes to incarcerated learners in the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Huey was a prolific storyteller, and his work appeared in . He had numerous short stories and essays published. For four years, Huey served as the poetry critic for the Poetry Roundtable of Arkansas. His publications as author, co-author, or editor include: “The Steps We Took,” “Carry This Message,”�� “Lessons from Little Rock,” “Dinamica de Recuperacion,” “Lloyd Peterson and Peterson Industries: An American Story,” and “Balm in Gilead.” “I always showed him my early drafts,” Jensen said. “He always found the gold amid my mush, and he could also pinpoint what needed revision with sensitivity. As soon as he shared comments with me, I began to revise immediately. He must have done this for every student he ever taught. I am grateful that he was my friend.” A celebration of his life will be held at Our Lady of the Holy Souls at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 13. The event may be viewed virtually on the . Donations may be made to the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Foundation, David and Lucille Chandler Endowed Scholarship, 2801 S. University, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72204. This scholarship fund, created by Drs. Huey and Sally Crisp, supports students in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing.

Martin selected as Faculty Excellence in Teaching winner for College of Education and Health Professions

John Hill — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 15:37:10 +0000

Londie Martin, assistant professor of rhetoric and writing, has been selected as the 2020 Faculty Excellence in Teaching award winner for the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock College of Social Sciences and Communication.�� Martin regularly teaches digital narrative, digital nonfiction, document design, writing on the web, and composition I and II, as well as rhetoric communication courses for the Donaghey Scholars Program. Whether it’s first-year composition or upper-level and graduate courses, Martin asks students to do a self-assessment of their work for major course projects. To help students craft their self-assessment, she provides assignment sheets, objectives, and rubrics to help them evaluate not just the products they compose, but also their process and the labor associated with it. “The first class I took with her was a document design course that I was terrified of being in,” said Tori Watson, a graduate student at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “I had no design experience and was nervous that I wouldn’t succeed. For every project, she gave in-depth responses on what worked and what we could improve upon, and I left that class feeling confident in my abilities because of her instruction, encouragement, and feedback.” Kristen McIntyre, associate professor of rhetoric and writing, said that she learned much from Martin’s thoughtful and transformative pedagogical practices while they co-taught a rhetoric communication course for the Donaghey Scholars Program. “Londie’s excellence in teaching is evident in her facilitation of authentic collaborative learning with her students,” McIntyre said. “While providing clear expectations in her assignment descriptions and rubrics, Londie invites students to play with the ideas and techniques that are explored in the course content. It has been extremely helpful to my own pedagogy to be able to observe the ways that Londie is able to challenge and support students.” Martin holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree in rhetoric, composition, and professional communication from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. in rhetoric, composition, and the teaching of English from the University of Arizona.

Skurat Harris selected as Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Endeavors winner for College of Social Sciences and Communication

John Hill — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 18:26:08 +0000

Dr. Heidi Skurat Harris, associate professor of rhetoric and writing, has been selected as the 2020 Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Endeavors award winner for the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock College of Social Sciences and Communication.�� Vlog��ý Little Rock will reveal the university-wide winners of the 2020 Faculty Excellence Awards at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 23, on the Faculty Excellence website��and the.�� “Dr. Skurat Harris’ research, which is integrated throughout her teaching, is nationally recognized, and she is one of the top authorities on online writing instruction and program development in the country,” said Dr. Joyce Carter, chair of the Department of Rhetoric and Writing. Skurat Harris is the editor of the “Bedford Bibliography of Research in Online Writing Instruction.” In its second edition, it features annotations of 540 sources in online writing instruction and is the only comprehensive bibliography of research in this area.�� Her research areas of online instruction and online writing program development allow her to use her research data to improve her teaching and advising, while Skurat Harris’ experiences in teaching and advising online students drive her research agenda. “As a colleague and co-author, I can also comment on the remarkable way in which Dr. Harris connects her research to her work as a teacher and curriculum designer,” said Michael Greer, lecturer in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing. “Out of our work to develop courses to teach instructors how to design and deliver effective online courses, we have developed a series of publications. For many scholars, research and teaching are separate projects. For Dr. Harris, teaching practice drives her research projects, and her research, in turn, informs her continuous drive to improve her already impressive skills as a teacher.” Skurat Harris and Dr. Rebecca Glazier, associate professor of public affairs, have studied how rapport with the instructor impacts retention in online classes across the curriculum based on a decade of data. Predictive analysis models showed that moving the average student from the least-positive instructor to the most-positive instructor increases retention by 30 points. “I have worked with Heidi to improve retention in online classes here at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for the past 3 years,” Glazier said. “The results of our findings are currently under review at the ‘Online Learning Journal,’ and we are preparing an additional manuscript and a grant application. This research matters to the university and our student body more than ever. Heidi and I are conducting workshops to bring the research findings into the teaching and learning experience in practical ways that can improve student retention. Heidi cares deeply about her students, and, as a researcher, I have been impressed by her ability to always see the real people behind the statistics and the surveys.” In 2019, she and four colleagues published two research articles using national student survey data, which showed that students in online writing classes need more instructor presence and more carefully sequenced assignments to be successful. This research led the team to develop a paradigm called “purposeful pedagogy-driven design” to help students become better writers. A forthcoming article in the “Journal of Technical Writing and Communication” connects purposeful pedagogy-driven design and the use of multimedia in online technical writing courses.�� Skurat Harris earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of the Ozarks, a master’s degree in writing from Missouri State University, as well as a master’s degree and Ph.D. in English, both from Ball State University.

‘To The Rescue’ game designers break fundraising goal in just two days

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:16 +0000

Two University of Arkansas at Little Rock students are in awe over all the support shown for their dog rescue shelter simulation game. Their $16,000 fundraising campaign on was reached in just over 48 hours. “We have been totally blown away by the amount of support that we’ve received for this project,” said Olivia Dunlap, one of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate students who created “To The Rescue.” “Locally and around the world, people have flocked to us because they believe in what we are trying to do, and it’s an extraordinary feeling to see that reflected in our Kickstarter’s success. We are so thankful to everyone that has supported us so far, and are really excited to see how far we can reach with To The Rescue!” Dunlap and her partner, Tanner Marshall, a fellow ��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate student, have been designing “To The Rescue” as a pet project for nearly three years. They launched their Kickstarter campaign on Aug. 6 to raise enough money to complete the development of the game. They reached their fundraising. By Aug. 14, the campaign had raised about $25,000 from around 800 donors. In “To The Rescue,” a player is the sole volunteer who is responsible for running the shelter, taking care of the dogs, and making sure they are adopted into their forever homes. The game was created with Joseph Williams, associate professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, who worked on sound design, and Byron Buslig, a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumnus who served as the game’s artist. Donors can give as little as $1 with various levels of donations. Those who pledge $15 will receive a copy of the game when it is released in 2020, while donations of $30 will receive the game, a sticker pack, and the opportunity to add a dog name to the game. Those who pledge $50, $100, or even $500 can receive even more rewards, including an enamel pin; copy of a special magazine with behind-the-scenes information about the game and the shelters that inspired it; the ability to customize the traits, name, and appearance of a super dog or potential pet parent that will appear in the game; and an in-game donor plague.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate students Olivia Dunlap and Tanner Marshall are developing a dog rescue video game, “To The Rescue.” Photo by Ben Krain.

“Even though we’ve met our goal, the fundraising campaign isn’t over,” Dunlap said. “It’s going to continue until Sept. 3 so that we can increase our budget to make an even bigger, better game. We have a ton of stretch goals planned for these other milestones, including things like more characters, more things to do with the dogs, and more platforms on which people can play the game.” The campaign has already reached three stretch goals that include adding two new characters, a town map, and an outdoor play space to the shelter. Additional stretch goals include adding more characters, new dog breeds, and new animations to the game. While the game designers are thrilled with the continuing success of the campaign, they hope the game will raise awareness about animal shelters and encourage more people to adopt pets from shelters. “I feel like we’ve gotten extremely lucky with the amount of traction it’s received, but the concept of a dog shelter simulator – particularly one that is working to have a real-world impact – is really resonating with a lot of people,” Dunlap said. “Upon release of the game, 20% of all profits will be donated to real animal shelters,” Marshall said. “It just wouldn’t feel right to make a game promoting the needs of shelters and not put a substantial amount of our profits towards the cause.” The Kickstarter campaign ends 9:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3. If you would like to support “To The Rescue,” visit the.

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

Matson Begins New Tenure as Faculty Senate President at ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

Matson Donates $25,000 to Create Scholarship for Rhetoric and Writing Students at ����Vlog��ý Little Rock