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

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/ua-little-rock-alumni/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Thu, 04 Jul 2019 14:45:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Hadden recognized as industry Pacesetter /news-archive/2019/07/04/pacesetter/ Thu, 04 Jul 2019 14:45:56 +0000 /news/?p=74658 ...]]> Ian Hadden, director of Energy Management Services at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has been named a 2019 Pacesetter for the educational facilities management industry. previously known as the Association of Physical Plant Administrators, will recognize Hadden July 15 at the APPA awards reception during the APPA annual conference in Denver. APPA promotes leadership in educational facilities for professionals seeking to build their careers, transform their institutions, and elevate the value and recognition of facilities in education. The Pacesetter Award recognizes professionals who have made significant contributions at their regions or chapters. “Ian has represented ��Vlog��ý Little Rock with distinction in the APPA arena, and the Pacesetter award is well deserved,” said Dave Millay, associate vice chancellor for facilities management and planning at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “His contributions to our university and profession are significant, and I am proud of what he has accomplished and will continue to accomplish.” As Director of Energy Management Services for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Hadden leads a 21-member team responsible for the HVAC, plumbing, electrical, building control systems and utilities on campus and the Bowen School of Law. Before joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Facilities Management Department in 2013, Hadden spent 16 years in the commercial HVAC, energy project development and green building industry with manufacturers and an architecture and engineering design firm. Prior to that, he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for six years. ��Hadden is a licensed Professional Engineer;�� a Certified Educational Facilities Professional (CEFP);�� LEED Accredited Professional Building Design + Construction (LEED AP BD+C), and a Certified Energy Manager.�� In May, he earned his MBA from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s College of Business and was named the Outstanding MBA student for the 2018-19 academic year, His wife Tiffany is also a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alum who earned her Master of Social Work, also in May 2019. They have two sons, a high school senior at Central High School and a freshman at Parkview Magnet. “I would like to thank David Millay for introducing me to APPA,” Hadden said. “It’s been wonderful getting to know colleagues from other institutions, sharing successes and solutions to struggles as well as exposure to the wonderful training programs.” Other 2019 recipients of the Pacesetter Award this year include Connie Simmons, Phillip Exeter Academy; Kevin Mann, Salisbury University; and Thomas Polansky, Occidental College. Photo of Ian Hadden��by Benjamin Krain��]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumna lends artistic touch to NYC exhibit /news-archive/2018/07/19/sandra-sell/ Thu, 19 Jul 2018 20:51:36 +0000 /news/?p=71150 ...]]> Little Rock artist never stops looking for new ways to collaborate on art. And that is precisely how the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumna recently found herself in New York City’s Times Square helping install “Wake,”one of conceptual artist Mel Chin’s new works. “Wake,” commissioned by is a 60-foot-tall animatronic sculpture that resembles a cross between a shipwreck and the skeletal remains of a marine mammal that rise up from Times Square. On the ship’s bow is the figurehead of Jenny Lind, an opera star known as the “Swedish Nightingale” and for whom the USS Nightingale tea clipper and slave ship were named. Chin’s other piece, “Unmoored,” is a digitally interactive mixed reality counterpart to “Wake.” Together, the two works “open a physical and virtual gateway to the future of human existence, inviting participants to contemplate their place within the world’s transforming climate,” according to Times Square Arts.

Faculty, students and staff at the engineered and fabricated the structure of “Wake.” The head of the female figure gently nods, and her chest rises and compresses, as if she is breathing. Sell, who was an artist-in-resident at UNC in March, was one of many people who worked on the elaborate project. “My primary role was to construct, then carve, the figure’s dress,” she said. “It was a fantastic opportunity to share my experience with the team and engage in collaborative thinking.” Sell worked on the piece for four weeks, leading up to the sculpture’s installment on July 11 in Times Square. The structure was built with segments in mind, so it could be deconstructed, shipped then reconstructed on site. “I was extremely excited to come in and lend a hand in the last 24 hours of installation,” Sell said. “The team had worked extremely hard, and it was a pleasure to bring some fresh energy to help with the last push. The opening day was great, and so many people showed up.”

Times Square is just one location for art that is part of the larger exhibit “Mel Chin: All Over the Place,” co-produced by and the . The exhibition spans nearly four decades of Chin’s work – at sites including the Queens Museum, Times Square, the Broadway-Lafayette subway station, and streaming online with Soundtrack – creating an infinite loop of the artist’s thinking about our world and how we choose to occupy it. “Wake” will remain in Times Square Plaza through Sept. 5. Sell is back in Little Rock now, where she retired after her 21-year career in the U.S. Army. ��She enrolled at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, completing a Bachelor of Arts in 2008 and a Master of Arts in 2014. Sell has also served as an apprentice to Little Rock artist Robyn Horn, who was instrumental in helping ��Vlog��ý Little Rock get its Windgate Center for Art and Design.

Her creative pursuits led her to the , where she was a studio assistant for wood sculptors Stoney Lamar and Brent Skidmore. Skidmore, who directs the Craft Studies program at University of North Carolina at Asheville, then invited Sell to fill an artist-in-resident position at the university earlier this year. Soon after, she became involved working on “Wake”. A wood carver by choice, Sell also paints and does some work in found object dimensional painting. Her work is in the permanent collections of the , the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, and the Historic Arkansas Museum, along with many private collections. Since 2007, Sell’s work has been featured in over 30 exhibits in the United States. Top Right Photo: Mel Chin,��Wake, 2018, multimedia. Courtesy of Chelsea Lipman for Times Square Arts ]]> Alumni Spotlight: Sarah Miller /news-archive/2018/01/25/sarah-miller/ Thu, 25 Jan 2018 22:15:37 +0000 /news/?p=69110 ...]]> She currently manages , which is part of the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Main Library campus. There, she coordinates the theater’s many offerings of films, music performances, plays, readings, lectures, speakers, and children’s activities. “I love the idea of organizations existing for the sole purpose of serving others,” Miller said. “I served a few different organizations through college. After I graduated, I realized the public sector was where my home was, where I felt most comfortable.” Miller, a native of Arkadelphia, graduated from Henderson State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater in 2014. She learned to act and do technical work and discovered her passion for directing. “I loved the creation aspect of it,” she said. In 2015, she moved to Little Rock and enrolled in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Graduate School and completed her Master of Public Administration with a graduate certificate in nonprofit management in December 2016. “��Vlog��ý Little Rock prepared me for nonprofit work in ways I didn’t even realize,” she said. “I understand responsibility in money management, how important a strategic mindset is, and most importantly, that it is ok to constantly be asking, ‘Why are we doing it this way?’ You either come away from the question with a better understanding of why that system is in place, or you get to be a part of a change that could make a meaningful impact. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock really challenged me to constantly be thinking, researching, pushing for better ways to impact the most people.” During her graduate studies, she began to understand the setbacks and hardships that nonprofits face, especially smaller ones. “I thought there had to be more solutions out there,” she said, “and I aimed to find those solutions and one day become a resource for those nonprofits.” Miller already is serving as that resource. In May 2017, she joined Board of Directors and also took on the volunteer position as the theater’s volunteer coordinator. The Weekend Theater is also a nonprofit and is run by volunteers. When she’s not working or volunteering, she enjoys reading, hanging out with her beagle mix, Bron, and playing the ukulele, a hobby she picked up five years ago. She also spends time volunteering for various youth organizations. For the past few years, she has worked with the Arkansas Young Playwrights Competition, which encourages high schoolers to write original plays for the chance to have their play staged. She also has volunteered for Y.E.S (Youth Entrepreneur Showcase) Arkansas, judging middle school students’ proposals for business start-ups. “The whole purpose of volunteering is the chance to make this world a little better than how we found it,” she said. “That type of work brings you clarity and purpose. Any time someone tells me they are in a rut or struggling with a big decision, my advice is to put in some volunteer hours for a cause they care about. Volunteering almost always makes you feel better about your place in the world at the end of the day.” Pictured��top right is��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate Sarah Miller who manages the Central Arkansas Library System’s Ron Robinson Theater and volunteers at The Weekend Theater. Photo Credit: Lonnie Timmons III/ University Communications ]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumni to witness USS Little Rock commissioning /news-archive/2017/12/15/uss-little-rock/ Fri, 15 Dec 2017 22:06:53 +0000 /news/?p=68872 ...]]> The event marks the first time in U.S. Navy history that a new ship is commissioned alongside its namesake. The former USS Little Rock was in service from 1944 until it was decommissioned in 1976. It is now on display at the in Canalside. Several ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumni serve on the USS Little Rock Namesake Committee, which has planned events to celebrate the commission. Members who are not going to New York will host a watch party with live streaming of the official commissioning at the Ron Robinson Theater in downtown Little Rock at 10 a.m., Saturday, December 16. Doors open at 9 a.m. Former Little Rock Mayor Tom Prince, a 1979 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Bowen School of Law graduate, chairs the Namesake Committee and will be in New York to see the commissioning, along with Jason Irby, a 2003 M.A. in Radio and TV graduate. ��Irby designed the Arkansas Flag Wabbaseka Memorial commemorating the 100th year of Arkansas’ state flag. “It’s an honor and a privilege,” Irby said, of the event. Former Little Rock Mayor Sharon Priest will lead the local ceremony. “We are hoping people will also simply come to the River Market District and be a part of the atmosphere and celebration while the historic event takes place,” Irby said. Other members of the USS Little Rock Namesake Committee with ��Vlog��ý Little Rock connections are:

Major (Ret) Keith Dover, a 2000 graduate of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s professional and technical writing program, who serves as secretary of Arkansas Veterans Coalition. While he was at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, he was a founding member of the university’s veterans fraternity.
Scott Pursley, who received a Master of Education in 2016
Bryan Griffith, a graduate of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Bowen School of Law
David Carnahan, a 2015 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate

There’s one more connection too. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Athletics contributed Trojan armbands for the goody bags that will be given to the ship’s crew.]]>