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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Welcomes New Class of Cooper Honors Program

John Hill — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 14:29:14 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock welcomed seven new members to the William G. Cooper Jr. Honors Program in English. The Cooper Honors Program is a unique honors program that provides qualified students with funding and intense research and creative opportunities. The program is sustained by an endowment created by the family of Dr. W. G. Cooper Jr. in honor of his distinguished service on the Little Rock University Board of Trustees and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Board of Visitors. The new Cooper Honors Program students include Marissa Gaston, Kaitlin Jackson, Jewel Leonard, Sydney Ray, Sheilah Sterling, Franchesca Story, and Tracy Walker. They join continuing honor students Katarina Davis, Wynne James, Remington Miller, and Kayla Smith. All Coopers Honors Program students receive a $2,600 annual stipend to help pay for their college expenses so they can focus on their studies. “The Cooper Honors Program offers signature instruction and experiences for English majors,” said Dr. Kris McAbee, associate professor of English and director of the Cooper Honors Program. “Students seeking honors in English are supported not only with scholarship funds but also with mentorships tailored to their unique interests and gifts. The honors program also supports activities at the foundation of the English department’s mission, including a speaker series, research opportunities, community outreach events, and a number of scholarships targeted at new and promising students.” In addition to the stipends, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock English majors are eligible for additional awards through the Cooper endowment. These include the Cooper Promise Award, a scholarship for incoming English students at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock; the Cooper Success Award, a scholarship for strong ��Vlog��ý Little Rock English majors; and assistantships to conduct research with a faculty member. Cooper Honors Program students also complete a six-hour block of courses that include an honors seminar, honors tutorial, and honors writing project. All Cooper Honors Program students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.25 and a 3.5 GPA in English courses.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock honors Geissler, Ghosh, and Briscoe as top professors of 2020

John Hill — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 13:58:20 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has selected Drs. Gary Geissler, Anindya Ghosh, and David Briscoe as the 2020 winners of the Faculty Excellence Awards.�� Geissler, professor of marketing and advertising, will receive a $10,000 award as the winner of the Bailey Teaching Award. Additionally, Ghosh, professor of chemistry, was named the UMR Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Endeavors winner, while Briscoe received the Faculty Excellence in Public Service award. They will both receive $5,000. “For more than three decades, we’ve recognized the hard work of our outstanding faculty members through the Faculty Excellence Awards,” said Chancellor Christina Drale. “It signifies the value we place on excellent teaching, research and creative activity, and service to our community. Though this has been a year filled with uncertainty, it helps us all to remember that we can be certain of the unwavering commitment of our faculty who spend every day making a difference in the lives of our students.”�� Created in 1989, the Faculty Excellence Awards has provided a way to recognize the great work of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty for the past 31 years and is made possible through the valued contributions of the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost, the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor’s Circle, Bailey Foundation, and UMR. The winners are selected by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Board of Visitors. “Our faculty excellence winners represent the university’s commitment to superb instruction, outstanding research, and community service,” Provost Ann Bain said. “Each of the winners has made immeasurable contributions to the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock community and to the lives of their students and colleagues. We thank them for their service.” In addition to the Faculty Excellence Awards, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock has selected the Department of Management in the College of Business as the first university-wide winner of the new Department Student Success and Retention Awards. This award recognizes exceptional activities that involve broad, collaborative participation within academic departments or schools to support student success and improve retention at the undergraduate level. The awards are funded by gifts from Bain and Dr. Daryl Rice, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs.�� An announcement of the winners can be found at the Faculty Excellence Awards website.

Bailey Teaching Award

Dr. Gary Geissler, professor of marketing and advertising, has been selected as the 2020 Faculty Excellence in Teaching award winner for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “There are many outstanding professors and great colleagues throughout the university. To be singled out for the university teaching award is a tremendous honor that I will always treasure,” Geissler said. “I am very appreciative of the university and the award sponsors, judges, and organizers. It has been a privilege to teach and mentor so many excellent students at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for the past 18 years. The diversity of our students and their unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are real strengths. I attribute any personal success to my students’ successes.” A key teaching method that Geissler has used extensively throughout his career is the client-based class project. He has directed around 200 of these semester-long projects, greatly benefiting many students and well over 170 businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. “Dr. Geissler’s teaching is innovative and emphasizes experiential learning,” said Roger Dorsey, associate professor of accounting. “In particular, his use of class projects involving real-world businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies has been enormously beneficial to students. Dr. Geissler exemplifies the sort of teaching that prepares students for life and career success.” In recent years, Geissler has demonstrated his high-quality, high-involvement teaching approach by sponsoring, mentoring, and leading teams of students who won two different National Marketing Championships and finished as the top American team in a major, international competition. In the past, he led a team of students who won Taziki’s National Marketing Challenge competition. Additionally, Geissler led a team to win AT&T’s Campus Brand Challenge. The team developed and implemented an integrated marketing communications plan for AT&T. “Dr. Geissler is the most active and involved professor that I have ever had the privilege of being mentored and taught by,” said Brandi Glover, a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate and former student of Geissler’s who was a member of the AT&T Campus Brand Challenge National Champion Team. “There is no length that he would not go within his power in order to help a student achieve their goals and aspirations.” Most recently, a team of Geissler’s students were one of three finalists from throughout the world who competed in the Facebook Global Digital Challenge as part of P2P: Challenging Extremism, an initiative mandated by the White House National Security Council.

UMR Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Endeavors

Dr. Anindya Ghosh, professor of chemistry, is being honored as the 2020 Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Endeavors award winner for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “The award is a great honor,” Ghosh said. “��Vlog��ý Little Rock has given me the best possible platform to work on my research and succeed in it. I am proud of my university and the Chemistry Department. It is also a success for my students. I am lucky to have some excellent undergraduate and graduate students who helped me to become a better researcher and instructor.” The primary focus of his current research is the development of novel catalysts and synthetic pathways that are strongly related to sustainable development. Using readily available reagents or renewable polymers, Ghosh and his co-researchers are developing catalysts that are highly useful in remediation of organic and biological pollutants.�� “His research efforts speak for themselves as a major contributor to developing new and novel methods that are being used in the Green Chemistry approaches to develop safer and cleaner chemical synthetic methods,” said Dr. Jeffrey Gaffney, professor emeritus of chemistry. “Dr. Ghosh’s research contributions are also leading the way to developing safer, more economic, and less environmentally impacting synthetic methods at the heart of the Green Chemistry movement, which is needed if we are to develop sustainable chemistry in the future.” Ghosh’s recent research in the area of green chemistry, catalysis, and novel material research has resulted in six peer-reviewed articles and one book chapter in 2019 alone. He brings his research directly into the classroom and actively uses green chemistry experiments in his courses.�� Ghosh enjoys giving back by mentoring young students in scientific research. He regularly hosts middle and high school students in his laboratory who are conducting research projects related to his research areas. As a major adviser, Ghosh has supervised four master’s degree students and five doctoral students. Currently, he runs a research group of five graduate students and eight undergraduate students. “I am really passionate about my research,” Ghosh said. “I believe in my work and the people who I work with, and together we make it possible. I can only excel if my students excel in their research activities and future endeavors.” While at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Ghosh authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and has 21 patents with three more pending. Ghosh was part of the scientific advisory committee which wrote a successful National Science Foundation EPSCoR ASSET III proposal of $24 million for the state of Arkansas. He has been co-leading a team of 20 researchers from 10 different universities in Arkansas for this proposal to develop novel materials for pollution remediation using cellulose as the starting material.�� He is also a part of a team of researchers that recently secured $5.1 million in funding from the Department of Defense. In a collaborative effort between ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Ghosh’s role as a co-principal investigator is to develop novel, injectable, stimuli-sensitive polymeric materials for use in bone scaffolds.

Faculty Excellence in Public Service

Dr. David Briscoe, professor of sociology, is being honored as the 2020 Faculty Excellence in Public Service award winner for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “I received this coveted award in honor of my parents, the late David and Marjorie Briscoe, who led me down the pathway to service,” Briscoe said. “Public service is so important because it offers everyone an opportunity to share some aspect of themselves with others.” Briscoe has been serving the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock community for almost three decades. After earning undergraduate (‘80) and graduate (85′) degrees from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (’93), Briscoe returned home to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, where he has been teaching since 1992. “Dr. Briscoe gives his life and his all to this university and to its students,” said Dr. Krista Lewis, chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. “He is very well-loved by his students and is known for his genuine interest in supporting people. It seems that hardly a week passes in which I am not contacted by students, community members, or organizations who wish to reach out just to praise the service and care that Dr. Briscoe has extended to them.” Briscoe is known to enthusiastically advocate for students with disabilities and was voted among the Best of the Best Professors three times by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student body. He serves on the National Phi Kappa Phi Dissertation Selection Committee, the Diversity Council, the Athletics Committee, and the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity. Briscoe is also well-known and admired in his role as a volunteer for the Boy Scouts. As a member of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, Briscoe became the inaugural national chairman of Learning for Life, an academic and character development program serving more than 1.7 millions students. “David Briscoe is an outstanding leader to the Quapaw Area Council and the Boy Scouts of America,” said Marcal Young, scout executive. “His leadership has inspired others to serve and help change lives in thousands of youth in our program. Dr. Briscoe has been instrumental in building a vibrant boy scouting program in Arkansas and across the nation.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to reveal Faculty Excellence Award winners April 23

John Hill — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 17:58:35 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will reveal the winners of the 2020 Faculty Excellence Awards at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 23. The results will be announced on the Faculty Excellence website and the.�� “Though we cannot celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our faculty members in person because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are proud to honor our dedicated faculty members for their hard work and perseverance in educating our students, providing groundbreaking research, and serving the public good,” Provost Ann Bain said. “Please join us on April 23 as we celebrate this bright spot at the university, our Faculty Excellence Award winners!” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock annually celebrates the achievements of the top professors of the year who are making a difference in the community through their contributions in teaching, research and creative works, and public service. This is the highest honor ��Vlog��ý Little Rock awards its faculty members. Created in 1989, the Faculty Excellence Awards has provided a way to recognize the great work of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty for the past 31 years and is made possible through the valued contributions of the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost, the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor’s Circle, Bailey Foundation, and UMR.�� The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Board of Visitors will select the university-wide winners from the 17 faculty members who were selected as the top faculty member for the 2019-20 academic year in each of the three categories in their respective colleges.�� Vlog��ý Little Rock is also initiating a new award program that recognizes schools and departments that have made significant contributions to improving the success and retention of undergraduate students.�� Awards will be given to a department or school within each of the university’s five colleges. One of the college winners will receive the university-wide award. The awards are funded by gifts from Provost Bain and Dr. Daryl Rice, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs.�� Congratulations to the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock college-level winners:

��Public Service

David Briscoe, professor of sociology, College of Social Sciences and Communication
M. Keith Hudson, professor of chemistry and director of the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium, College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences
René Shroat-Lewis, assistant professor of Earth Sciences, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology
Anastasia Boles, associate professor of law, William H. Bowen School of Law
Linda Stauffer, professor of interpreter education, College of Education and Health Professions
Joe Felan, associate professor of management, College of Business

Research/Creative Endeavors

Heidi Skurat Harris, associate professor of rhetoric and writing, College of Social Sciences and Communication
Anindya Ghosh, associate professor of chemistry, College of Arts, Letters, and Science
Mariofana Milanova, professor of computer science, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology
Nicholas Kahn-Fogel, professor of law, William H. Bowen School of Law
Jim Vander Putten, associate professor of higher education, College of Education and Health Professions

Teaching

Londie Martin, assistant professor of rhetoric and writing, College of Social Sciences and Communication
Stacy Pendergraft, associate professor of theatre arts, College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences
Michael DeAngelis, associate professor of Earth Sciences, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology
Terrence Cain, professor of law and associate dean for faculty development, William H. Bowen School of Law
Jami Hollingsworth, senior instructor of interpreter education, College of Education and Health Professions
Gary Geissler, professor of marketing and advertising, College of Business

Department Student Success and Retention Awards

Department of Sociology and Anthropology, College of Social Sciences and Communication
Department of English, College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences
Department of Earth Sciences, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology
Department of Nursing, College of Education and Health Professions
Department of Management, College of Business

Little Rock Football Feasibility Committee Recommends ‘Not Now’

Janea Snyder — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 16:38:24 +0000

The committee appointed to review the findings of a football feasibility study for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has recommended that the university hold off on establishing a football program at this time. The committee made its recommendation in a memorandum sent to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor Andrew Rogerson today following an 18-month football feasibility study and review process. “While a football program could be a positive addition to the university and the city, by unanimous opinion our group recommends that now is not the right time to start a football program,” the memo stated. The committee cited two reasons in the memo:

“The establishment of a football program must be a part of the university’s strategic master plan, with clear goals and a commitment and data-informed strategy for long-term sustainable funding model and infrastructure.”
“At this time, the university should continue to focus on raising the quality and investment in its current 15 intercollegiate athletic programs, including the new wrestling program beginning this fall.

The football working group, appointed by Chancellor Rogerson, included representatives from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Board of Visitors, Trojan Advisory Council, Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, Little Rock Mayor’s Office, and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty and staff. Their task was to interpret the results and determine the best course of action based on a football and marching band joint venture study conducted by Convention Sports & Leisure (CSL), CarrSports Consulting LLC, Heery Sports and the Grant Group. The study, announced in summer 2017, was sponsored by the university, the Little Rock Mayor’s Office, and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. CSL prepared a comprehensive analysis based on interviews and consultations with a wide variety of different stakeholders throughout the university and central Arkansas community over a nine-month period. “I want to thank the football working group for their hard work and due diligence over the past six months,” Rogerson said. “When we embarked on this study, we went into it with an open mind. I am grateful for the community participation by our city, faculty, staff and students which has led us to a recommendation based on research and sound data. I am excited about the future of athletics at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and what Division I athletics means to the capital city and our campus community.” The recommendations are an endorsement of an institution effectiveness process the university is currently undergoing to become a stronger and more effective urban university that meets the needs of central Arkansas, Rogerson said. “This has been a beneficial process, regardless the outcome, that has made and will continue to make Little Rock athletics stronger and better positioned to compete at the highest level,” said Little Rock Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque. “A study of this magnitude involves a lot of folks, and I’m grateful for the interest in . While football may not be in our immediate future, we look forward to the continued growth of our 15 sports programs. I strongly believe Trojan Athletics is in a position to rally our campus community and city, and I am confident our best days are still ahead.”

Foster, Glazier, and Anderson named Faculty Excellence Award winners

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 14:58:55 +0000

Lynn Foster, Rebecca Glazier, and Glenn Anderson have been selected as the 2018 winners of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Faculty Excellence Awards.�� Each of the three professors will receive a $5,000 award as winners of the Faculty Excellence Awards in the categories of teaching, research and creative endeavors, and public service. “The amount of resolve, persistence, and pride our faculty exhibit in their scholarly work on campus and in the greater community is a testament to the vision of our university,” said Dr. Velmer Burton, executive vice chancellor and provost. “Faculty like the ones we honored during this ceremony mold our students into earnest creators, leaders, and change agents.” The winners were honored during an April 12 awards ceremony at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology Auditorium. Fourteen additional faculty members who earned Faculty Excellence awards at the college level also were honored, and they will each receive $1,000. The 15 members of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Board of Visitors reviewed the achievements and selected the winners. Since 1989, when the first award was given, the event has provided a way to recognize the great work of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty and is made possible through the valued contributions of the Bailey Foundation, Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost, and the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor’s Circle. More about the winners:

Faculty Excellence in Teaching

Lynn Foster is the Arkansas Bar Foundation professor of law at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s William H. Bowen School of Law. In the classroom, Foster utilizes a team-based learning method focused on problem solving and skills assignments to maximize comprehension. In 2014 and 2015, she revised the Property I and II courses to include team-based learning and assessment by creating class structures with clear expectations and manageable assessment tools. After assessing her curriculum revision, Foster discovered that students perform better when there is more team-based learning and assessment built into the course. “I feel very grateful, and I am grateful for all my great students over the years,” Foster said. “It’s a complicated course, but I have seen team-based learning increase what our students have learned.” A decade ago, Foster started the Arkansas Real Estate Review, an Arkansas Bar Foundation publication that summarizes Arkansas’s appellate real estate decisions with commentary provided by real estate attorneys. Foster’s students gain property law experience by working with attorneys to write abstracts for the publication. She is the recipient of the Charles W. Goldner Teaching Award, two William H. Bowen School of Law Faculty Excellence awards for Public Service, the first Law School Outstanding Service award, and the Arkansas Bar Association Golden Gavel, Continuing Legal Education, and Presidential Excellence awards.

Faculty Excellence in Research and Creative Endeavors

Dr. Rebecca Glazier is an associate professor of public affairs and advisor to the Model Arab League. Her research centers on religion and politics, framing and foreign policy, and pedagogy. Glazier’s work on religion and politics has included a focus on providential beliefs, religious peacemaking, and the impact of religious organizations on congregants’ political and community attitudes and behaviors. Her articles on providential religious beliefs have influenced the work of other scholars of political science. She has worked closely with organizations from around the world to collect survey data from over 160 peacemakers. “I feel very surprised and humbled by this award,” Glazier said. “The other researchers are doing incredible work. I try to do work that brings real change to the world, and I appreciate the university and the College of Social Sciences and Communication for supporting that.” She recently submitted a grant through Notre Dame’s Global Religious Research Initiative to support the project’s next phase involving fieldwork in Sri Lanka, Israel, and Palestine. Glazier was a principal investigator on the Little Rock Congregations Study. The study began in 2012 with a survey of five Little Rock congregations during the 2012 presidential election. In 2016, she partnered with the Clinton School of Public Service, where students collected surveys from more than 1,500 respondents at 17 congregations around Little Rock. “A big part of my research is the Little Rock Congregations Study, work that wouldn’t be possible without the wonderful places of worship in Little Rock that open up their hearts and their sacred spaces for this research,” Glazier said. “It is also such a joy to get to work with students on research. Over 60 students were part of the 2016 Little Rock Congregations Study. They are a huge part of the work that I do and make it so much more rewarding.” Glazier has written 12 peer-reviewed articles, four book chapters in edited volumes, and received numerous grants from internal and external sources leading to numerous citations. She has won best paper awards at several conferences including those of the Arkansas Political Science Association, the American Political Science Association, and the Midwest International Studies Association.

Faculty Excellence in Public Service

Dr. Glenn Anderson is an associate professor in the School of Counseling, Rehabilitation and Adult Education who has received national attention for his contributions to the field of interpreter education. “This award is not something that I was expecting, and I really appreciate the recognition from the scholarship committee and from the university,” Anderson said. “There are four deaf faculty members working in the College of Education and Health Professions, so it’s nice when a deaf faculty member can be recognized for their work.” Anderson’s significant contributions to the black deaf community are undeniable. He often guest lectures, makes presentations, and writes journal articles on black deaf history and linguistic variations among black American Sign Language users. From 1982 to 2008, he served as director of training at the University of Arkansas Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. He currently serves on the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education, the national accrediting board for interpreter education programs and is a past member of the National Council on Disability and Board of Directors for National Black Deaf Advocates. In 2010, Anderson was one of 20 national advocates for individuals with disabilities interviewed by the Federal Communications Commission and featured in the documentary, “Celebration Progress: Americans with Disabilities Act’s 20th Anniversary.” Anderson received the National Black Deaf Advocates Lifetime Achievement Award at its 30th anniversary gala in 2012. In addition to the award, the board of directors voted to establish a scholarship in Anderson’s honor to provide financial support for deaf African American students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate postsecondary education programs. In 2017, Anderson participated in a federal think tank administered by the Center for Advanced Training in Interpreter Education at St. Catherine University. The project focused on incorporating learning principles into interpreter education training practices from the 2014 book “Make It Stick.” Anderson also lays claim to several pioneering roles. He is the first deaf person hired by Michigan Rehabilitation Services to work as a vocational rehabilitation counselor (1970), the first African-American alumnus of Gallaudet to earn a doctoral degree (New York University, 1982), and the first African-American deaf person to be appointed as a Gallaudet trustee (1989) and to serve as chair of the Board of Trustees (1994 to 2005). In the upper right photos, the winners of the 2018 Faculty Excellence Awards are Lynn Foster (left), Rebecca Glazier (middle), and Glenn Anderson (right). Photos by Ben Krain.

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

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Welcomes New Class of Cooper Honors Program