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

LULAC Honors Torres Sanchez as Student of the Year

John Hill — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 14:12:44 +0000

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 750 has honored Kassandra Torres Sanchez, a junior political science major at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, with the organization’s 2022 Student of the Year Award. Torres Sanchez of Little Rock was honored during a Nov. 5 dinner celebrating the 17 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students who received LULAC scholarships for the 2022-2023 school year. “I wasn’t expecting this award at all, but I am very grateful for it,” Torres Sanchez said. “I instantly went home after the banquet and told my parents that this award is for all of us. In my opinion, the reason I got the award is for all the support I received from my parents since I’m a first-generation student.” Torres Sanchez said her parents, Jose Torres and Teresa Sanchez, couldn’t continue their education because they had to find work to support their families. However, they have always encouraged the importance of education to their children. “My parents always tell me and my siblings that education comes first,” Torres Sanchez said. “It’s because of them that I’ve pushed myself to be here.”

Kassandra Torres Sanchez receives the 2022 LULAC Student of the Year Award.

Torres Sanchez has been a member of LULAC ever since she was a freshman at Little Rock Central High School. She serves as the youth council officer for LULAC Council 771, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s chapter, and has been working to start LULAC student organizations at high schools in Central Arkansas. Torres Sanchez was also among a group of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students who attended the LULAC National Convention this summer in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They were the first students from the university to attend the conference since 2016 and raised more than $11,000 for the trip, where they learned valuable skills in leadership, education, career preparation, and networking. In addition to LULAC, Torres Sanchez is also a member of Young Democrats and a volunteer with the Multicultural Center and the Hispanic/Latinx Initiative. After she graduates in spring 2024, Torres Sanchez plans to attend law school and later work at a nonprofit that provides immigrants with legal assistance.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Professor Advises Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission

John Hill — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 14:19:03 +0000

Dr. Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm, associate professor of political science at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, has advised a Maryland commission tasked with investigating the history of lynching in the state. The is authorized to research cases of racially motivated lynchings and hold public meetings and regional hearings where a lynching of an African American by a white mob has been documented. The commission has investigated 38 documented cases of lynching in Maryland. “They are trying to uncover more information about each of these lynching cases and then provide venues for people to talk about these episodes, in particular for descendants of the victims and perpetrators to talk about their feelings and reactions and how these crimes have affected their lives,” Wiebelhaus-Brahm said. “The committee is also prompting memorials to occur in the form of informational plaques at the sites of the crimes.” As the commission wraps up its work in 2024, commissioners will submit a final report to the governor and General Assembly with recommendations to move the commission’s work forward. During a Nov. 12 conference in Baltimore, Wiebelhaus-Brahm presented his suggestions on how to maximize the commission’s impact based upon his research on truth and reconciliation efforts in different parts of the world. “Truth commissions, in many ways, are the start of the conversation about the past,” Wiebelhaus-Brahm said. “Truth is often needed before other things can happen to address the past. Truth commissions produce a final report with a history of what was investigated and recommendations about what else should be done about the past and how to prevent these things from happening in the future. Research suggests that the process should be broadly open to the public so members of the affected communities can offer suggestions for recommendations.” Wiebelhaus-Brahm, author of the books “Truth Commissions and Transitional Societies” and “Exploring Truth Commission Recommendations in a Comparative Perspective,” added that truth commissions often recommend the creation of a follow-up body to coordinate and monitor implementation of the commission’s recommendations. “Involved parties can also keep in contact with local and state politicians to ensure that the commission is not the end of the conversation about racial violence in the state and that there are further conversations about how to improve race relations,” he added. No state-initiated truth and reconciliation commissions have taken place in Arkansas, but Wiebelhaus-Brahm said efforts are moving forward to create memorials for lyching victims in the state. “In Maryland, the commission is helping to prompt memorials,” Wiebelhaus-Brahm said. “In Arkansas, the memorial effort has been moving forward. In some counties, there has already been action taken to memorialize places where lynchings have occurred.” These memorial projects include the Pulaski County Community Remembrance Project by the and the .

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Student Nurses Association President Elected to State Office

John Hill — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 13:56:29 +0000

A ��Vlog��ý Little Rock nursing student was recently elected to the Arkansas Nursing Students’ Association (ANSA) state board. The ANSA organizes, represents, and supports students in Arkansas preparing for initial licensure as registered nurses as well as baccalaureate students. They also promote development of the skills that students will need as responsible and accountable members of the nursing profession, advocate for high quality health care, advocate for and contribute to advances in nursing education, and develop the potential for maximal growth in future professional roles of Arkansas nursing students. Niki Buckman, a student from Quinlan, Texas, was elected as the District 1 director during the ANSA convention held in Hot Springs. She will represent and advocate for nursing students in Arkadelphia, Conway, Hot Springs, Little Rock, and Magnolia. She will also serve on the annual convention, fundraising, and awards committees. “I am ecstatic to be able to serve on the ANSA Board of Directors,” Buckman said. “I look forward to working with everyone in District 1.” Once she graduates in 2023 with an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing degree, Buckman will work for the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. She is a recipient of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Health Professional Scholarship Program, which provides financial assistance to students in the health care industry. She plans to join the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program in the fall 2023 semester. It’s been a lifelong goal of Buckman’s to become a nurse, one that got put on hold while she pursued a career in sales and marketing in the natural pet food industry in Colorado and California. She and her husband moved to Arkansas to be closer to family in 2020, and Buckman decided it was time to pursue her nursing degree. “Nursing was always my plan,” she said. “I have wanted to work in health care ever since I was little. My dad was sick when I was growing up. After seeing his experience in needing a liver transplant, I decided that I wanted to work in health care to help other people through their medical emergencies.” At ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Buckman, a home health care aide, serves as president of the Student Nurses Association and a volunteer with Kindred Hospice.

Graduating Student Finds New Career, Love of Writing at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

John Hill — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 13:55:43 +0000

Kristina Johnson, a Little Rock native who now lives in Hot Springs Village, has known since high school that she wanted to pursue her passion for writing in college. “When I was a senior, I thought about what I was good at. I really liked English and creative writing. I’ve enjoyed writing short stories in my free time for many years.” After graduating high school, Johnson joined ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2014 for the close location to home and focus on education. “I took my ACT here and really liked the campus,” she said. “It was just a really pretty campus that fit my dreams of college. I wanted to live at home, and it was the perfect setting for me to focus on my education.” She would graduate in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing and then join the graduate program. Johnson is now looking forward to her December graduation with a Master of Arts in Professional and Technical Writing degree. She is thankful to professors Heidi Harris, Karen Kuralt, Londie Martin, and Joe Williams for helping her. “The feeling of finishing my professional portfolio and my professors coming back and saying, ‘This looks good,’ is the most relief I’ve ever had,” Johnson said. “It took a lot of effort and hard work to get here. I’m very happy and proud of what I accomplished.” She cites her greatest accomplishment at graduate school as writing a grant that provides $10,000 in funding for two pilot suicide prevention programs in Arkansas jails. “I took the grant writing class with Dr. Barb L’Eplattenier,” she said. “It was one of the hardest classes I took in all my education, but it was worth it. I wrote my first grant, and it was funded. It was definitely my biggest accomplishment of graduate school, maybe ever, and it gave me a new appreciation for writing and how it can be used to help people.” Unlike most new college graduates, Johnson won’t have to worry about finding a job as she started her career as a technical writer at MidSOUTH, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s social work academy, last year. She is responsible for developing training materials and coordinating continuing education trainings. “I’ve done it sort of backwards,” Johnson said. “I’ve already gotten a job so this degree will help push my career forward and give me bigger opportunities in the future.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock History Professor to Teach New Class on Arkansas Icons Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash

John Hill — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 14:24:32 +0000

The spring semester will present Arkansas history and music enthusiasts with the opportunity to learn more about the two famous Arkansans who have been selected to represent the state in the U.S. Capitol. Dr. John Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, will teach the new class HIST 4396/5396, an Arkansas history seminar on Daisy Bates, a renowned civil rights leader, and Johnny Cash, the legendary country singer and songwriter, during the spring 2023 semester. “Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash are two Arkansas icons recently chosen to represent the state in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.,” Kirk said. “Why did the state choose those two particular people? What is the historical reality behind the myths and legends about the two figures? It seemed timely to explore these issues and to provide students with a more informed take on current events in public history.” Arkansas currently has statues of attorney Uriah Rose and U.S. Sen. James Clarke, also a former governor, on display in Statuary Hall. Both statues are more than a century old. In 2019, the state legislature approved replacing them with Cash and Bates. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumnus , the Cash sculptor, and Benjamin Victor, the Bates sculptor, both visited ��Vlog��ý Little Rock earlier in the year to work on their sculptures and visit with the public in the Windgate Center of Art and Design. The statues are expected to be installed in the U.S. Capitol in 2023.

Dr. John Kirk

In this first of its kind class at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, students will learn how race, gender, and class helped shape Arkansas in the 20th century through an exploration of two of the state’s most iconic figures. The class’s two main texts are Daisy Bates’s 1962 memoir, “The Long Shadow of Little Rock: A Memoir,” and Johnny Cash’s 1997 autobiography “Cash: The Autobiography.” The class will also examine representations of Bates and Cash in film, documentary, and other media as well as guest lectures by experts and writers. Each student will complete a class research project that explores topics related to Bates and Cash. Kirk, who is an expert on the civil rights movement and Arkansas history, met and interviewed Bates during the course of his research. He appeared in the definitive documentary about her life, “Daisy Bates: The First Lady of Little Rock,” which was broadcast nationally on PBS in 2012. The class, which is open to both undergraduate and graduate students, will be taught in downtown Little Rock at the Bobby L. Roberts Library of Arkansas History & Art on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Registration is now open for spring 2023 classes.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Grad Honors Promise to Children by Graduating College 23 Years After She Started

John Hill — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 16:00:53 +0000

A ��Vlog��ý Little Rock business graduate is honoring a promise she made to her children to finish her college education. Anita Burnett, a North Little Rock resident, will graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Analytics degree on Dec. 17, more than 23 years after she initially began her college career. “My children learned that you can do anything when you make a plan,” she said. “It’s not always easy, but you make it work if something is important to you. If I wanted to show them that a college education was important, I had to lead by example and be the kind of role model that they can look up to and be proud of.” Burnett began college at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 1999 just like many other new high school graduates. Things were going well for several semesters as she worked as a manager at Arby’s and made the honor’s list, but then life got in the way. “I was doing well,” Burnett recalled. “Then in 2001 I took on the additional responsibility of becoming the 21-year-old legal guardian of my 16-year-old sister. The next semester was a struggle, and I didn’t do so well. I decided to take some time away from school. My intent was to make sure that my sister finished high school, and then I was going to go back to school. Life happened, and the more time that passed, the more my plan to return to school seemed to fade.” Burnett would later move to Michigan for five years to care for her mother before returning to Arkansas. She has a son, Nathan, 17, and a daughter, ChloeAnn, 10, and worked in a variety of careers as a restaurant manager, tech expert, and diesel cashier. When her son was in ninth grade, he attended an event that encourages students to prepare for the future by thinking about college and careers. “I was telling my son how important it was for him to go to college,” she said. “He called me out on telling him that it was vitally important, even though I hadn’t finished. I had a bunch of excuses for not returning to school. I had two kids and worked full time. I just didn’t have the time. Then my kids ganged up on me. They said that they refused to be the reason that I didn’t go back to school.” Burnett started at ��Vlog��ý-Pulaski Tech in 2019 and graduated with an associate degree in 2020. She rejoined ��Vlog��ý Little Rock the same year. “I started realizing how much I loved school again and missed it,” she said. “My son said I’m happy when I am doing school work and told me to get my bachelor’s degree. I talked to an advisor here and told them I needed a degree that would help me get a better job. I needed to make it worth it to take time away from my kids. The advisor told me about the in-demand field of business analytics. I had to watch YouTube videos to learn coding. It wasn’t as easy as the first time I went to college. I had to teach myself to study again, and it was hard work.” Burnett’s children stepped up to give her time to study and go to class. Nathan would watch his little sister, while ChloeAnn helped her mother study. “My daughter likes to proofread my papers and when I have, for example, 11 chapters to read, she will read out loud to me to give my eyes a break,” Burnett said. “She tells me all the time how she’s going to do great in college since she already helps me.” Now that she is graduating, Burnett is looking for a career in business analytics and is making sure that her children get every opportunity to go to college. “My parents and grandparents didn’t go to college, and none of my siblings or nieces or nephews went to college,” she said. “I am going to make a change. My son graduates from high school in the spring. He intends to follow in my footsteps and go to college. I may be a first-generation college grad, but I know I won’t be the last.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to Host Artist Kukuli Velarde as Windgate Distinguished Lecturer

John Hill — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 13:34:07 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will welcome acclaimed Peruvian American artist Kukuli Velarde as the next Windgate Distinguished Lecture Series featured artist for the Spring 2023 Semester. “We are genuinely excited for the opportunity to host Kukuli Velarde and her CORPUS exhibit at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock,” said Nathan Larson, interim art gallery director at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “This exhibition offers an insight into how our contemporary culture is the product of decades and centuries of assimilation and overlapping of cultures from across the globe.” The Windgate Distinguished Lecture Series, which began in 2020, is a lecture series that brings nationally known scholars, artists, makers, and art and craft influencers to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock on an annual basis. The series is funded by a grant from the Windgate Foundation. Based in Philadelphia, Velarde is a multi-talented artist working in ceramic, painting, drawing, and installation. Much of her work draws on pre-Columbian traditional forms and iconographies, highlighting colonized and syncretic identities and aesthetic systems. Her latest exhibit, “Kukuli Velarde: CORPUS,” will be on display from Monday, Jan. 9, to Friday, March 3, 2023, in the Brad Cushman Gallery in the Windgate Center of Art and Design. The Windgate Distinguished Lecture, “A Voice of My Own,” will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Building. The lecture will be followed by a reception from 7-8:30 p.m. in the second-floor lobby of the Windgate Center. During her visit, Velarde will also visit classes and review artwork with ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students. CORPUS is comprised of ceramic and fabric works that encourage reflection on the meaning of survival in the face of colonialism. Fifteen ceramic sculptures, each with matching tapestries, will be presented in a symbolic representation of the annual Corpus Christi festival in Cusco, Perú. The sculptures reference indigenous pre-Columbian forms and iconographies in a visual representation of syncretic aesthetic, cultural, and religious traditions. “Kukuli blends the imagery and ceramic forms of Pre-Columbian Peruvian cultures with the Catholic imagery brought by the colonizing conquistadors to create a visual voice uniquely her own,” Nathan Larson, interim art gallery director at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “But this voice is deeply rooted in the culture of assimilation; the culture she grew up in and the culture she now re-represents for us.” Velarde received a BFA from Hunter College in New York City. She is the recipient of such awards as the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2015), Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant (2012), and Joan Mitchell Foundation grant (1997). Her work can be found in the collections of Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Lima, Perú; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, among many others. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Art Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday, and 2-5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, contact 501-916-5104 or email Larson at nglarson@ualr.edu.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Celebrates Computer Science Educators

John Hill — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 15:23:59 +0000

It’s Computer Science Education Week, an annual call to celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners in the field. We are highlighting our innovative Department of Computer Science with an in-depth interview with Dr. Albert Baker, chair and professor since 2018. What is the current state of the department? We currently have 210 undergraduate majors, of which 46 are pursuing our new cybersecurity degree program. We also have 35 students in the MS in Computer Science program. When I started, we only had nine. We also have 15 doctoral students. With this growth in our graduate programs, we’ll see more of our graduate students moving on to academic as well as industry careers. With the initiatives we are undertaking to develop and promote our interactive immersive technologies (AR/VR) programs, I think we will begin to see solid growth in that area as well. What kind of opportunities are available in the department? Our programs open opportunities on two career paths. One is software developer, which is a pretty broad area that includes programming, software design, performance testing, quality assurance, etc. We also have a game option. The game industry is very competitive, but the skills our students get are applicable in interactive immersive technologies (AR/VR) applications in education and training, medical applications, and industrial design. There are an increasing number of opportunities for our students in this emerging area. We have much to highlight in this emerging area of interactive immersive technologies. The Emerging Analytics Center has fabulous facilities for hands-on development and research in that area. Drs. Ivan Conde, Arya Basu, and Jan Springer all have expertise in this area. This is an area of strength for the department, and I am happy about the opportunities that we provide students. I tell prospective students and their parents that we have good opportunities in interactive immersive technologies, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning, mobile applications, user interface and user experience, and computer graphics/data visualization. If a student has an interest in any of these areas, this is a great place to study. The opportunities for undergraduate students are particularly noteworthy because we have funded positions for students to work on grant funded research as well as industry projects. Those kinds of opportunities for undergraduate students are rare at other universities. How has the department changed since you started? Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, former director of the Emerging Analytics Center and former chair of the Department of Computer Science, asked me to develop a stronger sense of community in the department, particularly with undergraduate students. We restored the charter for the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Student Chapter of the Association of Computing Machinery. The ACM is the largest professional society for computing professionals. The dhapter is very active. One of their impactful service projects has been the program to refurbish donated computers and make them available at no cost to students through the COVID pandemic. They have placed over 90 machines repairing hard drives, reinstalling operating systems, and handing out computers to students who needed them. We have continued to innovate the department’s curriculum. In computer science, things are constantly changing. We’ve added courses accessible by students outside our department. For example, we will now have in the catalog a sophomore-level course that is an introduction to machine learning using a no-code environment. This means students who have no coding experience can take the course. One of the most important changes in the department has been the new degree in cybersecurity and some very important industry partnerships. Why has your department taken a lead in promoting cybersecurity education? We’ve been very strategic in the way we’ve laid a foundation for cybersecurity. Huge credit goes to Drs. Philip Huff and Erin Finzer for the creation of CyberLearn. (��Vlog��ý Little Rock received a $1.96 million workforce development grant from the Arkansas Office of Skills Development in the spring to form the Cyber Learning Network, a consortium of seven University of Arkansas System campuses to expand and diversify workforce education in emergent cyber technologies.) With CyberLearn, we are implementing a resource and course sharing network between the partner campuses. For example, if a ��Vlog��ýPB student needs to take a cybersecurity course this summer that is not being offered on that campus, they can register for that ��Vlog��ýPB course, pay ��Vlog��ýPB tuition fees, and actually take the course offered here at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. In addition, with the addition of the National Cyber Teaching Academy funded, in part, by a grant from the NSA, we are training high school teachers so they can teach cybersecurity in Arkansas high schools. The State of Arkansas is requiring one credit in computer science as a graduation requirement for all students starting with the Fall 2023 freshman class. Cybersecurity is one of the ADE-approved computer science pathways meeting this requirement. We have a partnership with cyber industry leader and have really good outreach to the cyber industry in Arkansas. I’m excited about the holistic strategic approach we are taking with cybersecurity training and workforce development. What is coming up for the future of the computer science department? Certainly, cybersecurity will continue to grow and progress rapidly. We are also receiving tremendous feedback on our interactive immersive technologies initiatives. The Emerging Analytics Center (EAC) has been recognized as one of the top AR/VR research and development labs in the country. Between the EAC and the Cyber Arena, we are offering students opportunities unique in the State of Arkansas and beyond. What else would you like to add? I’m proud of the way the department office is running now. Chris Thompson (administrative assistant III) has been fantastic. I would also give a shoutout to Seth Cook who has worked as a GA in the office for the last three years and maintains our social media presence and department website. We are now much more organized and efficient through their efforts. Being in Arkansas has been a productive place to work in that I’ve had an opportunity to meet people at levels that I wouldn’t have had access to in larger states. Lee Watson, CEO, Forge Institute, and Bill Yoder, Executive Director of , are at the top of the list. They are doing tremendous work. Tina Moore and Kelly Griffith at the Arkansas Department of Education are also great to work with. These are just some of the talented Arkansans I’ve had opportunities to work with. The Industrial Advisory Board of the department is proving to be a tremendous asset as well and providing excellent guidance to me and the department. Brian Stack, Chief Scientist & Cofounder, LeapXL, chairs our advisory board. I appreciate the leadership he is providing. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and the State of Arkansas are proving to be fertile places to develop innovative, state-of-the-art programs and initiatives in the computing sciences that will help us develop a future-ready workforce. I genuinely appreciate the opportunity I’ve had to serve the Department, College, University, and State of Arkansas.

Anson Pens Book on Ancient Leader Ptolemy I

John Hill — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 14:17:49 +0000

A ��Vlog��ý Little Rock history professor and expert in the Hellenistic period has published a book on the history of Ptolemy I, a successor of Alexander the Great and pharaoh of ancient Egypt. A longtime historian of Alexander the Great, Dr. Edward Anson, distinguished professor of history, added to that body of knowledge with the publication of “.” Bloomsbury published the 272-page book. “He was one of Alexander the Great’s generals, and, after his death, one of his successors who created the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt which lasted from 323 BC until the death of Cleopatra VII,” Anson said. “He created the longest lasting of all the kingdoms that arose after the death of Alexander. He was likely responsible for the breakup of Alexander’s empire after the Conqueror’ death and the eventual emergence of his capital of Alexandria as the cultural center of the Greek cultural world.”

Cover of “Ptolemy I Soter: Themes and Issues”

This book is not a standard biography, but rather an examination of the major issues surrounding Ptolemy’s reign, the major controversies and questions surrounding his career and legacy. Ptolemy’s administration of this foreign land, although privileging colonists from Greece and Macedonia over native Egyptians, maintained a level of political stability in a land with a long history of resisting foreign rule. “He ruled a country of two very different peoples,” Anson said. “He was the traditional pharaoh for the native Egyptians and a Hellenistic king to the many Greek and Macedonian colonists. He handled both successfully.” This work represents Anson’s 11th book. His next book will be an edited volume, “The Campaigns of Philip II and Alexander The Great,” that is due in 2023. Anson said that he owes much of his scholarly success to research partners in Ottenheimer Library. “My research over the years has only been possible as a result of those in the Ottenheimer Library and especially those in interlibrary loan,” he said.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Phi Kappa Phi Chapter Celebrates 50th Anniversary

John Hill — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 14:31:10 +0000

The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The chapter was originally chartered in January 1972 and is part of the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Each year, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock hosts an initiation and initiates approximately 60 students into Phi Kappa Phi. These honorees are among approximately 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff, and alumni across the nation initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. This celebration includes activities, service to both the university and community through a book drive, and opportunities for students to earn a scholarship with our essay contest. “Phi Kappa Phi has provided the university with candidates and faculty who have demonstrated excellence in research, service, and scholarship in multiple disciplines,” said Dr. Jennifer Hune, president of Phi Kappa Alpha. “Our Phi Kappa Phi members always show that ‘Excellences Knows no Bounds.’” Membership is by invitation and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors, having at least 72 semester hours, are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff, and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction. During a special 50th anniversary celebration on Dec. 3, 50 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students were inducted into Phi Kappa Phi.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students were inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi on Dec. 3.

In addition to its 50th anniversary, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi has also been recognized as a Chapter of Excellence Gold Award Winner. The awards are given to the society’s top chapters that excel in recognizing and promoting academic excellence on their local campus and engaging the community of scholars in service to others. This year, the program named 70 chapters with recognition including 23 as Platinum, 20 as Gold, and 27 as Silver. “Our chapters and officers are the foundation of Phi Kappa Phi,” said Society Executive Director and CEO Bradley Newcomer. “We are proud to recognize and celebrate the chapters that exemplify our mission through the Circle of Excellence Awards.” These chapters are recognized as thriving organizations that hold annual initiations, uphold the Society Bylaws, regularly attend chapter training opportunities, and submit a chapter-endorsed nominee to the Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship Program. Chapters achieving the Circle of Excellence distinction receive a commendation letter from the society sent to campus administration, a special recognition on the Phi Kappa Phi website, a specially designed logo for use in chapter communications, and a cash award.

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

LULAC Honors Torres Sanchez as Student of the Year

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Professor Advises Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Student Nurses Association President Elected to State Office

Graduating Student Finds New Career, Love of Writing at ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock History Professor to Teach New Class on Arkansas Icons Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Grad Honors Promise to Children by Graduating College 23 Years After She Started

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to Host Artist Kukuli Velarde as Windgate Distinguished Lecturer

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Celebrates Computer Science Educators