As executive director, Huntley will lead AEDI鈥檚 research, outreach, and engagement e铿�orts focused on strengthening Arkansas鈥檚 economy through data-driven insights, policy support, and collaborate on with public and private-sector partners.

Founded in 1955, AEDI and its predecessor organizations have served as an economic development research and engagement resource within the University of Arkansas system, supporting community, business, and government stakeholders across Arkansas. The institute is home to economists and applied researchers, the Arkansas Census State Data Center, and programs focused on emergency management, community development, and economic education, including the annual Arkansas Economic Forecast Conference, delivered in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

鈥淎EDI plays an important role in connecting university research with the needs of communities, businesses, and policymakers across Arkansas,鈥� said Ann Bain, provost and executive vice chancellor of academic affairs. 鈥淎aron鈥檚 background in strategic leadership and applied problem-solving will help ensure that our work continues to inform decision-making, support students and faculty, and contribute meaningfully to the state鈥檚 economic development.鈥�

Huntley joins 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock after nearly 20 years in the financial services and technology finance sectors, where he served in senior leadership roles including executive vice president and head of strategy. In those positions, he oversaw large-scale operations and multi-million-dollar budgets across organizations with national reach. Throughout his career, Huntley has been recognized for building high-performing teams, launching innovative partnerships, and translating complex data into actionable strategies.

鈥淎aron Huntley brings a wonderful combination of executive leadership, statewide relationships, and a deep commitment to public service,鈥� said Dr. Aaron Duvall, executive director of workforce development. 鈥淗is experience leading complex organizations, working across sectors, and translating data into meaningful action will strengthen AEDI鈥檚 ability to serve communities, inform policy, and support Arkansas鈥檚 economic future.鈥�

In addition to his executive experience, Huntley has been deeply engaged in Arkansas鈥檚 civic and economic development landscape. He currently serves as a city council member in Springdale and as the chairman of the region鈥檚 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Huntley has worked closely with chambers of commerce, state o铿僣ials, educators, and nonprofit leaders to advance workforce development, entrepreneurship, and community-focused initiatives. He has served on more than a dozen local and statewide nonprofit boards.

Huntley is also a graduate of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, where he earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business administration.

鈥淚 am honored to return to my alma mater, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, and lead the Arkansas Economic Development Institute,鈥� Huntley said. 鈥淥ver the past decade, my work has centered on building relationships across the state and supporting communities as they pursue sustainable economic growth. AEDI鈥檚 ability to connect research, policy, and practice makes it a powerful resource for Arkansas, and I am excited to work with its outstanding team and partners to help strengthen the state that I love so much.鈥�

As executive director, Huntley will focus on expanding AEDI鈥檚 statewide reach, strengthening partnerships, and aligning the institute鈥檚 work with regional, state, and federal priorities, advancing 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 role as a leader in research, engagement, and economic development.

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The will join the of the for the 2025 Arkansas Economic Forecast Luncheon on Nov. 6. 

The event will take place at the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., in Little Rock, with lunch served at 11 a.m. The program will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The event will provide insight into the current state of the economy through discussions on economic trends, issues, and developments. Speakers include B. Ravikumar, Kathleen Navin, and Michael Pakko. 

Ravikumar has served as the senior vice president and deputy director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis since May 2011. He will discuss national and global economic conditions. 

Navin is a senior economist and an active member of the National Association for Business Economics. She will address regional economic conditions. 

Pakko, chief economist and state economic forecaster at the Arkansas Economic Development Institute at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, will speak about聽 Arkansas’ economic outlook.聽

“I’m very pleased to be partnering with the Little Rock Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis again this year,鈥� Pakko said. 鈥淭his will be the 17th annual forecast event that I’ve participated in, and it’s shaping up to be one of the best yet. With the addition of a speaker addressing the international economic situation, this conference promises to be of particular relevance for today’s issues.” 

Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, will moderate a panel discussion and Q&A session after the presentation. Attendees may submit questions in advance during the registration process. 

for this luncheon is due by Nov. 3. This is a free event. 

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The CAHC was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Preservation Education Award on Jan. 31 at the annual Arkansas Preservation Awards dinner at the Robinson Center in Little Rock.

The award celebrates significant contributions to historic preservation in Arkansas through educational initiatives. It was presented in honor of the , an effort launched in October following six years of collaborative work by more than 50 individuals.

鈥溙切腣log传媒 Little Rock’s Mapping Little Rock History Digital Humanities Project is enhancing our knowledge of the capital city’s growth and development using a wide variety of media types from multiple sources, all geolocated on maps to make it easier for people to understand our history in time and space,鈥� said Rachel Patton, executive director of Preserve Arkansas. 鈥淚 am a map nerd, so I was thrilled to see the collection organized in this way! And every teacher should know about the lesson plans – what a valuable teaching tool for educators and our next generation of Arkansas historians!鈥�

The annual awards are organized by Preserve Arkansas, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and rehabilitating historic places that hold cultural and historical significance across the state.

鈥淲e are very grateful to Preserve Arkansas for this award, which highlights the impact and quality of the project,鈥� said Dr. Jess Porter, director of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture. 鈥淭his project reflects the dedication of an amazing team at the center, along with private partners who brought this vision to life. There鈥檚 nothing else like it in Little Rock. It鈥檚 one of the best resources for learning about the city鈥檚 history.鈥�

Funded by two National Endowment for the Humanities grants totaling more than $375,000, the Mapping Little Rock History Project provides an immersive platform to explore the city鈥檚 historical growth and transformation.

The interactive website offers access to a vast collection of historical documents, photographs, maps, and multimedia content from 1880 to 2014. It is a valuable resource for students, educators, historians, urban planners, architects, engineers, and community members seeking to understand Little Rock鈥檚 evolution better.

鈥淭his project is versatile and accessible,鈥� Porter said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 useful for everyone鈥攆rom students writing a master鈥檚 thesis and teachers designing classroom assignments to architects researching original building plans and community members exploring local history. The project has improved accessibility to countless records, as everything is now available online. Any Little Rocker, Arkansan, or history enthusiast anywhere can read documents like the 1975 board minutes from the Little Rock School District, along with thousands of other historic records.鈥�

The project was made possible through partnerships with several organizations. Key collaborators include Few, the Arkansas Economic Development Institute, and the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock CRUX Lab, which helped develop the website. Archival materials were contributed by the City of Little Rock, the Central Arkansas Library System Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, and the Central High School National Historic Site.

鈥淭his recognition reflects the hard work of many individuals and organizations passionate about preserving and sharing Little Rock鈥檚 rich history,鈥� Porter said. 鈥淲e are excited to see how this resource continues to educate and inspire.鈥�

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鈥淭his will be one of the biggest tourism events the state has ever seen,鈥� said Dr. Michael Pakko, chief economic and state economic forecaster at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Arkansas Economic Development Institute. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine any other event that will have the same significant number of visitors as we will get from this one weekend in Arkansas. We鈥檙e expecting to have a lot of visitors come to our region, and visitors tend to spend money so we鈥檙e expecting it to have a significant economic impact.鈥�

that Arkansas can expect to see anywhere from 200,000 to 450,000 people traveling within the state to see the eclipse, with an estimated 75 percent of travelers coming from out of state. That means Arkansas could see between 160,000 to 350,000 out-of-state visitors traveling to see the eclipse.

鈥淚 expect that to generate somewhere between $48 and $105 million in value added or GDP (gross domestic product) for the state,鈥� Pakko said. 鈥淭hat could generate about $27 to $60 million in income for Arkansans from the increased business.鈥�

Statistics from states in the path of totality during the 2017 solar eclipse suggest that visitors will spend an average of 3-3.5 days for the solar eclipse, Pakko said.

鈥淭he No. 1 category that will be most impacted by the eclipse is lodging, including hotels, motels, campgrounds, rental houses, and even staying with friends. Food and beverage is the next highest category, followed by transportation, recreation, and entertainment. We are looking at a typical tourist profile. People will come in for the weekend, shop, eat out, and look for other entertainment in addition to the solar eclipse.鈥�

Pakko advised that Arkansas businesses should be prepared for increased traffic the weekend before the solar eclipse.

鈥淭he best thing to do is to make sure you have plenty of staffing and inventory on hand because it is going to be a very busy weekend,鈥� he said.

As for traffic, Pakko warned Arkansans that they should plan ahead to avoid the post-eclipse traffic.

鈥淭he one thing that we should be aware of is traffic snarls,鈥� Pakko said. 鈥淭he experience of states in the path of totality during the 2017 solar eclipse is that people had staggered arrival times, so there weren鈥檛 significant travel issues leading up to the eclipse. As soon as it ends, that is when traffic tie ups are likely to happen. It will be wise to plan to hang out somewhere until the traffic passes.鈥�

You can learn more about Pakko鈥檚 economic predictions by visiting and learn more about 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 free solar eclipse celebration at .

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糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is the first organization that benefitted from a generous donation from Fifty for the Future, who donated $150,000 in 1965 to the Graduate Institute of Technology, which later joined 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. Chancellor Christina S. Drale commented that the gift would be worth around $1.5 million in today鈥檚 dollars.

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock has also received two additional gifts from Future for the Fifty over the years. The group donated $250,000 in 2002 to the Don W. Reynolds Center for Business and Economic Development for the group that is now known as the . They also made a $250,000 donation in 2005 to the College of Engineering and Information Technology, now the Donaghey College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

鈥淔ifty for the Future and 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock have collaborated for six decades in cultivating a relevant and readily available pipeline of workforce talent for Arkansas,鈥� Fifty for the Future President Sharon Tallach Vogelpohl said. 鈥淭he continued partnership will be as impactful in Fifty鈥檚 next 60 years as in its first 60 years.鈥�

Chancellor Drale gave a keynote talk to the Fifty for the Future members on how 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and the business community are working together to develop a well-prepared workforce and invigorate the economy of central Arkansas.

鈥淚 want to thank Fifty for the Future for making those investments and for recognizing why those kinds of investments are important,鈥� Chancellor Drale said. 鈥淭he ways universities and 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in particular support economic development is to produce graduates with advanced skills and professional training and commercialization of applied research.鈥�

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 approach to preparing students for the workforce includes providing them with a career-path education with an emphasis on experiential learning, investing in programs in high-demand fields, and developing programs in emerging fields like cybersecurity, information science, data analytics, and virtual reality.

鈥溙切腣log传媒 Little Rock is a comprehensive public university, which means that we provide a wide variety of degree programs built on a strong liberal arts foundation,鈥� Chancellor Drale said. 鈥淲e also know that students stand a better chance of persisting and being successful if we can help them connect the dots between what they are doing in the classroom and what they will be doing after they graduate.鈥�

In central Arkansas, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is a major provider of graduates in business, law, engineering, construction management, and STEM fields in general, particularly emerging fields like cybersecurity, information science, and data analytics. We also have many graduates in nursing, social work, education, and technical writing.

Universities also have a valuable role in building economic growth through research and entrepreneurial investment. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock recently launched the Arkansas Tech Launch Exchange Program in partnership with the and the . This is a program where we bring in rising entrepreneurs from other countries to develop new businesses in central Arkansas who work with faculty and students to participate in the process of innovation.

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is in the middle of a comprehensive fundraising campaign, the Centennial Campaign, designed to increase the number of endowed need-based scholarships, grow the student support endowment, raise support for high-quality faculty through endowed chairs, raise endowed maintenance funds for existing buildings, and help renovate existing facilities. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock has a goal to raise a total of $250 million by the university鈥檚 100-year anniversary in 2027.

鈥淲e are $182 million on our way to meeting that quarter of a billion goal,鈥� said Christian O鈥橬eal, vice chancellor for university advancement. 鈥淭he heart of much of that support can be found in this room. To each and every one of you, I say thank you for that support.鈥�

Fifty for the Future members were interested in hearing how they can continue to support 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock with helping provide an affordable and accessible college education for Arkansans. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is constantly partnering with businesses and organizations like Fifty for the Future to help prepare students for advantageous careers in central Arkansas. These partnerships include:

• Educational partners who provide internships for students, client projects for classes, classroom visits, advisory board, and mentorships
• Research partners through collaboration and investment
• Expanding the professional workforce through a corporate employee tuition discount program
• Investment partners through scholarships, endowed faculty, sponsored classrooms, lab, and other physical spaces, and general student support

鈥淔ifty for the Future really appreciates 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock hosting us,鈥� said Joe Stanley, who has been a member of the group for eight years and is an architect who worked on the Student Services Center at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 鈥淲e are a group who is working for the betterment of Little Rock and the central Arkansas community. This is what we are about.鈥�

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Sarah Breshears, a retired educator from Sherwood, has donated $25,000 to create the Sarah Breshears Endowed Graduate Scholarship, which will provide assistance for education-related expenses including tuition, books, fees, and room and board. Scholarship recipients will be graduate students who are also single parents who demonstrate financial need and/or merit.

Breshears earned her Master of Business Administration degree from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock while she was working full time and raising a family. Since most endowed scholarships are directed toward undergraduate students, Breshears felt it was important to provide a scholarship opportunity for graduate students who are working to improve their careers and raise their families at the same time.

鈥淚 was a part of one of the earliest cohorts of the MBA program,鈥� Breshears said. 鈥淚 started school and almost immediately got pregnant with my second child. It took me a long time to finish my degree in 1981. I could not have done it without my husband. When I graduated, my mother even gave my husband a graduate present as well because she knew I couldn鈥檛 have graduated without him. My feelings were for all of the single parents who were trying to work full time, go to school, and take care of their kids. There are a lot of scholarships for undergraduates but not many for graduate students. I wanted to provide a scholarship that will help these hard-working graduate students.鈥�

With her family history, Breshears was drawn toward a career in education. Her father was a professor at Arkansas State Teachers College, now the University of Central Arkansas, and her mother and sister were teachers as well. She earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mathematics from the University of Central Arkansas before starting her career and earning her MBA at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.

鈥淚 always knew that a college education was critically important,鈥� Breshears said. 鈥淚 loved the professors in the MBA program at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. The professors are excellent. I would put them up against anybody, and I think that is definitely still true.鈥�

Breshears retired from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in 2007 after working for 43 years at the university. She ended her career as acting director of the former Institute for Economic Advancement (now known as the Arkansas Economic Development Institute) though she spent much of her career serving as the director of the Arkansas State Census Data Center, now the Arkansas Data Center.

Ever since retiring from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Breshears keeps busy with traveling and charity work. She serves as the chair of the Finance Committee at her church, Sylvan Hills United Methodist Church, and delivers meals through Meals on Wheels.

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