Goal Three
UALR will respond to local, state, regional, and national priorities.
Objective 1
UALR will lead in improving the academic success of children in the public schools in Pulaski County.
Strategy 1: UALR will be an active player in ensuring that students who enter UALR are prepared for the rigors of the UALR educational experience by engaging with schools, parents and stakeholder organizations.
Strategy 2: UALR will create partnerships specifically focused on increased quality of STEM education in central Arkansas schools.
Strategy 3: UALR will focus on graduating students prepared to teach in critical need areas in the state (particularly STEM disciplines).
Strategy 4: UALR will expand its successful African-American Male Initiative to include satellite AAMI programs in the Little Rock School District.
Strategy 5: UALR will lead efforts to implement the Central Little Rock Promise Neighborhood to provide cradle to career pathways for children in the initiative’s zone.
Objective 2
UALR will lead in facilitating business and economic growth in central Arkansas and the state as a whole.
Strategy 1: UALR will provide direct support for individual economic initiatives identified as regional and state priorities through partnerships with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Arkansas Science and Technology Authority, Office of the Governor, Greater Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Arkansas Research Alliance, among others.
Strategy 2: UALR will collaborate with other Arkansas universities and AEDC in exploring an Arkansas Applied Research Institute.
Strategy 3: UALR will align research and outreach initiatives in the College of Engineering and Information Technology, College of Business, College of Science and Mathematics, the Nanotechnology Center, and the Office of Innovation and Commercialization to meet needs of business and industry.
Strategy 4: UALR will strive to develop graduates ready for employment in the Central Arkansas (and the State) industrial community, reducing exportation of Arkansas’ educated workforce to other states.
Objective 3
UALR will lead in revitalizing and enriching communities and neighborhoods through critical initiatives.
Strategy 1: UALR will lead the University District Partnership to revitalize the neighborhoods and commercial areas close to the campus. UALR’s leadership role is to direct UALR teaching, research and outreach programs to work in partnership with neighborhood residents, public agencies, area businesses, churches, and private nonprofit organizations to bring best practices to the revitalization initiative.
Strategy 2: UALR will create an Institute on Race and Ethnicity dedicated to bringing to bear the full breadth of research and applied solutions to the problem of racial and ethnic injustice in Arkansas.
Strategy 3: UALR will continue to develop its Children’s International program to improve the lives of growing numbers of children through educational and other programs.
Strategy 4: UALR will leverage its strength in academic and outreach programs in the arts to support the arts and cultural offerings in central Arkansas through key partnerships (i.e. only dance program in the state, public performances and exhibits, and public radio. )
Strategy 5: UALR will support the growing non-profit industry cluster in Little Rock through the Center for Nonprofit Organizations and other departments as well as undergraduate and graduate level education programs across campus.
Strategy 6: Enhance the number of strategically-chosen, collaborative relationships between UALR and external organizations to create unique learning opportunities for UALR students. (i.e., other institutions of higher education, non-profit and cultural organizations, related business, industry, state and municipal agencies, etc.)
Objective 4
UALR will graduate students who are committed to community engagement.
Strategy 1: The Academy for Teaching and Learning Excellence will annually feature several teaching demonstrations and seminars which explore the successful incorporation of public service activities or themes into the classroom.
Strategy 2: UALR will grow its service learning program to increase the number of students who participate in public service activities as part of their educational experience.
Strategy 3: UALR will establish a Student Service Corps program to nurture student leadership in volunteer and service activities.
Strategy 4: UALR will incorporate a service component into all academic programs.
Strategy 5: UALR will initiate the process to create an Arkansas chapter of the national Campus Compact program.
Objective 5
UALR will sustain an ongoing dialogue among campus and external constituents to reinforce its fundamental commitment to serve the public and ensure institutional capacity to support this commitment.
Strategy 1: UALR will cultivate awareness of university resources and expertise at the state and local levels by documenting and communicating the university’s community impact (i.e. a published resource guide, on-line database of external partnerships)
Strategy 2: UALR will engage the campus community in a conversation about the significance of economic development to the institution’s external mission and the roles that a broad range of individual units play in its pursuit.
Strategy 3: UALR will expand its involvement in networks of universities which, like UALR, emphasize public service and community engagement.