Commissioner Johnny Key of the Arkansas Department of Education will deliver a talk to hundreds of high-scoring seventh graders during a special ceremony at UALR at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 7.

Key will visit campus as part of the annual Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) in which 457 Arkansas seventh graders will be recognized for their exceptional scores on the ACT or SAT tests typically given to older college-bound students.

UALR has been the site of the Duke TIP Awards Recognition Day since Arkansas joined the Duke Talent Search in the 1980s.

There will be two separate “Draping of Medals” ceremonies at the University Theatre on May 7, one at 10 a.m., featuring Key, and one at 2:30 p.m. featuring Alice Mahony of the Arkansas State Board of Education.

Dr. Ann Robinson, director of UALR’s Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education, said the award ceremony is a joint effort between UALR and Duke University, supported by the UALR Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost.

A reception hosted by the Mahony Center will follow in the University Theatre Lobby for students and families.

At least one state recognition ceremony is held in each of the states with the largest Talent Search enrollments. Over 64,400 seventh graders nationwide took the ACT or SAT through Duke TIP during the 2014-2015 school year.

New this year

Girls in the Middle, a new grant awarded to the Mahony Center for Gifted Education, is to encourage girls into science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines. All girls invited to the 2015 Duke TIP recognition ceremony were invited to apply.

The grant is funded through AGATE, Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education.

To participate in the program, applicants attend any of the STEM content sessions before either one of the recognition ceremonies and also attend the Oct. 19 Reconnect Day at the Museum of Discovery.

The museum is collaborating with the Mahony Center for a STEM Scavenger Hunt to explore exhibits, an experience intended to prepare girls to design their own unique, interactive exhibits that will be a differentiated student product showcased the afternoon of Oct. 19 at UALR.

More about the event

In 2007, the Mahony Center established UALR’s Talent Search Scholars Day to showcase UALR faculty and programs to a college-bound cohort of students and their families.

Held in conjunction with the ceremony honoring Duke scholars, the event is a UALR program organized and administered through the Mahony Center, which invites UALR faculty from high-profile programs that appeal to up-and-coming scholars.

While on campus, TIPsters have the opportunity to learn about the arts, as well as programs featuring science, technology, engineering, and math.

“We ask faculty to prepare a day of engaging activities for the students,” Robinson said. “As director of the Mahony Center, I offer simultaneous sessions for parents who often have lots of questions about developing their child’s interests, talents, and motivation.”

For more about the variety of programs offered through UALR’s Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education, contact giftedcenter@ualr.edu or 501.569.3410.