Two UA Little Rock faculty members have been awarded G. Eisele Research Fellowships for this year.

Marc D. Glidden, an adjunct instructor in criminal justice, and John Kirk, the George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History and director of the UA Little Rock Joel E. Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, each received a fellowship.

The awards, which are sponsored annually by the G. Thomas Eisele Endowment for the study of the United States Federal Courts in Arkansas, were announced April 17 during a presentation at the Bailey Alumni and Friends Center.

During the event, Colin Woodward, the 2017 fellow, presented his research into Arkansas prison farms and the efforts of state officials to make Arkansas compliant with federal law in the wake of the 1970 Holt v. Sarver decision, which declared Arkansas’s prison system violated prisoners’ constitutional rights by inflicting cruel and unusual punishment.

The fellowship, which includes a $1,000 cash award, supports research about the federal judiciary in Arkansas and its role in Arkansas history, politics, or culture.

Glidden has worked at UA Little Rock since 2013 – as a doctoral research assistant for Criminal Justice in 2013-14; as Criminal Justice Living Learning Community Coordinator in 2014-15; and as director of campus living and assistant dean of students from 2016-2018. He is currently an adjunct instructor in the Department of Criminal Justice and is pursuing a doctorate in criminal justice. His fellowship will assist him in research for his dissertation: “An Examination of the Effects of Race, Age, Gender, Extralegal, and Community-level factors on Sentencing in Arkansas.”

Kirk’s research proposal is “Racial Disturbances and Civil unrest in Arkansas: The Federal Judiciary, the Department of Justice and the FBI.” Both Glidden and Kirk will present their research findings during next year’s reception when the 2019 fellow is announced.