UALR freshmen enrolled in the university’s first-year colloquium organized campus-wide participation in Little Rock’s Race for the Cure – the third largest in the nation – and raised more than $4,600 for breast cancer research.

“Our students showed up in full force this past Saturday, and they were motivated, organized and active participants of the event,” said Academic Advisor Kim Tran.  

“They were especially proud to represent UALR to our community and understand the importance of this.”

The first-year colloquium is part of UALR’s effort to transform divergent strangers into a cohesive class of students connected to the campus and the community. That early connection is a key to academic success.

Colloquium members organized participation in the race, including students, faculty, and staff. The UALR Rock for the Cure team numbered more than 139.

“We would not have been able to do this without the efforts of our many freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, master’s, and doctoral students, our faculty, our staff, and our many UALR family and friends,” Tran said.

Many of the freshmen organizing the effort said it was their first exposure to working on a project of this magnitud,e and for some it was their first social outing off campus.

“This is a win that our students will carry on for life,” Tran said. “We are also thankful for the efforts of  Dr. Joel E. Anderson, UALR chancellor; Dr. Daryl Rice, associate dean for academic affairs in the Academic Affairs/Student Success office; and the freshman students of the UALR Class of 2015.”

Other organizations participating in the success of the effort were Undergraduate Academic Advising, the Bachelor of Social Work Student Organization, the Little Rock student chapter of the International Association for Information and Data Quality, the Department of Counseling, Adult and Rehabilitation Education (CARE), the Office of Campus Life, and the Purchasing Department.

“We especially thank our in-kind sponsors, Wild Wear Inc. of Little Rock, Jimmy John’s, Starbucks, Rally’s, and Ken Johnson Parking Services, and are ecstatic to have the support of our business community for such an important cause,” Tran said.