The  G. Thomas Eisele Research Fellowship presentation will be on Tuesday, April 17, beginning at 5 p.m. in the Bailey Alumni and Friends Center on the main campus of UA Little Rock.

The presentation will feature the research of the 2017 Fellow, Colin Woodward, Ph.D., concerning 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.

After Woodward’s presentation, the 2018 G. Thomas Eisele Research Fellowship recipient will be announced.

The fellowship award recognizes and acknowledges the role of the federal courts and judiciary in the state of Arkansas and promotes a better understanding of that role through scholarly study at the professional, graduate, or undergraduate level.

The award supports researching the federal judiciary in Arkansas and its role in Arkansas history, politics, or culture; identifying collateral cultural and governmental impacts from actions by the federal judiciary in Arkansas; and promoting Arkansas’s place in the national or global judicial context.

Funds are available for research stipends as well as for materials, books, equipment, or travel necessary for the completion of the project or activity in furtherance of the purpose of this award. The award includes a certificate and cash award of up to $1,000.

The Eisele Research Fellowship recipient presents his or her research during a reception held in April of the year following their award.

This award is sponsored by the G. Thomas Eisele Endowment for the study of the United States Federal Courts in Arkansas. More information about this fellowship can be found at ualr.edu/cahc.

The photo above right shows G. Thomas Eisele, a longtime U.S. district judge in Little Rock who was one of the first to challenge mandatory sentencing guidelines. Photo Credit/Benjamin Krain