An archivist with the UALR Center for Arkansas History and Culture in the Arkansas Studies Institute has earned two recent distinctions for his contributions to the field of history.
Dr. Colin E. Woodward has won the Violet B. Gingles Award, which comes with a $500 prize and is sponsored by the Arkansas Historical Association.
The award is given for the best manuscript article on any Arkansas history topic. Woodward earned the award for his article, “There’s a Lot of Things That Need Changin’: Johnny Cash, Winthrop Rockefeller, and Prison Reform in Arkansas.”
He also won the F. Hampton Roy award, given by the Pulaski County Historical Association, for his article “The Days before Dyess: Johnny Cash’s Early Arkansas Roots.” The prize was $300 and awarded at the Little Rock Central High School Museum and Visitor Center.
In April, Woodward will receive the Gingles Award at the annual meeting of the Arkansas Historical Association in West Memphis and also present a paper on Jim Guy Tucker and Vietnam.
Woodward holds a doctorate in history from Louisiana State University, where he studied the Civil War era under the direction of prize-winning historian Charles W. Royster.
He is in the early stages of writing a book about Cash’s days in Arkansas.
Two recent UALR graduates will compete at the Microsoft Imagine Cup Finals in April where they will present their Windows app to empower victims of domestic violence.
UALR alumni David Breeding and Timothy Henneberry will compete April 21-24 in Silicon Valley, a region in northern California known for its high-tech global industries. Continue reading “App developers seek to empower victims of domestic violence”
Alex Leme, a UALR alumnus and former Donaghey Scholar, recently opened his new show, “Small Town: Portraits of a Disappearing America” at the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The exhibit is open through May 2.
Leme’s haunting photographs capture the mood of Cotton Plant, a once thriving small town in rural northeast Arkansas now filled with abandoned schools and crumbling buildings.
His images of the town’s landscapes and its people are said to “quietly question the future of a forgotten America,” according to writer Brandy McDonnell.
Leme–a multilingual Brazilian who first came to the U.S. as a stockbroker before his acceptance into the Donaghey Scholars program at UALR–is currently pursuing graduate studies in art history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
He is a curatorial fellow at the UM Amherst Museum of Contemporary Art.
In 2013, Leme became the first UALR Donaghey Scholar to earn the distinction of earning the prestigious Portz Prize by the National Collegiate Honors Council.
Those interested in developing new technology with commercial potential are encouraged to attend “Commercializing Your Technology: Moving from Idea to Market” from 8 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 19, at the Argenta Innovation Hub in North Little Rock.
Doors will open at 7:30 a.m. for coffee, donuts, and networking.
This workshop is hosted by the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, housed at the UALR College of Business.
UALR staff, faculty, and students can attend for free. The regular registration rate for individuals not affiliated with the university is $50.
Led by Brian Rogers, director of the Arkansas State University Catalyst Innovation Accelerator, the training will focus on basic processes related to entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and commercialization.
The training topics will specifically comprise intellectual property, confidentiality, transfers of rights, entity formation, marketing summaries, proof of concept, scale-up, presenting to investors, dilution, and various business models.
Register at this link to reserve a spot. For more information, contact ASBTDC Wendy Orvis or 501.683.7700.
The “I’ve Got Your Back: A Green Dot/Safe Zone Workshop” will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, in the Donaghey Student Center Leadership Lounge.
The workshop will provide a productive and safe discussion on how to prevent power-based personal violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, and Questioning individuals.
No registration is required for this unique and educational event supported by the Green Dot and Safe Zone initiatives at UALR. Refreshments, materials, and prizes will be provided.
Green Dot’s goal is to create a safe campus environment through the power of community. Safe Zone’s mission is to improve the overall campus climate and to educate students and staff about issues related to LGBTQ individuals.
For more information, visit this link or call Green Dot at 501.673.7160.
Editor’s Note: As part of Women’s History Month, UALR is profiling a few of its women faculty of distinction. This is the third in a four-part series.
Dr. Sarah Beth Estes is respected for her expertise in gender and family issues.
Her scholarship has been cited in numerous books, and she was among the panelists invited last year to address an audience at the Clinton School of Public Service about a report she co-authored for the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas on educational barriers that exist for girls and women in Arkansas.
She also presented this work in January at an event at the University of Arkansas Global Campus.
Estes, a sociology professor and interim associate dean for Research and Community Engagement in the College of Social Sciences and Communication at UALR, has also helped present reports to state legislative committees on the social and economic status of women in Arkansas.
Estes believes education is fundamental in breaking the cycle of poverty and achieving economic security for women.
“Education improves a woman’s prospects for participating in the labor market and entering the workforce,” she says. “And rewarding work is clearly a pathway to financial and emotional health.”
Estes’ service on the board of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas is evidence of this belief. The mission of the organization is to promote philanthropy among women and help women and girls achieve their full potential. Estes’ service revolves around her areas of expertise. She sits on the Policy and Research Committee and the Grants Committee.
Much of Estes’ research has focused on how work-family policies are related to aspects of family life, including parenting behavior, children’s well-being, and the gendered division of household labor.
Estes has also contributed to the discussion about the gap in pay that exists for women, including discrepancies found in academia.
Discussing the matter with the Arkansas Times in 2007, Estes remarked, “Taking into account all the possible explanations — institutional affiliation, teaching load, academic field, and so on — there is still about a 7 percent gap. Those who believe in gender biases say it supports their argument. Those who negate gender bias believe something else exists to explain the gap.”
Since coming to UALR in 2006, she has served on the scholarship selection committee for the Stonewall Scholarship, which is awarded to new and returning students university wide interested in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender issues.
The scholarship reached full endowment last year and is among largest awards in the College of Social Sciences and Communication.
She was also the founding chair of the Green Dot Violence Prevention Program established at UALR in 2013.
Estes received a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Iowa and was a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati and affiliate of the Kunz Center for Work and Family and the Women’s Studies Department before coming to UALR.
She is the coordinator of the gender studies program at UALR and has taught courses on Gender, Social Statistics and Research Methods in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology as well as Individual and Society I and II in the Donaghey Scholars Program.
UALR Children International seeks mature, enthusiastic role models to assist youth, ages 12 through 16 years, as they organize their self-image projects for “Respect My S.W.A.G.” week and the upcoming Beauty Affair Fashion Show. Continue reading “UALR Children International seeks volunteers”
GradFest, a “one-stop shop” for all things graduation, is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, March 11 and 12, in the Donaghey Student Center between Health Services and the UALR Bookstore. Continue reading “Grab your cap, GradFest is coming”
Editor’s Note: As part of Women’s History Month in March, UALR is profiling a few of its women faculty of distinction. This article is the first in a four-part series.
The 2015 Women’s History Month theme, “Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives,” is an opportunity to mesh women’s stories – individually and collectively – into the fabric of the nation’s history. Continue reading “Women’s History Month celebrates Dr. Bell-Tolliver”
Two undergraduate researchers returned home with first place awards following the annual Emerging Researchers National Conference in Washington, D.C. Continue reading “UALR students earn first-place awards at national research conference”