The UALR Department of Theatre Arts and Dance will present “BODYWORKS,” the annual spring dance concert Thursday through Sunday, April 16 to 19, in the University Theatre in the Center for Performing Arts. Continue reading “Spring dance concert to feature original works, Broadway-bound piece”
James Youngquist, executive director of the Institute for Economic Advancement in the UALR College of Business, recently p
rovided a guest commentary highlighting the institute’s 60th anniversary.
Youngquist recounted its history for the monthly magazine Talk Business and Politics.
From its conception during the Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus era to its current multiple partnerships with the business community, Youngquist said visionary leadership helped develop the institute into arguably the most comprehensive university-based economic development research and training institute in the U.S.
“It has been a remarkable 60-year adventure,” he said.
As a U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration University Center, the institute is charged with enhancing the work of Arkansas’ planning and economic development districts.
Currently, the institute is partnering with the federal government to provide technical assistance in the disaster recovery infrastructure effort for Vilonia and Mayflower. Both towns were devastated by tornadoes in 2014.
Youngquist is the recipient of the President’s Award from the National Association of Development Organizations at its annual conference in San Diego. He has worked at the institute since February 2008.
The UALR Department of Speech Communication has won the Minority Recruitment and Retention Award from the Southern States Communication Association. Continue reading “Department of Speech Communication wins national award”
In the span of just 10 days, Dr. Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm, an assistant professor in the UALR Department of Political Science, presented research at three conferences across the United States.
He is interested in how societies address histories of violence and repression.
“In particular, I study how different attempts to achieve justice for human rights violations affect societies emerging from periods of violence and repression, something that has been dubbed ‘transitional justice,’” said Wiebelhaus-Brahm.
On Feb. 18-21, he presented at the 56th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association in New Orleans. His research, “Patterns of Transitional Justice Funding Across Time and Space,” considers the funding of international criminal tribunals and national truth commissions.
The paper, co-authored with Dr. William Muck of North Central College in Naperville, Ill., explores donors’ motivations for increased funding into investigations of past human rights abuses.
“Given growing interest and concern that the international community promotes justice efforts that do not reflect local demands, this funding data is valuable,” he said.
Wiebelhaus-Brahm noted that the project has attracted interest from donor governments and from the United Nations.
On Feb. 26, he flew to Washington, D.C., to give an invited presentation, “The Use and Abuse of Transitional Justice Norms in the Wake of the Arab Spring” at the Policy Studies Organization’s annual Middle East Dialogue meeting.
Following this meeting, he returned to Arkansas and presented at the 2015 Arkansas Political Science Association Annual Meeting at Hendrix College, where he spoke on the National Truth Commission investigations.
The commission was created by Morocco, Bahrain, and Sri Lanka due to mounting domestic and international pressure to address histories of human rights abuses.
“I find that, while in some contexts it is successful, governments that attempt to exploit these norms become entangled by the rhetoric and draw even more attention to their behavior,” he said.
Wiebelhaus-Brahm’s work focuses on international relations, comparative politics, and human rights and transitional justice, and conflict studies. He came to UALR in 2013 after completing his Ph.D. at the University of Colorado at Boulder and teaching at Florida State University and the University of Nevada – Las Vegas.
His most recent book, “Truth Commissions and Transitional Societies,” was published by Routledge in 2010.
The campus community is invited to participate in UALR’s first Diversity Week, which includes themed activities with guest speakers, films, art displays, performances, open courses, and a lunch-and-learn.
The Diversity Council is committed to creating a diverse campus as well as impacting the greater community. The council was created to lead the first Diversity Week and to be an example in the quest for racial and ethnic justice.
A few highlights of the week:
Monday, April 13
- The Sequoyah National Research Center, located in the University Plaza, will provide tours so the public may view the gallery and archive displays. Tours will be given at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
- A traditional Cherokee stickball demonstration will be held outside West Hall at noon.
- Inaugural speaker and distinguished guest, Chairman John Berrey of the Quapaw Tribe, will present “Native Americans: Who We Are” at 1:45 p.m. in room 203 of the Engineering and Information Technology (EIT) Building.
- Dance, sing, and talk with members of the Native American Student Association from Tahlequah, Okla., at 2:15, also in EIT 203.
- “The Cherokee Word for Water” will be shown at 3:15 in EIT 203. The film shows how Wilma Mankiller helped move a Cherokee community to rebuild through traditional Native values of reciprocity and interdependence.
- A student poetry performance will be held at 8 p.m. in the University Commons.
Tuesday, April 14
- Sharon Downs will present “Reframing Disability” at 10 a.m. in the Donaghey Student Center (DSC), room G.
- Rosalie Otters will present “What Has Age Got to Do with It?” at noon in the DSC, room G
- A Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Coming Out panel will be held at 3 p.m. in the DSC, room G.
- The film, “Self-Made Man,” about a transgender community, will be shown in the Ottenheimer Library, room 535, at 4:30 p.m. There will be an introduction by Rohn Muse, instructor in the UALR Anthropology Department.
Wednesday, April 15
- Activities for students starting at 10 a.m. and ending at noon in the DSC Concourse. Booths featuring diversity groups will be available for student interaction.
- Ruth Shepherd will lead a lunch-and-learn about just communities programs and activities at noon in the DSC room G.
- Tunnel of Oppression will open for viewing at 8 p.m. in the University Commons. The immersive experience helps visitors encounter various forms of oppression through interactive theater, monologues, posters, multimedia presentations, and more. Participants will discuss the experience and learn how they can rethink their role in creating positive social change.
Thursday, April 16
- A Faces of Disability forum will be held by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, focusing on disabilities that aren’t always visible, at 10 a.m in DSC, room G.
- Students may learn about setting up LGBTQ safe zones on campus through training by Safe Zone from 1 to 4:30 p.m. in DSC, room D.
- Diversity film show at 8 p.m. in the University Commons.
Friday, April 17
- Dent Gitchel will speak on compassion cultivation as an antidote to discrimination at 10 a.m in DSC room G .
- Kathy Oliverio and Tanya Lemly will lead a lunch discussion at noon on Students Affected by the Military (SAM) in DSC, room G
- Various artists will play in the Diversity Week Jam, a multicultural outdoor performance, beginning at 1 p.m. in the Library Plaza.
Contact Christy Drale at 501.569.3204 for more information.
The UALR Department of Public Safety is participating in the Arkansas Prescription Drug Take Back from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25.
Drop off your expired, unused, or unwanted medications for safe and environmentally clean disposal.
The UALR Department of Public Safety is located in University Plaza, 2801 S. University Ave., Suite 700.
Because of the public demand after the federal program, The National Take Back Initiative, was discontinued, the state of Arkansas has permission to host its own prescription drug pickup and disposal. Agents will take the medications after the event and accompany the National Guard to Huntsville, Ala., for final destruction.
Help make a difference in your community to get unwanted and unused drugs out of the hands of Arkansas youth while keeping our environment clean.
Prescriptions may also be dropped off at a local law enforcement agency around the state. Some sites may have extended hours.
To find a location near you, visit ARtakeback.org.
UALR’s William H. Bowen School of Law was favorably mentioned in the American Bar Association Journal in March. Continue reading “Bowen hosts ABA project to help breast cancer patients”
The UALR Chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is holding an essay contest for current student members of Phi Kappa Phi. The deadline is Monday, April 27.
An award of $250 will be given to one undergraduate 
winner and $250 to one graduate winner. Graduate students on the main campus, the Clinton School of Public Service, and law students at the Bowen School of Law are eligible for the graduate award.
The theme for this year’s essay is “The Importance of Scholarship, Leadership, and Giving Back.” Essays will be judged on depth of analysis, clarity of thesis, originality of thinking, clarity of expression, organization and a clear connection to the foundations of Phi Kappa Phi. Scholarly format is preferred.
The winners will receive their award and special recognition during the Induction Ceremony May 2.
For submissions or questions, contact Jasmine Spears at jaspears@ualr.edu.
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest, most selective, and most prestigious all-discipline honor society. UALR was the first university to be granted a chapter of Phi Kappa Phi in Arkansas.
Standards for invitation to Phi Kappa Phi are extremely high. Membership is by invitation only to UALR’s top 7.5 percent of second term juniors and the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students.
UALR William H. Bowen School of Law student Mary Claire Hyatt (’15) has been named a postgraduate Equal Justice Works Fellow for 2015-2017.
Hyatt, one of only 61 fellows selected from a nationwide pool of candidates, is the first Bowen graduate to earn the distinction.
The competitive fellowship, sponsored by Walmart and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, will enable Hyatt to pursue a public interest law project based at Legal Aid of Arkansas’s Medical-Legal Partnership at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
Her mission will be to work with medical staff and social workers to ensure that low-income children and families with special education needs get the services they are entitled to under the law.
She is the first Arkansas graduate to be a fellow at the Medical-Legal Partnership. “I am very honored that I will have this wonderful opportunity,” Hyatt said.
Hyatt’s passion for public interest began as an undergraduate at Hendrix College. She volunteered as a probation officer with Juvenile Services of Faulkner County, where she helped to develop supportive programs for at risk youth.
At Bowen, Hyatt serves as the president of the Public Interest Law Society, where she has helped to grow the membership of the organization and connect students to pro bono service opportunities.
She has served as a research assistant, temporary law clerk with the Arkansas Court of Appeals, and worked with the Arkansas attorney general’s office.
“In a state with so much need, projects such as Medical-Legal Partnership are essential to ensuring that struggling families get access to basic services,” said Michael Hunter Schwartz, dean of the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law.
“Mary Claire’s choice to pursue this kind of work is a wonderful demonstration of how Bowen graduates live our core values of public service, access to justice, and professionalism.”
One of Hyatt’s first tasks when she starts her new fellowship in Fall 2015 will be to develop a screener to help identify patients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital who have unmet special education needs.
Patients’ families will be provided a range of advocacy including self-help tools and direct legal representation provided by Hyatt and pro bono legal teams from Walmart and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
“We are excited to have Mary Claire Hyatt join our team at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Her selfless dedication to public service is evident and her project will enhance our holistic service delivery approach and improve educational and health outcomes for patients,” says Lee Richardson, executive director of Legal Aid of Arkansas Inc.
Advocating for the unmet educational and social needs of Arkansas’s most vulnerable children can be a daunting task, but Hyatt is up for the challenge.
“I am beyond excited to begin working with and serving the people of Arkansas,” she said.
TrojanCache is back at UALR and any student may participate in this real-life community treasure hunt of geocaching to become eligible for a chance to win up to $500 in gift cards.
This event encourages students to learn more about the campus and will take place April 13 to 17 and April 20 to 24.
Clues about the caches’ locations will be posted each morning for students to search on UALR’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as the TrojanCache website.
Students may win prizes along the way when they sign the logbook at each cache.
This event is sponsored by the Offices of Communications and Digital Strategy; Student Housing; and Health Services and Health Promotions, Programs, and Education.
Geocaching uses GPS-enabled devices to locate a set of GPS coordinates and search for the geocache, or container, hidden at that location.
For more, call Leanna Payton at 501.320.9904 or visit ualr.edu/housing/trojancache.