UALR history professor Dr. Moira Maguire will have her book covering the plight of Irish children in the 1920s released in paperback this summer.
Eight teachers from around the state have embarked on on a three-week summer trek to China, the culmination of months of studying the country’s culture and people. Their journey is possible thanks to a program right here at UALR. Continue reading “UALR Program Takes Teachers on a Field Trip to China”
It would be entirely too easy to suggest that everyone beat the heat by stopping by the latest UALR gallery exhibit. While escaping the sweltering summer is one reason to visit the Fine Arts Building right now, it’s not the only, or best, reason.
Reason No. 1 is the visual feast on display in the “Works from the Permanent Collection.” The exhibit showcases several pieces from the 1,600-object Permanent Collection, from photographs and sketches to mixed media sculptures. Continue reading “Summer Art Exhibit Worth a Visit”
Spring graduation 2012 is in the books! It was a day full of excitement and emotion for students, their families and friends, and university officials.
We could share so many stories from the big day (and will try to do that in the coming weeks), but first we wanted to share even more photos. We’ve already posted hundreds of photos to our Facebook and Flickr galleries, garnering a steady stream of comments and tags. Continue reading “Taking that next big step”
Commencement marks that fleeting moment when students embark on the next chapter of their sweeping journey.
It may not feel so ephemeral for graduates as they sit for what feels like an eternity, waiting to hear a name echo out across the crowd. But then the world speeds up: there’s the handshake (sometimes hug), the applause, and that triumphant first step off the stage. Those moments really do go at the speed of light. Continue reading “Advice for the Class of 2012”
Soon I’ll be headed to the beach for some much-needed R&R. For me, packing a bag of books to dive into is as important as packing the swimsuit, sunscreen, and beach towel. It’s a good time to read something out of my comfort zone.
So I wondered, what’s our faculty reading this summer, or what books might they recommend? So I asked. And I share with you some of their selections to consider for your summer list:
Mia Hall, Applied Design
Half Broke Horses – Jeannette Walls
Thomas Wallace, Information Technology:
Adaptive Web Design – Aaron Gustafson
Dr. Julien C. Mirivel, Speech Communication:
Aleph – Paulo Coelho
Dr. John Kirk, Department of History:
Arsnick: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Arkansas – Jennifer Jensen Wallach and John A. Kirk
Dr. Mary Ann Garnett, International and Second Language Studies:
Cutting for Stone/Abraham Verghese
Dr. Toran Isom, Rhetoric and Writing:
Elizabeth and Hazel, Two Women of Little Rock – David Margolick
Amy Barnes, School of Mass Communication:
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake – Anna Quindlen
Martha Morton, Arkansas Global Programs:
Yin Yang: American Perspectives on Living in China – edited by Alice Renouf and Mary Beth Ryan-Maher
And an intriguing selection with commentary from Dr. Jay Raphael, Theatre Arts/Dance:
of the intellectual and creative concepts behind the way puppetry and
theatre operate)
Eccentric Spaces – Robert Harbison (architecture/literature/art/sociology-an
amazing and stunning blend of ideas)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay – Michael Chabon (fiction-Pulitzer Prize-one of my favorite reads)
Mimesis as Make Believe – Kendall Walton (the foundations of the representational arts)
Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace (fiction – it’s huge, it’s genius, and it’s a comic and knowing skewer of American culture)
The Wild Trees – Richard Preston (about the largest organisms in the world)
American Chica – Marie Arana (memoir-a girl who was shuttled between the cultures of North and South America-raised in Wyoming and Peru)
Auschwitz and After – Charlotte Delbo (after reading this I could no longer read anything about the Holocaust…)
Room – Emma Donoghue (disturbing but compelling fiction)
On Any Given Sunday: A Life of Bert Bell – Robert S. Lyons (Bell was the first great commissioner of the NFL
And last, but not for the faint of heart, from Amy Burns, Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences:
Dracula – Bram Stoker, published in 1898. One of my favorite books of
all time – read the Victorian novel that started America’s fascination with the undead more than 100 years ago.
And what am I reading right now?
Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson
Happy reading – enjoy your summer!
During my first couple of years in college out of high school, I chose to stay on campus for the summer because 1) my boyfriend (now husband) was staying, 2) I could knock out tough classes, and 3) I wouldn’t have to move back home again.
Our office is in the middle of a summer enrollment campaign, so I asked campus recruiters and academic advisers why UALR students like to take summer classes.
Their top 12 reasons:
- Move up their graduation date
- Boost their GPA for grad school acceptance or to renew their lottery scholarship
- Study abroad
- Fit a couple of classes in their summer work schedule
- Get a jump start on fall semester
- Take some classes while home from another university
- See their professors in Hawaiian shirts
- Be around for Riverfest, Arkansas Travelers games, and summer concerts
- Improve chances to get a better job
- Get pre-requisite courses out of the way
- Focus on a difficult course
- Take a class for fun
Now’s the time to plan for summer classes. Apply for admission, check out the class schedule, and get your summer off to a great start.
And still true today, summer school is a good excuse to hang out with friends and avoid moving back in with the parents.
The 2012 Faculty Excellence Awards honored Dr. James Levernier, Dr. Ann Robinson, and Dr. Mark Giese as the university-level winners in Teaching, Research, and Public Service.
We are very excited about our new trolley tracking system that uses real-time GPS. Now you no longer have to wonder where the trolley is or if you have enough time to finish writing that paper (or hit the snooze button again) before it arrives.
The tracking system can be accessed in three ways: online, through a mobile app, and through texts.
The online system can be found at ualr.edu/trolley. It lets you see where the trolleys are and the arrival times for each stop. Take a look at the tracker here.
If you only want to look at a particular route, just un-select the other one on the left toolbar.
iPhone and Android users can download the free Ride Systems mobile app. First-time users should select UALR from the list of available schools. The app allows you to select one route to view at a time.
If you don’t have a smartphone, or just prefer a quick text, you can take advantage of the simple text messaging system. Each trolley stop has been assigned an ID. Text this ID to 41411 and you’ll receive a text letting you know when the next trolley will arrive.
I played around with the texts and it only took about two seconds for me to receive the arrival information. Not bad!
The list of stops and corresponding ID’s are below:
Maroon Route and ID
UALR M1……Donaghey Student Center
UALR M2……South Oaks
UALR M3……Coleman Place
UALR M4……University Plaza Breezeway
UALR M5……University Drive at Lot 5
Silver Route and ID
UALR S1……Donaghey Student Center
UALR S2……Lot 10 West Hall
UALR S3……Lot 14
UALR S4……Lot 13 Stephens Center
UALR S5……Lot 8 COB/EIT
UALR S6……Fine Arts
So try out this new, easy tracking system and let us know what you think! I have a feeling this will make catching the trolley a lot easier and will save you some time
The following is a guest post from Laurie Ann Ross, corporate and foundation gifts officer for the Office of Development.
UALR and I met in 1979 when I stepped foot on this campus as an incoming freshman. I wouldn’t call it a love affair at that time but little did I know that 30 years later I would return to work in the Office of Development and participate in the first ever comprehensive campaign for the university. That’s when the love affair started.
When I began my current position in 2006, I knew that the groundwork for a comprehensive campaign had been laid. It was the first campaign in the history of the university and I was going to be part of the team that was charged with getting us to our goal. There was lots of building to do, and I was excited, a little nervous, and very hopeful that we could do it. And do it, we did.
This campaign has been about relationships – relationships we had and those that we didn’t. We got out of our offices and met with business leaders and individuals sharing our vision for the future of central Arkansas’ metropolitan university. What was most surprising was that many didn’t know “what was going on at UALR,” so we told them. We told them about our nursing program, the best in the state. We told them about our music and opera program and organized opportunities for folks to hear our students sing. We told them about our vision for economic development with the creating of the new EIT building and new curriculum in engineering. And, we told them about our students.
Our students are why we are here. Without them, we would not exist. Nor would we have a reason to exist. And, we knew that our students needed the support of this campaign to help them in realizing their dream, the dream of a college education. That is why student support was such a large focus of our efforts. We raised scholarship dollars, added funds for academic program support, built new and renovated buildings, and we raised funds to support our world-class faculty.
But beyond all of the monies that we raised, is the satisfaction in knowing that my efforts really do make a difference. I have the wonderful pleasure of serving on a scholarship selection committee in the Department of Nursing. When a student is selected for a scholarship, lives are changed, theirs and mine. That is why we do what we do. They can see the future in front of them and I see how our work, through our donors, fulfills the passion in our students’ dreams. And that is what this campaign has been all about, making a difference in our students, our state, and our world.
Oh, and the love affair continues….