Richard Stephens, graduate of EMBA Class XI, was quite motivating at the Executive MBA reception Aug. 25.

Stephens is CEO of Club Care Inc. The first dozen or so years of his business sales increased. Then the middle of this decade they started to slide. He did his homework and discovered UALR’s EMBA program could help him improve his business approach. Sure enough he indeed learned to write a more effective, solid business plan – and not a cookie cutter one. Stephens even discovered he could learn from a 24-year-old and share his accounting knowledge with classmates.

After the 18-months of  intense experiential learning, Stephens incorporated practices of teaching his own employees what he was able to share with Class XI members and implemented new leadership practices acquired through case studies and team projects.

In 2008 when the financial market tanked, Club Care’s sales increased more than 12 percent. In 2009, Stephens saw a nearly 5 percent increase. This year the company signed on a new client that he encountered while on the EMBA international trip. He said the investment in the graduate program has more than paid for itself — especially considering he had looked into other executive programs at universities that were three times the cost of UALR.

The Music Department hosted a “Meet, Eat & Greet” session for students last Friday in the Fine Arts reception garden.

You can officially add the grill to Dr. Andy Wen’s repertoire.

The hot dogs were good, and about 30 students and faculty had an enjoyable time getting to know one another a little better.

Plus, they were in a beautiful setting— it was the first event held in the new Fine Arts reception garden.

Let’s say that the atmosphere was just musical!

Sometimes we have to think about scary things in order to prepare for them. We would all like to believe that a school shooting on the scale of Virginia Tech would never happen here. But what would you do if it did? A campus safety presentation “Shots Fired on Campus: When Lightning Strikes” will be shown in the DSC-Room D on Thursday, September 2. There will be two showings: Noon and 1 p.m. Best of all, free pizza is involved.

Here’s a clip:

The presentation will offer good tips that remind us to be alert and aware at all times, even when we think there’s no cause for alarm… like listening to a lecture in a classroom. Consider this a lesson in personal safety with a little pizza on the side.

The Vocal Arts Ice Cream Social is at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 29 in the Bailey Alumni Center. The event is free. Call 569-3294 for more information.

Oh, Happy Day! The chirping of the birds and the sizzle of the grill seemed to sing in perfect harmony as faculty,  staff, students and alumni walked – no, frolicked – on the grounds of the Bailey Alumni Center. It was the first outdoor-beckoning day all summer, and the perfect setting for the Alumni Association’s Burgers at Bailey.

Yep, burgers. The great outdoors never tasted so good.

Fire-grilled beef. How glorious. (There were veggieburgers too, if that brings you more joy.)

A gorgeous day, yummy (and free!) burgers, and excellent company. It was one of those days where you just can’t help but smile. The tree-shaded lawn was filled with happy bellies and relaxed chatter.

Everyone was happy.

My coworkers were happy about getting a burger (particularly Meaghan).

This hungry student was surely happy about those chocolate chip cookies.

This was no doubt a happy chat with Vice Chancellor Bill Walker.

And these guys – UALR Ticket Manager J.P. Flynn and Alumni Board member Eileen Sotomora – well, they’re just plain happy!

Great job to the Alumni Association and its volunteers for another fabulous event! The campus – and our stomachs – are singing your praises!

See more photos from the event on our Flickr page.

So we’re wrapping up the first full week of the Fall 2010 semester and what a week it was! There was a Kick-off Carnival with a lot of crazy activities…

… where you could also get your photo taken on a big, red inflatable chair.

The comedy duo “Project Dynamite” showed us some neat tricks, like swallowing a balloon,…

…and they were not bad at juggling either.

It was a great time, and we need to thank the Office of Campus Life for welcoming us back in such entertaining fashion.

By now, you’ve probably seen the ginormous crane on our campus. It was recently assembled to construct the new student housing building, and as far as we know, it is the first ever crane of its size used for building projects at UALR.

Putting the crane together itself was quite the undertaking.

Once the crane was lego’ed together, the real work began. This construction worker had a bird’s-eye view of the place:

You can follow along with the new student housing progress and learn more about all of our campus building projects on our Building Futures page.

Come to the Office of Campus Life’s “Welcome Week Kick-Off Carnival” in the DSC Fitness Center for lots of fun and a great way to start your school year!

The week of August 23, UALR will debut two new commercials in the current “WOW Factor” recruitment campaign. The campaign features the advantages that students can only experience in the capital city or at UALR. It also addresses the quality of life issues that students enjoy by living and learning in a vibrant, cultural city.

Criminal Justice will launch the only Ph.D. program in Arkansas in Fall 2010, and Vakeyia Dulaney stars in this commercial about the new program.

Vakeyia is a Hall High graduate who chose UALR to participate in the Donaghey Scholars honors program. To say that Vakeyia is a bright young woman is an understatement. She is a third year senior with a triple major – yes, triple major – in Criminal Justice, Biology, and Spanish. She plans to become a forensic scientist and ultimately wants to become a university professor.

Vakeyia grew up in the Children International program and remains engaged in CI through service and part-time work. She is a determined, goal-oriented young woman, and I’m convinced we will see will achieve great accomplishments through her career.

Stephanie Boccarossa is also an exceptional young woman, and she is featured in this commercial that explores campus growth. She is senior Information Science major and is pursuing minors in Digital Graphics and Spanish.

Stephanie graduated from Mount Saint Mary Academy and came to UALR after receiving an EIT scholarship. She was also accepted to the Donaghey Scholars honors program. She will graduate this December. Stephanie was also a member of the UALR soccer team and stays in the game by serving as a volunteer soccer coach at Mount Saint Mary Academy. She is planning a career in web design and marketing.

Last year UALR reached an all-time enrollment of 13,000 students, and it looks like the university will top that enrollment for Fall 2010. The campus infrastructure is also growing.

The Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology will welcome students to a brand new “green” building this semester and across campus other construction projects are underway. They include a new residence hall, a one-stop shop for students, an athletic track and field complex, and a nanotechnology building.

I predict these “coming attractions” will have a huge impact on the campus and provide a great learning environment for current and future students.

Check out our “Behind the Scenes” photos on Flickr.

Some of the best stories on a college campus come from Move-In Day when student residents and parents come to transform a college dorm into some semblance of home. Chase Walker and his parents let me witness a bit of their monumental day.

An only child, he’s moving in with three roommates, so to describe what he’s feeling would be to understate this quintessential moment of cascading transformations. He seems humbly prepared for it, even though it’s bittersweet for mom and dad.

Then there were these two brothers, Tim and Aaron Dreyer, who managed to haul a full-size sofa and loveseat into their suite, against the odds (those things don’t fit on an elevator, and the young men were on the third floor if you can imagine).

I met so many friendly faces and proud parents willing to let me document the occasion– welcoming new friends, celebrating old ones, and embarking on the journey into adulthood.

Take a look: