Former UALR standout and current Los Angeles Laker guard Derek Fisher will receive the 2010 sportsman of the year award at the sixth annual L.A. Sports Awards on Feb. 24 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Dr. Joel Anderson’s commitment to the development of UALR’s Institute on Race and Ethnicity was recently profiled by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. In an article by Evie Blad printed Jan. 3, the chancellor provides historical context for the creation of the center and shares some of the defining moments that made this a personal ambition:
In his segregated schools, Anderson, who is white, heard jokes and taunts about his black peers, but he was largely unaware of situations he would later come to view as injustices.
He developed a passion for racial equality as a freshman at Harding University, where a mix of conversations with peers from integrated schools and teachings on biblical principles led him to examine his worldview.
“Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself,” Anderson said. “Neither one of them is optional.”
Chancellor Anderson points to UALR’s record of community dedication in central Arkansas as well as a desire to change Little Rock’s perception in civil rights history as the foundations for making this dream a reality now.
Little Rock is an ideal place for such an academic center, Anderson said. The university has a history of involvement with city and state projects, and the state is known throughout the country for turmoil surrounding the integration of black students at Central High School.
Read the complete story on arkansasonline.com.
Dr. Anderson was honored as “Scholar in Residence” for the Clinton School Center on Community Philanthropy and delivered a lecture on racial and ethnic justice in December as part of their “Clinton School Speakers Series.”
A fifth generation of Coleman dairymen – the sons of W.C. “Buddy” Coleman – has presented UALR a gift of 10 acres of what was part of the oldest dairy farm west of the Mississippi to make possible a recreation and sports complex and make Little Rock eligible to host sanctioned track and field events.
Continue reading “Coleman Sons Donate Dairy Land to UALR for Sports Complex”
When a three-day on-air funding drive fell $6,275 short of a goal needed to expand central Arkansas’s public radio signal, KUAR General Manager Ben Fry feared the station would miss the chance to improve the signal, reduce operating costs, and save the eventual expense of new tower construction.
Continue reading “Gwatney Helps Public Radio Reach Tower Goal”
The second annual “SpectacUALR,” a benefit for Trojan athlete scholarships presented by Windstream Communications, raised nearly $195,000 at Oct. 14 gala, surpassing the record total raised at the 2009 inaugural event.
UALR celebrated the re-opening of the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall and the dedication of the Remmel Family Fine Arts Lobby with a reception and music performances by the UALR music faculty.
Despite an economy that rivaled the Great Depression, UALR’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign has met its $75 million goal one-and-a-half years before the seven-year campaign ends. With 18 months to go in the $75 million campaign, UALR has raised $76.9 million.
Continue reading “UALR Exceeds, Raises Goal to $100 million”
The Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Fayetteville, has expanded its commitment to the UALR Nursing Program with the announcement of a $2 million endowment gift to perpetuate the Walker Nursing Scholarship Program.
The Walker Scholars Endowment, created with a $1 million gift in 2008, will expand the number of full scholarships awarded to nursing students to 10 and will create a new endowment scholarship fund for students pursuing a bachelor or science in nursing degree.
“We consider the UALR Nursing Program worthy of our support and are pleased with the partnership that has been established over the last six years,” said Debbie Walker, executive director for the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Trust. “We are pleased to partner with UALR in meeting the nursing needs of our state.”
The Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation began supporting the UALR Nursing program in 2004 with scholarships gifts. With the establishment of the endowment in 2008, UALR expanded efforts to graduate more nurses and establish partnerships that are providing professional placement opportunities for nursing graduates within Arkansas.
“The Walker Foundation has once again stepped up to help the UALR Department of Nursing at a time when there is a national need for more nurses and for better trained nurses,” said Dr. Michael Gealt, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. “This contribution of scholarship funds will help highly-qualified students get their education without incurring long-term debt. In my opinion, this is not only a gift to UALR, but to all of Arkansas”.
“The continued support of the Walker family impacts the lives of Arkansans,” said Chancellor Joel Anderson, “and is assisting our institution in meeting a critical need identified in the UALR strategic plan.”
UALR has received a gift of $250,000 from the Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation for exterior improvements at the University’s main library named for the family.
Continue reading “Ottenheimer Foundation Gift to Upgrade Namesake Library”
UALR has received a $202,000 grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council to complete work on the Trail of Tears Park on the south end of the Coleman Creek Greenway.
Continue reading “Grant to Complete UALR’s Trail of Tears Park”