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Alec Crow of Donaldson is so good at helping students track upcoming events at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock that he won a national competition.
Continue reading “Business student’s app wins national competition”
Texarkana, Ark. — This fall, Texarkana-area residents can start earning a University of Arkansas at Little Rock bachelor’s degree at a campus close to home.
Continue reading “UALR degree programs available at Texarkana campus”
Scott Teague, a commercial banking executive for U.S. Bank, is the 2015 University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Business Distinguished Alumnus of the Year, the university announced.
Continue reading “College of Business to honor distinguished alumni”
Breonna Coleman, a marketing major from Pine Bluff, was recently declared winner of the second annual Elevator Pitch Competition.
The competition was presented by Federated Insurance in the atrium of the UALR Donald W. Reynolds College of
Business on April 28.
For each “pitch,” students acted out the role of a marketing representative for Federated Insurance having just stepped onto an elevator with John Riggs, owner of Riggs CAT, who was present for the competition.
The goal of the pitch was to get an appointment with Riggs to discuss the insurance needs of his company.
Coleman won the event and was also chosen as crowd favorite. Holly Benbrook, an accounting major, placed second and Brandi Glover, a marketing major with an emphasis in advertising and public relations, placed third.
Thirty finalists elected from audio entries advanced to the video portion of the competition. In March, the video entries were judged to narrow down the top ten finalists competing April 28.
The panel of three judges included Michael Singleton, assistant director of the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, Ben Peterson, marketing manager for Federated Insurance, and Luke Castin, regional director for State Farm Insurance.
Sponsored by the UALR Center for Professional Selling, the Elevator Pitch was open to all students with prizes awarded to the top three finishers and crowd favorite.
USAble Life Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mark Langston and his wife, Ann, recently established an endowed scholarship at the UALR’s College of Business.
The Mark and Ann Langston Endowed Scholarship will benefit students enrolled in the UALR Department of Accounting.
The Langston’s $25,000 gift will support undergraduate and graduate-level students pursuing or advancing an education in accounting. To qualify, the student must declare as an accounting major and have a minimum 3.0 grade point average.
Langston said he and his wife benefited from scholarships during their time as students.
“We have been blessed and now have the opportunity to give back to the next generation of students that will become the future business leaders in Arkansas and beyond,” he said.
“I am grateful to Mark and Ann for this generous gift in support of our students” said Dr. Jane Wayland, Stephen Harrow Smith Dean of Business. “This scholarship will ease the financial burden of attending college for so many of our accounting students.”
The College of Business will host its annual Private Scholarship Awards Ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday, May 1, in the atrium of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Business and Economic Development.
For more information on this event or private philanthropy to the College of Business, contact Andrea Angel at alangel@ualr.edu or 501.569.3208.
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.
Artwork by students taking studio art and design classes in the UALR Department of Art is on display until April 19 in Gallery I of the Fine Arts Building.
The students submitted their individual work for the Annual Student Competitive.
Pieces represent all studio disciplines being taught at UALR including drawing and design, painting, printmaking, graphic design and illustration, photography, textiles, metals and furniture design, sculpture, and ceramics.
Local artist and master Printmaker, Delita Martin, served as the juror for the competition. Martin received a bachelor of fine arts degree in drawing from Texas Southern University and a master’s degree in drawing and printmaking from Purdue University.
The winners were announced at a reception for the students on March 17.
Students competed for a variety of awards including the cash and prizes from local companies and scholarships.
Sydney Adams earned the Wilma And Jack Diner Scholarship Award of $1000 while Kenneth Guthrie landed the Alexa Mena, Student Competitive Cash Award in the amount of $300. Byron Buslig was awarded the Charles D. Massey Scholarship for $250.
The UALR Friends Of The Arts awards went to Robert Simons, Benjamin Deaton, Shawnett Thomas, and Spencer Zahrn.
See the full list of winners:
Local Business Awards
Rayna Mackey of Cantrell Gallery)
Carmen Bradford of Hearne Fine Art)
Wai K. Lo of Gallery 26
Art Supplies And Materials (courtesy of Art Outfitters)
Spencer Zahrn
Spencer Zahrn
Emily Shiell
Adam Eastham
Douglas Frank (Alman Co.)
Starving Artist Awards
Nathaniel Roe of Trio’s Restaurant)
Carly Fehlberg and Kenneth Guthrie of Boulevard Bread Co.
Savanah Johnson and Catherine Kim of The Root Café
Cash And Scholarships
Friends Of The Arts Purchase Awards
Robert Simons for “On Gaines” – $150
Benjamin Deaton for “Shoebox” – $350
Friends Of The Arts Diner Purchase Award
Shawnett Thomas for “Wrong Prince” – $125
Spencer Zahrn for “Coven (West)” – $850
Wilma And Jack Diner Scholarship Award
Sydney Adams – $1000
Alexa Mena, Student Competitive Cash Award
Kenneth Guthrie – $300
Charles D. Massey Scholarship
Byron Buslig – $250
Sarah Quintanar, an assistant professor of economics at UALR, knows a thing or two about serious football rivalries.
In “Everybody Hates a Winner, and You are Close to Your Rival: A Study of Rivalry in College Football,” Quintanar and her co-authors explain what factors compel fans to cheer for one team and disdain another. 
The article will be published in an upcoming issue of “Economic Inquiry” and was co-written with Drs. Cary Deck and Javier Reyes of the University of Arkansas and Sudipta Sarangi of Louisiana State University.
Building on studies of factors that influence rivalries between nations and siblings, the economists wanted to see if those same factors drive sports rivalries. They used college football as a prototype, where some of the biggest rivalries play out in stadiums across the U.S. every year.
Through the use of conference-level data from a survey of college football fans, the authors came to several conclusions.
For instance, Boise State is the most hated college football team in the country. The strongest football rivalry between two universities is Central Michigan University versus Western Michigan University.
As for the Southeastern Conference? That’s between the University of Alabama and Auburn University. Two other SEC teams, University of Arkansas and LSU, have the 55th strongest rivalry out of all existing rivalries.
However, LSU does not have strong feelings towards Arkansas. About 68 percent of Arkansas fans consider LSU the strongest rivalry while very few LSU fans consider Arkansas its strongest rival; that distinction goes to Alabama.
“We all had a lot of fun working on this paper,” Quintanar said. “I love being able to apply economics to subjects that may not traditionally be thought of as related to economics.”
Quintanar said she hoped the paper inspired students to study economics and find their own passion in the subject. Quintanar received her Ph.D. from Arkansas’ rival, LSU. She teaches microeconomics, applied econometrics, and business statistics at UALR.
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”
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.