ARKANSAS: Fall 2020

ARKANSAS

Fall 2020 For members of the Arkansas Alumni Association Inc. For members of the Arkansas Alumni Association Inc.

Fall 2020 Vol. 70, No. 1

Membership Has Benefits • Support scholarships for U of A students to obtain their degree

ARKANSAS FIGHT SONG Hit that line! Hit that line!

Keep on going, Take that ball right down the field!

• Stay connected safely to your Home on The Hill through virtual events • Network with Arkansas Alumni through our diverse chapters and societies • Shop & Save with the membership perks program • Plan for the future with our travel, banking and insurance benefits

Give a cheer. Rah! Rah! Never fear. Rah! Rah! Arkansas will never yield!

On your toes, Razorbacks, to the finish, Carry on with all your might! For it’s A-A-A-R-K-A-N-S-A-S for Arkansas! Fight! Fight!

Fi-i-i-ight!

65 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

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haim Goodman-Strauss, a professor of C mathematics, teaches a class on the front lawn of Old Main, where physical distancing proved easier than a classroom.

Photo by Chieko Hara

Photo by Chieko Hara

arkansas

FALL / Vol 70, No. 1

For members of the Arkansas Alumni Association Inc.

6 The Big Sit-Down

In 1970, the Black Americans for Democracy took over the offices of U of A President David Mullins and stayed seated until the administration listened to their demands. Here’s a look back at the event.

16 Transforming Research on the Hill

A $194.7 million grant from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation will create the U of A Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research.

26 A Year to Remember

Marlon Blackwell, distinguished professor of architecture, received the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architecture and was named the top professor in the Southeastern Conference.

2 6 44 54 56 64

Campus View Campus Alumni Yesteryear Senior Walk Last Look

On the cover: Il Porcellino is a reminder to all that masks and physical distance can help save lives.

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ARKANSAS Publisher Arkansas Alumni Association

Executive Director Brandy Cox Jackson ✪ M.A.’07 Editor Charlie Alison ★ B.A.’82, M.A.’04 Associate Editor Catherine Baltz ✪+ B.S.’92, M.Ed.’07 Creative Director Eric Pipkin Photo Editor Russell Cothren ✪

Photo submitted

Photographers Cheiko Hara Whit Pruitt ★ B.A’16

Campus View

Advertising Coordinator Lee Shoultz ✪ B.A. ’16, M.P.A. ’18 MEMBERSHIP SYMBOLS ✩ Student Member; ★ Member; ★+ Member, A+; ✪ Life Member; ✪+ Life Member, A+

Larry Foley ★+ B.A.’76 Documenting the University’s Stories for a Sesquicentennial Film As a journalism professor at the university, I get to hear lots of great stories.

Most recently, while making a historical documentary at Fort Smith about Judge Isaac Parker, better known as the “hangin’ judge,” I read a 19th century story told by a reporter who interviewed Parker not long before his death.

It was a gripping story that reminded me of Mattie Ross, the heroine in Charles Portis’ classic tale of True Grit on the Arkansas frontier, and the reporter’s story became the basis for our new film, Indians, Outlaws, Marshals and the Hangin’ Judge.

Now I’m working on a new documentary, one with a happier ending, and I need help from you, the members of the Arkansas Alumni Association. We’re rounding up stories from alumni and other campus community members to tell the broader story of the history of the University of Arkansas.

The university turns 150 next year. So we’re digging up stories from students and faculty who were at the university in the distant past, but we also know that every 2 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

Writers & Contributors Andy Albertson, M.F.A.’13 DeLani Bartlette, B.A.’06, M.A.’08 Louise M. Hancox Ph.D.’18 Mary Kate Harrison ★ B.A.’15, M.A.’17 Jennifer Holland ★ M.E.D.’08 Jonathan Langley B.A.’09. M.A.’11 Shannon Magsam Shawnya Lee Meyers B.A.’15, M.Ed.’20 Michelle Parks, B.A.’94 Darinda Sharp ★ B.A.’94, M.S.’99, M.A.’05 David Speer, B.A.’75 Kevin Trainor ★ B.A.’94 M.A.’05 Robert Whitby

U of A alumnus has a story from their own days here on campus. And we want to hear them, whether you were here in the 1940s or the 2010s.

Write us a short essay about a story you remember from your days on the Hill.

Give us your Campus View. Here are some themes that may resonate with you, choose any one of them: • The first time I visited campus was...

• I remember a poignant memory when....

• A classmate who made a difference was...

• A teacher who shaped my life and direction...

• I remember a challenging moment when...

• I remember a funny time when…

• One of the stories that I hold close to my heart...

• My hopes for my school as we move forward are…

Essays can be any length as long as they stay focused on one story. Send essays to editor@uark.edu for consideration in the film.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor are accepted and ­encouraged. Send letters for publication to Arkansas Magazine, Office of University ­R elations, 200 Davis Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and may be edited for length. Typewritten letters are preferred. Anonymous letters will not be published. Submission does not guarantee publication.

Arkansas, E xc l u s i ve l y fo r M e m b e r s of the Arkansas Alumni Association, Inc. (ISSN 1064-8100) (USPS 009-515) is published quarterly by the Arkansas Alumni Association, Inc. at 491 North Razorback Road, Fayetteville, AR 72701.

Annual membership dues are now $55 per household and a portion is allocated for a subscription to Arkansas. Single copies are $6. Editing and production are provided through the UA Office of University Relations. Direct inquiries and information to P.O. Box 1070, Fayetteville, AR 72702-1070, phone (479) 575-2801, fax (479) 575-5177.

Periodical postage paid at Fayetteville, AR, and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to P.O. Box 1070, ­Fayetteville, AR 72702-1070.

ARKANSAS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Mission Statement The Arkansas Alumni Association connects and serves the University of Arkansas Family.

Vision Statement The Arkansas Alumni Association will be nationally recognized as a model alumni relations program.

Value Statement The Arkansas Alumni Association values: • service • excellence • collaboration • relationships • diversity • learning • creativity Arkansas Fall 20-145 All photos by University Relations unless otherwise noted.

Cover photo by: Whit Pruitt, University Relations Please recycle this magazine or share it with a friend.

T HER E ’S N O Better P L A C E .

Arkansas is something special. The great outdoors are even greater in the Natural State, and the people here make it even better. We can find picturesque views from mountain tops and front porches – or soak up the sun on the back of a bike.

The First Security team has a lot to be grateful for – like family, friends and close-knit communities – but home is pretty high on our list. Thank you for sharing it with us.

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Campus

A Headstart on Careers Two Professors of Biological Sciences Recognized for Early Research

BY ROBERT WHITBY

Sarah DuRant, Jeffrey Lewis Photos by University Relations

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Sarah DuRant and Jeffrey Lewis, both researchers in biological sciences received Faculty Early Career Development Awards this year from the National Science Foundation.

DuRant, an assistant professor, received $1.5 million, while Lewis, also an assistant professor, received $1.2 million.

Known as CAREER awards, they are the NSF’s most prestigious award for earlycareer faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. The awards are for five years and include teaching and public-outreach components.

Working with domestic canaries, DuRant plans to study the effects of disease on avian parental care behaviors and subsequent offspring responses to disease, including the likelihood of disease transmission.

“In the world of the disease, a lot of focus is on how mothers, when they are exposed to a pathogen, develop antibodies to the pathogen and can pass them along to the offspring,” she said.

“One of the things I am interested in is how behavior is shaping the immune phenotype of the offspring.”

A pathogen can affect reproductive traits in parents such as incubation behaviors, DuRant explained, which in turn shape how an offspring responds to pathogens.

“Ultimately what can happen is that how any individual responds to the pathogen can start to shape pathogen growth,

transmission and virulence.”

Lewis is studying how organisms with different genetic makeups respond differently to environmental stress. Using brewer’s yeast, he will try to unlock the reasons why some strains are more sensitive to high levels of stresses such as ethanol than others.

“In pretty much every organism, if you expose them to mild stress there are a bunch of stress-protective proteins that get turned on,” he said. “The thought has long been that this response is for adapting to that initial stress. But the genes getting turned on by stress seemed largely dispensable for stress survival.

The big question was why is the cell turning these genes on if they are not required to protect cell from insult that provoked the response?”

It turns out that the function of the proteins is, in part, to protect the cell against future severe stress, “analogous to vaccinating the cell,” he said.

Yeast cells are easy to grow and manipulate with genetic engineering, he added, making them a good test subject for identifying the genes necessary for acquiring resistance to severe stress. “We can grow billions of them really easily and do high-throughput genetics really easily.”

A side benefit is that the research could lead to improved yeast strains for brewing beer. “Some strains do better withstanding brewing stresses than others. We will have students analyze and incorporate genomic data and gain experience with that.”

Photo submitted

Eleanor Henson;

Caroline Rhomberg

Lane Justus

Maya Ungar

Rebecca Yeager

International Exchange Five Students Receive Fulbright Awards

BY JONATHAN LANGLEY B.A.’09. M.A.’11

Five University of Arkansas seniors, including one graduate student, and one recent alumna were offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for the upcoming academic year.

Eleanor Henson of Hot Springs and Caroline Rhomberg of Fort Smith received study/research awards. Lane Justus of Cabot, Maya Ungar of Fayetteville, and Rebecca Yeager also of Fayetteville received English Teaching Assistantships.

Student recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as their records of service and leadership potential in their respective fields. One alumnus and one current student were also named ETA alternates: Nathanael Garcia (2019 honors kinesiology, alternate to Thailand); and Yumi Ha (honors chemistry and Spanish May graduate, alternate to Italy).

As the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, the Fulbright program is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and those of other countries. The program is funded through an annual appropriation

made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State.

Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

The five U of A students will join over 2,100 U.S. citizens who will study, conduct research, and teach abroad for the 2020-21 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

“The importance of the Fulbright Program cannot be overstated,” said Todd Shields, dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. “It has launched student scholars and built international understanding for decades.

That we have five scholars this year and two more who may also become scholars points to the amazing students we have on our campus. All of these students are exceptional and have been academically ambitious as well as leaders at the University of Arkansas and beyond it.

They will be outstanding ambassadors for our state and for our country.”

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ill Denman, the dean of student affairs, B listens to members of the Black Americans for Democracy during a sit-down in 1970.

1970 Razorback Yearbook

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Looking Back; Looking Forward On the 50-Year Anniversary of the BAD Sit-Down

BY DELANI BARTLETTE, B.A.’06, M.A.’08

It was a late Friday morning when a large group of students showed up at President David W. Mullins’ office, demanding to speak with him. In attendance were about 70 African American students with the group Black Americans for Democracy, or BAD as it was better known.

The date was March 6, 1970, and Joe Tave, the assistant director of Student Affairs and one of only three black administrators at the U of A, had been fired. For many African Americans on campus, firing Tave was the last straw in what had been a hard-fought struggle for equitable representation on the U of A campus.

Despite the university’s policy of “providing all students, regardless of color, every opportunity to work towards his [sic] goals,” African American students at the U of A were still being treated as “unwanted outsiders,” according to Charles F. Robinson II and Lonnie R. Williams, authors of Remembrances in Black: Personal Perspectives of the African American Experience at the University of Arkansas, 1940s–2000s.

Robinson, recently appointed the university’s first African American provost and vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, is teaching an honors course about racial changes on campus during the late 1960s and early 1970s, particularly the role played by Black Americans for Democracy, which challenged university policies, traditions and perceptions.

“It’s important to know where we’ve come from, even before the ‘60s,” Robinson said. “It’s not good enough just to know what happened then,” Robinson emphasized.

“What are the lessons learned from the ‘60s and ‘70s, and how are they relevant today?”

Gene McKissic, B.A’74, LL.B.’76, now an attorney with McKissic and Associates in Pine Bluff, remembered his time at the U of A: “We were not perceived or accepted as full-fledged students on the same basis as white students.”

He described attending Razorback games, where white students would yell at black students and throw things like paper cups and beer cans at them. “Girls would bring umbrellas, because they were throwing gum into the girls’ hair,” he said.

Though BAD dissolved in the mid-80s, its effect on the U of A is still being felt. Ritche Manley Bowden, president of the Black Alumni Society, put it this way: “The members of BAD were trailblazers, and because of them, the university has an African American Studies Department, black athletes on scholarships, multicultural centers, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the Black Alumni Society.”

Manley Bowden added that improvement is still needed in enrollment, retention and the number of black faculty. The university is “better, but not what they should be” in 2020.

Fifty years after the BAD sit-down, the university continues its efforts to make the campus a more welcoming, inclusive and equitable environment for all, but work remains a half century after the Black Americans for Democracy set the work in motion.

A Long Struggle The sit-down in Mullins’ office was not the first civilrights action undertaken at the U of A. In December 1962, a group of students calling themselves “Students for Freedom” staged a quiet picket at the campus’ main library, demonstrating against racial discrimination in university housing. Articles and letters to the editor in the Arkansas Traveler challenged the university’s refusal to integrate its athletic teams, especially after rival University of Texas officially integrated their teams in 1963.

Empowered by the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a black sophomore named Raymond Carter lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, calling for the U of A to end segregation in dorms and athletic programs, as well as the university’s discriminatory policy of interviewing only black student applicants before accepting them for admission.

In August of that same year, two black students, Robert Whitfield and Joanna Edwards, along with their attorney, George Howard, B.S.L.’54, LL.B.’54, president of the FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 7

Feature

Arkansas chapter of the NAACP, filed suit against the university, alleging racial discrimination in housing, varsity athletics, hiring of instructors, social organizations, and recruitment of high school students, according to Robinson and Williams.

In response, the court ordered the university to allow Whitfield and Edwards into the dorms. Afterwards, the U of A began allowing black students to be housed in dorms and established an official policy endorsing equal treatment of students.

However, African Americans still felt as though they were “unwelcome outsiders.” In March of 1968, there were still no black instructors or administrators, so a group of about 75 black students met with Mullins to express their dissatisfaction with this, along with the lack of recruitment of black student-athletes. They also pressed Mullins to stop having the Razorback band play “Dixie” at university events. This issue in particular would be hotly contested in the years to come.

Then, a month later, an assassin’s bullet felled civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the days and weeks after King’s assassination, cities — and universities — around the country responded with protests, vigils and controversy.

Robinson and Williams write that King’s murder “shocked and dismayed the students, faculty, and staff on the Fayetteville campus in much the same way that it affected people all over the nation.” The Traveler covered student reactions to the tragic event, including a memorial held in honor of King. Several students wrote letters to the editor in support of King’s work; some criticized the U of A’s slow progress on civil rights.

But just like in the wider society, this activism wasn’t without opposition. One U of A student wrote a letter to the editor of the Traveler criticizing what they viewed as “excessive” publicity of the event; another wrote a letter insinuating African American students weren’t taking responsibility for their own success. The Traveler published both letters without comment.

The Beginning of BAD An African American student, John Rowe, wrote a letter to the Traveler responding to those critics. However, the Traveler did not print Rowe’s letter, but instead insisted he revise it. Rowe did so, and was given the same response, again and again.

So in the early morning of May 14, 1968, about 70 students from BAD and the Southern Student Organizing Committee — a civil rights group with branches in 8 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

colleges all over the South — engaged in their first public action. They blocked the entrance to Hill Hall, where the Traveler offices and the U of A printing plant were located. While the protestors later allowed students and faculty entrance to go to classes, they did not allow the Traveler staff or the printers to access their offices.

BAD criticized the Traveler for “not representing the whole student body, and it therefore should not be published until there is a change in discriminatory editorial policies.” In addition, they called for the removal of editor Kay Carson, B.A.’69, on the grounds that she “has not fulfilled her obligation of equally distributing coverage of all student interests and activities.”

The protest was not just about the Rowe letter, though, and it became a catalyst for BAD to speak out against the wider issues of discrimination on campus.

BAD had a list of 13 demands, including: Ending discrimination in room assignments, sororities, fraternities and athletics; Enactment of policies for reporting unfair classroom treatment to a faculty-student committee; Creation of a black history course; Recruitment of black faculty, administrators and staff; and Banning the playing of the song “Dixie” and the use of blackface at official university functions.

These demands would remain essentially unchanged for the next two years.

In response to the protest, an emergency meeting of the board of publications was called. The board heard from spokespeople from SSOC, BAD, and Rowe.

Afterward, the board released its official statement, which simply reaffirmed the policy governing student publications, which left the decision about printing letters up to the editor. They did, however, urge “that all means of promoting more harmonious communications and relationships with all segments of the University community with respect to student publications be explored” and that “continuing inquiry will be made to ascertain whether adequate representation of the full-time Negro [sic] enrollment exists.”

BAD Takes the Stage The topic of “Dixie” was a hot one. Adopted as an unofficial anthem of the Confederacy (and originally performed in blackface), the lyrics romanticize slavery as a positive thing and assert that black people missed being held in bondage.

In December 1968 the SSOC asked the Student Senate

to ban its playing at university events. The Student Senate, bowing under pressure from white students who wanted to keep the song, tabled their decision until a later time.

But to African Americans, “Dixie” was “like a slap in our face,” said O.C. Duffy, B.S.C.E.‘74, the first African American to graduate from the civil engineering program at the U of A. McKissic remembered the feeling of black students at the time: “We will not stay on this campus and be insulted like that,” he said.

McKissic said that after the Hill Hall blockade, BAD had presented their list of demands to Mullins office, which, as with the earlier protest, included the end of the playing of “Dixie” and flying of rebel flags at university events, as well hiring more black faculty and staff.

He said the university “basically blew [us] off ” with the excuses that “playing ‘Dixie’ was a tradition, and that rebel flags were private property, and people had a right to bring them to stadium.”

McKissic said, “We had to do something dramatic, so the university would take note, so the media would take note.”

And that “something” would be at a pep rally on Nov. 25, 1969. This was before the famous “shootout” between the undefeated Razorbacks and their archrivals, No. 1-ranked Texas. To heighten the stakes even more, thenPresident Richard Nixon would be attending the game, which would be nationally televised.

“Because this was such a rare occurrence,” McKissic said, “Fayetteville was the focal point of national sports attention and media.” He said they felt “the glare of the national cameras would protect us from some serious bodily harm.”

He said BAD made the decision that only men would participate “because we knew it could turn violent. I had attended almost every pep rally. There was always beer drinking and rebel yells and calling the hogs. We knew the fervor that Razorback pep rallies generated.”

“We didn’t have any weapons of any kind, this was a totally non-violent protest,” he said. “We asked for five minutes on stage. The president of BAD was supposed to speak, air our grievances, and the plan was, we would then leave.”

But their request was declined. So BAD members blocked the aisles where the band came in, while the speakers refused to leave the stage. So, McKissic said, BAD announced there wasn’t going to be a pep rally. “We marched onto the Greek Theater stage and just stood.

They turned the microphones off. We just stood; weren’t saying anything.”

Top: Members of the student group Black Americans for Democracy provided a list of demands to President David Mullins (top right near doors). Middle: 70 members stages a sit-down in Mullins’ office. Above: The group also initiated black-white dialogues with members of the Associated Student Government.

1970 Razorback Yearbook

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Though he said they were on stage for no more than 5-10 minutes, “it was a very tense atmosphere.” He said, “When we announced there would be no pep rally, rocks, cans, beer bottles, they filled the air,” crashing all around him and the 10 or 15 other men standing on the stage. The only person who was injured, he said, was a cheerleader who was standing off-stage; a piece of glass from one of the thrown bottles ricocheted and cut her leg.

The pep rally was moved to Barnhill.

As a result of the protest, McKissic said, the band didn’t play “Dixie” at the fateful game.

The Struggle Continued

op: Joe Tave, assistant director of student affairs. Above, T R.D. Rucker, an outspoken advocate on campus.

1970 Razorback Yearbook

10 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

But the song continued to be played afterwards. As 1969 turned into 1970, BAD continued to push the U of A administration for more representation as well as a stop to playing “Dixie.” “I remember meeting at Mullins’ office several times,” Duffy said, “but nothing came out of those meetings.”

So on Friday, March 6, 1970, BAD arrived at Mullins’ office with their demands — essentially the same ones they had been pushing for all along: more black teachers, coaches, and administrators, and ceasing the playing of “Dixie” at university events. The students staged a quiet “sit-down” in Mullins’ office until, as they put it, they got “a positive response” to the demands the university had been “considering.”

In addition to Mullins, Bill Denman, the dean of student affairs, and several other top administrators met with the group.

Under questioning by BAD President Eugene Hunt about the lack of action on promises the university had made to black students, Mullins replied that “the deans of the university had adopted a resolution pledging to increase the number of blacks on the faculty and staff and that the university was doing all it could to recruit black and underprivileged students,” according to a Traveler report on the protest.

Mullins responded to charges of discrimination against black students by saying “the university could not take action unless it had evidence of such discrimination.”

He refused to take a stand on the playing of “Dixie,” citing freedom of expression. He said it was a matter for the student body to decide.

After the students left, at about 3:30 p.m., Hunt said he felt like they had gotten “a little more positive response than before.”

Afterwards, several black students engaged in “blackwhite dialogues” with members of the Student Senate,

in which they were able to explain why this song was so hurtful. The dialogues must have worked, because the Student Senate passed the resolution asking for the discontinuance of “Dixie” by a vote of 28 to 6.

But this angered many white students, who would continue to wave Confederate flags and play “Dixie” on their own instruments at games and pep rallies. The campus atmosphere was tense.

Not willing to abide by the Student Senate’s resolution, some students circulated a petition to put the issue to a referendum. On March 31, 1970, the students voted overwhelmingly to continue playing “Dixie.”

However, Mullins said that in the end, the decision whether to play the song rested with newly appointed Razorback Band Director Eldon Janzen. Janzen said he wouldn’t play the song if it would “hurt the university.”

After consulting with the band as a whole, Janzen discontinued playing it.

According to Robinson and Williams, throughout the rest of the 70s, “BAD spoke to the issues that mattered most to students of color on the Fayetteville campus.” Its members continued to push the university to expand its desegregation efforts. The organization started its own campus paper, BAD Times, in which African American students could write about national, state, and campus issues from their perspective. It also organized programs and events that expanded social opportunities for black students. BAD organized a choir, a drama club, a black beauty pageant, and homecoming dances. They also organized a tutorial program for black students in the Fayetteville School District. Robinson and Williams write that one of the organization’s most important contributions was the creation of Black Emphasis Week in 1970, a week-long celebration of black culture featuring speakers; art, fashion, and talent shows; soul-food dinners; films; plays; dances; and choir concerts.

Likely thanks to the efforts of BAD, the 1970s saw an increase in the numbers of black students at the U of A: by January 1978, the university had almost 600 black students, or 4 percent of the student population, according to Robinson and Williams.

bove: Students march down Dickson Street on the A anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. 1970 Razorback Yearbook

McKissic said the protests were “the genesis of the university examining itself.” He said he could see the effect fairly quickly: “It changed a lot after my freshman year.” Though he said there were still some confrontations, “the rest of my college career, I was able to go to Razorback games. I often went with white friends.

That kind of [harassing] behavior kind of dissipated.”

In 1998, the Black Alumni Society was formed out of black class reunions that had begun in the 1990s. “The BAS continues the legacy of BAD by providing a united voice to implement change and address the needs of the black students,” Manley Bowden said.

The Black Alumni Society also works to promote the history, contributions, and struggles of African Americans who have attended the U of A. Through its mentoring program, the society seeks to increase the recruitment and retention of African American students by “connecting alumni and students to engage in a meaningful way that inspires and prepares them for the future,” according to Manley Bowden.

Though BAD and its activism might not be as well known as other activist groups, its impact can’t be underestimated. As Manley Bowden said, “It is not just African American history, it is American history, and a large part of the history of the University of Arkansas.”

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Photo by Russell Cothren

Campus

#BlackatUark

Twitter Campaign Leads to Action on Campus, Renewed Urgency to Confront Racism and Inequity

BY CHARLIE ALISON ★ B.A.’82, M.A.’04

On June 15, a hashtag — #BlackatUark — started trending on the social media site Twitter. The theme of #BlackatUark messages proved to be all too familiar to the Black community of the university, but it proved to be a jolt to the white community.

Reading the posts about discrimination and racial acts experienced by students, faculty, alumni and staff was heartbreaking. Discussing them was disconcerting.

Ignoring them was unforgiveable.

As the movement grew, Chancellor Joe Steinmetz Tweeted in response, “I have been reading #BlackatUark and I hear you. Your experiences as black students are powerful, painful testaments to the vital work we need 12 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

to do to make our campus equitable and inclusive. These hard, real discussions are an important step to effect change together.”

He followed that call to action with outreach to black student leaders to begin those discussions on how to effect lasting change on the U of A campus.

The #BlackatUark posts were and remain a clarion call to action by the university to eliminate the cultural and organizational racism that remain a legacy on campus 50 years after the civil rights movement of the 1960s and early 1970s.

The Tweets came in by the hundreds over the course of several days. As one student put it, #BlackatUark is like

waking up every day doubting yourself, your worth, your appearance and questioning whether or not you belong here. Another wrote that it was like being expected to dance and put on a show whenever white people played rap music. For one athlete, #BlackatUark meant that he recognized that his Razorback jersey protected him from the average black student’s experience.

Others noted the frequency in which they were the only Black student in a class or the surprise someone exhibited when asking the major of a Black student and finding out it was in engineering or architecture or other majors somehow outside the scope of majors in which a Black student should be interested or adept. One U of A alumna recalled the pain of thinking she might have to tell her younger sister that this was one time her sister might not want to follow in her footsteps.

Numerous students reported being called racial epithets by white students while walking along fraternity row, in the residence halls and on the streets of Fayetteville.

Others recalled differences in how they were treated by white professors. Still others pointed to what they saw as a reminder of racial discrimination on campus, the statue of J. William Fulbright in the courtyard of Old Main and his name attached to the college of arts and sciences.

Despite the progressive work that Fulbright did as a U.S. senator in international relations and his stance against the Vietnam War, his decisions to vote against the civil rights acts of the 1960s and to sign the Southern Manifesto, which opposed the desegregation of education, put him at odds with the moral arc of history.

What should a student of color think about receiving a diploma with the name of a man who, through his votes, would have prevented you from attending this university?

Since then, the U of A has embarked on a series of actions to change this climate on campus. Some are simple. Listening to one another and acknowledging where the university falls short of its ideals. Other actions have been and continue to be pursued: • The chancellor began meeting with an advisory group of Black student leaders to discuss changes to confront racial inequities, systemic racism and other forms of discrimination. This informal advisory group was expanded by the chancellor and made permanent.

• The Office of Diversity held a series of online sessions called “Transforming U of A: Combatting Racism to Build a More Inclusive Campus” with similar aims for all members of campus. More than 1,000 campus members joined the sessions to offer ideas and express concerns.

• Fulbright College created a committee to explore Fulbright’s controversial and complex legacy and to

determine whether or not the campus statue of him should remain and if the college of arts and sciences should continue to bear his name. The committee is considering a similar question about Brough Commons, named for Gov. Charles Brough.

Dean Todd Shields and Associate Dean Calvin White of Fulbright College are leading the latter committee and even before its creation had already talked with campus members who participated in an online Town Hall with Randall Woods, distinguished professor of history and a biographer of Fulbright.

Yvette Murphy-Erby, vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion, led off that discussion in July, saying: “As we think about moving to a more inclusive, equitable and anti-racist campus, it’s important that we engage in such critical conversation. And sometimes these conversations can be hard. But hard conversations also lead to meaningful actions.”

Even as the university began moving forward, the University of Arkansas System also organized a similar systemwide task force to consider issues around racial equity at the various campuses. Two members from the Fayetteville campus were appointed to the task force: Dean Deacue Fields of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and Provost Charles Robinson. Marvin Caston of the Razorback Foundation was also appointed to the task force.

“Racist acts have no place on our campus or in the world,” Chancellor wrote in a message to campus.

“As long as they exist, we will never have a truly inclusive campus. We all have a role to play in stopping racist and discriminatory activities. Everyone needs to understand what we stand for as a campus and that we will not tolerate actions that violate our commitment to a safe, equitable, inclusive, nondiscriminatory and antiracist campus.”

Opposite: A sculpture memorializing Silas Herbert Hunt and his landmark decision to break the color barrier in higher education stands as a memorial to the progressive spirit that the campus has exhibited at times but also serves as a reminder that the members of the campus community still have a duty to continue his legacy in action today.

Photo by University Relations

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Campus

Good Ideas Solving Problems in Iterative Collaboration

BY LOUISE M. HANCOX PH.D.’18

tudents in the Innovators S Forum gather for a group photo during the early spring before classes switched to being remotely taught. The change to remote teaching proved to be a prime example for the class about how to innovate.

Photos submitted

14 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

What do an architect, a mathematician, a hospital system executive, and a crowdfunded entrepreneur have in common?

The students in this spring’s Innovators Honors Forum at the University of Arkansas were tasked to answer this very question. The forum was a cross-college collaboration teaming the College of Engineering’s Karl Schubert and Walton College of Business Associate Dean Alan Ellstrand.

Schubert, professor of practice and associate director for the university’s new data science program, designed the class with a wider definition of innovation than students would typically be exposed to. He wanted students to stretch themselves to see the connections between ideas as disparate as the design of an art exhibit and the delivery of crowd funding.

The first classes focused upon understanding where good ideas come from.

Although the examples were very different, the students quickly articulated that good ideas start with a defined problem, don’t come quickly, are iterative, and require collaboration and influence from outside the industry.

Architect Albert Skiles described the careful process of design and how he was influenced by ideas from other countries.

Ashlie Hilbun, senior vice president for

Arkansas Children’s, captivated the class with her emphasis on creating a collaborative environment in which her team members feel free to voice unpopular opinions.

The second section of the class focused upon making the idea happen and the challenges along the way. While Schubert and Ellstrand were doing a great job of illustrating the need to pivot at any point, nothing could have hammered this point home more than the arrival of a global pandemic. The class itself quickly pivoted to an online, synchronous format.

Remaining speakers relayed how the pandemic had impacted their trajectory.

Social innovators Alyssa Snyder and Margaret Thomas found a much greater demand and more willing partners for their service that collects leftover farm produce and delivers it to communities in need. Mary Haskett, of Blink Identity, had based her latest company upon technology to quickly process concert and sporting event attendees yet now there would be no such events for the foreseeable future.

With a calmness born of experience in entrepreneurship, she confidently explained that her company would pivot once more and was considering a move into temperature screening equipment.

The students in the Innovators Forum were drawn from four of the academic colleges and ranged from freshmen to seniors. Dean Lynda Coon noted that “Schubert and Ellstrand brilliantly delivered the interdisciplinary, multicollege content that the Honors College demands for students. We’re building on this success with more courses where our students can partner with innovators across the state and around the world.”

Big Dreams A Bigger and Tenacious Heart

BY SHANNON MAGSAM

It was her freshman year at the University of Arkansas and Jada Miller was struggling.

Biology class was a beast.

A first-generation student, she had the pressure of paying for school herself.

Failure was not an option. One day, Miller’s roommate thundered into their dorm room, excited about passing the Praxis exam, a test necessary to start courses in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Miller was intrigued.

After a positive meeting with an advisor about the program, Miller enrolled in Introduction to Communication Disorders to see if becoming a speech pathologist might be right for her.

It was love at first class.

It felt like the right major for her. But it also made Miller think of the community she’d left behind in El Dorado, Arkansas.

She’s determined to take her degree back home and provide speech-language pathology services to her hometown and to encourage residents to pursue healthrelated careers.

“It’s important that I return home to encourage and support my community,” she said. “There are a lot of broken neighborhoods. Hopefully, being an available resource for others from the same city will push students and families to seek services if needed or attend school to

further their education.”

Miller is graduating from the U of A this summer. The next step is grad school in the College of Education and Health Professions. She’ll need a master’s degree to practice as a speech-language pathologist.

Miller is tenacious, and she also has a big heart. She grew up caring for a family member with special needs. Since then, she’s volunteered at the Yvonne Richardson Community Center and the non-profit rEcess, which provides services to children with special needs.

Miller is one to watch. She’s already a difference-maker, and is poised to create an amazing future for herself, her community and beyond.

Jada Miller helps a child with crafts at an event to support Arkansas Hands and Voices. Photo by Kelley O’Rourke Photo submitted

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Photo by Whit Pruitt

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16 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

Economic Development

Grant of $194.7 Million Will Transform Campus Collaboration and Create Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research

BY ANDY ALBERTSON, M.F.A.’13

A $194.7 million grant from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation will establish the University of Arkansas Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research, transforming the research, innovation and economic development culture of the university. The grant is one of the largest single private gifts ever given to a university for advancing research and economic development.

It was counted toward the $1.25 billion goal set for Campaign Arkansas, the university’s capital campaign that ended in July.

“All transformational solutions start with questions,” said Chancellor Joe Steinmetz. “How does the University of Arkansas distinguish itself as a great research university among a sea of great and distinguished universities?

How do we do that in a way that drives economic development and creates clear avenues for industry involvement? How do we ultimately change the culture of collaboration in such a way that it advances the research and commercialization profile and production of the university? And how do we change the way we do science on campus?

“The creation of an interdisciplinary and wholly integrative research institute was the answer.”

The institute is envisioned as a unique approach to research that will distinguish the University of Arkansas by

creating a flexible, state-of-the-art collaborative framework designed to facilitate the integration of research across five overlapping clusters of innovation: • Data science • Food and technology: Food systems and the future of food • Materials science and engineering • Bioscience and bioengineering research in metabolism • Integrative systems neuroscience The grant will grow the university’s research engine and also drive commercialization and entrepreneurship education.

“Arkansas has long been known for its entrepreneurial spirit and as a place where businesses thrive. This grant will support the University of Arkansas as it seeks to drive innovation and transform entrepreneurship and research to commercialization for industries nationwide,” said Steuart Walton, chair of the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation Board.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said, “The enhancement of the University of Arkansas’s focus on research to commercialization and entrepreneurship education will have a lasting impact on the state, its businesses, and economy. The funding is a clear position of confidence in the University of Arkansas and will strengthen their position as a leading public research university.”

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esearch across five R overlapping clusters of innovation will be bolstered by a nearly $200 million grant to establish the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research.

Photos by University Relations

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“Even during this time of uncertainty — in higher education and beyond — we know the University of Arkansas is positioned to become a national leader in research and innovation,” said Heather Larkin, president and CEO of the Arkansas Community Foundation and board member of the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. “This grant is a step toward building a stable economy and a future where we are better equipped to respond to a changing environment.”

The grant from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation will be used support the construction of the university’s new research facility, which will house the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research, and to endow the institute, which will serve as the hub for many activities.

Not only will the building and institute add much-needed research space, and act as an interactive and integrated hub for the innovation clusters, it will drive innovation on the edges between identified research clusters.

Funding will help attract and hire 20 new faculty with established research

programs and a history of external support. These hires will seek to diversify the University of Arkansas faculty in experiential as well as demographic dimensions.

“This grant will have an enormous impact not only on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region and state, but on our campus as well,” said Charles Robinson, provost and vice chancellor for student and academic affairs. “This change will be accomplished through deep engagement of university faculty and students in research, discovery and innovation, entrepreneurship education and commercialization of research.”

The goals for this grant are to: • Increase external support for research and grow the research engine.

• Increase industry collaboration.

• Grow commercialization of university research as well as university-related entrepreneurship.

• Align the university’s productivity, expertise, and reputation to be competitive with the top public institutions in the country.

Entrepreneurship Education $3.5 Million

The I3R Research Facility $89 Million

Bentonville Facility $14 Million

Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research (I3R) $88 Million

“The difference to the Northwest Arkansas economy we expect to realize in the next 20 to 30 years includes a significant increase in the scale and scope of the university’s research profile and reputation,” Steinmetz said. “We will realize an increase in federal research dollars expended locally, which aids the overall economy of the region and state, and is a short-term multiplier.

“The longer-term results will be seen through the attraction of a diverse group of people for whom an academic and entrepreneurial ecosystem is appealing, and who will add intellectual and creative talent to Arkansas. Increases in applied research, commercialization and resulting startups will also impact everything from regional quality of life to healthcare.”

In addition to establishing I3R, the grant also provides funding for the I3R Research Facility, entrepreneurship education and an expansion of the University of Arkansas’ presence in Northwest Arkansas through the establishment of a physical presence in Bentonville, designed to serve as a spoke of the I3R hub. The Bentonville Campus is subject to approval by the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees and appropriate accrediting agencies.

Continuing Support This is the second major investment by the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation into research and commercialization at the University of Arkansas. In 2018, a “phase I” grant of $23.7 million provided the groundwork for some significant infrastructure needs at the U of A. “The foundation has enabled the university to build our strategy and capacity in research, sponsored programs, signature faculty hires and technology transfer,” Steinmetz said. “We have also made great strides in invention disclosures and patent productivity, offering funding for research with high potential for commercialization, a gap fund for emerging startups, and professional development and supports for would-be entrepreneurs both on and off-campus.”

The “phase I” grant was also instrumental in building the infrastructure to support the Technology Ventures Office, the Office of Economic Development, and the Office of Research and Innovation. These investments have resulted in many significant positive outcomes, including: • Patent productivity reaching an all-time high of 130 • Significant staffing up in Technology Ventures and research grant development specialists • “Corporate concierge” to connect industry to campus R&D capabilities • $180.2 million in total R&D expenditures; $5.1 million in industry-sponsored research expenditures • 14 research projects with high commercialization potential funded • 15 teams participated in regional NSF InnovationCorps and 2 teams participated in national I-Corps experiential education providing valuable insight into entrepreneurship, starting a business • $105,000 in gap funding was awarded to four teams • Launched a Startup Village, providing supports and services to startups • Three startup companies licensed U of A technologies • Eliminated barriers to industry research connectivity by changing U of A System policies allowing industry to keep IP generated at the U of A • Laid the infrastructure that enabled the university and Northwest Arkansas Council to launch the Small Business Emergency Assistance program in eight days in March 2020, from concept to first customer following the COVID-19 pandemic

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Campus

Zip Farms and a Piece of Prairie Designs by Students in Landscape Architecture Rewarded

BY SHAWNYA LEE MEYERS B.A.’15, M.ED.’20

rchitectural renderings of A two award-winning projects by students and recent graduates of the Fay Jones School show the “Zip Farm,” top, and “A Piece of Prairie.”

Photos submitted

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Design work by Ben Magee, Tamsan Mora, Jacob Costello and Jerry Ferreira, students and recent graduates of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, were recognized by the Central States Region of the American Society of Landscape Architects. The awardwinning work was created by students in the landscape architecture and architecture programs.

Magee B.L.A.’18, Mora B.Arch.’19, and Costello B.L.A.’18 won an Honor Award for their design “Tri Cycle Farms, Zip Farm.”

Ferreira, a final year landscape architecture student, won an Honor Award for his design “A Piece of Prairie.”

Magee, Mora and Costello created their design “Tri Cycle Farms, Zip Farm” as part of a spring 2019 studio led by Ken McCown, head of the Department of Landscape Architecture, and Scott Biehle, a teaching assistant professor of landscape architecture.

In their landscape design, the team transformed a lot in Fayetteville into a zip farm while also examining the feasibility of the Living Building Challenge, a performance standard for projects that generate more energy than they consume.

The farm’s zipper concept pulls people inside a dynamic interplay between forest and water ecosystems, including food forests, wetlands, a living machine

ecological sewage treatment system, hydroponic greenhouses and a greywater system. During the project, the students worked with professionals in the field of sustainability, including alumnae Meredith Hendricks, B.Arch. ‘01, of Entegrity and Lee Porter, B.L.A. ‘11, of Ozark Green Roofs.

“The Zip Farm is significant because it shows interdisciplinary design innovation in the areas of brownfield remediation and the Living Building Challenge,” McCown said. “The students’ project is a ‘proof of concept’ that Living Buildings can be possible here as Net Zero buildings in energy and water use, as well as providing several health and community benefits, such as the use of local, non-toxic materials for construction and healthy places for people to live, work and play.”

A Net Zero building produces as much energy as it uses over the course of a year.

Ferreira completed his “A Piece of Prairie” design as part of a fall 2019 studio led by Carl Smith, associate professor of landscape architecture.

In his design, Ferreira uses amenities and access points to connect the Fayetteville community to a remnant wet prairie west of Fayetteville while minimizing the disruption to the site.

The project, which explores and addresses how the community will change in the future due to increased urbanization, includes a visitors center, pavilions, trails and ornithological observatory.

The project also aims to reduce carbon emissions through a reduced carbon footprint, and it generates clean energy through wind turbines.

Negotiated Victory Law Team

BY DARINDA SHARP ★ B.A.’94, M.S.’99, M.A.’05

News Flash: Squirrel Hill Capital Partners prevails in legal setting thanks to the representation by U of A law students Erin James, Julian Sharp and Isabel Thoma, who won the 2020 Transactional LawMeet, a competition hosted this spring by the University of Denver.

The students negotiated the acquisition of a business, Squirrel Hill, by a private equity firm in the competition and was chosen as one winner from each side of the transaction.

“To do well in this type of competition, you have to make it a point to work collaboratively with the other team and to explain business and legal issues from your client’s viewpoint,” said Andrew Lawson, visiting professor of law and the team’s coach. “Our team did a great job on both fronts, which is especially impressive given that the competition unexpectedly changed from an in-person format to an online format using Zoom. It was really impressive to see our students still excel even when forced to adapt on the fly.”

The competition began in late January, with students drafting letters of intent, interviewing their clients and marking up opposing teams’ drafts. The competition was intended to culminate with in-person

negotiations in April. The competition was moved online when social distancing requirements were put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Although we were disappointed to miss out on the experience and memories that the trip to Denver would have provided, I think we made the most of the competition’s new format,” Thoma said. “We practiced our negotiations via Microsoft Teams to make sure that we were prepared for any technology issues that might arise.”

On the final day, each of the 12 teams participated in two online negotiation rounds, which were judged by practicing attorneys from law firms and in-house corporate counsels from the greater Denver area.

“While the online format of the competition was unanticipated, it was a better reflection of what real life negotiations are like,” James said. “In my clerkships and corporate council externship, most large scale deals were done over the phone and co-counsel or the ‘business’ team may not be in the same room with you. After participating in the competition, I feel more prepared to negotiate in practice.”

bove left to right, Erin A James, Julian Sharp and Isabel Thoma Photos by University Relations

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Campus Work

Student Success Center, Mullins Library Among Construction Projects Underway

BY UNIVERSITY STAFF

While the campus was vacated by students and faculty during most of the summer, construction crews were able to move forward more quickly with several projects on campus.

Student Success Center The largest project is construction of the new Student Success Center, just north of Old Main. The center will unify and house student success programs and resources, all designed to help students navigate financial, academic and other roadblocks they may face on their journey to graduation.

The 71,000-square-foot Student Success Center is scheduled to open in fall 2021. By the end of summer, crews had finished pouring concrete for the four stories of the building, which is designed in the classic collegiate Gothic style of other buildings in the campus core.

“This center will provide one-stop comprehensive academic support for our students and allow us to expand our student success initiatives,” said Trevor Francis, associate vice provost and director of student success.

“This center is an innovative approach that we think will become a model for how to maximize the success of students on a university campus.”

Francis said student success initiatives include utilizing predictive analytics to engage in proactive academic, financial and personal advising and tutoring. The new building will also provide collaborative and crossfunctional workspaces to drive a comprehensive approach to retaining and graduating students, beginning when 22 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

they are still in high school.

“We believe every student we admit can succeed at the University of Arkansas and the Student Success Center will help our students do so,” said Chancellor Joe Steinmetz. “This center is an essential part of our one-student-at-a-time philosophy here at the U of A. It will provide a hub of services and resources to support students from the time they are admitted through graduation and the beginning of their careers.”

Summer bridge programs housed in the center offer incoming freshmen the opportunity to complete college courses in the summer prior to their first year, as well as Blackboard learning modules that help prepare them for college.

From there, programs such as the 360 Advising Program, a pilot initiative in the Office of Student Success, proactively assist students in need by using predictive analytics to provide mentoring and resources and support to first-generation Arkansans.

Other programs in the center will apply high-impact practices to general education classes, including tutoring for gateway courses and studios for various general education disciplines including world languages and cultures, communications, writing and STEM. A life design studio offers an innovative approach to students’ college experience by encouraging them to apply design thinking—a methodology that encourages solution-based approaches to problem-solving—to planning their major and career. And office space will be dedicated to faculty teaching general education or gateway courses, offering increased accessibility to students.

The building will also house offices for the Teaching

and Faculty Support Center and advisers in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

While the center will unify many student success efforts across campus, the Office of Student Success will also continue current partnerships and form new ones with Student Affairs and academic units across campus to offer resources, share best practices and collaborate on programming to help students.

Mullins Library The revitalization of Mullins Library, the main research library in the heart of campus, is well underway. Focused on the third and fourth floors, the renovation will provide a quiet floor with a variety of spaces, as well as a more active, vibrant floor with a contemporary feel. An

additional 1,900 seats will increase the Libraries’ capacity for serving students, faculty and staff who need a welcoming place to research and study.

Dennis Clark, dean of Libraries, says the renovation will enhance Mullins by allowing for dedicated faculty and graduate student collaboration space, which is a new feature for these groups. The spaces will feature flexible seating options, including booths and reading rooms, to improve student attention and focus. Faculty will benefit from expanded carrels, new technology, and increased availability of lighting and power. There will also be enhanced instructional spaces for librarians who teach classes and consultation spaces for subject librarians to help users who are conducting research.

“We’re very pleased with the progress made so far,” said Clark. “Phase I of the renewal is on track to be completed next summer.”

onstruction on the fourC story Student Success Center, just north of Old Main, continued through the summer.

Photo by Chieko Hara

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enovation of the third R and fourth floors of Mullins Library continues with the intent to provide more dedicated space for faculty and graduate students, collaboration spaces and such features as reading booths to reduce distractions while studying.

Photos by Russell Cothren

n architectural rendering A of the exterior of the Civil Engineering Research Center at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park.

Photos submitted

Clark is offering hard hat tours for alumni interested in contributing to either phase of the renovation. Please contact Martha Guirl-Phillips, administrative assistant to the dean, at 479-575-6704 or mlguirl@uark.edu for more information.

Civil Engineering Research and Education Center Work continues on the Civil Engineering Research and Education Center at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park just south of the main campus.

Students, staff, faculty and friends of the University of Arkansas were on hand for groundbreaking last fall on the 37,400-square-foot facility in south Fayetteville.

Known as CEREC, the $13.8 million facility will serve as a research and teaching space for the Department of 24 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

Civil Engineering and will be a resource for academic, government and industrial partners across Arkansas.

The space includes a high-bay structural testing facility with a four-foot thick “strong-floor” capable of testing large-scale structural systems and components. It will also house a 25-ton rail crane to move heavy materials.

The facility will be the first of its kind in Arkansas.

Currently, large-scale structural components must be sent out of state for testing. CEREC will allow academic, industry and government researchers to conduct cuttingedge experimental research in-state.

CEREC will also serve as a living laboratory for several hundred students annually, and the facility has space for 15 faculty members to conduct research.

John English, dean of the College of Engineering, said the space will benefit students, faculty and partners across the state.

“The CEREC groundbreaking represents a lot of hard

omfret has undergone P several major renovations including an upgraded dining room, newly renovated common areas and Great Room (left top), a complete renovation of the Pomfret B Tower, updated study areas, new bathrooms, a new entry on Stadium drive and courtyard (lower bottom), and the addition of a latenight dining area.

Photos by Russell Cothren.

work by our faculty, staff, alumni and partners to make this project a reality,” he said. “We’re grateful for everyone who has chosen to invest in this project, and we’re looking forward to the incredible research and educational opportunities that lie ahead for this facility.”

Pomfret Hall and Stadium Drive Stadium Drive reopened in August after spending most of summer closed for the Pomfret Hall steam line replacement project.

The steam line replacement project was initiated in 2016 after the original 1966 steam line that feeds Pomfret Hall was determined to be at the end of its product lifespan and showed evidence of steam leaks and heat loss.

Construction began in phases with smaller sections of the steam line being replaced over previous summers.

Work completed this summer included replacing the largest remaining original section that ran beneath Stadium Drive. Due to the impacts of the construction, work had to be scheduled for a time when Pomfret Hall could be shut down.

Although the construction of the new line had major impacts, Scott Turley, executive director of campus utilities and building climate services, said the importance of the steam line replacement is that Pomfret residents will not notice a difference.

“The original line was not in good shape and needed to be replaced. Had it failed when Pomfret Hall was occupied, it would have radically impacted the students’ daily lives,” he said.

The new pre-engineered piping system was fabricated off-site and is specifically designed for the U of A campus.

The new steam line should result in energy savings and is expected to have a 50-year useful life.

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Photo submitted

Campus

Professor of the Year Marlon Blackwell Wins AIA Gold Medal, Named Top SEC Professor

BY MICHELLE PARKS, B.A.’94

arlon Blackwell at his M architectural studio.

Photo by Mark Jackson/CHROMA

26 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

It’s been a big year for distinguished professor Marlon Blackwell. The American Institute of Architects announced that it would award him the institute’s highest honor, its Gold Medal, which recognizes individuals whose work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.

A few months later, the Southeastern Conference named Blackwell its 2020

Professor of the Year, its highest honor for faculty given annually to one SEC faculty member whose record of teaching and research places them among the elite in higher education.

Blackwell is a distinguished professor who holds the E. Fay Jones Chair in Architecture at the University of Arkansas, where he has taught since 1992. He is founder and co-principal at Marlon

Blackwell Architects, an architecture and design firm based in Fayetteville.

“Throughout his career, Marlon Blackwell has created inspiring architecture, transforming often limited resources into designs that celebrate each place and heighten all of our horizons,” said Robert Ivy, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the AIA, and the author of the AIA monograph Fay Jones. “Like former AIA Gold Medalist Fay Jones, Marlon Blackwell reminds us that powerful architecture can take place outside the traditional centers of media and fashion.”

The Gold Medal honor comes 30 years after Fay Jones, a U of A alumnus and the first dean of what was then the School of Architecture, was given the same award by the AIA. “Across every area in which a faculty member can contribute to our mission – teaching, research, service – Marlon sets the standard and exceeds expectations,” said Chancellor Joe Steinmetz. “His contributions to the field of architecture, dedication to students and service to the campus and community are truly extraordinary. He has received the highest honor in his field as a professional architect while providing life-changing opportunities for students through architectural education.”

Blackwell received the 2012 American Academy of Arts and Letters Architecture Prize, was selected as a U.S. Artists Ford Fellow in 2014, and was inducted into the National Academy of Design in 2018.

For nearly three decades, Blackwell said, he’s worked to be a liaison between the academy and the profession, while representing the value of the creative arts and their influence and relevance to larger society and to the larger community of academics.

“I put a lot of work into the teaching and into trying to be a good colleague at the university in a variety of roles.

So, to see the teaching and the creative research together recognized – that’s pretty rare for me. Usually it’s one or

the other,” Blackwell said. “To represent the University of Arkansas in this consideration of all the professors at these other incredible institutions that make up the SEC, and then to be selected as an exemplar in some way on behalf of the conference – it’s a huge honor and was really unexpected.”

In the Fay Jones School, Blackwell served for six years as head of the Department of Architecture, leading the development of the department’s Integrated Design Studio, the capstone experience in the professional curriculum.

He also co-founded the annual Mexico Summer Urban Studio.

“Marlon Blackwell epitomizes the ideal architect-educator,” said Peter MacKeith, dean of the Fay Jones School. “As committed to excellence in architectural education as he is to excellence in architectural design, Marlon’s professional accomplishments indeed reflect his commitment to both the theory and the practice of architecture, to both the discipline and the profession, to both the student and the client, to both the academy and society at large. These honors of academic and professional excellence are testimony now to this dimension of his life-work.

“The Fay Jones School and the University of Arkansas has been the setting for Marlon’s cultivation of this ethos as an educator, and for his refinement of a reflective pedagogy emphasizing the specifics of place – of culture and climate, materiality and construction – and the necessity of ordering principles – of proportion, typology and composition. In so doing, Marlon has extended the legacy of our namesake, the renowned architecteducator E. Fay Jones, and in his own work, has transformed an entire generation of Arkansas architects now practicing, teaching and serving communities across the nation. The school is proud to have supported Marlon for nearly 30 years and is privileged by his presence,” MacKeith said.

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Feature

Food, Law and COVID-19 Collaborating

BY DARINDA SHARP ★ B.A.’94, M.S.’99, M.A.’05

While trapped at home by COVID-19, Susan Schneider, the William H. Enfield Professor of Law and director of the Master of Laws Program in Agricultural and Food Law began turning a question over in her head: What is this worldwide pandemic teaching us about food law and policy, and how can lawyers help to address the issues being uncovered?

“In the first weeks, we were all glued to the news about COVID-19, and I was struck by how many food related issues kept coming up,” Schneider said. “First there was food insecurity and essential workers in grocery stores, then workers in meat processing and food shortage. We heard stories about how one group of people had no market for what they were producing while other people didn’t have enough food.”

The observations led her to design a course to examine issues around food, the law and COVID-19. As she outlined the curriculum, she kept thinking of the experts she knew around the country who would be perfect to lead discussions on topics the class would explore.

“I started thinking about all the people I know through listservs or the Academy of Food Law and Policy and thought ‘Why reinvent the wheel?’ I knew people with expertise in all the areas I thought the class should cover, so I pitched them my idea, and everyone I talked to wanted to participate.”

Schneider and nine of the other instructors were founding members of the Academy of Food Law and Policy. Other instructors are alumni of the LL.M. program or program faculty. The law school publishes the Journal of Food Law and Policy, the nation’s first student-edited food policy journal. It is also home to the nationally acclaimed Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, an outreach effort that assists tribes across the country. The Food Recovery Project, food law and policy practicums, and externships provide additional outreach.

“Many people – even those on our own campus – don’t 28 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

realize the university’s history with agricultural and food law or just how ground-breaking we’ve been in this field. Nearly everyone who studies agricultural and food law has been touched by this program in some way – they’ve learned here, taught here or been published here.”

The LL.M. program was founded more than 30 years ago and was the first advanced degree in agricultural law.

It has led the nation by connecting lawyers to our food system from farm to plate. The program’s history and Schneider’s decades of research have made her one of the field’s most recognized thought leaders.

Food, Law and COVID-19 is a collaborative course engaging experts from around the country who share materials, hold weekly live online sessions and make recordings available to those unable to attend. Each week, students from all of the participating institutions consider a new topic from a different presenter.

“It was the perfect scenario. All of our students from all over the country would have access to top scholars, each faculty member is responsible for teaching only one class and there is no travel involved. I don’t think it’s something we could have pulled off before the pandemic – at least not in the same way.”

The courses may vary from school to school. Each instructor is responsible for their own presentation materials and assessment of learning outcomes.

“Everyone is assessing students a little differently. Some administer a test, some require a paper. Here, we’re using blog posts. Our students are blogging about the course and their insights throughout the semester as they learn from some of the nation’s top scholars.”

University of Arkansas alumni can read the students’ posts on a blog while they are exploring issues uncovered

by COVID-19, including nutrition, health, food insecurity, safety, sustainability, meat production and international implications.”

Nutrition, Health and Food Insecurity Emily Broad Leib, clinical professor and director of the Food Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard, presents “Food Waste: Market and Logistics Failures; Legal impediments to Saving Food When Supply Collapses.”

She is recognized as a national leader in food law and policy due, in part to her scholarship, teaching, and practice on finding solutions to some of today’s biggest food law issues, aiming to increase access to healthy foods, eliminate food waste, and support sustainable food production and local and regional food systems.

Margaret Sova McCabe, professor and dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law, explores “Nutrition, Health and COVID.” She considers issues such the impact of science on health and nutrition policy and studies that illustrate how Americans who depend on food assistance tend to have poor diet.

Her expertise in U.S. and international administrative process and regulatory systems, particularly those relating to food, environmental and public health, and agriculture have given her particular insight into how healthy eating patterns can change society over time.

Colby Duren, director of the University of Arkansas Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative explores “COVID and Food Security in Indian Country.” He has more than 11 years of experience in federal Indian law and policy, with a specific focus on food, agriculture, nutrition, natural resources and economic development. Prior to joining the initiative, he worked for non-governmental organizations and a law firm in Washington, D.C., where he advocated on behalf of Tribal Nations on land, natural resources and agriculture issues helped represent Tribes on land reparation and agriculture issues.

Photo by University Relations

Susan Schneider kicks off the class with “COVID-19 and Impacts on the Food System,” a look into the questions raised and inequities uncovered by the pandemic. Her private practice and advocacy work in agricultural law include positions with firms in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota and Washington, D.C. In her book “Food Farming and Sustainability: Readings in Agricultural Law,” she provides a survey of agricultural law issues, bringing together traditional agricultural law topics and current issues of sustainability and food policy.

Sheila Fleischhacker, adjunct professor at Georgetown Law, discusses “Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance.”

She teaches a first-of-its-kind nutrition law and policy course and co-teaches a unique course on the first 1,000 days of life. She co-chairs the HER NOPREN COVID-19 School Nutrition Implications Working Group – more than 500 researchers, advocacy representatives, practitioners and students exploring ways inform policy and practice and examine the impacts of federal, tribal, state and local COVID-19 relevant decisions on food security and dietary intake.

Neil Hamilton, professor emeritus of law at Drake University Law School, analyizes “Local and Regional Food Systems: Building Sustainability and Resilience.” He is widely recognized for his insight into the complex issues that challenge our food system and is noted for ability to recognize challenges on the horizon. Under his leadership as the founding director, Drake’s Agricultural Law Center established a national and international reputation for excellence in research, education and public extension on food policy, agricultural law and rural development.

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Essential Workers and Farmworkers

Meat Production

Nicole Civita, lead and instructor for the specialization in Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Masters of the Environment graduate program gives “An Introduction to ‘Essential Workers.’” Her current scholarship and advocacy identify ethical values and explore dilemmas across the food chain, with particular attention to the well-being of workers and producers. Through this work, she aims to produce ethical guidance, actionable policy recommendations, and transparency-enhancing tools that enable nourishing, informed, and values-aligned choices about food.

Leah Douglas, associate editor and staff writer for the Food and Environmental Reporting Network, shares what she has learned while reporting on “COVID Outbreaks in Meat and Poultry Processing Plants.”

Her reporting on corporate power and big business in food and agriculture has been published in the Guardian, the Nation, the Washington Post, Mother Jones, NPR, Time and Fortune, and she has been interviewed for podcasts and national radio shows.

Since April 2020, she has been a leading journalist covering the spread of COVID-19 at meatpacking plants, at food processing facilities and on farms.

Beth Lyon and Briana Beltran with Cornell Law School consider “A View from the Field: Farmworkers During the Pandemic with.”

Beltran is a lecturer in Cornell’s Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic. She has supervised students representing farmworker clients on immigration and employment matters in upstate New York, throughout the U.S., and internationally, and she has co-taught a lawyering skills seminar to clinic students.

Prior to joining Cornell, she represented migrant farmworkers in a six-state service area on a range of employment matters, including litigation in federal court and preparation of applications for immigration relief based on workplace abuses.

Lyon, clinical professor and founder of the Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic, is a national authority on the laws and policies affecting immigrant workers. She has written extensively on domestic and international immigrant and farmworker rights. Her publications are widely cited in academic and practitioner publications, and she has been quoted in various media outlets. She is a frequent speaker and panelist for academic and bar association conferences, addressing policy questions and practical issues of working through interpreters to address client needs and providing legal services to rural minorities.

Anthony Schutz, associate dean for faculty and professor with the University of Nebraska College of Law, explores “Farm to Slaughter: The Law and Policy of Meat Production in the U.S.” The product of a farm family in Elwood, Nebraska, his research interests include of agricultural law, environmental and natural resources law, and state and local government, all of which have significant impacts on rural landscapes and populations. He has taught courses in agricultural law, environmental law, water law and land use regulation.

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Jennifer Zwagerman (LL.M.’08), assistant professor and director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University Law School, presents “On the Farm: Livestock Producers Under Contract.” The center is internationally recognized for the study of how the law shapes our food system and influences the ability of the agricultural sector to produce, market and use agricultural products. Before coming to Drake, she was an attorney in the general litigation group for a firm with a national practice in food and agricultural law.

Photo by University Relations

International Alexia Brunet Marks, associate professor at the University of Colorado Law School, examines “COVID Economic Disruption: The Global Supply Chain.” Her research includes food systems law and international economic law with a transnational and multidisciplinary approach. Her current research explores food system resiliency in an era of COVID and beyond. She serves on the Colorado Coronavirus Farm and Food Systems Task Force, working with a group of immigrants, farmers, scholars, activists, unions and workers across Colorado to identify, elevate and address the needs of the people who contribute their labor to all parts of the food system.

Uché Ewelukwa Ofodile, the E.J. Ball Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law provides “International Perspectives: Food Security and COVID in Developing Nations.” Her scholarship focuses particularly on international investment law and arbitration, business and human rights, China-Africa trade and investment relations and the intersection of intellectual property law and human rights. She teaches Right to Food, Corporate Social Responsibility in the Agricultural and Food Sectors, and Intellectual Property in the Agricultural and Food Sectors.

U.S. and around the world and has led public discussions on human rights and development with peasant organizations, labor unions, human rights activists and international organizations.

Michael Roberts, professor from practice and executive director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law teaches “Learning from the Past: Pandemics and Food Security in Historical Context.” He is particularly interested in the global governance of food and recently led the Resnick Center into a partnership with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization on a series of research and advisory initiatives to confront global food security, nutrition, safety, and quality.

Additional details on the course and instructors may be found at law.uark.edu/academics/ llm-food-ag/covid19.

Michael Fakhri, associate professor the University of Oregon School of Law, shares “Global Food Perspectives.”

He teaches courses on human rights, food law, development and commercial law, and he directs the Food Resiliency Project in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center. He has delivered lectures on international human rights and development topics at universities across the

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Campus

If This Walk Could Talk Alumni Stories Sought for Use in Film About University’s History

BY CHARLIE ALISON ★ B.A.’82, M.A.’04

I n a photo from prior to the pandemic, two students stroll down Senior Walk. A new documentary film uses the walk as its inspiration to tell the history of the university.

Photo by University Relations

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With the university’s 150-year anniversary just around the corner, producers at the university want to build a film of the university’s history around the individual stories of alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends of the university.

They want your story.

“We know every U of A student has a story, and I tell my journalism students

those personal stories are the ones that resonate with viewers,” said Larry Foley, chair of the School of Journalism and Strategic Media and the film’s producer. “We want students to send us short essays about their personal connection to the U of A, and how their time on campus shaped their lives.

We want these essays to be focused and meaningful to each author.”

The film, titled If This Walk Could Talk, will cover the university’s history, from its founding in 1871 and its first classes in 1872 through the creation of traditions such as Senior Walk and the Razorback mascot to today’s campus with a look forward as well.

Alumni John Cooper and Ben Goodwin, who both work in the Office of University Relations, will serve as associate producers and photographers for the film.

Foley hopes to build the film around several themes. Essays can be any length as long as they stay focused on one story. The student essays can start along the lines of any of the following themes: • The first year on campus seemed like...

• Memories of my days on campus...

• I remember a poignant moment when....

• A colleague who made a difference was...

• A student who surprised me was...

• I remember a challenging moment when...

• I remember the funny time when…

• My hopes for the university as we move forward are….

Send essays to editor@uark.edu for consideration in the film.

Tops in North America Nine-Year-Old Supply Chain Program Pegged as Best

BY DAVID SPEER, B.A.’75

The undergraduate program in supply chain management was ranked No. 1 in North America by the leading global research firm Gartner.

Gartner, which studies and rates companies and academic programs across a variety of industries, releases its findings on supply chain programs every two years.

Arkansas’ program moved up 14 spots in Gartner’s top 25 from the previous rankings in 2018.

Brian Fugate, department chair and the Oren Harris Chair in Transportation, said the Department of Supply Chain Management remains relatively young and it is phenomenal to see this type of recognition. Arkansas launched the department in 2011 under the leadership of Matthew A. Waller and John Ozment.

Its reputation as a top-flight program continues to grow.

“Gartner provides an unbiased report, and this No. 1 ranking recognizes the outstanding work and excellence of our faculty, staff and students,” said Waller, who is now dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business. “The ranking also is highly respected throughout industry, which helps our students as they look for internships and move into careers.”

The rankings reflect excellence in three

specific areas: industry value, program scope and program size.

“It’s an honor to earn such outstanding recognition,” Fugate said. “Northwest Arkansas has become a hot-spot for the industry with all the great supply chain companies located nearby. It’s important that we do our part to add to that excellence.”

The rest of the top 10 in the Gartner rankings were: Rutgers University, Penn State University, the University of Texas at Austin, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee, Auburn University, Northeastern University, Michigan State University and Georgia Tech.

Stock photo

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Campus

The Big Break-Up Arkansas Joined the SEC 30 Years Ago

BY KEVIN TRAINOR ★ B.A.’94 M.A.’05

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away at the trust. The relationship appears to be deeply rooted in the past with little hope for a bountiful future. Inevitably some familiar words emerge – “It has been a good run, but we’ve grown apart. I think it is best we go our separate ways.”

For the University of Arkansas and the Southwest Conference, that pivotal moment came in the summer of 1990. After more than 75 years together, the University of Arkansas was feeling the strain. As the only non-Texas outpost in the ultra-competitive league, Arkansas had Photo courtesy of Razorback Athletics

Breaking up is difficult. When you have been involved in a long-term relationship, there is rarely a perfect way to part ways amicably. After all, when you both have invested the time, the commitment and shared deep admiration, you have invariably been through ups and downs and created countless memories along the way.

Yet somehow, there comes a time when things just do not seem to be the same as they once were. Little things turn into bigger things. Lingering unresolved issues chip

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ince joining the S Southeastern Conference, the Razorbacks have 140 SEC Championships, above and beyond the NCAA National Championships earned by the 1994 men’s basketball team, above left at a reunion, and a multitude of national championships from the men’s and women’s track and field teams. Photos courtesy of Razorback Athletics.

Photo courtesy of Razorback Athletics

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always been an outsider. Despite holding its own on the field and on the court, the Razorbacks were always lumped in with schools that shared a common trait – primarily not being the University of Texas. The disparity was not just in respect or influence, the financial ledgers were far from balanced as well.

Add to that a series of conference school run-ins with the NCAA and the Southwest Conference was quickly becoming known for its transgressions rather than its accomplishments. In the late 1980s it was becoming clear the walls of the Southwest Conference were crumbling and Coach Frank Broyles quietly worked to find the Razorbacks a new home.

Geographically, the Big 8 Conference seemed like a logical place to look.

However, the nearby league was anything but a sure bet, even if it decided to expand in the coming years. If Arkansas decided to run out the clock with the Southwest Conference, it would have likely been left behind by some all too familiar deep-rooted Texas politics that would

have valued others, beyond Texas and Texas A&M, getting an invitation to the expanded league before the Hogs.

Instead, Broyles worked behind the scenes to position the University of Arkansas to be a forerunner, not an afterthought in the discussion. Soon, other pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place and Arkansas emerged as a perfect fit for the impending jigsaw of conference alignment.

When the Southeastern Conference and its new Commissioner Roy Kramer, who had been hired in January 1990, announced it would be looking to expand a more complete image began to take shape. Following the annual SEC Meetings in late May, the league announced it would expand from its current makeup of 10 schools. SEC presidents and chancellors determined the league would not issue invitations, rather just let their intentions be known.

There was no need for even a save the date card from the SEC as far as Arkansas was concerned. The announcement

combined with the Razorbacks’ growing trepidation about the future in the Southwest Conference made the timing right for a change.

The SEC and the Razorbacks seemed like a perfect match. Arkansas was a successful all-sports program that could bring a passionate fan base and help expand the league’s footprint. On the other side, the SEC offered an opportunity for Arkansas to expand its recruiting base nationally and benefit from a revenue sharing model that helped buoy all schools equally, rather than just a select few based on historical positioning and football success.

Even with all the promise of the SEC, there were still pangs of inner conflict within the Razorback Nation.

The Southwest Conference had been the backdrop for so many great players, memorable moments and legendary Razorbacks. Razorback fans lived for the SWC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Dallas, an invasion that turned Reunion Arena into Barnhill South. The Southwest Conference had been good for Arkansas and vice versa.

But now the longings for the traditions of the past were overtaken by the hopes for the future.

After a whirlwind two-month summer romance, the Razorbacks found a new conference home while simultaneously tipping a lead domino in what would be a chain reaction of intercollegiate athletics realignment. On August 1, 1990 at the University of Arkansas Law School, Roy Kramer officially invited the Razorbacks to join the SEC. The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees quickly accepted the invite and a jubilant Arkansas Chancellor Dan Ferritor sealed the deal by plopping a Hog Hat on the top of Kramer’s head without warning.

A stunned Kramer smiled and relished the moment. The photo spread around the world and served notice that Arkansas was SEC bound.

Although the deal was done, Arkansas still had more than a full year to compete in the Southwest Conference.

After all, Arkansas would not join the SEC in most sports until 1991-92 and not in football until the 1992 season.

The ripple effects were felt immediately. Arkansas went from being an outsider to an outcast among its SWC brethren. It was awkward at best.

Understandably, many in the SWC resented Arkansas’ move, not so much due to an enduring adoration for the Hogs, but more so for the ominous tone it set. The good old days of the Southwest Conference appeared to be coming to an end. Arkansas helped confirm that notion.

In the Razorbacks’ contemptuous swan song in the SWC, Arkansas fans jubilantly chanted S-E-C, S-E-C to

bid adieu to its former rivals. It was a cheer that would ultimately outlast the SWC and help define a golden era for Arkansas’ new conference home.

Now, more than 30 years after Arkansas said “I do” to the SEC, the marriage seems to have worked exceedingly well for both parties. Sure, the Razorbacks have struggled to find a conference rivalry that matches the fervor of the Hogs-Horns. At times, Arkansas has struggled to break through the stranglehold of SEC dominance in football and in a handful of other sports.

Make no mistake, Arkansas has had success in the SEC even from the beginning. The Razorbacks practically dominated from the beginning in men’s and women’s cross country and track and field. Coach Nolan Richardson’s men’s basketball team served notice quickly to the Big Blue Nation that there was a new college basketball power to be reckoned with. The first SEC team other than Alabama and Florida to earn a spot in the SEC Football Championship Game? You guessed it, the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Since 1992, the Razorbacks have won 140 SEC Championships and has helped raise the SEC to new national heights in a variety of sports. Arkansas did not just enter the league, it announced its presence.

Conversely, there is no mistaking the transformational impact the SEC has had on the University of Arkansas.

An explosion in facilities, an expanding recruiting footprint and the generation of vital revenue to grow the support of more than 465 Razorback student-athletes in 19 sports.

On an academic side, the University of Arkansas has partnered with fellow SEC schools to make advancements in various fields and engaged in collaboration not previously spawned by a SWC affiliation. Enrollment at Arkansas has blossomed to more than 28,000, helping expand the institution’s influence and reputation around the nation.

As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of that historic day when Arkansas officially joined hands with the SEC, it offers all of us in the Razorback Nation an opportunity for reflection. Our collective identity as a program is defined by the deep roots of our past in the SWC as well as the abundant growth fostered by the fertile ground of the SEC. It has not always been easy. Yet, a bold move made three decades ago continues to offer expanding opportunities for newfound success and exponential possibilities.

Breaking up is difficult. But for the University of Arkansas, it was the right thing to do.

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UA Hall of Fame

Six Athletes Named to 2020 Honor Class

BY KEVIN TRAINOR ★ B.A.’94 M.A.’05

Six former University of Arkansas student-athletes, including a College Football Hall of Famer and two-time Doak Walker Award winner and the point guard on the Razorbacks’ national championship men’s basketball team, have been selected as members of the 2020 class of the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor.

Corey Beck (men’s basketball), Jon Brittenum (football), Ralph Kraus (baseball), Amanda McCurdy (women’s golf ), Darren McFadden (football) and Coach Ken Turner (football) are the most recent inductees elected to the UA Sports Hall of Honor based on a vote by former Razorback letter winners in conjunction with the A Club. McFadden, Arkansas’ all-time leading rusher, was a first-time addition to the Hall of Honor ballot, following completion of his career in the National Football League.

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Due to the ongoing pandemic and continued limitations on large gatherings, a Hall of Honor ceremony will not be held in the fall of 2020. The 2020 class will be formally inducted, along with those selected for the 2021 class, in a ceremony to be held in the fall of 2021.

“We are excited to honor an extraordinary group of Razorbacks as part of the 2020 class of the UA Sports Hall of Honor,” said Hunter Yurachek, vice chancellor and director of athletics. “The outstanding accomplishments of these six individuals, both individually and collectively, is remarkable. One of the truly special parts of the Hall of Honor weekend is the opportunity to gather together as a Razorback family to celebrate our former greats. With that in mind, we have postponed the induction of this year’s class until the fall of 2021 when we can recognize them in person along with our 2021 honorees.”

2020 Inductees Corey Beck Men’s Basketball Corey Beck, who played at the University of Arkansas from 1993-95, was a 1995 All-SEC selection as he drained 49 percent of his 3-point shots, second on the school’s single-season list, while handing out 207 assists, which ranks third. Both of those totals are records by a Razorback for a senior season. For his career, Beck had 483 assists, third on the Arkansas all-time list as he led the team in the category in each of his three years with Razorbacks. In SEC games only, Beck made 54 percent of his shots for his career, which ranks second on the school’s all-time list. Beck had a double-double – scoring 15 points and snagging 10 rebounds – in the 76-72 victory over Duke to secure the 1994 NCAA Championship. The Memphis, Tenn., native would also be named to the 1994 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team. While Corliss Williamson and Scotty Thurman garnered most of the attention, Beck was described as the “blue-collar leader” of that squad. Beck went on to play in the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers. In 2019, Beck was named Arkansas’ Allstate® SEC Basketball Legend.

Jon Brittenum Football

Photos courtesy of Razorback Athletics

Jon Brittenum quarterbacked the Razorbacks from 1963-66, leading a pair of top 10 teams in his final two years on the Hill. He threw for over 1,100 yards in both 1965 and 1966, earning All-Southwest Conference honors both years. Brittenum led the Hogs to a No. 1 ranking in ’65 entering the Cotton Bowl as the second-ranked team in the country, and possibly might have led to the program’s second consecutive national championship if not for separating his shoulder in the bowl game vs. LSU. The 1965 season included a 27-24 victory over No. 1 Texas with Brittenum calling the plays, propelling the Hogs to the top spot in the country after the halfway point of the season. Head Coach Frank Broyles penned in his autobiography that Brittenum was, “the best passer on the move that I’ve ever seen. He could throw it like a frozen rope on the sprint-out series. He was the perfect passer-runner for the system that we played at the time.” Brittenum ran for 494 yards over his three years at the helm of the Razorback offense. He would go on to play one year for the San Diego Chargers in 1968.

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Ralph Kraus Baseball An All-American outfielder in 1986, Kraus also earned All-SWC honors that year. He was named to the College World Series all-tournament team in 1985 and received the George Dickey Award in 1986. He led the team with a .397 average in 1986 and tied for the team led with 91 hits. He helped the Hogs go 51-15 and reach the College World Series in 1985 and 43-17 and reach the NCAA regionals in 1986. His 245-career hits rank fifth all-time while his 58 doubles and 400 total bases are fourth and his 96 extra base hits are sixth.

Amanda McCurdy Women’s Golf Amanda McCurdy, who played for Arkansas from 2002-06, played a major role in helping make the Razorbacks a team recognized nationally on the course.

Along with Courtney Mahon, McCurdy helped Arkansas make its first two NCAA Championship appearances in 2005 and 2006. She was Arkansas’ first multiple-event winner, taking home multiple titles in both 2003-04 and in 2005-06. In all, McCurdy ended up winning four individual medals during her time on the Hill, one of just four Hogs to ever accomplish the feat, joined by fellow Razorback legends Stacy Lewis, Emily Tubert and Maria Fassi. For her efforts, the El Dorado, Ark., native was selected to an All-SEC team three times during her illustrious career, including a First-Team appearance in 2006. McCurdy also earned national acclaim following her 2005-06 campaign, as she was recognized as an AllAmerican Honorable Mention by both the National Golf Coaches Association and Golfweek.

Darren McFadden Football McFadden, one of the nation’s most electric running backs of his era, tormented opposing defenses to the tune of a school record 4,590 rushing yards and 41 rushing touchdowns over just three seasons from 200507. He became only the second back-to-back recipient (2006, 2007) of the Doak Walker Award, given to college football’s premier running back, and finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up in both campaigns.

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McFadden garnered Walter Camp Player of the Year recognition in 2007 and is one of only two running backs in the last 12 years to earn the award. The Little Rock product joined USC’s Reggie Bush as the only Consensus All-American halfbacks of the 2000s and was selected First Team All-SEC every year of his career while grabbing SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2006 and 2007. In his final year, McFadden set the single-season school record with 1,830 rushing yards and ran for 16 scores. During the season, he equaled the single-game conference rushing record set in 1978 streaking for 321 yards against South Carolina. Later that season, he accounted for four touchdowns and 206 rushing yards in an epic 50-48 triple-overtime triumph at LSU. His 4,590 career yards on the ground is third in SEC history and 5,881 career all-purpose yards rank second. The fourth overall selection by Oakland in the 2008 NFL Draft, McFadden tied defensive tackle Dan Hampton (1979) for the highest Razorback draft choice of the post NFL-AFL Merger era. He enjoyed a 10-year NFL career with the Raiders and Dallas Cowboys. In 2019, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Coach Ken Turner Football

Photos courtesy of Razorback Athletics

Ken Turner joined the Razorbacks’ coaching staff in 1970 as a graduate assistant for head coach Frank Broyles’ staff after serving as the head coach at West Memphis, where he was 36-10-4. Coach Broyles promoted Turner in 1972 to run the B-Team for the Hogs before making him the team’s offensive line coach in 1973. Turner oversaw the offensive line, tight ends, receivers and kickers for Broyles. Turner worked in the same capacity for Lou Holtz during his tenure from 1977-83 and coached the tight ends and kickers during Ken Hatfield’s first five seasons as the Head Hog. Turner coached six first-team All-Americans for the Razorbacks – K/P Steve Little (1976, 77), OL Leotis Harris (1977), K/P Bruce Lahay (1981), OL Steve Korte (1982), P Greg Horne (1986) and K Kendall Trainor (1988). Including second-team All-American K Ish Ordonez (1979), Turner has coached all but one of Arkansas’ eight All-American kickers and punters. Turner left in 1989 to return to his alma mater – Henderson State – to serve as the Reddies Director of Athletics. He added head coaching duties to his agenda from 1990-93 before retiring as the AD in 2000. He led the Reddies from NAIA to the NCAA and was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

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Campus

Seeking Social Justice Ratcliffe, Harper Named to SEC Council on Race

In August, the Southeastern Conference created the SEC Council on Racial Equity and Social Justice, a league-wide body consisting of a diverse group of studentathletes, administrators, coaches and SEC staff including Derita Ratcliffe, the U of A deputy director of athletics and senior woman administrator, and Neil Harper, women’s swimming and diving head coach.

The new council will identify resources, outline strategies and assist with implementation of efforts that, when taken together, will promote racial equity and social justice, while also fostering diversity, helping overcome racism and pursuing non-discrimination in intercollegiate athletics.

“An important movement has been ignited around the equitable treatment of all underrepresented minorities, and the SEC is determined to be a leader in the pursuit of meaningful and lasting change,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “With the council as our guide, we will develop an action agenda built on the foundation that all are created equal and ensure this truth echoes across our stadiums, our arenas, our campuses, our communities, our states and our nation.”

Members of the council include individuals from within the conference’s existing student-athlete engagement program – a multifaceted effort involving more than 60 student leaders in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and all other SEC sponsored sports. Racial equity and social justice will be required discussions during all student-athlete leadership and advisory council meetings.

In addition, the Council will include administrative leaders from each campus and head coaches from each SEC sport (see full list below), who will regularly meet with SEC student-athletes to better understand and respond to their questions and concerns.

“Today’s youth are our leaders and change agents of tomorrow, and by listening, asking and seeking their insights and counsel, we have begun the shared journey toward racial equality,” said Sankey.

Alongside student-athletes, the SEC has used the past several weeks to gather and understand perspectives from a range of stakeholders across its 14 campuses, including presidents and chancellors, directors of athletics, senior woman administrators, faculty athletics representatives, 42 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

eil Harper, women’s swimming and diving head coach, N congratulates a swimmer during competition prior to the pandemic.

Photo courtesy of Razorback Athletics

various sport head coaches, mental health professionals and the SEC staff.

Those discussions helped create a framework for the council, which will provide ongoing guidance to the SEC office and updates to Conference leaders at regular intervals. The council will initially focus on the following five strategic areas: • I ncreasing Access and Representation for Underrepresented Minorities •P roviding Enhanced Support for Underrepresented Minorities • I mproving Education on Racial and Social Issues for All Stakeholders •D eepening Commitments to Local Communities •R aising Awareness of Racial Inequity and Social Injustice Among other efforts, the council will be tasked with identifying resources related to racial equity and social justice for educational and professional development programs for athletics department staff, coaches and student-athletes; outlining support mechanisms for underrepresented minorities within the athletics department; and identifying opportunities for the SEC to bolster ongoing university and athletics department diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Whether we are calling the Hogs, or celebrating in a virtual environment, we are all a part of the University of Arkansas Family.

The Arkansas Alumni Association helps you stay connected to the U of A family and your Home on The Hill.

Watch for more information on the 2020 Arkansas Alumni Presents online event series.

LEARN MORE at arkansasalumni.org/presents Follow us @ArkansasAlumni FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 43

Alumni

University of Arkansas Family: Past, Present and Future

Photo by University Relations

President’s Message

The summer of 2020 represents the fourth month of the ongoing pandemic crisis.

Through the numerous personal and professional challenges, the crisis reveals the strength of our association’s leadership, committed national board and dedicated alumni across the world.

The association strives to strengthen your connections with the University of Arkansas’ family: past, present and future. I am hopeful over my term to enhance your membership pride by highlighting the myriad of positive economic and social impacts that the University of Arkansas produces. As one of the state’s two land-grant universities, the U of A mission is founded on serving the state of Arkansas with innovation and discovery.

I hope to lead the association as we expand the university’s impacts through strategic engagements.

The association’s leadership and National Board are currently laying out plans to enhance engagements and opportunities to connect. As we continue to face both new and old challenges that range from the pandemic to social injustices, I invite you to engage in university conversations to help move our beloved university to be a leader providing vibrant solutions for our state and the world.

We celebrate our university experiences, which we carry with us for a lifetime. Our collective experiences are the foundation of our university pride. For example, many of us met our spouses, life-long friends and professional colleagues on ‘The Hill.’ However, I want to address the recent Twitter conversations that highlight a dark-side to some of our university family’s experiences. It was heart-breaking to read of recent experiences from our current students and faculty that speak to the unnerving feeling of not belonging on our beloved campus. These events originated with discriminatory and/or outright 44 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

racist actions. I want our alumni to join in the efforts to not only not tolerate but also seek to eliminate these horrific instances. All alumni must recognize that we are all one family and actively engage to build bridges and conversations to foster a welcoming culture. Our challenge is to not be silent in the face of these enormous challenges but to actively engage.

In July, America lost an exemplary leader, Representative John Lewis. He was a public servant who dedicated his life to serving others and fighting against civil rights injustices. As I reflected on his legacy I watched a recorded interview and read several articles in which he describes, “good trouble.” As I think on the words of the late Rep. Lewis, I challenge you to think of what we are doing to serve the university and society.

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime.

Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

Rep. John Lewis I challenge alumni to engage in university efforts and use your voice to help build stronger allied networks as we expand the numerous positive impacts that start in Arkansas but influence the world. We seek to be more intentional in reaching out across the state of Arkansas, the nation and the world to create positive changes. We must understand that our efforts of planting seeds today will produce a harvest for current and future generations.

Please join your fellow alumni as we seek to grow the number of entrepreneurs, leaders and creators for future generations. Our efforts focus on strategically expanding the opportunities that the state’s flagship land-grant university offers.

With Pride in Arkansas,

Ron Rainey, ✪ B.S.A.’91, M.S.’93, Ph.D.’01 President, Arkansas Alumni Association

UPGRADE to LIFE

and Never Pay Dues Again! www.ArkansasAlumni.org/join

THANK YOU New Life Members ✪ By becoming Life Members, the University’s friends and alumni help form a strong foundation on which to build the future of the Arkansas Alumni Association. We welcome the newest Life Members, listed in order of membership number: 9706 Catherine Grace Golden ’20

9729 D r. Yvette MurphyErby

9707 Jesse Daniel Warren ’19

9730 Anthony Erby

9708 Richard L. Langston ’77

9731 R obert William Crawford ’74 9732 Christy Crawford

9709 Barbara S. Langston ’79

9733 Jeff Alan Williams ’85

9710 Herbert J. (Bert) Parker ’77, ’78

9735 A lyson Camille Schutte ’20

9711 Robin Parker

9736 R obert H. Patterson Jr. ’10

9712 Walter Morris Crandall ’67 9713 DuLane Crandall

9734 Christine C. Williams

9737 N atasha Patterson ’11

9714 Holly Hilburn Roblee ’12

9738 Bennie Martin ’75

9715 Dr. James D. Roblee ’15

9740 Junni Rajbhandari

9716 Dr. Ray E. Higgins II ’77

9742 J ennifer Roberts ’98, ’00

9717 Judy G. Higgins

9743 Neil T. Roberts ’98

9718 Jeffrey A. Hignight ’07

9744 D r. Zia Hossain ’94, ’97

9719 Colby D. Hignight

9745 D r. Linda Carol Jones ’97

9720 Matthew Toller ’20

9739 Sajin Shrestha ’02, ’07 9741 Ashley W. Harris ’95

9721 Elizabeth Perry Augustini ’20

9746 Lee Shoultz ’16, ’18

9722 Brian Lee Vines ’93, ’94

9748 Carol R. Parker ’71

9723 Heather Ann Vines ’96

9750 Sharon Taylor

9747 Carl E. Parker Jr. ’70 9749 Sterling Taylor

9724 Spencer Roark ’20

9751 W oody Whitchurch ’63

9725 Brandon J. Heeger ’11

9752 James E. O’Neal ’69

9726 Nathanij Heeger

9753 Pamela A. O’Neal

9727 Meredith Overton ’20

9754 Joseph P. Horner ’83

9728 Patty Martin Skelton ’68

9755 Annette P. Horner 9756 Stanley E. Jackson

9757 V irginia H. Trammell ’91 9758 J anet F. Alley 9759 J ames B. Young Jr. ’93 9760 R obert Brennes 9761 D oug Talbott Jr. 9762 D ebbie Bogner ’89 9763 R ichard J. Bogner 9764 W esley L. Trussell ’90 9765 S uzanne A. Trussell 9766 L isa Byrnes Westberg ’88 9767 D r. Dan Eric Westberg ’86, ’87 9768 M egan Witherspoon ’06, ’08 9769 L isa Wilson ’90 9770 K enneth W. Wilson ’91 9771 J ohn D. Camponovo ’03 9772 J illayne Tompkins ’07 9773 C onrad Tompkins ’06 9774 B ryan R. Fritchie 9775 D r. Justin O. Grimes ’07, ’09 9776 W elton E. Jordan ’04 9777 G race O. Jordan 9778 R ichard Frank Peeler ’87 9779 L isa Morgan-Peeler 9780 S ara Bunyard Downall ’77, ’79 9781 B arry Downall 9782 J eff D. Germany ’82, ’85 9783 M argo M. Germany ’84

9784 N ancy G. Miller 9785 L izzie Thurman ’10 9786 R ussell William Morris ’02, ’04 9787 D r. Julia Diane Phelps ’76, ’82 9788 A nn Engskov ’67, ’71 9789 K ayla S. Slaughter ’10 9790 C arl Mathis Jr. ’07 9791 S harese Mathis 9792 K ent Foster ’73 9793 D r. Brice W. Harris ’72 9794 B arbara Bergren Harris ’71, ’72 9795 J ames W. Langley ’67 9796 M ary Langley 9797 V irginia Smith Fields ’87, ’91 9798 S pencer David Fields ’16 9799 N eil Morris ’80, ’83 9800 M ichelle Kizer Morris ’82 9801 D r. Elton T. Siebert ’03 9802 J anet R. Siebert ’06 9803 N orwood V. Brown III ’83 9804 J ennifer S. Brown 9805 D ora Augusta Brach ’95 9806 L arry A. Jansen ’64 9807 J anice Jansen 9808 W yman R. Wade Jr. ’75, ’79 9809 R osanne Wade ’69

FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 45

Alumni

National Alumni Board Class of 2023 The Arkansas Alumni Association is proud to announce the newest members of the National Alumni Board of Directors who are a part of the Class of 2023. These alumni have agreed to serve a three-year term, which began Wednesday, July 1.

NEW BOARD MEMBERS Kathleen Gonzalez ★ B.S.’11 of Rogers is a sales analyst with Coca-Cola Company. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas in landscape architectural studies from the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, and she attributes her experiences as a student to developing a strong discipline and work ethic.

Gonzalez earned an M.B.A. in business administration and management from John Brown University in 2018.

As a student she was active in the university’s horticulture club and sustainability club. She has a keen interest in sustainability (fashion, design and innovation), and is active in her community while engaging in NWA Fashion Week and service to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Gonzalez is an annual member of the Arkansas Alumni Association.

Robert Koenig ✪ B.Arch.’90 of Leawood, Kansas, is associate principal at TreanorHL Architects. He attributes the U of A with helping to keep him connected to his childhood home state. As a student, he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity.

A John G. Williams Fellow, Koenig is active with the university community and is currently a member of the Dean’s Circle in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. An active alumnus, Koenig has been engaged for some time with the Kansas City Alumni Chapter and played a pivotal part in fostering young alumni engagement and leadership for the chapter.

A life member of the Arkansas Alumni Association, Koenig is a past president and current board member of the Kansas City Chapter.

46 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

Wes Shirley ★ B.A.’99, B.S.I.B.’02 of Fayetteville is a senior sales analyst for LALA U.S. Inc. He attributes his experience at the U of A for allowing him to broaden his horizons and make life-long diverse connections.

Shirley earned his bachelor’s degree from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences with a major in Spanish followed by a Bachelor of Science in International Business from the Walton College of Business. As a student, he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Actively engaged with the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the Arkansas Alumni Association for more than 10 years, he has held several board positions and is a past president of the chapter. He is an annual member of the association.

Cameron Housley Sutherland ★+ B.A.’11, J.D.’14, a native of Fayetteville, is director of social media for Cubbie’s Pet Shoppe in Kansas City, Missouri. A Fulbright Scholar, Sutherland earned her bachelor’s degree from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences with a major in political science followed by a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas.

As a student, she was a member of Delta Delta Delta and participated in the School of Law’s Legal Clinic.

Following graduation, Sutherland traveled the world visiting more than 30 countries. Her interest in traveling lends itself to an enriching learning experience.

Returning to Fayetteville, Sutherland is now looking forward to expanding her professional accomplishments and community involvement. She is an A-plus annual member of the Arkansas Alumni Association.

Shambrekia Wise ★ B.A.’08 of Rowlett, Texas, is a multifaceted entrepreneur and author. A health insurance specialist for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Wise is also an author of fiction and children’s books. She is a co-creator of Sightseeing with Sandy, a company that provides a worldwide sightseeing experience to children without leaving the comfort of their own home and giving the opportunity to learn about different cultures, places, and people.

A Gates Millenium Scholar, a Fulbright Scholarship recipient, and an inaugural Silas Hunt Scholar, Wise earned her bachelor’s degree from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences with a major in biology. A native Arkansan, Wise credits her campus experiences as life changing.

She is an Annual Member of the Arkansas Alumni Association.

RETURNING BOARD MEMBERS Gonzalez

Koenig

Shirley

Sutherland

Photos submitted

Three board members were selected to serve a second three-year term as part of the Class of 2023. They are Tori Bogner ✪ B.A.’13, M.ED.’16 of Fayetteville, Cecilia Grossberger ★ M.A.’08 of Fayetteville, and Regina Hopper ✪ B.A.’81, J.D.’85 of Washington, D.C. A change in officers for the 501(c)(3) corporation also took effect July 1.

Ron Rainey ✪ B.S.A.’91, M.S.’93, Ph.D.’01 of Little Rock assumed the position of president for two years.

Rainey is professor of economics with the University of Arkansas’ Division of Agriculture and works as an economist within the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. He has been active in the association having served as president of the College of Agricultural Food and Life Sciences Alumni Society in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 and president of the Central Arkansas Chapter in 2009. He has served on the National Alumni Board of Directors since July of 2016.

Teena Gunter ✪ J.D.’92, LL.M.’97 of Oklahoma City assumes the position of immediate past president for one year. Gunter is the general counsel for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and serves as director of Agricultural Environmental Management Services. She has been with the department for more than 20 years.

Wise

FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 47

Alumni

Message from the Student Alumni Board President Board Creates Close-Knit Community Jaclyn Walls is a senior student from Conway, Arkansas. She is majoring in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Accounting and plans to get her master’s degree in Accounting. She has previously served on the board as Senior Awards Coordinator. Jaclyn is a member of the College of Engineering’s honor society, Tau Beta Pi, and her Jaclyn Walls department’s honor society, President Alpha Pi Mu. She also serves as treasurer for Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) and is involved with Delta Delta Delta.

Walls said before her time with SAA she wasn’t involved in a single RSO on campus, causing a separation between her and the university. She spent her first two semesters putting her focus toward her industrial engineering major, as well as her accounting minor.

After her freshman year when she didn’t feel quite comfortable in Fayetteville, Walls said she felt it was time to get involved. She joined the Tri Delta sorority, and it was there that someone recommended SAA and introduced her to the many traditions the U of A offers.

Walls’s year as President will be marked by changes other than those brought about by our current environment. “We went from a board of 64 members to a board of 32,” said Walls, “so just trying to bring back connection to the board, where instead of walking into a room and seeing a bunch of strangers or maybe a couple of people you recognize, having a close-knit community that can uplift each other.”

Walls said that though there is a lot unknown about future events, such as the U of A’s traditional homecoming and ring ceremony, she is using this moment to make changes she feels are necessary not only to SAA but for the entire U of A community.

For upcoming SAA board members, Walls said she wants to provide them with a message of openness and let 48 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

them know that they can depend on each other.

“I think all of campus is going to be shifting toward a more inclusive environment,” Walls said, “just making sure each individual feel like they are part of our community.”

Walls said she thinks it’s important now more than ever to check on those close to you, whether it’s a work or personal relationship.

“Living in the current climate we are,” Walls said, “it’s easy to feel claustrophobic and stressed.” She wants to ensure that her SAA board members and the U of A community are feeling as comfortable as possible.

“I think it’s going to be really important to make sure that everyone has a friend,” Walls said, “and I want Student Alumni Association to be that friend.”

EXECUTIVE TEAM: Payton Grice Hannah Kouchehbagh Carlee McGuire

Jaclyn Walls Anna Cook Cate Casey

BOARD: Addison Cathey Avneet Sandhu Caitlin Paris Carolyn Murad Daisy Sandoval Elijah Conley Elizabeth Kimbrell Elizabeth Meneses Grace Lehfeldt Hanna Patel Henley Masters Julia Razer Julia Rogers

Kaitlyn Smithe Katie Strickland Linden Van Hoose Maison Phipps Michael Durgach Nicole Dominguez Peyton Jobe Rory Brennan Sally Gairhan Sara Feather Sara Gardner Sidney Hyatt Terah Bryson

Unique Challenges...

Creative Solutions

DSCS Dickson Street Creative Suites

The Student Alumni Association has always had a goal of helping U of A students turn their four-year experience into a lifetime connection. In the age of COVID-19, we have assumed an increased responsibility to create student experiences that still foster a sense of connection.

OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE NOW Hearing from a Hog Hearing from a Hog this fall will be woven into collaborative programming with our college units and feature current and past young alumni awardees.

Shared Common Space & Conference Room

Direct Courtyard Access (select suites)

Individual Office Suites / Flexible Lease Terms Shared Amenities / Courtyard Access Prime Downtown Fayetteville Location

Class Ring Tradition We are exploring options for celebrating the class ring tradition with not only our juniors and seniors but with our alumni as well.

Homecoming We are striving to provide enhanced opportunities to connect in our current environment. Our goal for 2020 is to be more intentional with programming to ensure we are recognizing and celebrating the rich diversity that makes up our Arkansas Razorback family. One Razorback. One Community.

You don’t have to worry about a thing.

Your rent includes all utilities, high speed internet, and one parking permit per office.

Just show up and take care of your business. We handle the rest.

Shared Breakroom & Bathroom Facilities

The Dickson

For more information or to arrange a tour, call The Dickson office at 479.287.4599 or email shanna@oldbuildingsllc.com 609 W. Dickson Fayetteville, AR The-Dickson.com

FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 49

Campus

A Successful New Way to Engage and Connect Virtual Conversations with the University of Arkansas Family

BY MARY KATE HARRISON ★ B.A.’15, M.A.’17

Adapting to connect and serve the Razorback Family has been a focus of the Arkansas Alumni Association through the COVID-19 Pandemic. Although our staff has moved to working from home, we have not slowed down in our determination to bring you relevant and quality engagement opportunities. The initial Lunch & Learn series launched in April and wrapped up in late August after an impressive 30 guest hosts, 22 total presentations, and the number of U of A alumni, friends, and family tuning in totaling over 1,240.

Razorbacks from near and far tuned in to hear speakers present on a variety of subjects ranging from the how to 50 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

stay healthy while working from home, to how Razorback athletes are gearing up for their upcoming seasons, and even a chat with members of the University of Arkansas’ Police Department and their K-9 companions.

Another unique component of the Lunch & Learn program featured a series with each of the deans at the University of Arkansas participating. Beginning the last week of June, the “dean series” incorporated members of the Arkansas Alumni Association National Board of Directors to introduce and join in conversation with each dean on a topic of their choosing. The first dean featured, Dean Matthew Waller, of the Sam Walton

College of Business, shared how he and his colleagues have approached leadership during the pandemic. The following week, Dean Deacue Fields of the Dale Bumpers College of Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences, was joined by the President of the Arkansas Alumni Association National Board of Directors, Ron Rainey (B.S.A.’91, M.S.’93, Ph.D.’01). The two discussed how food systems have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how these changes have affected the state of Arkansas and its people.

Dennis Clark, new dean of University of Arkansas Libraries, explained how libraries continue to evolve in order to meet the changing needs of students, faculty, and staff, as well as some exciting improvements in progress for Mullins Library on campus. And Dean of the Graduate School and International Education, Kim LaScola Needy shared how the U of A has been working hard to support both graduate and international students during these unprecedented times.

Having each of the ten deans at the University of Arkansas to host a Lunch & Learn presentation for the association provided a unique look across the entire campus. It was a special opportunity to show how the U of A’s faculty and staff continued to display a tremendous amount of “Razorback Spirit” even during a pandemic.

Throughout the spring and summer months, live online Zoom conferences were held once weekly, each featuring a new special guest. Before each event, speakers and topics were shared with Razorback alumni, friends and family via email, social media, and posts on arkansasalumni.org.

Those interested in tuning in for the week would receive information on where and how to login on a specific date and time to join the Lunch & Learn event. Since the events were held online, this allowed many members of the U of A community who would not typically be able to attend a week day event in Fayetteville the opportunity to join in the conversation and participate – virtually – from all across the globe.

Though this year brought many new challenges and changes, it remains important for the Arkansas Alumni Association to foster connections and communication for members of the U of A community. Judging from the incredible participation and interest in the Lunch & Learn program, it seems the association – amongst all the madness – was able to successfully do just that, and we are building on this success to bring you more virtual connection opportunities in the weeks ahead.

To view past presentations of the Lunch & Learn series on the Arkansas Alumni Association’s YouTube channel, visit www.arkansasalumni.org/learn.

he Alumni Association’s Lunch & Learn series featured 22 T presentations across the summer with 30 guest speakers, including athletic director Hunter Yurachek and alumna Linda Bedford-Jackson ✪ B.A.’80, at top; Ron Rainey ✪ B.S.A.’91, M.S.’93, Ph.D. 01, president of the National Alumni Board of Directors; and Dean Kim Needy of the Graduate School and International Education.

Images submitted

FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 51

Campus

Return to Campus A Phased-In, Flexible Plan

BY CHARLIE ALISON ★ B.A.’82, M.A.’04 PHOTOS BY CHIEKO HARA AND WHIT PRUITT ★ B.A’16

By the time you’re reading this, you’ll know better than the magazine staff whether the effort to return to campus is succeeding.

Despite months of preparation and planning — from class sizes to health kits for every campus member and the test-and-trace process and new signs across the campus — and a slow phased-in return during the summer, starting with faculty and graduate students who needed to maintain research already in process and then adding staff essential to preparing the campus for a new cohort of freshman students and finally followed by a limited number of students on campus for in-person intersession courses, no one could fully know what would happen at the university when students returned for the first day of fall classes.

With health as a priority, the university gave faculty members the flexibility to make decisions about whether to teach individual courses as in-person, hybrid or remotely. Students were also given the option of taking courses remotely if they worried about being in a classroom.

The classrooms themselves were revamped, with desks 52 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

spread to a 6-foot distance and the faculty member at least 10 feet away from the students. The desks were numbered and seating assigned so that if a student were to become infected, tracing which students sat nearby would be quick and easy.

Most large lecture courses were taught remotely and medium-sized classes then moved into those larger lecture halls. Smaller classes moved into the medium-sized classrooms. Spaces too small for classes could be still used by students who needed to watch a class remotely without having to run home to the residence hall or apartment after an in-person course.

Would they follow the health guidelines? Would they wash their hands, keep 6 feet of distance, wear a face covering and avoid crowds? Would they keep it up when they left campus to visit friends or go shopping?

Infections were anticipated, of course, but the university set aside 260 vacant rooms at Holcombe Hall if students needed to isolate or quarantine while still being able to attend classes remotely. Early on, though, the largest number of infections appeared to be students who received testing from outside campus.

Lost Alumni of Black Alumni Society If you have any information on the whereabouts of these alumni and former students please contact us at records@arkansasalumni.org so that we may update our records.

Pref Mail Name Mr. Hussein Kamal Ahmed Mr. Demetrius Keveun’ Tay Arnold Mr. Jimmy Lee Boss Ms. Veronica Z. Cunningham Mr. Winston E. Duncan Mr. Jerome Fenzi Aba Mr. Jerry W. Flemons Mr. Jeromy Christian Flowers Ms. Patrice Foster Ms. Keisha Michelle Fowler Ms. Emily Elaine Gaddie Ms. Elaine Gooseberry Ms. Valerie Y. Hall Dr. Clinton R. Hampton Mr. Harvey Hampton Jr. Ms. Dornice Yvonne Hart Mr. Eric W. Holden Mrs. Pamela T. Hord Mrs. Cathy R. Hull Ms. Althea L. Jackson Ms. Yolonda C. Joe-Hale Ms. Barbara Ann Johnson Mr. Cordale Ray Johnson Ms. Helen M. Johnson Mr. Myron N. Johnson Mr. Lonnie Lee Jones

Dr. Lydie Louis Ms. Cassandra S. Martin Mrs. Yamonda Y. McAdoo Ms. Glendean T. McGill Ms. Yolanda Newsome Mr. Kendall Presscott Nixon Mr. Sidney O. Okolo Mrs. Brenda Allen Patton Ms. Carolyn F. Rhodes Ms. Frederica R. Rhodes Ms. Deniece Ridley Mr. Brendan T. Rock Ms. Sharon L. Ross Ms. Natasha R. Sargeon Mrs. Barbara Scidmore Mr. Tharcisse Sebushahu Ms. Carmelita Smith Ms. Penny M. Smith Ms. Sharon D. Thomas Ms. Tracy Danielle Thomas Mr. Semon F. Thompson Mr. Ricky Threat Mr. Torrance P. Wilkins Ms. Anthodenise Maria Williams Mr. Landis Jerome Williams Mr. Robert W. Woods Mr. Marion A. Wright

BLACK ALUMNI SOCIETY

Black Alumni Society REUNION WEEKEND CONNECT • ENGAGE • INSPIRE APRIL 16 -18 • 2021 arkansasalumni.org/bas FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 53

Yesteryear

Yesteryear

Razorback Yearbook

Three band members in French berets with Razorback insignias, popular in 1940, ham it up after their real performance.

1890

1900

• The U of A chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity is chartered and becomes the first men’s fraternity on campus.

• Professor Ernest Walker speaks to the Arkansas State Horticultural Society about the best methods for stopping insects and fungi from damaging fruit trees.

• Students at the university, particularly those from the southern part of the state, suffer from pneumonia and influenza during April, a factor leading residents of the southern part of the state to begin agitating for a university further south.

54 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

1910 • The Arkansas football team wallops Henderson College 63-0.

1920 • The Engineering Experiment Station is established by the state

legislature to investigate and study engineering problems of general interest to Arkansas.

• The freshmen narrowly elect their class president, J.E. “Woodrow” Wilson, over the competitor, J. William Fulbright.

• The U of A Golf Club is started.

• Gene “Sodie” Davidson is named “Arkansas’ Greatest Athlete.”

1930 • The Chi Omega Greek Theatre is built on Dickson Street. The theatre was donated to the university by the national Chi Omega Sorority to honor the founding of the first chapter at the University of Arkansas. It seats as many as 1,600 and has played host to commencements, concerts, pep rallies and the Panhellenic Council’s bid day.

• Baseball is removed from the athletic lineup because of poor attendance and financial losses the previous seasons.

• The radio station, KUOA, presents a student talent show during a weekly broadcast. Singers and musicians seemed to do better on the radio than did jugglers.

• The Glee Club performs Cleopatra during a bus tour of Arkansas.

1940 • J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI, provides the commencement speech and is given an honorary Doctor of Laws.

• The student newspaper editorializes in favor of the United States avoiding the war going on in Europe.

Sentiment changed the next year when Pearl Harbor was bombed.

• A drop in the university’s enrollment is blamed on the Burke-Wadsworth Conscription Bill, which provides jobs for high school graduates who take the place of men drafted into active duty in the nation’s armed forces.

• Alumnus Maurice “Footsie” Britt plays his rookie season for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League and departs for combat training shortly after the United States enters World War II.

1950 • An elevator is installed in Old Main.

• The Fine Arts Center opens with a staging of the play Acres of Sky, written by alumnus Charles Morrow Wilson.

• The U of A marching band accepts an invitation to march behind the title car as the official band of King Rex in the Mardi Gras parade at New Orleans.

• Band leader Tex Beneke judges the Razorback Beauties contest.

from the old switchboard room, where the mice were currently kept.

• The Student Court is given the ability to fine students who are charged with cheating.

• The University Museum features a “Dinosaur Days” exhibit.

1960 • Robert L. Jones is named dean of men.

• Donna Axum serves as the regimental honorary major for Company D of the Pershing Rifles, one of the ROTC companies on campus.

• After a minor mishap, the Civil War-era cannon used at Arkansas home football games to celebrate a Razorback score will be retired from use.

• Agri Queen Judy Phillips also squeezes out a win the Agri Day cow milking contest.

1970 • Fred J. Vescolani is named dean of the College of Education.

• The “lost” presidential portraits of John C. Futrall, J. William Fulbright, Arthur M. Harding and Lewis Webster Jones, all painted by Lewis Freund, are rediscovered. The portraits now hang in the main hallway of Old Main with their predecessors and successors.

• Comedian Pat Paulsen entertains a large crowd of students, citing the three reasons he should be elected president, all the while holding up two fingers as a peace sign.

• Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, receives an honorary doctorate during commencement.

• L.F. Bailey, chair of the Department of Botany and Bacteriology, proposes that a sealed “animal room” be created in Old Main to prevent the ongoing ambient smell of mice from drifting throughout the building

• The wooden bleachers on the west side of Razorback Stadium are replaced with aluminum bleachers.

• The College of Engineering reduces the number of hours required for a degree from 136 to 132.

• Bill McClard, placekicker for the Razorbacks, breaks the collegiate record for the longest field goal with a 60-yard kick.

1980 • David G. Epstein is named the sixth dean of the School of Law. • The war between Iraq and Iran spills over to confrontations on campus between Iraqi and Iranian students studying at the U of A. • The University Theatre begins its season with a production of Camelot.

• Brian Wellman becomes the NCAA champion in the triple jump.

1990 • Richard B. Atkinson is named the interim dean of the School of Law. • Lance Harter is hired as the head coach for the women’s track and cross country teams.

• The Parking Office gets a new computerized ticketing system.

• Andre Codrescu, winner of two Pushcart Prizes and a Peabody Award for his writing, speaks on campus just after the revolution in his home country of Romania.

• Researcher Steven Beaupre uses radio transmitters to track rattlesnakes in Arkansas.

• Don Bobbitt becomes the associate dean of research in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

• Students John Ales and Steve Bonds work as interns on opposite sides of the 2000 presidential contest, with Ales serving the campaign team of the Democrat, Vice President Al Gore, and Bonds serving on the campaign of the Republican and eventual winner, Gov. George W. Bush.

• The university offers its first online course, one appropriately about the history and foundations of vocational education.

2010 • The offices of admission, registrar, orientation, financial aid and scholarships are reorganized under the office of enrollment services.

• Pauline Rankin is named interim dean of the School of Continuing Education and Academic Outreach, which for marketing purposes is called the Global Campus.

The name is officially changed to Global Campus in 2019.

• The first Arkansas Alumni Association Johnson Fellow, Lt. Gen. Martin R. Steele, B.A.’74, speaks with students at the university about his experiences in the military, rising from a private to a three-star general.

• Students under the direction of mathematics professor Chaim GoodmanStrauss build the world’s largest omnitruncated dodecaplex in the atrium of the east entrance to Mullins Library.

2000 • Seven students receive scholarships from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 55

Photo by Russell Cothren

Senior Walk

From Senior Walk Let us know about your milestones and anything else you would like to share with your classmates — births, marriages, new jobs, retirements, moves and more. Please include your degree, class year, and when applicable, your maiden name. To provide the most thorough coverage of alumni news, we publish notes about members and non-members of the

Class Notes

Arkansas Alumni Association and will indicate membership status for reference. You may send us news or simply update your information.

Since the next issues of Arkansas are already in production, it may be a few issues before your item appears.

Submit your news online at www. arkansasalumni.org/classnotes; by mail: From Senior Walk, Arkansas Alumni Association, P.O. Box 1070,

2000s

Peggy Wilbourn Sebourn ★ and Glen Sebourn ★ BARCH’72, Fort Smith, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Jan. 23.

Meredith N. Brunen ★ BA’03 MED’05 EDD’12, Spartanburg, South Carolina, is vice president of University Advancement at the University of West Georgia.

Margaret Clark ★ MA’68 EDD’78, Fayetteville, was inducted into the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

Casey Baker BA’07, Little Rock, is digital marketing director at The Communications Group.

1970s

56 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

Fayetteville AR 72702; or by email: records@arkansasalumni.org.

These symbols indicate Alumni Association membership: ✩ Student Member ★ Member ★+ Member, A+ ✪ Life Member ✪+ Life Member, A+

Meredith A. Pettigrew ★ BA’07, Prairie Grove, is director of strategic communications and stewardship for the Razorback Foundation.

2010s Nikki N. Anderson ✪ BSBA’19, Little Rock, was selected as a McLarty Scholar at the Clinton School of Public Service.

2020s Jarrod James Eisma BSBME’20, Rogers, was awarded a graduate fellowship in Quantitative and Chemical Biology at Vanderbilt Graduate School.

In Memoriam 1930s Byron T. Waldrip BSA’39, Kingston, Tennessee, May 31.

CALL FOR

NOMINATIONS Do you know outstanding alumni who deserve special recognition for their distinguished achievements or community service?

Nominate them to be considered for recognition at the fall 2021 Alumni Awards Celebration.

To review criteria and secure a nomination form, visit arkansasalumni.org/awards.

Arkansas Alumni Association For more information contact Mary Kate Harrison at 479-575-2052 or mkh003@uark.edu

1940s Charles B. Owens FS’40, Morrilton, March 1.

Alfred G. Herget FS’41, Paragould, May 23.

Churchill B. Young ✪+ FS’42, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, June 11.

Nathan H. Hamilton ✪+ BS’43, Sacramento, California, Aug. 16, 2019.

Velma Crow Ashburn BSHE’49, Oklahoma City, March 29.

Everett E. Thompson ✪+ BSEE’49, Little Rock, March 22.

1950s Melvin L. Bailey BSBA’50, Conway, April 14.

Joanne S. Cox BSBA’50, Dallas, Texas, April 23.

Evelyn Allen McQueen BSE’43, Little Rock, March 31.

Dennis A. York JD’50, Clermont, Georgia, June 4, 2014.

Marjorie Primm Wright FS’44, Greenville, North Carolina, Oct. 3, 2019.

Sarah R. York BSHE’50 MS’56, Clermont, Georgia, June 29, 2017.

Virginia H. Rowland BA’47, Little Rock, April 9.

Helen Watkins Christy FS’51 ✪, Fayetteville, May 17.

Jim Nelson ✪ MD’48, Oceanside, California, Jan. 24.

Ward F. Rosen ✪+ BSCHE’48, Houston, Texas, March 25.

Jack T. Steele ★ BA’48, Manchester, Missouri, March 6.

Tom Lee Curry Jr. BSBA’52, Little Rock, April 6.

Margaret Ann Dawson BSHE’52, Pine Bluff, May 9.

Charles F. Howell ★ BSA’52, Russellville, March 30.

William B. Lines ★ BS’52

MS’56, El Dorado, May 17.

Richard J. Rome BS’52, Houston, Texas, April 25.

Robert P. Vowan BSBA’52, Memphis, Tennessee, May 10.

Billy W. Batson ✪+ BSBA’55, Eureka Springs, Feb. 23.

Effie M. Dunlavy ✪+ BSE’55, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 10.

Deane Reid Woodward FS’52 ✪+, Little Rock, May 6.

Nancy Jane Dunn BSE’55, Greenville, South Carolina, Feb. 24.

Donald Adams BSA’53 MS’54, Russellville, May 18.

Bobby G. Mullen MA’55, Russellville, March 20.

Anna Belle White Bracey BSHE’53, Blytheville, March 14.

Robert W. Newkirk BSBA’55, Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 3.

Dorothy Due King BSE’53, Benton, March 30.

Bill R. Pakis BSBA’55, Waco, Texas, April 23.

Tom McGill ✪+ BSBA’53, Camden, March 27.

Mary Worms Patrick FS’55, Fayetteville, March 3.

Joseph P. Ward ✪ MD’53, Cabot, May 16.

Diane Orlicek ✪+ BA’56, Malvern, May 28.

Daniel H. Woods ★ BA’49 LLB’53, Little Rock, April 2.

Marvin L. Sexton BSBA’56, Dover, April 26.

Milburn P. Brewster ★ MED’54, Russellville, March 19.

Martha Huggins Shirrell FS’56 ★, Little Rock, April 20.

Clair S. Smith Jr. ✪ BSBA’54, Shreveport, Louisiana, Dec. 23, 2007.

Jim F. Townsend Jr. BSIE’56, Pine Bluff, April 23.

Joe M. Williams ★ BSA’56, Morrilton, April 5.

FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 57

Campaign Arkansas Reaches Historic and Successful Conclusion Campaign Arkansas reached a successful conclusion in July, surpassing the fundraising goal of $1.25 billion with a total of $1.449 billion raised. The historic effort will promote academic opportunity at the University of Arkansas, continue to transform the campus and promote student success. More details about the conclusion of the campaign will be shared in the winter issue of Arkansas. However, here’s a look at some of the initiatives that are already poised to make an impact on campus now, particularly for students.

Total amount raised: $1.449 billion Total benefactors: 123,490

Alley Gift Builds New Master of Science in Construction Management Program Sam Alley and his wife, Janet, are contributing $2 million to create the Sam and Janet Alley Master of Science in Construction Management Program Endowment. The Little Rock couple’s gift will establish an interdisciplinary master of science in construction management program that will be housed in the College of Engineering, although it will be an interdisciplinary endeavor that also involves the Sam M. Walton College of Business, Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, and the School of Law. “When I think about how important the University of Arkansas has been to me and my family, this gift is just a small manifestation of that gratitude,” Sam Alley said.

“There is no denying how critical the role my education from the U of A and the relationships I built there played in our lives. I’m excited to help create a program where future leaders in our state can learn about the great work we do in construction and find their place to add value. Being able to give back and establish a Master’s in Construction Management Program is an honor and a

58 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

dream come true.”

The connection between the Alleys and this new program is natural, given Sam Alley’s extensive career in construction. Inspired by his father, who was an entrepreneur, Alley co-founded VCC in 1987.

The company is a leader in the construction industry and recognized as the largest retail contractor in the United States, and Alley serves as chairman and chief

executive officer.

“Being the first in my family to graduate from college, the university represented a generational shift for educational and financial freedom for my family,” Sam Alley said. “It opened doors of opportunities that, before we moved to America, we could only dream about. That impact can never be overstated. Just as importantly, the university represents lifelong relationships that have nourished our lives with fun and fellowship. The Razorback community is one that we are infinitely proud to be a part of, and we are excited to be a small part of the next generation taking us all to new heights.”

Walker Foundation Gifts Support Student Health Center, Suicide Prevention The Walker Foundation is supporting students with a $1 million gift toward the Pat Walker Health Center and the university’s Counseling and Psychological Services in the Division of Student Affairs.

“The health and wellness of our students remains a top priority for the university, and the Walker Foundation’s gift will be an important step in these efforts,” said Chancellor Joe Steinmetz. “The Pat Walker Health Center has proven to be a vital component of our campus. It’s not only a space that provides physical assistance when our students need it the most but also the programs and services that are so vital to our students’ well-being.”

The Pat Walker Health Center facility will benefit from $500,000 of the gift, and the funding will be used to support the construction of classrooms within a recent addition to the center. The classrooms will be named in recognition of the Walker Family.

Mary Alice Serafini, associate vice chancellor for student affairs and executive director of the Pat Walker Health Center, said the classrooms will expand the educational

impact of the center, and the suite of classrooms will provide a center for wellness education.

Another $500,000 will be used to create an endowed fund to support Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) in the Division of Student Affairs. The Walker Foundation Suicide Prevention Program will provide resources for mental health wellbeing and suicide prevention while improving access and identifying and assisting students who may be at risk for suicide. The fund will also be used to provide education and holistic mental health services as a preventative measure.

Josette Cline, who works with CAPS in the Pat Walker Health Center, said the key to reducing the rates of suicide is enhancing prevention efforts across our campus community.

“This generous support from the Walker Family Foundation allows us to do just that,” she said. “It will greatly expand suicide prevention efforts to identify and assist those who are most in need of our services.”

FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 59

Senior Walk

Alumni and Friends Restore Hope For Students Battling Financial Difficulties

This spring, many U of A students found themselves facing financial difficulties as a result of COVID-19. They dealt with unprecedented disruptions to their academic journeys as they transitioned to remote learning, saw local jobs eliminated or hours cut short and found numerous programs and events canceled. Throughout this trying time, though, many alumni and friends reached out to help by contributing to the university’s student emergency funds.

Student emergency funds assist U of A students with unexpected needs that arise from situations outside their control. Thanks to help from private gifts, the university could better address the hardships and provide aid by helping students navigate financial difficulties such as: • Housing and food insecurity • Reduced job hours/income • Technology needs for remote learning • Medical care and prescriptions • Travel costs to return home • Other unforeseen expenses “These emergency funds are a campuswide effort to help our students,” said Mark Power, vice chancellor for advancement. “Some of the funds help students from specific areas, such as law or business, and others are focused on students from certain backgrounds, like international students or student veterans. We’ve seen such an outpouring of support for all of these areas, and I know our students and their families are very grateful that we’ve been able to offer assistance during this time. So many of them are facing hardships, and we’re happy that we can help in this small way.”

60 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

Total Raised (through June 30, 2020)

Total Beneficiaries

172

Law Student Emergency Fund

$27,470

First-Time Donors

89

Needy Family Graduate Student Emergency Fund

$7,048

International Education Catastrophic Fund

Number of Gifts

401

$14,710

Student Emergency Fund

$36,760

Veterans Resource & Information Center Student Veteran Emergency Fund

$2,525

Gifts from 30 States and one country abroad

Beneficiaries from all colleges and schools on campus

Conner Morschheimer Jr. BSBA’60, Pine Bluff, March 17.

Guy E. Campbell ✪ BSBA’57, Little Rock, June 4.

William F. Sherman ✪+ BA’60, Little Rock, March 11.

Doris Murphee Morris FS’57, Sherwood, Dec. 27, 1993.

Sarah Jane Smith BSE’60, Little Rock, April 21.

W.J. Ross ★ BA’57, Chilliwack, Canada, May 11.

James D. Barnett III BSCE’61, Little Rock, March 29.

Nancy McCollum Smith FS’57 ★, Little Rock, March 12.

Oscar O. Hardaway Jr. BSBA’61, Dallas, Texas, March 19.

Frank Sutterfield BSPH’57, Springdale, May 2.

Frank J. Huckaba ★ LLB’61, Cabot, May 16.

Aaron L. White ✪ BSEE’57, Greenwood, March 7.

Sybil T. Laing BSE’61, Hot Springs, March 23.

Bob Biggadike ★ BSME’58 MSME’61, West Covina, California, March 26.

Claibourne W. Patty Jr. JD’61, Millersville, Maryland, May 8.

Don Edmondson ✪+ BSBA’58, Forrest City, April 28.

Marie‑Pierre Koban BA’58 MA’59, Seattle, Washington, May 7.

Frank Zanoff BSEE’61, Fairfield Bay, May 4.

Richard C. Butler III LLB’62, Little Rock, June 4.

Phillip E. Cate BSBA’63, North Little Rock, April 23.

Charles E. Worden BS’58, Hensley, March 6.

Martha Anne Forgey MA’63, Magnolia, April 6.

Allen B. Shockley BSME’59, Gainesville, Texas, June 9, 2019.

Warren Alfred Giss BSME’63Fort Smith, March 7.

William A. Snow ✪ BSBA’59, Vestavia Hills, Alabama, April 8.

Earl L. McCarroll MA’63, Milford, Pennsylvania, May 5.

Bill B. Stanley BSEE’59, Kosse, Texas, Aug. 5, 2012.

1960s

Linda S. Ryall BSBA’63, Yorktown, May 14.

Mary Beene Vaught BSE’63, Wynne, March 2.

Pete Attwood BSA’60 MS’63, Rison, March 15.

Maureen Melbourn Bounds BA’64, Salisbury, Maryland, May 2.

Bobby J. Bell MED’60, Texarkana, Texas, May 12.

Ramona Roe BA’64, Little Rock, April 5.

Ellen Compton ✪+ BSE’60 MA’64, Fayetteville, March 19.

Richard D. Sorrells BSA’64 MS’72, Royal, April 3.

Dale Ducote ★ BA’60, Springdale, March 12.

Edmund A. Wilson Jr. ★ BARCH’64, Princeton, New Jersey, June 2.

Robert N. Evans BSPH’60, Murfreesboro, April 23.

Wing Fay Hong ★ BSEE’65, San Jose, California, April 20.

Harry W. Heidelberg BA’60, Sherwood, May 6.

Richard M. Lawrence PHD’65, Nashville, Tennesse, March 13.

Louis C. Henderson Jr. BSBA’60, Vestavia, Alabama, April 26.

C.F. Tackett ★ BSE’65, Little Rock, May 2.

In Memoriam

Tommy L. Hodges H B.A.’64

Photo submitted

Lila Beth Burke ★ BA’57 MA’67, Memphis, Tennessee, April 14.

Tommy L. Hodges of Little Rock passed away on July 14, 2020, at the age of 77. Hodges was born in Dallas on Sept. 1, 1942. His family moved to North Little Rock, and then in his late teens, his family moved to Hot Springs, where he graduated from high school in 1960.

He attended the University of Arkansas, where he received a Bachelor of Science from Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. While at the U of A, Hodges was an active member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, which he continued to support with his gifts and services throughout his adult life. He finished his education at the University of Oklahoma, where he earned a master’s degree in urban and city planning.

Upon graduation, Hodges began his career in Little Rock as a land planner with Manes and Associates.

He then founded Urban Planning and Development Corporation in the late 1960s and was instrumental in redesigning the Fayetteville Town Square. He was involved in residential, multi-family and commercial developments across the country, including Otter Creek and Gateway Town Center in Little Rock.

Hodges served as a member of the Board of Directors of Pulaski Bank and Trust, the Board of Directors for the Boys Club of Little Rock, the Board of Directors for the City of Little Rock Planning Commission, chair of Pulaski County Heart Associations Harvest Ball, a member of the Urban Land Institute, a member of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, member of the Little Rock Rotary Club, a member of the Arkansas Alumni Association and a member of the Razorback Foundation.

In 2016, Tommy began serving on the National Sigma Alpha Epsilon Financial and Housing Corporation Board of Directors, where he held positions of treasurer, vice president and, at the time of his passing, president. He was past president of the SAE University of Arkansas Housing Corporation and chairman of the house renovation for the University of Arkansas chapter. He was awarded by SAE with the Order of Minerva and the Merit Key for dedication to improving chapter facilities across the realm.

He is survived by his wife Carol Beebe Hodges ★ B.S.B.A.’64; his daughters, Catherine Elizabeth Hodges B.S.B.A.’90 and Anne Hodges Kashata ★ B.S.B.A.’92; a brother and three grandsons.

FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 61

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Kathryn S. Hurst Wilson BSE’65 MED’68, Huntsville, April 25.

Granville T. Harper BA’64 LLB’66, Santa Barbara, California, May 18.

Raymond Staples MED’66, Eudora, April 3.

John C. Hogan BSCE’67, Morrilton, April 5.

Hardy Preston Peacock ✪ BSE’67, Little Rock, May 3.

Stephen W. Plunkett BSBA’67, Little Rock, March 30.

Marion Richard McClain BSPH’68, Rogers, March 23.

Johnnye F. Riggs MED’68, Fayetteville, March 28.

Ronald Fant BSIM’69, Bella Vista, March 30.

James T. Fiser MS’69, Roland, May 22.

Danny Gene McCarter MS’69, Norman, March 16.

Bill H. Moye BSME’69, Bay City, Texas, May 30.

62 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

(LR) 501-690-0868

Charles C. Owen ✪ BSBA’65 JD’69, Little Rock, March 7.

Harvey Yates BSBA’69 JD’72, Helena, April 5.

Robert D. Plant Jr. ✪ BSBA’69, Murfreesboro, May 3.

George H. Connell III ✪ MED’73, White Hall, April 27.

Steve R. Sloan ✪+ BSCE’69, Falkville, Alabama, March 9.

Darrell L. Warford BSCE’73, Benton, March 21.

Melba J. Hooker BSE’79, North Little Rock, May 23.

1970s

Tim Boe BA’70 JD’74, Little Rock, July 2.

Toney McMurray ★ BSE’79 MED’80, Alma, March 11.

Mark W. Corley BA’72 JD’83, Fayetteville, May 1.

Robert L. Nolan ✪ MD’79, Little Rock, April 22.

Harry H. Melhorn III BA’74, Wynne, March 6.

1980s

John Oliver Cowgur Jr. BSBA’75, Bentonville, March 19.

Gregory Alan Sheard BA’80, Little Rock, May 15.

Earl C. Raines BSCE’70, Mount Ida, March 11.

Dennis Curtis FS’71, Little Rock, May 21.

John L. Kallmeyer ✪ MD’71, Tucson, Arizona, April 21.

Allen Dale Turney ★ BSIE’71, Heber Springs, March 20.

Ralph M. Adair ★ BSE’72, Tulsa, Oklahoma, April 21.

Clayton P. Powell MPA’72, Lake Murray, South Carolina, March 20.

Thomas A. Walker MBA’72, Russellville, April 4.

Geneva A. Whitefield ✪ BSBA’72, Texarkana, April 28.

Francile J. Moore MED’75, Little Rock, May 3.

Cynthia B. Murry ✪ BSHE’75, Gilmer, Texas, March 20.

William B. Garrison BSBA’78, Sherwood, March 26.

John Newton BSBA’78, Russellville, May 22.

Douglas C. Stadter MPA’80, New Braunfels, Texas, April 17.

David Young ★ BS’81, Russellville, March 17.

Joanna M. Mosley MED’77, Hensley, May 20.

Tommy H. Hankins BSBA’82, North Little Rock, March 11.

James C. Wyatt MED’77, Fort Smith, April 22.

Gregg Parker BA’82, Harrison, March 23.

Chuck R. Easterling JD’78, Heber Springs, March 19.

Stephen Louis Spencer BA’83, Rogers, May 5.

azon Am eller s s e B t

“Only a poet can see this clearly, be this honest, and still hope this much.”

— Douglas A. Blackmon, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

Rex E. Vowell BSEE’83, Bishop, California, April 11, 2017.

OFFICERS President Ron Rainey ✪ ’91, ’93, ’01 Little Rock, AR Past President Teena Gunter ✪ ’92, ’97, Oklahoma City, OK Treasurer Don Walker ✪+ ’74, Fayetteville, AR Assistant Treasurer Kenneth Biesterveld ✪ ’05, ’10, Centerton, AR BOARD OF DIRECTORS Class of 2021 Kristen Allbritton ✪ ’04, McKinney, TX Ashley Harris ✪ ’95, Fayetteville, AR Chris Johnson ✪ ’93, North Little Rock, AR Bobby Jones ✪ ’84, Savannah, GA Kristin Kaufman ✪ ’83, Dallas, TX Connie Lewis Lensing ✪ ’74, JD’77, Memphis, TN Drake McGruder ✪ ’06, ’12, Fort Smith, AR Dustin McDaniel ✪ ’94, Little Rock, AR Courtney Backus Norton ★ ’07, Fayetteville, AR Class of 2022 Linda Bedford-Jackson ✪ ’80, Austin, TX Ashleigh Buckley ★ ’07, ’10, Fort Smith, AR Sarah K. Hudson ★ ’07, ’10, Washington, DC Paul Parette ✪+ ’89, Dallas, TX Bill Stovall ✪+ ’72, Charleston, SC Richard Welcher ★ ’99, ’04, Fayetteville, AR Brian Wolff ✪ ’89, Washington, DC Kristen Collier Wright ✪ ’98, ’01, Forrest City, AR Class of 2023 Tori Bogner ✪ ’13, ’16, Fayetteville, AR Kathleen Gonzalez ★ ’11, Rogers, AR Cecilia Grossberger-Medina ★ ’08, Fayetteville, AR Regina Hopper ✪ ’81, ’85, Alexandria, VA Robert Koenig ✪ ’90, Leawood, KS Wes Shirley ★ ’99, ’02, Fayetteville, AR Cameron Sutherland ★+ ’11, ’14, Fayetteville, AR Shambrekia Wise ★ ’08, Dallas, TX STAFF Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni and Executive Director of the Arkansas Alumni Association Brandy Cox ✪ MA’07 Director of Alumni Programs and Special Events Deb Euculano ✪ Director of Finance Hal Prescott ✪ Lisa Ault ★ BSBA’94, Associate Director of Business Operations; Catherine Baltz ✪+ BS’92, MED’07, Assistant Director of Communications; Tim Barker ★, Fiscal Support Analyst; Jen Boyer ★ BSBA’19, Special Events Coordinator; Melissa Brawner ★ B.S.B.A.’99, Marketing Coordinator; Florence Galbraith ★, Fiscal Support Analyst; Mercedes Gazaway ★, Assistant Director of Internal Relations; Brock Haegele ★ BA’17, Assistant Director of External Relations; Mary Kate Harrison ★ BA’15, MA’17, Special Projects Coordinator; Evan Hinchliffe ★, Alumni Scholarship Assistant; Ryan Jones ★, Membership and Marketing Assistant; Lisy McKinnon ★ BA’97, Associate Director of Chapter Programs; Emily Piper ★, Administrative Specialist; Patti Sanders ✪+ BSA’08, Associate Director of Alumni Scholarships; Julie Simpson ★, Associate Director of Facilities and Special Events; Elizabeth Lee Shoultz ★ B.A. ’16, MPA ’18, Manager of Affinity Programs and Analysis; Yusra Sultana, Membership and Marketing Assistant

Tonya Hunt BSE’85 MED’92, Bunch, Oklahoma, March 16.

“Johnson has laid the healing tools in our hands, and left instructions.

This is how it starts.”

John Thomas Motes BSBA’85, Little Rock, May 9.

David Frederick Briggs BSBA’86, Little Rock, March 14.

— Cornelius Eady, Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize

George V. Burch MS’86 EDS’89 EDD’90, Rogers, March 27.

Available Wherever Books and Ebooks Are Sold www.pegasusbooks.com Distributed by Simon & Schuster

Mark Stephen Danielowicz BSBA’86, North Little Rock, March 29.

ISBN 978-1-64313-466-6

Bob Hamon BA’86, Shawnee Mission, Kansas, Oct. 6, 2009.

J. Chester Johnson received the Citation of Distinguished Alumnus, 2010 from the University of Arkansas and Arkansas Alumni Association.

James Glen Gorsline ★ BSBA’87, Chula Vista, California, April 10.

Pamela J. Mills ★ BSE’87 MA’89, Fayetteville, May 10.

Robert P. Rickert MFA’84 JD’87, Syracuse, New York, May 1.

Patrick Murphy BSBA’88, Conway, April 16.

1990s Georgia Jo Bland ★ AS’90, Longview, Texas, March 27.

Joe Marcum JD’90, Corpus Christi, Texas, March 21.

Karen Bradberry Davis BSE’93, Fort Smith, April 22.

Leah L. Flynn FS’93, Fayetteville, Oct. 8, 2002.

Virginia A. Honomichl FS’93, West Fork, March 23.

Chris Hales ★ BSE’94, Dallas, Texas, March 28.

Kathryn Reis MSA’94, Fayetteville, Feb. 15.

Diana Sue Adams FS’96, Rogers, May 9.

Brian Allen Koch BSIE’96, Scranton, March 24.

Todd C. Taylor FS’96, Rogers, April 15.

Clinton Sean Hardee BSEE’97, Prairie Grove, Dec. 2019.

Sara Ellen Moore FS’97, Maumelle, March 3.

Jeremy Michael Dubbs MA’98 PHD’09, Bella Vista, March 10.

Robyn Claudine Hatchett BSE’14, Fayetteville, March 10.

Wells C. Bratton FS’15, Little Rock, April 18.

Virginia A. Castleman JD’99, Siloam Springs, May 12.

Austin Scott Heggie BSBA’17, Chesterfield, Missouri, March 13.

Lois Estelle Giles FS’99, Fayetteville, March 7.

Faculty/Staff

2000s Jody D. Tucker MSCHE’01 BSCHE’01, Benton, March 10.

Nicholas Todd Dickerson FS’04, Sparkman, April 28.

Lothar Schafer, Fayetteville, March 29.

Friends Horace Moore ★, El Dorado, April 28.

Shannon Del Scott FS’04, Springdale, May 15.

Jimmy Jewell EDD’07, Fort Smith, April 7.

Clint S. Crowe PHD’09, Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 10.

2010s Jesse K. Mitchell MPA’10, Fayetteville, April 5.

Mike Crouse FS’14 Bella Vista, March 30.

FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 63

Photo by Chieko Hara

Last Look

Senior Walk Renewing the Luster of Bygone Years Due to damage over the decades, the first 50 years of Senior Walk are being replaced in front of Old Main. Some of the classes, whose names were written each year in newly poured concrete of varying consistency and quality, were crumbling from environmental conditions. Others were damaged and unable to be restored to their original look, so the new walk is being poured anew to preserve the names of the university’s early students and to keep the walking surface safe for all.

64 / ARKANSAS / FALL 2020

$200

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To apply for a credit card, please visit bofa.com/arkansasalumni For information about the rates, fees, other costs and benefits associated with the use of this card or to apply, please visit bofa.com/arkansasalumni Residents of the US and its territories only. See full disclosure for details.

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Bonus Cash Rewards Offer. You will qualify for $200 bonus cash rewards if you use your new credit card account to make any combination of purchase transactions totaling at least $1,000 (exclusive of any fees, returns and adjustments) that post to your account within 90 days of the account open date. Limit 1 bonus cash rewards offer per new account. This one-time promotion is limited to customers opening a new account in response to this offer and will not apply to requests to convert existing accounts. Your account must be open with active charging privileges in order to receive this offer. Other advertised promotional bonus cash rewards offers can vary from this promotion and may not be substituted. Allow 8–12 weeks from qualifying for the bonus cash rewards to post to your rewards balance. The value of this reward may constitute taxable income to you. You may be issued an Internal Revenue Service Form 1099 (or other appropriate form) that reflects the value of such reward. Please consult your tax advisor, as neither we, nor our affiliates, provide tax advice.

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This credit card program is issued and administered by Bank of America, N.A. Visa and Visa Signature are registered trademarks of Visa International Service Association, and are used by the issuer pursuant to license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Bank of America and the Bank of America logo are registered trademarks of Bank of America Corporation.

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FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 66

Around the World with

Razorbacks on Tour MEMBERS, ALUMNI, FRIENDS AND FAMILY - ANYONE CAN TRAVEL WITH RAZORBACKS ON TOUR

We look forward to a time when we can travel around the world together once again.

Until then, please enjoy some images from our past adventures. For more photos, visit our digital scrapbook at https://bit.ly/2VMExyy.

Updates for the alumni travel program can be found at www.arkansasalumni.org/travel.

FALL 2020 / ARKANSAS / 67