ARKANSAS: Spring 2023

For members of the Arkansas Alumni Association Inc.

For members of the Arkansas Alumni Association Inc. Spring 2023

MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS BENEFITS

STAY CONNECTED

At the Arkansas Alumni Association, we are firm believers that you get out what you put in. When you invest in your alumni experience through volunteerism, events or travel, you’re sure to have a positive connection.

Alumni Groups Societies

Alumni societies are organized around common interests and are dedicated to building and strengthening ties to the U of A.

Chapters

Chapters are U of A family members who gather together in a particular geographic region.

Razorbacks on Tour/Young Alumni Travel

The Arkansas Alumni Association offers a variety of travel opportunities for alumni, members and friends. Through Razorbacks on Tour and the Young Alumni Travel programs, we offer an annual slate of trips that allow our travelers to establish and strengthen lifelong friendships while exploring the world.

National Board Eligibility

The Arkansas Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors oversees the programs and policies that carry out the Association’s mission–to connect and serve the University of Arkansas family. Nominations are kept in a pool for a minimum of three years and membership in the Arkansas Alumni Association is required.

Scholarship Review Eligibility

The Arkansas Alumni Association awards over one million dollars annually through a collection of scholarships. Scholarship applications are evaluated through an annual review process that engages university staff and alumni volunteers. The alumni volunteers are life members or members actively involved with an alumni chapter or society.

benefits of membership at join.arkansasalumni.org.

arkansas

For members of the Arkansas Alumni Association Inc.

6 Twin Alumnae, Twice the Power

Tina and Trina Fletcher focus their attention on addressing academic disparities in the southeastern part of Arkansas.

14 Razorbug Delivers the Goods

Global Campus, which facilitates the U of A’s online degree programs, celebrated the academic success of Arkansas graduates where they lived.

24 A Long Partnership With Panama

What started in the 1950s as an agricultural mission has continued through the decades with exchange students, trade programs and alumni.

2 Campus View

4 Campus

42 Alumni

54 Yesteryear

58 Senior Walk

64 Last Look

On the Cover: On the Cover: The Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence, home of student success initiatives on campus, celebrated its first year.

Photo by Chieko Hara

SPRING / Vol 72, No. 3

Campus View

Aneesh Komanduri

B.S.Cmp.E.’21

Doctoral Candidate

In 2007, when my family moved from Hyderabad, India, to Bentonville, Arkansas, I sensed the relief that washed over my parents. My dad was constantly traveling for work, and opportunities for our family were limited. In Bentonville, we had stability. I grew up enjoying a childhood of ice cream cones in the public square by the Walton Museum and hiking the Ozarks. Today, I’m a Ph.D. student at the University of Arkansas researching artificial intelligence.

My family has lived in the U.S. legally for 15 years. The government received our initial green card applications in 2011. But due to the massive backlog, it took more than a decade for green cards to become available to us. By then, I had already turned 21, which made me no longer eligible to receive permanent residency alongside my family.

Now, my status as an international student is the only thing keeping me in the country legally. As soon as my doctoral program ends, I’ll likely be forced to self-deport. The best outcome I can hope for is to secure one of the few high-skilled worker visas that become available each year — and then start the green-card process from scratch.

It’s an astonishingly cruel system for immigrant families that have spent decades investing in America’s success. In fact, more than 200,000 “documented Dreamers,” children of long-term visa holders, are currently at risk of deportation because of this arbitrary policy: Get your green card by 21 or get kicked out.

When I first learned about this policy, I couldn’t sleep for a week. I was 19 and a sophomore at the U of A. Suddenly, the life I had worked so hard to build was ending. I felt stressed, defeated and alone. But I refused to simply accept my fate. I began advocating for common-sense legislation, such as the America’s Children Act, to help documented youth like me stay in the country we call home and gain permanent residency in the country that raised and educated us.

My research aims to create a more trustworthy, transparent and robust artificial intelligence. For example, my work helps eliminate bias in artificial intelligence to ensure this powerful technology doesn’t discriminate. If more young, high-skilled immigrants like me stay in places like Arkansas, we’ll invest in our communities, raise families, launch businesses that create jobs, pay taxes and stimulate the economy.

I’ve been able to stay in the U.S. on a temporary student visa, but that runs out in a few years. If nothing changes, I’ll be forced to relocate to India, a country I barely remember, or take my skills to a country with more welcoming policies, like Canada.

But I don’t want to move. I’m American. I’m an Arkansan. I’ve spent countless hours swept away by the art in the Crystal Bridges Museum, rooting for the Razorbacks and feeling loved by the amazing Northwest Arkansas community that has supported me my whole life.

It’s also painful, because just a few months after I turned 21 and was no longer eligible for a green card, my parents and young brother finally received theirs. They became permanent residents, but for no good reason I was left out in the cold. I’m happy and relieved for them, but heartbroken as I contemplate my uncertain future.

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 ✪

Photographers Chieko Hara

Whit Pruitt B.A.’16

Writers & Contributors

Catherine Baltz ✪+ B.A.’92, M.Ed’07

Jane Blunschi M.F.A’16

Eric Boles B.S.B.E’10, M.S.B.E.’14

Beth Dedman ★ B.A.’20

Samantha Giudice

Jennifer Holland M.Ed.’08

Dani Jackson B.A.’19, M.A.’21

John Lovett

Shannon Magsam

Fred Miller

Michelle Parks B.A.’94

John Post

Jackie Stites B.A.’82

Heidi Wells B.A.’88, M.A.’13

Karli Yarber M.S.’21

Hardin Young M.F.A.’04

MEMBERSHIP SYMBOLS

✩ Student Member;

★ Member; ★+ Member, A+;

✪ Life Member; ✪+ Life Member, A+

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters to the editor are accepted and encouraged. Send letters for publication to Arkansas Magazine, Office of University Relations, 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, Exclusively for Members 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 SPRING 23-007

All photos by University Relations unless otherwise noted.

Cover photo: Whit Pruitt

Please recycle this magazine or share it with a friend.

Photo submitted

U of A students are looking for more ways to get around, and the region's trails offer a convenient option.

New Mountain Bike Trail Opens Path Connects Campus With Kessler and Centennial Parks

BY ERIC BOLES B.S.B.E.’10, M.S.B.E.’14

The newest additions to the Fayetteville Traverse trail at the U of A are now open. This natural-surface trail is for walkers, runners as well as bicycle riders and adaptive cyclists of all skill levels.

The Fayetteville Traverse natural trail loop is a one-of-a-kind amenity for U of A students, faculty and staff. The trails

provide extra options for daily commutes and create connectivity that previously did not exist. Additionally, the trails enhance the campus landscape and create recreational opportunities without leaving the campus footprint, providing a oneof-a-kind experience that is uncommon throughout the nation.

Photo by Russell Cothren

The entire trail loop is designed as a beginner-level mountain bike trail, with the easiest and best sections of the trail lying within the campus core.

Trail Etiquette

All ages and abilities of trail users are encouraged to use the trail respectfully:

• Pedestrians always have priority

• Ride within your limits and stay in control

• No motorized vehicles are allowed

• If you’re leaving visible ruts, the trail is too wet to ride

The U of A section of the Fayetteville, Traverse loop is the first major piece of the trail to be opened on the east side of Interstate 49.

“We are excited about the Fayetteville Traverse trail and the connections it will provide to Centennial Park, Kessler Mountain Regional Park and other destinations like the University of Arkansas,” said Alison Jumper B.L.A.’98, director of Fayetteville Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Affairs. “The completion of these sections of the trail highlight many of the unique features Fayetteville has to offer.”

The three sections of the trail that opened in August 2022 travel through the Fowler Woods, explore the Maple Hill Arboretum and navigate along the National Pan-Hellenic Council Gardens while creating a new connection across the Oak Ridge Hillside.

“The Fayetteville Traverse is nestled within the wooded hillside that threads its way through campus. The trail helps highlight the university’s unique setting and beautiful views, and encourages the public to experience more of the

campus landscape,” said Todd Furgason B.Arch.’01, campus planner with Facilities Management.

Users of the trails can expect various picturesque spots along the route:

• Bird’s-eye views of the Reynolds Razorback Stadium

• Native stone plazas and cedar bridges

• The site of the 2022 Walmart UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championship

• Cafes, restaurants, art galleries

• Historic homesteads and farms

• A Trail of Tears memorial

• Restored woodland prairie ecosystem.

It’s all part of the U of A’s vision to create one of the most bicycle-friendly campuses in the country and in keeping with a broader community effort to develop a connected network of trails in Northwest Arkansas.

The trail is part of a gift to the U of A and city of Fayetteville from Tom Walton and Steuart Walton and the Trailblazers. The first years of maintenance are also being provided through their generous support. The Trailblazers are a non-profit organization that develops multi-use trials and was integral in helping make the Fayetteville Traverse a world-class trail that provides a great experience for the community.

“The Fayetteville Traverse is the on-ramp for the next generation of students interested in recreating on a natural surface trail system,” said Mike Hoover M.Ed.’09, Ed.D.’11, associate director of University Recreation

The Trailblazers have partnered with Progressive Trail Design to continue work on sections four through eight. There will be additional announcements as more sections open to the public.

Making the Grade Alumnae Twins Tina and Trina Give Back After Successes

BY JENNIFER HOLLAND M.ED.’08

Twin sisters Tina and Trina Fletcher are not from the Arkansas Delta, but they are intensely focused on addressing the academic disparities of students and teachers from the southeastern corner of their home state.

“If we can lift the academic performance of Black students in these counties, not only do we help Black students, we help rural students, and we also help teachers,” Tina Fletcher B.A.’08 said.

The Fletcher sisters are passionate about education and being part of the solution. Thanks to their own hard work and their consulting business, Fletcher Education Solutions, they are already changing the lives of students and teachers in rural Arkansas counties. As Trina Fletcher says, “We’re trying to save the education system.”

No Excuses

The twins grew up in the rural town of Morrilton, and their mother worked at a school bus factory in the neighboring city of Conway. From an early age, both girls recalled the long hours their mother would put in at work and the scarce free time she had as a result. “Mom couldn’t help us with homework,” Tina said. “But we saw her work hard, so we practiced those same principles every day. We knew it was possible to work 60 hours a week and still stand,” she said, noting that her mom would wake up at 4 a.m. each morning to get ready for work. “My mom had one of the strongest work ethics,” Trina M.S.O.M.’09 added. “She did not make excuses — she got things done, she went to work, she did what she had to do.”

Photo by Tina Toney-Reed

That work ethic made an impression on both girls and carried them through their own studies — that and the idea that there could be more opportunities in the world within their grasp.

“When we’d visit her at the factory, we were reminded that we didn’t want blue collar opportunities to be our only opportunities,” Tina said. “We knew in our minds that we had to go to college.”

Trailblazers

Go to college they did, and while most people might have expected the twins to attend the same university, Trina and Tina had other plans. Both were interested in attending a historically Black college or university, or HBCU for shorthand, but when Tina’s guidance counselor encouraged her to apply for a Silas Hunt Scholarship at the University of Arkansas, she tentatively began to picture herself at the state’s flagship.

“I remember getting the scholarship and thinking, ‘They’re giving me $5,000. I have to do it for Silas Hunt,’” she said with a laugh.

Receiving that scholarship and being embraced by the community was “extremely helpful and powerful” for Tina. During her time on the Hill, she interacted with professors who fundamentally changed the way she felt about her own thinking and what she was capable of learning. She also had the opportunity to study abroad in Tanzania.

“The U of A moved mountains to make sure I got to go to Africa,” she said, noting it was only her second time to be on a plane. “I’ve gone six more times since then. The U of A is at the heart of everything I’ve done.”

After she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and African American studies in 2008, two professors encouraged her to apply to Harvard University for a master’s degree in secondary teacher education. That was followed by a Ph.D.

in education policy from the University of Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, Trina Fletcher carved her own path at another public state university — the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Like her sister, Trina was drawn to the experience an HBCU could offer her.

“I wanted to be at an institution where I felt like I could be supported,” she said, noting that UAPB provided that crucial network. In Pine Bluff, Trina earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology, interned every summer and had multiple job offers waiting for her by the time she graduated. When she chose to earn a master’s degree, she finished not one — but two — programs: master’s degrees in both operations management at the U of A and engineering management at George Washington University. Like Tina, Trina also earned a Ph.D., but in engineering education from Purdue University, where she studied the recruitment and retention of minorities and women in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“We didn’t know how challenging college was going to be, but we had each other,” Tina said. Trina agreed: “There is something to be said about being twins and having someone your age going through similar experiences. Even though we went to separate colleges, we had each other.”

Left, Sisters Tina and Trina Fletcher want to save the education system in Arkansas by supporting teachers.

Below, Tina Fletcher traveled to Angola with a classmate from Harvard to study the education system in Luanda.

Photo submitted

They also had the support of their family. “They were always our biggest cheerleaders,” Tina said. “You don’t need to have a college degree to support your child through college.”

Homeward Bound

The work ethic modeled by the twins’ mother, the support of their family and the eye-opening opportunities provided in college all proved to be inspirational for the twins as they set out into the workforce.

In 2014-2015, as Tina was transitioning from working on a political campaign to working for the Washington, D.C., public school district central office, she came across an article about Arkansas ACT scores.

“I was floored,” she said. “I was like, ‘How is the average ACT score an 18? How are the Black students scoring a 17?’ That means we’re sending the majority of our Black students from Arkansas to college straight into remedial courses. That blew my mind.”

It was then that she knew she wanted to be a part of the solution. “I thought, ‘I

love D.C. I love my neighborhood. But what am I adding to the world if I’m here, and the kids who look like me — and not just Black kids in Arkansas but kids from rural communities in Arkansas — are not being served? Arkansas gave me everything I needed, and I can’t just take it and go to D.C.’”

Tina told her sister she was ready to take action and enlisted her help. She spent the next six months building a consulting company while she worked full time, knowing she was going to focus on her home state. Trina was able to contribute greatly, having spent time researching the disparities in STEM education and inequities in different school systems.

Over the next couple years, Tina traveled to Arkansas each month to work in the communities of Crossett and Marianna. She noticed their declining populations and, after researching the problem further, found that many other counties in the Delta were losing residents as well.

“That really motivated us to focus on the Delta specifically,” she said. “It’s where the majority of Black students are and where the majority of Black teachers are. We now know Arkansas doesn’t have

Below, Throughout college, Tina and Trina found ways to support each other –even from a distance and sometimes just by being silly.

Below right, Tina Fletcher, far left, with tutors and a student at The Generator, a coworking space in downtown Pine Bluff.

Photo by Tina Toney-Reed

Photo submitted

a teacher shortage area — the Arkansas Delta has a teacher shortage. If the Arkansas Delta improves in education, the entire state improves. That’s been our philosophy around this work.”

Teaching the Teachers

Fletcher Education Solutions is a consulting firm that specializes in licensure exam support for current and pre-service teachers by offering a test prep institute and program development and evaluation. The test prep institute, in particular, helps student teachers and current teachers improve their current Praxis scores, which measure the knowledge and skills acquired during teacher preparation.

Ala’handro Harris knew he always wanted to work in education, but the Praxis test was the only hurdle standing in

his way. After meeting Tina and Trina at UAPB, he utilized their test prep services to ensure he was ready.

“The resources they provided me were dynamic and thorough,” he said. “They put together a strategic plan to help me pass the exam.”

The plan worked. Harris followed their guidance, passed his exam and says he’s now living his dream as a seventhgrade social studies teacher at Believe Memphis Academy.

“It’s truly a remarkable experience to witness a teacher persevere through the licensure exam process and its challenges to becoming certified,” Tina said. “A feat that may seem easy or common to many is extremely difficult for others.

I am honored to play even a small role in assisting teachers on their paths to becoming certified, high-quality educators — especially in my home state.”

Photo by Rtoney-reed photography

From left, the Fletcher powerhouse —sisters Tina and Tai, mother Bridgette, and sister Trina.

Strengthening Health Care Determined

to Make Life Better in Sub-Saharan Africa

BY SHANNON MAGSAM

Plangkat Milaham was a public health consultant in Nigeria before moving to the U of A to pursue a master’s degree in public health.

The M.P.H. degree will get him closer to his goal of leading infectious disease eradication initiatives on a global scale. “My dream job is to work at an international health organization as a public health expert,” he said.

Milaham is taking advantage of every opportunity at the U of A to build his research skills and gain a deeper technical knowledge of public health practice. He earned the Outstanding Master of Public Health student award at the College of Education and Health Professions awards ceremony this year.

Although it’s not required for graduation, Milaham is working on an independent research project related to COVID-19 and college-aged students. He won a grant from the U of A Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation to explore the perceptions, behaviors and attitudes of campus populations in the context of COVID.

“Findings from my study will guide decision-making about the most effective communication channels that can be leveraged to reach college students with COVID-related public health messages and the degree of influence these channels have,” he said.

He believes the project will also offer insight into how to strengthen education strategies within the U of A community.

On another independent project, he conducted a systematic review of literature to investigate the barriers and facilitators

of antiretroviral therapy and pre-exposure prophylaxis among Black/African Americans between 2011 and 2021 across the United States. The study highlights key factors determining the uptake of HIV/AIDS biomedical interventions at individual, interpersonal and structural levels, which he will be discussing in an oral presentation at this year’s American Public Health Association’s conference in Boston.

Milaham is working on both research projects with his mentor, Alex Russell, an assistant professor in the College of Education and Health Professions’ public health program and the associate director of technology in the college’s new Center for Public Health and Technology.

Milaham is a student affiliate at the center, coordinating with faculty, students and staff to conduct research and explore novel public health research directions.

He also teaches a Terminology for the Health Professions course to undergraduate public health students.

Milaham earned a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Jos in Nigeria. As a public health consultant in the African country, he provided technical assistance to state and national primary health care agencies, implemented and evaluated public health interventions, and contributed to primary health care research. “I worked on HIV and TB control interventions, as well as routine immunization and PHC-strengthening programs,” he said.

Milaham wants to make life better for those who struggle in areas close to where he was raised in Plateau State, Nigeria.

Plangkat Milaham

Photo by Whit Pruitt

An Immigrant Experience Naeem Lends Empathy to International Student Experiences

BY JOHN POST

Growing up in Greenwood, Arkansas, with parents who were immigrants from Pakistan, Sherjeel Naeem lived between two cultures – an experience that helped him understand the struggles of international residents integrating into another country.

“Because both of my parents were immigrants, I can imagine how much of a struggle it was for them to adapt to a completely new way of life with new customs and language,” he said.

That empathy led him to become a cross-cultural mentor for the Office of International Students and Scholars in the Graduate School and International Education at the U of A, where he has helped international students find a home in America — and Arkansas.

“We do that by helping them throughout the entire process — from immigration to immersing them in American culture once they’re here,” Naeem said. “We take them to football games and events on campus. We just try to make them proud to be University of Arkansas students and make sure they’re happy to be here.”

The need to create connection drives the junior pre-med biology/anthropology major in his career as well, as he wants to pursue a career in mental health to help the local community. He’s currently developing a clinical support program for South Asian Americans in Northwest Arkansas.

“I’m a very big advocate of mental health,” he said. “I come from a South Asian background, and mental health in the South Asian community isn’t very well

understood. So, if I do end up going into medicine, I want to go into psychiatry. But if not, then clinical psychology is definitely the go-to.”

Naeem was drawn to the U of A due to the diversity of the campus and region, and he’s sought to make the campus more inclusive during his time here.

“My goal and the goal of various other student leaders is trying to push for inclusion,” he said. “We always hear the words ‘diversity and inclusion’ together, but I think they’re separate terms. Diversity is having everyone there at the table — different religions, races, sexualities. Everybody is there, but their voices may not necessarily be heard or acknowledged. Inclusion is making sure everybody’s voice is not only represented, but implemented into a framework for positive change.”

Since he’s been on campus, he’s found a sense of belonging through the many organizations he participates in, including serving in positions such as vice president of the Arkansas Interfaith Coalition, mental health ambassador for the university’s Counseling and Psychological Services and director of outreach for Students for Refugees.

“There’s a strong support network here. I’ve met a lot of great people here, people who constantly inspire me every day,” he said. “I feel like I have a purpose here. At the U of A, we’re large enough that everyone can find their own little niche and place they specialize in. But we’re also not so large that you feel your voice is drowned out by everyone else.”

Sherjeel Naeem

Photo submitted

Quick Assembly Bridges Faculty and

Students Design

Next-Gen Foldable Bridges

BY HARDIN YOUNG M.F.A.’04

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded $500,000 to the U of A to design rapidly constructible bridges.

Gary Prinz and Cameron Murray B.S.C.E.’12. M.S.C.E.’14, both professors of civil engineering, will serve as co-principal investigators. The goal is to develop creative solutions for the design and construction of temporary bridges that can go from storage to fully operational in a few hours.

“Barriers that impede the movement of soldiers, equipment and supplies represent an important logistical

and engineering challenge for the military,” Murray explained. “A quick-to-assemble bridge, especially one that can be semi-permanent, is a game changer, which is why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is so interested in this topic. They already have bridges that are used in combat, but we hope to create structures with unique features that make them ideal for quick assembly by a small team of personnel.”

Prinz, who also serves as the director of the Grady E. Harvell Civil Engineering Research and Education

Center, will oversee the development of the overall structural system and superstructure design. This will include investigation of “tensegrity” (the combination of tension and integrity) structural design concepts where loads are supported through a deployable balance of compression and tension elements.

Prinz will also investigate origami design concepts for efficient folding and compact storage, as well as compliant mechanism connections to simplify construction while providing necessary freedom of movement. He’ll oversee computer modeling and simulations of the concept bridges under static and dynamic loads, as well as create a 1/16 scale prototype to verify real-world functionality.

Concurrently, Murray will oversee the development of the deck concepts and concrete mixture design. This will include examination of concrete fabrics usually used

for water and slope applications, such as lining ponds or stabilizing stream banks.

One concept will examine the feasibility of a roll-out deck based on the same basic structure of a roll-top pickup truck bed cover that can be carried by two people and placed end-to-end on the superstructure until the desired length is achieved. Another concept Murray will explore is the use of pre-proportioned rapid-setting concrete that can be mixed with water and cast on site. Finally, he will examine the feasibility of an aluminum deck that can be bolted onto the superstructure.

Ultimately, if Prinz and Murray are successful in their preliminary concepts and investigations, they hope it will lead to a scaling up of the prototype and future testing and implementation.

Opposite, professor Gary Prinz in the lab.

Above left, two engineering students level up a concrete beam for testing.

Below left, professor Cameron Murray prepares a load test.

Photos by University Relations

The Razorbug stops by a 112-foot derrick among working oil field equipment at the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover (Union County) in southern Arkansas. The area is home to the 1920s oil boom.

Photo submitted.

Hitting High Gear Razorbug Drives Home Online Student Success

BY HEIDI WELLS B.A.’88, M.A.’13

The Razorbug zips down a two-lane highway leading to DeWitt in the Arkansas Delta. The car’s red snout bobs rapidly as if sniffing the sultry air while the converted 2005 Volkswagen Beetle navigates paved ribbons cutting through lush fields of soybeans, rice and cotton.

This four-wheeled symbol of the University of Arkansas personifies a mission to celebrate recent U of A graduates who studied online. They remained in their hometowns while earning their degrees, living and working in rural communities along the edges of the state, hundreds of miles from the Fayetteville hills. These Arkansans yearned for a better life for themselves and their families. Their work as nurses, engineers, managers, business professionals and educators strengthens communities. Individual graduation celebrations drive home the U of A’s land-grant promise to serve the educational needs of Arkansas — all of Arkansas.

The message: “You, too — in Pocahontas, Trumann, Earle, DeWitt, McGehee, Hope, Magnolia, El Dorado — can earn a degree from the University of Arkansas, even if

you cannot come to Fayetteville. We will introduce you to your professors and classmates online. We will deliver the courses to you online. We will provide the resources, tools and services you need to learn and succeed online. We will help you change your lives.”

Graduates devoted to the U of A and what it stands for beam as road-weary but exhilarated faculty and staff from the Ozarks smile and present official diplomas. The heat index climbs into the triple digits during the outdoor ceremonies as droplets of sweat bead on brows. Spouses, children, moms, dads, friends and co-workers clap and cheer. And after celebrations, as a video camera rolls, graduates describe their unique stories of determination, self-motivation and Razorback pride.

In May 2022, more than 440 U of A students graduated after studying in online degree programs. Some walked during commencement in Fayetteville; some did not. In a symbolic gesture, the promotional Razorbug Diploma Tour, the first of its kind, delivered framed diplomas to 16 May graduates living and working in rural Arkansas.

Motivations and Circumstances Guide Graduates

Anginay Jones B.S.I.E.’18, M.S.O.M.’22, a young woman from Earle, wants her huge Facebook following to believe they can accomplish their goals like she did, earning a master’s degree in operations management while working at multinational technology company Google. She worked hard to get a “seat at the table,” she says. She posts:

“My whole childhood I struggled with what I wanted my life to be like. Never thought this would be it. Blessings after blessings. Opportunities after opportunities. Accolades after accolades. I’m so proud of myself! Thank you to my village. I love y’all. I hope my story will inspire someone during my lifetime.”

Tina Foster M.Ed.’22, a grandmother in Poinsett County, strives to be the best special education teacher she can be. She’s taught all levels but enjoys high school most. With a federal grant secured by her professors, she learned to assist the transition of special education students from high school to higher education

or the workforce. She believes this is her calling, and she encourages other teachers to pursue a master’s degree, too.

John William Kelly Ed.D.’22, an educational administrator in Craighead County, wanted his children to see him with a book in his hands, not a laptop, so he waited until after their bedtime to pull out the computer. He emphasizes the connections he made with his classmates from varied backgrounds and the insights he took from the international experience of his professors. He now holds a doctorate, the most advanced degree bestowed by the U of A, to combine with his empathy and knowledge in assisting residents of three eastern Arkansas counties working on their high school equivalency degrees.

Jason Rose B.S.M.E.’19, M.S.E.M.’22, an engineer in Fort Smith who waited until his late 30s to get his first college degree, escaped a job he didn’t want, but needed, after an economic downturn. He praises the online option he chose to earn a master’s degree in engineering management. He describes the value of his education in such a way that also shows his devotion to the U of A and to what it represents.

“I learned something in each class that I could use the next day in my job,” Rose says. “Every single class was relevant to what I was doing and what I wanted to do. Every course I took added value.”

Rose continues to use his degree with a new position as corporate continuous improvement manager at Bachoco OK Foods, a poultry producer based in Mexico with seven facilities in the United States.

Tour Takes U of A Far From Fayetteville

Since offering one bachelor’s degree completion program in compressed interactive video format back in 1996, the U of A’s online offerings from its academic colleges blossomed into more than 75 online degree, certificate and

Pins on the Arkansas map show stops on the tour where diplomas were presented to U of A graduates.

licensure programs today, and the Global Campus supports their delivery. The Global Campus orchestrated the Razorbug Diploma Tour with the assistance of many people across campus and Arkansas residents at every stop along the way who wanted to know what was going on and how they could be part of it.

“We would love to do another Razorbug Diploma Tour or something like it this summer,” said Cheryl Murphy, vice provost for distance education. “We enjoy promoting the success of U of A students, especially those who earned degrees online while living and working in their hometowns. And if we can bring a bit of Fayetteville to their hometowns, like the Razorbug, that’s even better.”

A small, rural state of contrasts, Arkansas’ northwest corner features Fortune 500 companies and the Ozark Mountains. In the east and south, its rich agricultural land feeds a nation and the world, and its central core houses a seat of government serving the diverse needs of the state’s people.

The energy of the state’s flagship

university runs through every county in the state, no matter how far away from Fayetteville they may be. Like rivers and streams, its spirit connects people in every hamlet and community. They root for the Hogs, but the emotion surpasses athletic competition. Almost everyone knows — and is proud of — someone who graduated from the U of A, even in instances when they did not have the opportunity themselves. Those taking their photos with the Razorbug wear their Razorback or U of A hats and T-shirts, some new and crisp, some well-loved and soft from many washings. During the three-week tour, the Razorbug traverses 43 counties on its mission (Arkansas has 75). The odometer tally grows by 2,000 miles. People stop what they’re doing and stare when the Razorbug passes. They raise their phones to snap a pic or shoot video of the little car with its hooves, tail and razor-edged spine. A few drive after the car for a closer look. One of the elderly men sitting in recliners at a sandwich shop inside a gas station in Marianna asks if he could drive it.

A cropduster flies over the Razorbug before spraying fields in St. Francis County in eastern Arkansas.

Photo submitted.

Land-Grant Designation Means Access

The U of A proudly carries the designation of the state’s flagship institution, but that’s not why so many love it. Instead, it’s the feeling that comes when you meet a stranger who also loves the U of A and, instantly, you’re no longer strangers.

In an address to campus in the fall of 2022, Chancellor Charles Robinson ✪ said he preferred a description other than “flagship” — using instead another traditional phrase: “land-grant institution.” The Morrill Act of 1862 gave federally controlled land to the states to sell for money to build educational institutions. “Land grant” embodies a concept still relevant 160 years later, Robinson explained at the time.

“One of the university’s top land-grant priorities is to provide access to higher education to Arkansans,” Robinson said. “Our land-grant mission is an opportunity

to serve. We want to serve the state of Arkansas, and we want to do it more effectively.”

Fulfilling the land-grant mission requires enrolling more Arkansans, he said.

Expanding access to Arkansans through online degree programs opens new avenues. During the 2021-22 academic year, 4,332 U of A students studied exclusively online, an increase of 16% over the previous academic year. More than half lived in Arkansas. Over the past 10 years, the U of A conferred degrees and certificates to 7,341 students studying exclusively online.

The services offered by Global Campus focus on student success including online student coaches, online student liaisons, online orientation, an online student communication platform and online prep courses. Instructional designers collaborate on course creation with faculty and staff to ensure students studying online attain the same high-quality education as those on campus. Many faculty members teach both online and on campus.

Hog Fan Seizes Advancement Opportunity

Austin Kersey B.S.N.’22, of El Dorado dreamed of being director of nursing for a long-term-care facility. He knew he needed a bachelor’s degree. He worked full time, had a wife and a baby girl. By highway, Fayetteville lies four hours and 40 minutes away from El Dorado, which is just a few miles north of the Louisiana border. The obvious solution: studying online for a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Kersey’s love for the University of Arkansas reaches as far back as he can remember. Born in 1993, he recalls himself in pictures the following year with family members celebrating the Razorback basketball team’s national championship. All grown up, he arranged in 2016 for former Hog football player D.J. Williams B.A.’10 and the crew of the Pig Trail Nation pregame TV show to help him propose to his wife at a tailgate at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Kersey bought a custom jersey with the number 12 for 2012, the year the couple started dating (also at a Razorback football game in Little Rock), and “Marry Me” where the player’s name would normally go. For the diploma presentation, though, Kersey sports an orthopedic boot on his left foot because he broke four bones while cheering during the Arkansas/ Oklahoma State baseball game in the College World Series in June. He landed wrong after leaping into the air when Jalen Battles hit a grand slam home run, two days before Kersey started his new job, the one he had been dreaming of. The residents of the nursing home don Razorback red T-shirts during Kersey’s diploma presentation and pose for photos with the graduate and the Razorbug.

“It feels like a big accomplishment, one of the main goals I’ve ever set for my life,” Kersey says after the presentation. “It feels awesome to actually be a part of the Razorback family, now an alum.”

Opposite, Jacob Qualls B.S.E.’20, M.Ed.’22, center, stands with family members before his diploma presentation by Jack Kern, right, a professor in the master’s degree in physical education program. The DeWitt High School football team backed up the presentation in Arkansas County.

Above, Anginay Jones, holding her puppy, and her parents, sisters and niece gather for a photo after her diploma presentation at the family home in Earle (Crittenden County). She graduated from the master’s degree in operations management program.

Photos submitted.

Named Among 36 Recipients Wray, Hutchinson Awarded Fellowships for Coming Year

BY JANE BLUNSCHI M.F.A.’16

Tobias Wray M.F.A.’12 and J. Bailey Hutchinson M.F.A.’19 have each been awarded Creative Writing Fellowships of $25,000 for the upcoming fiscal year. The fellowship was awarded to writers of poetry by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Wray and Hutchinson are among 36 writers in the nation selected to receive a fellowship from a pool of 1,900 eligible applications received by the NEA for fiscal year 2023.

“What a thrill to see two of our exceptional alumni — and two such fine poets — among this year’s NEA recipients,” said program director Davis McCombs. “We’re so proud of Bailey and Toby, and we look forward to reading the extraordinary new poems these grants will support.”

The NEA’s Creative Writng Fellowships allow recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel and general career advancement. Fellows are selected through a highly competitive, anonymous process and are judged on the artistic excellence of the work sample provided.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this group of poets and provide them with the means to focus on their writing,” said the NEA’s Director of Literary Arts Amy Stolls. “Their poetry explodes with originality in form and content, offering powerful reflections on the pain and joy of our modern times.”

Tobias Wray’s No Doubt I Will Return a Different Man won the CSU Poetry Center’s Lighthouse Poetry Series Competition. His work has found homes

in Adroit, Blackbird, Hunger Mountain, Meridian, Verse Daily and the Georgia Review, as well as in Queer Nature: A Poetry Anthology (Autumn House Press) and Poetry Is Bread (Nirala). He holds a Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he was a James A. Sappenfield Fellow, as well as an M.F.A. in poetry and translation from the U of A. He teaches poetry at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.

J. Bailey Hutchinson is the author of Gut, selected by Patricia Smith as the winner of the 2022 Miller Williams Poetry Prize. She received an M.F.A. in creative writing from the U of A, where she served as poetry editor for the Arkansas International and assistant director of the Open Mouth Literary Center, a community-based nonprofit literary organization. Hutchinson’s work has been featured by Ninth Letter, Beloit, Muzzle Magazine, Waxwing, Peach Mag and more. She works as an associate editor for Milkweed Editions and teaches creative writing workshops through a number of organizations, including the Loft Literary Center. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Since 1967, the NEA has awarded more than 3,600 Creative Writing Fellowships totaling over $57 million. Many American recipients of the National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award and Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and Fiction were recipients of National Endowment for the Arts fellowships early in their careers.

J. Bailey Hutchinson

Photos submitted

Tobias Wray

GAME DAY

TAILGATING SPACE RENTAL

• Premier tailgating opportunity with reserved parking

• Steps away from Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium

• 20x20 spots with access to electricity

• Season and single game spots available

• $5,000 per season or $1,000 per single game (Life Members receive a 5% Discount per Space)

• VIP Parking in the visitors parking lot located on the west side of the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House

• Just a short walk to Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium

• $2,000 per season (Life Members receive a 25% Discount)

Friend of the Court Law Professors File Amici Brief in Affirmative Action Case

BY JACKIE STITES B.A.’82

Professors Ann M. and Mark R. Killenbeck recently filed a brief amici curiae (“friends of the court”) with the United States Supreme Court in the two affirmative action and diversity cases now pending before the court involving Harvard College, the undergraduate college of Harvard University, and the University of North Carolina. The brief does not support any of the parties, but rather takes the institutions to task for not conducting rigorous, longitudinal assessment of the actual effects of their admissions preferences. It also faults the lower courts for not insisting that such studies be undertaken.

Drawing extensively on principles set forth in Ann Killenbeck’s doctoral dissertation at the University of Michigan and three articles she has published in its wake, the brief argues that such testing is required by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s opinions for the court in two decisions that involved the University of Texas at Austin and were decided in 2013 and 2016.

If, as Justice Sandra Day O’Connor postulated

in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), the benefits of affirmative action “are not theoretical, but real,” they can and should be documented. Justice Kennedy insisted on this when he asked that the parties show “how the process works in practice.”

As matters currently stand, the public record does not indicate that such assessments have been conducted. Rather, Harvard College and the University of North Carolina focus exclusively on the means by which they seek to admit diverse entering classes and do not place any emphasis on discovering the actual educational outcomes that follow, either positive or negative. The brief argues accordingly that the Supreme Court should insist that appropriate assessments be undertaken.

Briefs amici curiae are voluntary supplemental sources of information that are submitted to the court for its consideration in cases pending before it. They are neither invited nor solicited, and the court is free to take them into account as part of its deliberations.

Mark and Ann Killenbeck M.Ed.’94

Photo Submitted

Hour of Code Engineering

Students Help Elementary Students With Basics

BY DANI JACKSON B.A.’19, M.A.’21

Early last month, more than 100 computer science and computer engineering students volunteered at local elementary schools to teach kids the basics of computer coding. Butterfield Trail, Happy Hollow and Root elementary schools welcomed U of A students to assist in the yearly Hour of Code program as a part of Computer Science Education Week. Sponsored by Code.org, the program involves over 45 different programming languages for students of all ages.

Elementary students from all grades took turns throughout the day visiting the libraries and computer labs of their schools for an hour of introductory coding. They completed tutorials, played games, interacted with U of A student volunteers and learned new programming skills. The U of A students encouraged the kids when they got stuck, rooted for them when they overcame a difficult task and walked them through the steps of programming.

Dana Troutt B.S.E.’83, Happy Hollow Elementary media specialist and librarian of the hour, oversaw some of the first and third grade students during Hour of Code.

“They really enjoy this event and interacting with the U of A students,” Troutt said. “Sometimes the kids will walk by and see other grades in here and get jealous because they want to do the Hour of Code. We just remind them that their time is coming!”

Students, volunteers and faculty alike looked forward to the event Dec. 5-8. Matthew Patitz, associate professor of computer science and computer engineering, explained the recurring request for more volunteer opportunities like this one.

“The students, some of them as young as kindergarteners, have really loved this in the past, and so have the college student volunteers,” Patitz said.

Computer science and computer engineering students are making sure to make their mark on the community and inspire young minds during their college careers.

Two U of A computer science students work with students at a local elementary school.

Photo by Dani Jackson

Seven Decades of Success

U of A Celebrates ‘Transformational’ Partnership With Panama

BY JOHN POST

The relationship between the University of Arkansas and the country of Panama is defined by firsts.

The U of A became the first land-grant institution in America to begin an international agricultural mission when it established one in Panama more than 70 years ago. The university’s first international alumni chapter was established in Panama in 2012, and Panamanian students have been one of the university’s largest international student populations over the last decade.

But the seven decades of collaboration between the U of A and Panama has yielded more than just history. It’s produced benefits reaped by both university and country as the partnership has flourished to drive economic growth, and trade, boost research, and creativity – and, most importantly, transform lives.

“This has been a transformational partnership for both the University of Arkansas and the country of Panama,” said Curt Rom ✪+, B.S.A.’80, interim

dean of the Graduate School and International Education. “Panama and the U of A’s partnership has produced economic development, research and student successes that have benefited both entities. Our histories are deeply intertwined.”

A Historical Partnership

In 1951, the University of Arkansas made history when it began an international agricultural mission to Panama, the first such mission for a landgrant institution in the United States. The U of A sent two dozen researchers and faculty members to Panama, led by professor Paul Noland, to help establish a teaching, research and extension program similar to the U.S. land-grant model.

It was a transformational partnership. The program not only stimulated the growth of Panama’s agriculture, it also developed a strong connection between Panamanians and Arkansans, a relationship that broadened to include academic exchanges, shared research and economic cooperation.

In 2011, the Graduate School and International Education collaborated with the National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation to create the Pre-Academic Program for SENACYT Scholars, a highly competitive five-year program designed to provide a pipeline to college graduation, starting with preacademic programs in intensive English language and continuing through academic programs culminating with college graduation.

“This program recruits top student scholars to the university and offers yearround support to provide the necessary skills and preparation for scholars to graduate within four years,” Rom said.

Mayra Torres M.S.W.’08, associate director of special programs in the U of A’s Sponsored Students and Special Programs Office, oversees the pre-academic program at the U of A and has seen firsthand the

successes of Panamanian students and graduates.

“This group of students is very determined, hardworking and have demonstrated true leadership on campus,” Torres said. “They have served in various capacities including as diversity and inclusion student ambassadors, peer mentors, Society of Women Engineers, International Culture Team, SGA representatives, Future Women Business Leaders and much more. Their presence and culture are noticed by and make a big impact on the U of A campus and community.”

The Sam M. Walton College of Business has had close ties to the university’s efforts in Panama as well, lending its expertise from its top-ranked supply chain management program and gaining valuable learning opportunities from the country’s world-renowned canal system. In 2013, the Walton College began offering a Master of Business Administration in Panama City in collaboration with the Universidad de Panama, and in 2014, Walton College faculty member Terry Esper M.B.A.’98, Ph.D.’03 led a summer program to Panama with an emphasis on global supply chain management.

In 2011, the college launched a collaboration with Panama’s government to offer a Certificate of Entrepreneurial Excellence to Panamanian entrepreneurs that offered education on important aspects of starting a successful business, such as recognizing and commercializing creative ideas, managing the finances of innovative activities and marketing products that are spawned by those ideas.

Panamanians educated by the U of A have taken their knowledge back to assist with the country’s supply chain efforts. Layseen Chen B.S.B.A.’16 graduated with a bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, pursuing her dream of studying abroad as a member of the first cohort of the Pre-Academic Program for SENACYT Scholars in 2013.

After graduation, Chen returned to

Above, alumna Layseen Chen.

Photos submitted Opposite, Panamanian students perform a dance in traditional costume as part of Novatadas, the Panamanian Student Organization's celebration of their culture.

Photo by Chieko Hara

Bridging Technology and Knowledge

The partnership has led to countless other success stories of Panamanian students. Chen is one of more than 275 Panamanian students to attend and graduate from the U of A in the last 12 years, primarily studying in the College of Engineering and the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

“Our Panamanian graduates pursue a variety of career paths after graduation,” Rom said. “Some of the students stay in the United States and find employment, whether in Arkansas or elsewhere. Others pursue graduate education at the U of A. And many of these students take their expertise and education back to Panama to help their native country or find ways to create more partnerships between Arkansas and Panama.”

One of those students is Carlos Diaz B.S.I.E.’20, M.S.O.M.’22. Diaz first attended the U of A in 2014 through a scholarship provided by the National Secretary of Science, Technology and Innovation, where he studied and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in operations management.

While studying at the U of A, Diaz interned with Surftec, a nanotech company in the U of A’s Research and Technology Park that produces antifouling and corrosion-resistant coatings

— products that Diaz realized could have a massive impact on Panama.

The revelation led Diaz to connect Surftec with Luis De Gracia at the International Maritime University of Panama. In collaboration with the Panamanian university, Surftec is researching the use of anti-fouling coatings in marine applications — such as deck components, submerged pumps, underwater piping and canal gate locking systems — that will reduce costly underwater maintenance of mechanical components, in addition to extending the life of the parts.

“When I came to the U of A, I felt Panama was betting on me to learn the skills and knowledge needed to make my country and community a better place,” Diaz said. “My end goal is to build a bridge of technology and knowledge transfer between the United States and Panama, and that starts with Arkansas. I plan to continue looking for new opportunities for collaboration between companies in Northwest Arkansas and Panama to create opportunities for both entities. Panama has great potential, now more than ever after COVID-19 has caused global supply chain issues. I see myself playing a role in helping Panama reach its fullest potential.”

Alumnus Carlos Diaz.

Photo submitted

Opposite above, members of the Panamanian Student Organization show off their traditional costumes at the Arkansas Union Verizon Ballroom.

Opposite below, four Panamanian students searched out the sculpture of Il Porcellino, the "little pig," during a study abroad experience..

Photos submitted

Isabel and John Ed Anthony take part in the November 2021 groundbreaking ceremony for the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation.

Honoring MacKeith

Anthonys’ Gift to Go to Fabrication Workshop and Lab

BY MICHELLE PARKS B.A.’94

University of Arkansas alumnus John Ed Anthony

B.S.B.A.’61 and his wife, Isabel, are contributing $2.5 million to support the future naming of a fabrication space within the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation in honor of Peter MacKeith, dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design since 2014.

This gift supports the center by providing for the future naming of a 9,000-square-foot maker space the Peter Brabson MacKeith II Fabrication Workshop and Laboratory. This will be the center’s largest interior space, occupying most of the ground floor, and it will open out to the fabrication yard.

“We are incredibly grateful for the generous

Photo by Russell Cothren

commitment and vision of the Anthony family,” said Mark Power ★+, vice chancellor for advancement. “They have inspired collaboration and garnered the support of friends and benefactors to bolster the important initiatives in sustainable, Arkansas-sourced timber and wood design.”

The majority of the support for this new design research facility at the university was provided by private funds. In 2018, the Anthonys made the lead $7.5 million gift for the establishment of the center, which will have a primary focus on design innovation in timber and wood.

The Anthony Timberlands Center will serve as home to the Fay Jones School’s graduate program in timber and wood and as an epicenter for its multiple timber and wood initiatives. It will house the school’s existing design-build program and an expanded digital fabrication laboratory. The school is a leading advocate for innovation in timber and wood design.

This fabrication shop will be the heart of the building, as the largest and most active space. It will encompass a large central bay with a metal workshop, seminar room and small digital lab nearby, as well as a dedicated space for a large CNC router. These spaces will be served by an overhead crane that runs on rails from the inside to the outside to move large equipment and assemblies in and out of the building.

“It is fitting that the fabrication space at the heart of the research center be named in honor of Dean Peter MacKeith and in recognition of his leadership on this transformational venture for the university and the state,” Power said.

Located in the university’s Art and Design District, the four-story, 44,800-square-foot center also will include studios, seminar and conference rooms, faculty offices, a small auditorium and a public exhibition space. The construction of the center began in September, with an anticipated completion date of fall 2024.

Anthony said that soon after MacKeith arrived in Arkansas more than eight years ago, MacKeith immediately saw potential for the state’s forests. The state is nearly 57 percent forested, with almost 12 billion trees of diverse species growing on nearly 19 million acres. MacKeith introduced Anthony, who is founder and chairman of Anthony Timberlands Inc., to the ways that mass timber products are being used in European construction in other parts of the world, including Finland, where MacKeith lived and worked for 10 years after initially going there as a Fulbright Scholar.

“He introduced not only me, but also the entire Arkansas forest products community, to concepts that

were occurring all across the world,” Anthony said. “He did this almost single handedly. He formed committees; he made speeches; he incorporated his zeal into putting together groups of people to hear about these innovations that had not been introduced in America.”

Anthony knew these revolutionary approaches to construction were important for the United States, where “stick construction” with cut-to-size framing lumber has long prevailed. And despite the timber and wood products industry that has long thrived in this majority forested state, there had never been a focused effort on developments such as this. Plus, with attention increasingly directed to the environment and the future health of the planet, expanding ways to harness a renewable resource such as forest products is key.

With all of this, it made the most sense for a timberfocused research center to be located on the campus of the state’s flagship university. The university had already begun using mass timber and cross-laminated timber (CLT) in two recent projects: the University Libraries high-density storage annex and Adohi Hall, a livinglearning community residence hall.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic slowed construction and increased costs, Anthony said, the enthusiasm for the research center remains strong.

“There are few forest product laboratories in America, and only two or three are recognized,” Anthony said. “The teaching and development of new wood building techniques in architecture is not widespread.”

So, in addition to their initial gift to the new center, Anthony said that he and Isabel, with this second gift, want to specifically recognize MacKeith for bringing this concept to the state, to the timber and wood products industry and to the university.

“There’s just one person responsible for making this project happen — and it’s not me. It’s Peter MacKeith. And I can’t think of anything more appropriate than for the design and fabrication space of this building to be named in his honor,” Anthony said. “That’s what Isabel and I wanted to do because of his influence. And the enthusiasm shown by other donors to jump on board has been very encouraging.”

John Ed Anthony holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Sam M. Walton College of Business. He previously served on the U of A Board of Trustees and, in 2012, was inducted into Walton College’s Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Isabel, are included in the university’s Towers of Old Main, a giving society for the university’s most generous benefactors, as well as the Chancellor’s Society.

Helping the Healing Biomedical Engineering Team Looks at How To Use Mitochondria to Understand Wounds

BY HARDIN YOUNG M.F.A.’04

Mitochondria are the powerhouse of cells, and Kyle Quinn, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Arkansas, wants to use microscopy to understand how their function can change with age.

“Aging affects us all in different ways,” he says. “And, consequently, the function of our cells can change in different ways.”

Quinn focuses on monitoring cell metabolism over time, using a microscopy technique that detects the natural fluorescence of molecules in our mitochondria. This allows him to

investigate the role mitochondria play in age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disorders, cancer, diabetes and obesity without perturbing or damaging our cells.

One of the applications of Quinn’s research is on non-healing wounds, which disproportionately affect people in Arkansas. The microscopy techniques he utilizes have been applied to cancer research for decades, but very little work has centered on its use in wound healing. So, he’s set out to change that.

Kyle Quinn, associate professor of biomedical engineering.

Photo by Russell Cothren

A Complicated –and Expensive - Problem

Skin wounds, particularly for those who are elderly or diabetic, can quickly turn into a very challenging and expensive problem. Tens of billions of dollars are spent on wound care each year, but the medical profession lacks the necessary tools to diagnose and treat non-healing wounds. This is, in part, due to the scientific community’s incomplete understanding about why wounds don’t heal. They’re typically found on the lower extremities – often as diabetic foot ulcers or venous stasis ulcers – but can also occur in other locations when blood flow is restricted due to prolonged pressure on the skin.

“There aren’t a lot of ways to evaluate why wounds aren’t healing, which makes it difficult to treat,” Quinn says. “These are ticking time bombs in some ways, because if an infection takes hold, that’s when things get complicated. Amputation or death are common consequences, and the mortality rate for someone with a diabetic foot ulcer is higher than most cancers.” Quinn started researching wound healing because he saw it as an underdeveloped area in biomedical engineering that wasn’t getting much

attention. During his postdoctoral research at Tufts University, he utilized the natural fluorescence of mitochondria to monitor stem cell differentiation and the development of engineered tissues. He realized some of these techniques could be transferred to monitor skin wound healing and wrote a grant proposal that resulted in a National Institutes of Health Pathway to Independence Award, which took him from his postdoctoral work to a full-time faculty position at the U of A.

“What appealed to me about the U of A was that it was a small department at the time, and everyone seemed very collegial and collaborative,” he says. “I could tell there were potential opportunities to collaborate and explore other applications for our fluorescence imaging techniques.”

Doctoral student Michael Blair acquires fluorescence images from skin tissue using a custom-built hyperspectral microscope.

Photo by Russell Cothren

Quinn received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a doctorate in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mapping Metabolism

In order to tackle the problem of non-healing wounds, it’s important to understand how the body normally handles the healing process.

Quinn explains that skin wound healing is a coordinated dance with many different cell types. Inflammatory cells come in to clean up the wound, and then additional cells arrive to deposit collagen and reform the mechanical scaffold that holds the skin together. The cells that make up blood vessels grow into the wound and provide oxygen and nutrients to the area. And then, when the environment is right, keratinocytes “crawl over” and form the protective barrier that is needed. Quinn likens the process to renovating a house: inflammatory cells are the exterminators that kill the unwanted pests, the cells depositing collagen are like the carpenters who come in to work, the endothelial cells are the plumbers of vasculature and the keratinocytes serve as the roofers.

In Quinn’s lab, they use advanced microscopy technology to monitor the healing process and are establishing biomarkers to assess what the wounds are doing and what they need to heal. He explains that imaging techniques like MRI and CT scans don’t have great resolution, making it impossible to

visualize individual cells, so he and his team instead have turned to multiphoton microscopy, a powerful imaging system capable of viewing biological tissue in three dimensions at the cellular level. The system allows him to generate 3D maps of wound metabolism based on the natural fluorescence of mitochondria.

“When someone comments that your skin is glowing, it actually does glow,” Quinn says. “Our cells have a couple of naturally fluorescent molecules in them – much like what you would see when turning on a black light. They are primarily localized in mitochondria and are useful in understanding cell metabolism, which is the process through which our cells turn food into energy.”

When cells break down glucose and convert it into energy, they use a network of enzymatic reactions that produce adenosine triphosphate, more commonly referred to as ATP. Quinn explains that there are molecules that assist enzymes and connect the breakdown of sugar to the production of ATP, and they carry and release electrons. Whether they’re carrying an electron or not is something that can be detected. One molecule is fluorescent when it’s carrying electrons and one is fluorescent when it’s not carrying electrons.

Multiphoton microscopy can enable non-invasive imaging in a clinical setting due to several advantages compared to other microscopy techniques.

These molecules are related to metabolism and can provide a sense for whether the cells are breaking down sugar to produce ATP or for other reasons. A ratio of these two fluorescence molecules can give researchers an idea about what the cell is doing – either growing and dividing or starting to “crawl” across the wound.

“At the edge of a wound, our cells metabolically act like a tumor. They pick up on the fact that there’s a lot of inflammation from the wound, and they’re going to grow and divide like an aggressive tumor,” Quinn said. “As the wound inflammation subsides, they’ll stop

proliferating at the edge of the wound and crawl between the scab and wound bed and reform the outer layer of skin.”

For many older adults, the cells don’t grow and divide quickly enough at the beginning of the healing process. And with many diabetic patients, the cells remain at the wound edge and keep growing quickly but don’t crawl into the wound. Quinn’s imaging approach can detect these different responses between age-related delays and diabetic-related delays.

“If we can identify the cause of impaired healing on a case-by-case basis, we can learn to treat these wounds better,” he said.

Lab manager Mamello Mohale Ph.D.’21 (seated) studies a map of the fluorescence and metabolism of stem cells with doctoral student Olivia Kolenc and Quinn.

Multiphoton microscopy image of a skin wound tissue section.

Photos by Russell Cothren

A Rising Star in Research

Since Quinn joined the U of A in 2015, he has accumulated a multitude of research funding to support his work. Three of these awards are particularly notable.

In 2019, Quinn earned $500,000 to support his research and teaching through the NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development program, known as a CAREER award. It’s considered one of the most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty. One of the areas funded by the grant will be outreach activities in Arkansas, including summer camps offered by the Department of Biomedical Engineering that are designed to expose K-12 students to science – particularly from groups that are underrepresented in engineering.

Then, in 2021, he received a four-year, $1.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop non-

invasive, real-time “optical biopsies” of chronic skin wounds. He is combining multiphoton microscopy and “deep learning,” an artificial intelligence-based approach to analysis, with the goal of training a computer algorithm to delineate wound regions accurately and quickly.

That same year, the NIH announced a $10.8 million grant to establish a center of biomedical research excellence that will enable an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the U of A and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to address the role of cell and tissue metabolism in rare and common diseases such as cancer, diabetes and obesity. Quinn serves as director of the Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center, which supports three research cores focused on providing complementary, state-of-the-art research tools to aid researchers in studying cell and tissue metabolism.

Kyle Quinn and his lab personnel.

Because of these grants, Quinn can also fund the work of graduate students in his lab, who contribute to the research.

“I really enjoy training the next generation of scientists,” he said. “It’s one of the most rewarding aspects of the job. I am here because of the supportive and collaborative environment, and it has motivated me to help grow biomedical research on campus through our new center. We’ve got a good group of people who enjoy interacting with each other, which can be rare in academia.”

Alan Woessner B.S.B.M.E.’16, Ph.D.’22, originally from the northeast Arkansas town of Manila, came to the U of A as an undergraduate and has continued to work in Quinn’s lab since. He earned his doctorate from the university in 2022 and is the imaging and spectroscopy core

manager for the Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center.

“I like being on the cutting edge of this research,” he said. “Kyle is a good mentor. He pushes you to learn new things but also ensures you understand the bigger picture of what you’re doing and the primary goal. He keeps us grounded.”

Quinn notes that there can be other medical or scientific applications for the work he is doing, including aiding in the evaluation of new wound care products in the future. So, what started as an endeavor into an untapped area could bring additional breakthroughs in technology and will almost certainly guarantee that the scientific spotlight continues to shine on Quinn in Fayetteville.

“I feel like I can make an impact here,” he says.

In addition to these grants, Quinn received nearly $750,000 from the NIH in 2015, a $1.7 million NIH grant in 2017, $140,000 from the Department of Defense in 2018 to study the role that spinal cord injuries play in skin wound healing, the Rising Star Faculty Award from the university’s College of Engineering in 2019 and another NIH grant of nearly $400,000 for tools to assess mitochondrial diseases in 2019.

Runnels and Rivulets

Researchers Pursue Cost-Effective Method

To Monitor Streamflow in Small-Scale Watersheds

BY FRED MILLER

Researchers at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station have developed an economical method to monitor rainwater surges in small streams.

They showed that compact upward-scanning doppler radar systems designed to monitor manmade waterways can be adapted to monitor streamflows in natural channels of smaller watersheds.

Long-term streamflow data is essential to understand

changes in hydrology and trends in natural disturbances like floods and drought, said Brian Haggard M.S.’97, professor of biological and agricultural engineering for the experiment station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture.

Haggard is director of the experiment station’s Arkansas Water Resources Center. He also has a teaching appointment with the U of A’s College of Engineering.

Fresh water is a small percentage of the Earth’s water supply, but it is vital for human well-being, ecosystem support, economic activity and other purposes, Haggard said. Human activity and natural changes have great influence on available freshwater sources. Monitoring streamflow under extreme conditions caused by drought or stormwater runoff is essential for understanding how these stresses affect freshwater ecosystems.

Streamflow data support municipalities that need to manage storm surge water, Haggard said. State and federal agencies and researchers need the information to build and validate watershed models for the movement of sediments and nutrients and to find and correct nonpoint pollution sources.

Haggard said that most techniques for measuring and recording streamflow data can be costly to install and maintain.

“Installing and operating a typical streamflow monitoring station represents an investment of about $50,000 for the first year and around $25,000 for each subsequent year,” he said.

The instruments are not designed to be portable and are not easily moved to multiple locations, Haggard said.

A three-year study by Abbie Lasater

B.S.Ch.E.’17, Ph.D.’21, one of Haggard’s former graduate students, evaluated a low-cost method for remotely monitoring streamflow in small-scale watersheds. Haggard said these are mostly smaller streams that feed into larger watersheds, such as the White River.

Lasater led the study in the upper Poteau River Watershed in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency supported the study with a $415,415 grant administered through the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission.

Lasater used three SonTek-IQ acoustic doppler instruments, rotating them to 12 research sites to monitor streamflow discharges in the upper watershed, Haggard said. Cables connected the units to battery packs and data ports

mounted above the high-water levels of each stream. The team used inexpensive pressure transducers to measure stream depth continuously.

The researchers collected stream depth continuously at each location and storm surge data following rain events, Haggard said. The compact SonTek units provided effective and accurate measurements in the small stream settings.

Haggard said the SonTek devices are designed for measuring flow through manufactured waterways like stormwater conveyances and irrigation canals where the shape and volume of the channels are known. Central to this research was to see if they could accurately measure flow through the irregular channels of natural streams.

(Continued on page 63)

A research team from the Arkansas Water Resources Center installs an upwardscanning acoustic doppler to monitor streamflow in Brush Creek in Washington County. Research scientist Brad Austin Ph.D.’15 fastens the unit to a concrete pad that anchors it to the streambed.

Photo(s) by Fred Miller

Forty-Two Years in the Field

Arkansas Fruit Breeder

John R. Clark Reflects on Career

BY JOHN LOVETT

Take a walk through the fruit section at your local grocery store or farmers market, and you’re bound to pick up a grape, peach, nectarine, blackberry or blueberry with John Reuben Clark’s ✪+, Ph.D.’83 fingerprints on it.

Over the course of his 42-year career with the U of A System Division of Agriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station fruit breeder and Distinguished Professor of horticulture has been the developer or co-developer of 81 varieties of fruit,

including the first primocane-fruiting blackberries that flower and fruit on first-year canes, Prime-Jim® and Prime-Jan®.

The primocane-fruiting trait expands the ripening season into late summer and fall for blackberries and extends the domestic production and marketing season from one to two summer months to potentially more than six months, according to Margaret Worthington, associate professor of fruit breeding and genetics for the experiment station. The primocane-fruiting trait also

expanded production to new areas of the world and facilitated organic production, Worthington added.

Clark officially retired from the Division of Agriculture at the end of January.

“Dr. Clark and his program have changed the small-fruit industry, both domestically and around the world,” said Wayne Mackay, head of the Horticulture Department. “He has the unique ability to imagine what the consumer desires and then create varieties that match that need.”

Mackay said Clark also successfully collaborated with the berry industry to get new varieties successfully marketed.

“This is most evident in his germplasm licensing that allowed the industry to create new flavored table grape varieties, such as Cotton Candy, that have changed what consumers expect in that product category,” Mackay said. “He is truly a game changer.”

Clark said in the fruit business, “quality is the key” because there are so many new varieties, and there is competition among the fruits.

“I would not have said that 40 years ago,” Clark said. “I would’ve said the key thing is we need blackberries without thorns, and high yield.”

Having accomplished thornless blackberries and developing many other positive attributes for fruit growers, Clark’s work progressed to focus more on consumer tastes and shipping traits that extend the fruit’s viability.

Pioneer in Patent Licensing

The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 enabled universities and nonprofit research institutions to own, patent and commercialize inventions developed under federally funded research programs. Although Clark’s predecessor James Moore began patenting varieties in the early 1980s, Clark expanded the intellectual property program, including increased variety patent licensing as well as establishing breeding and testing

agreements for the Division of Agriculture starting in the early 2000s. This emphasis later coincided with the development of the Technology Commercialization Office. Income from intellectual property fully supports the Arkansas Fruit Breeding Program, Clark said.

“In addition to his creative eye as a plant breeder, John has a creative perspective on the commercial and marketing side,” said Nathan McKinney B.S.A.’81, M.S.’83, assistant director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and a former technology licensing officer in the Technology Commercialization Office. “John was able to marry the science and the business like no other faculty.”

Many of the cultivars Clark developed have found success, Worthington said, particularly for the blackberry industry.

In addition to the varieties released directly from the Arkansas Fruit Breeding Program, Clark has also worked with collaborators at Driscoll’s, International Fruit Genetics and other companies around the world to develop new varieties through breeding agreements using the unique genetics created in the program. Innovative table grape flavors have been moved from Arkansas into IFG proprietary varieties, with the trademarked Cotton Candy and Candy Hearts being some of the most popular examples. The unique flavors developed in Arkansas have generated worldwide excitement in the table grape industry, Worthington said.

Spreading the Word

Although a world-renowned fruit breeder in his own right, since 2013, Clark has also gained a musical reputation for the melodic guitar instrumentals that he composed to accompany the Division of Agriculture’s YouTube videos that describe new Arkansas fruit varieties. The videos were prompted by Dave Edmark ★ M.A.’93, former experiment station

(Continued on page 62)

Opposite page, John Clark from Division of Agriculture

Photo by Whit Pruitt

Culinary Career

Alumnus Herrera Demonstrates Possibilities for Food

BY KARLI YARBER M.S.’21

product. He also showed students how to select visually pleasing ingredients to create an appealing presentation for consumers.

Fast forward to November 2022, when Herrera joined Rosa Buescher from the Department of Food Science, along with Travis Hester, owner of Eat My Catfish local eatery, to speak to Fayetteville High School students. This time, Herrera provided a cooking demo and shared about his background and how that diversity and a lot of hard work led him to success.

Back during the holiday season, stories like Sergio Herrera’s brought joy to everyone. Previously a student at the U of A in food science, Herrera B.S.A’19 is now an executive chef at Tyson Foods. However, he didn’t leave others behind as his success grew.

A first-generation student whose parents are immigrants from El Salvador, Herrera grew up in Springdale and has always been interested in food and culinary arts. Since his graduation, he has been dedicated to giving back to the community.

In 2019, Herrera visited a culinary class in career and technical education at Bentonville West High School. Audra Weeks, the class instructor, hosted as he shared with students how science, food safety and food sensory trials are all essential in creating a desirable food

The FHS students are part of a new hands-on program that offers up to 30 college credits in culinary arts to Fayetteville and other local high schools. Providing examples of a solid track for high school students to gain credits at NorthWest Arkansas Community College and eventually end up in food science in U of A’s Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, Richard Bell, FHS class instructor, was excited for the guests to speak with his students. Herrera emphasized his desire to give back to the community and encourage students to find love in culinary, food science, business and education.

As a non-traditional minority who graduated from NWACC and U of A, Herrera uses his successes as a chef to encourage others to find hope in the discipline and take advantage of the opportunities available to them.

“To me, food is an art with a sprinkle of science. I am so blessed to be able to connect and educate the younger generations, and I hope I can continue to do so in the future,” Herrera said.

Sergio Herrera, center, with Travis Hester, left, owner of seven Eat My Catfish restaurants, and Richard Bell, a culinary teacher at Fayetteville High School who uses the Fayetteville Public Library culinary kitchen for teaching.

Photo by Rosa Buescher

‘Lumberman’ Woodland Gardens Landscape Architecture Space to Honor Aubra Anthony Sr.

BY MICHELLE PARKS

Aubra H. Anthony Jr., with his wife, Mary Pat Anthony, is contributing $450,000 to support the naming of the landscape architecture space at the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation in honor of his late father, Aubra H. Anthony Sr., known as a “forest farmer and lumberman.”

This gift provides support to the center by naming the landscape architecture and other external spaces the Aubra H. Anthony Sr. “Lumberman” Woodland Gardens at the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation.

In addition, Anthony will donate a sculpture, called “Pinecone,” designed and assembled by an Arkansas artist, Janice Hughes. Anthony’s four children contributed an additional $100,000 in honor of his 75th birthday, bringing the larger family gift to a total $550,000.

“On behalf of the Fay Jones School, I want to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to Aubra Anthony and his family for this generous, impactful gift,” said Dean Peter MacKeith. “The Anthony Timberlands Center project not only represents Arkansas’ forests and timber and wood products industries, but, more deeply, the center represents the relationships of so many Arkansas families to those forests and to each other. This is the representational and transformative power of architecture and design. This gift substantiates specifically the importance of landscape architecture and Garvan Woodland Gardens to the identity of the school and the university. Again, we are deeply grateful.”

The Anthony Timberlands Center will serve as home to the Fay Jones School’s graduate program in timber and wood and as an epicenter for its multiple timber and wood initiatives. This education and research center will focus on excellence in wood design, materials innovation and product diversification to expand the use of wood in design, manufacturing and construction.

The Aubra H. Anthony Sr. Woodland Gardens will encompass two covered outdoor teaching terraces and a 12,000-square-foot pedestrian plaza known as Anthony Way. Located on the western side of the center, Anthony Way includes a grove of softwood and hardwood trees of the same species that represent those native to the state and commonly used in manufacturing.  This plaza also features a flexible communal gathering space, a rainwater harvesting area to help control stormwater, a social grove with seating and shade trees to accommodate small groups, a patio area with tables and chairs that looks down into the fabrication yard, and a 5,000-square-foot lawn and stepped timbers that connect to neighboring buildings.

The 44,800-square-foot Anthony Timberlands Center will also include studios, conference rooms, faculty offices and a public exhibition space.

Aubra and Mary Pat Anthony, along with their family, are contributing a combined $550,000 to support the naming of the landscape architecture at the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials

Innovation in honor of his late father, Aubra H. Anthony Sr.

Photo Submitted

Membership Matters President’s Letter

Let me start by thanking all our alumni members for their investment in the Arkansas Alumni Association. Annual and life memberships are the lifeblood of our association. These funds allow us to serve you through ongoing activities that inform you, and host events in Fayetteville and cities throughout the country.

Membership support allows our staff to host annual events for students and recent graduates such as the Ring Ceremony and Senior Walk Dedication. Your support also makes possible the annual Alumni Awards Celebration that recognizes the work and success of many U of A graduates. The association hosts a tailgate for every home football game as well as member appreciation events centered around several spring sports.

In addition to publishing your Arkansas magazine four times a year, the staff maintains an outstanding website with a catalog for alumni apparel, schedules of events, activities, travel opportunities, RazorLink, chapter and society events and much, much more.

I took a lot of this for granted when I was living outside of Arkansas. By the way, let me offer a shoutout to the Tulsa Chapter in Oklahoma, which kept me engaged while living there. Now that I have moved back to Fayetteville, I see all the activities that are done for members and wanted to share these with you.

When you see all the work the association does for our members, you might be surprised to learn that

we continue to accomplish this despite a decrease in membership through the COVID-19 pandemic. We continued to put our alumni first by offering programming without actively soliciting new or lapsed members for two years. We have a significant opportunity to increase outreach and enhance experiences for our alumni by growing our membership. That’s where you can help.

All of us have friends who graduated from the U of A who may not know about the benefits of membership in the Arkansas Alumni Association. How about asking your friends if they are members? The annual dues are not expensive, and the benefits are tremendous. Parents might help by purchasing memberships for their children.

I hope you will consider renewing or upgrading your membership as it reaches its expiration date.

Another way to help us is to attend local chapter and society events to connect with other alums and find out what is happening. Through the activities mentioned above and our Hog Tags, the association provides over $1 million in scholarships to deserving students each year. That must make you a proud Razorback alum.

Thank you,

Don Walker ✪+ B.S.A.’74 President, National Board of Directors Arkansas Alumni Association

University Relations

Past Presidents of the

1923-24 Joseph Kirby Mahone ✪ B.A.’07

1924-25 Robert Hill Carruth B.A.’11

1925-26 James E. Rutherford ✪ B.A.’22

1926-27 Winston Lee Winters B.S.C.E.’06

1927-28 J.L. Longino B.S.E.E.’03

1928-29 Alfred Boyde Cypert B.A.’12

1929-30 James William Trimble B.A.’17

1930-31 G. DeMatt Henderson B.A.’01, LL.B.’03

1931-32 Dr. Jasper Neighbors M.D.’18

1932-33 Scott D. Hamilton B.A.’24

1933-34 Charles A. Walls B.A.’07

1934-35 Arthur D. Pope B.A.’06

1935-36 John C. Ashley B.A.’11

1936-37 Beloit Taylor B.A.’19

1937-38 John P. Woods ✪ B.A.’09

1938-39 Glen Rose ★ B.S.E.’28, M.S.’31

1939-40 Claude J. Byrd ★ B.S.A.’25

1940-41 Charles Frierson Jr. ’29

1941-42 John B. Daniels B.S.A.’33

1942-44 G. DeMatt Henderson B.A.’01, LL.B.’03

1944-45 Dr. M. L. Dalton M.D.’32

1945-46 Jack East ✪ B.S.E.’24

1946-47 Steve Creekmore ★ B.S.B.A.’11

1947-48 Maupin Cummings ✪ B.A.’32

1948-49 Roy Milum B.A.’04, LL.D.’58

1949-50 Paul Sullins ✪ J.D.’37

1950-51 Francis Cherry LL.B.’38

1951-52 J.C. Gibson B.A.’24, M.S.’38

1952-53 George Makris ✪ B.S.B.A.’37

1953-54 Edward B. Dillon Jr. ★ LL.B.’50

1954-55 Beloit Taylor B.A.’19

Arkansas Alumni Association Board of Directors ALUMNI ARK ANSAS

1955-56 Louis L. Ramsay Jr. LL.B’47, LL.D.’88

1956-57 Stanley Wood ✪ B.A.’23

1957-58 A.L. Whitten M.S.’40

1958-59 W.R. “Dub” Harrison B.A’.20

1959-60 E.M. “Mack” Anderson ✪+ B.A.’32

1960-61 Warren Wood ✪ LL.B.’32

1961-62 Owen Calhoun Pearce B.S.B.A.’38, LL.B.’41

1962-63 James C. Hale B.A.’33

1963-64 Jack East Jr. ✪ B.S.B.A.’48

1964-65 J. Fred Patton ✪+ B.A.’29 M.A.’36

1965-66 P.K. Holmes Jr. ✪ B.A.’37 LL.B.’39

1966-67 William H. Bowen ★ LL.B.’49

1967-68 Guy H. Lackey ✪+ B.S.B.A.’49

1968-69 Robert P. Taylor ✪+ B.S.B.A.’47, M.S.48

1969-70 John Ed Chambers B.A.’39, LL.B.’40

1970-71 Chester H. Lauck ’25

1971-72 Nathan Gordon ✪+ J.D.’39

1972-73 Charles E. Scharlau ✪+ LL.B.’51

1973-74 Carl L. Johnson ★ B.S.B.A.’47

1974-75 R. Cecil Powers ✪ B.S.B.A.’30

1975-76 J.C. Reeves ✪ ’25

1976-77 Elizabeth (Sissi) Riggs Brandon ✪+ B.S.E.’55

1977-78 Roy Murphy ✪+ B.S.I.M.’49

1978-79 J. Fred Livingston ✪ B.S.B.A.’55

1979-80 Tracy Scott ★ B.S.E.’53

1980-81 Edward W. Stevenson ✪+ B.S.B.A.’60

1981-82 J. Fred Livingston ✪ B.S.B.A.’55

1982-83 Don Schnipper ✪+ B.A.’63, J.D.’64

1983-84 Mary Trimble Maier ✪+ B.A.’49

1984-85 Bart Lindsey ✪+ B.S.B.A.’67

1985-86 W. Kelvin Wyrick ✪+ B.S.E.’59

1986-87 Larry G. Stephens B.S.I.E.’58

1987-88 Rebecca Shreve ✪+ B.S.E.’60, M.Ed.’63

1988-89 Robert T. Dawson ✪+ B.A.’60, LL.B.’65

1989-90 Gregory B. Graham ✪+ B.S.B.A.’70, J.D.’72

1990-91 Blake Schultz ✪+ B.A.’51

1991-92 Chuck Dudley ✪+ B.S.B.A.’76, M.B.A.’77

1992-93 Harriet Hudson Phillips ✪+ B.A.’72

1993-94 Richard Hatfield ✪+ B.S.B.A.’65, LL.B.’67

1994-95 Jenny Mitchell Adair ✪+ B.A.’62

1995-96 Jack McNulty ✪+ B.S.B.A.’67 J.D.’70

1996-97 Sylvia Boyer ✪+ B.S.E.’63

1997-98 Morris Fair ★ B.S.B.A.’56

1998-00 H. Lawson Hembree IV ✪+ B.S.A.'82

2000-02 Jeffrey R. Johnson ✪+ B.A.’70

2002-04 Edward Bradford ✪+ B.S.E.’55, M.Ed.’56

2004-06 Brian M. Rosenthal ✪+ B.S.B.A.’84

2006-08 Kenny Gibbs ✪+ B.S.B.A.’85

2008-10 Gerald Jordan ✪+ B.A.’70

2010-12 Steve Nipper ✪+ B.S.B.A.’71, M.B.A.’73

2012-14 John Reap ✪+ B.S.B.A.’70

2014-16 Stephanie S. Streett ✪ B.S.’91

2016-18 Don Eldred ✪+ B.S.B.A.’81

2018-20 Teena Gayle Gunter ✪ J.D.'92, LL.M.'97

2020-22 Ron Rainey ✪ B.S.A.’91, M.S.’93, Ph.D.’01

A Life in Pursuit of Excellence A Spotlight on Marcus Hill ★ B.A.’05

BY BETH DEDMAN ★ B.A.’20

Marcus Hill graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and sociology from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Hill grew up in Little Rock playing in Centennial Park, known for its gang violence at the time. He was surrounded by the threat of violence; even the most dayto-day activities were often carried out to the tune of gun violence. He decided early on that he did not want his life to be anything like what he saw on a day-to-day basis. So, he dedicated his life and his future to the pursuit of excellence.

Hill didn’t have to walk alone on his journey to a better life. He had many influences that inspired him to stay on the right path to excellence.

His grandfather set the example for him, a 20-year Air Force veteran, who was also one of the first African American plumbing inspectors in North Little Rock. He instilled in Hill the merits of being a good husband, a man of faith, a hard worker and a family provider.

Positive pursuits for Hill included spending time at his church, First Baptist Highland Park in Little Rock, and becoming a star defensive end for the Little Rock Central High Tigers. Houston Nutt, an alumnus of Little Rock Central High, saw Hill’s all-state level athletic ability and offered him a spot on the Razorback football team. However, athletics wasn’t Hill’s only ambition. His primary focus was on thriving in college and graduating. After an injury prevented him from continuing his football career, Hill was able to place more emphasis on his academic excellence and work toward his degree, which he was proud to earn from one of the top schools in the state of Arkansas.

“It was just so pivotal for me to be in a situation where nobody is really telling you to do anything,” Hill said. “It’s all about your conscious mind to know, ‘Hey, you got to do these things to continue to make it to the next level,’ and so having that aspect of responsibility and discipline played an important role in my whole career.”

Photos submittedd

Hill said the mindset he developed for selfdiscipline was born during his time at the U of A. This mindset has pushed Hill toward greatness in his professional career, beginning as an appraiser at the unusually young age of 24. He started his own appraisal company in Little Rock at 26.

“When you start your own company, you’re literally working either at your own office or at home, and you literally have to complete the reports for the banks and more companies that you’re working for all on your own,” Hill said. “It’s a lot of responsibility. You must have that self-driven mindset and create your own individuality.”

Hill loved the energy of even just being in the presence of other people striving for excellence. One of his favorite places to study was the Arkansas Union because he was able to feed off the energy of everyone in the main lobby working on their assignments.

Hill surrounded himself with peers equally dedicated to achieving their success, creating an ecosystem of support and encouragement as they all traversed through the challenges of college, whether they were his fellow athletes, classmates or brothers in the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

“Being a part of a fraternity, I got to see a group of men like doing positive things,” he said. “I didn't have a lot of positive role models, so for me to be a part of a group that’s trying to achieve, that was the biggest and best thing. The main focus was achievement and integrity, and that was instilled in me throughout this amazing college experience.”

That pursuit of excellence helped Hill create his own company in Little Rock. He eventually caught the eye of Dallas-based company Fannie Mae, one of the top real-estate appraisal companies in the South. Hill lived in Dallas for several years, but now works remotely for Fannie Mae from his home in Little Rock.

“I’ve been away from my family so long; my family is primarily in Little Rock,” Hill said. “I've got a 92-yearold grandpa that I’m crazy about — I just want to spend more time with him. I have just been so focused on career, career, career that now it’s time to just be more focused on family.”

But that doesn’t mean Hill is slowing down. Hill is working on a book about his life and career, and he enjoys opportunities to educate the Razorback community on tools that could benefit them as they traverse the economic world of real estate.

“I didn’t learn a lot about finances until after college,” Hill said. “Then, it felt like I learned everything all at once. I started learning about property equity and property values and the home-buying process. I love to be able to share the things I have learned from the very young age of 24 and share it with other students at the U of A who could benefit from the real estate profession.”

Hill also donates his time and speaking talents to organizations like RISE, which help teenagers become financially literate so that they will be able to put their lives on a positive trajectory.

“Helping students understand the difference between renting and home ownership is huge,” Hill said. “Even if they don’t go to college, they should be able to have that knowledge that can help them start strategically building a financial future.”

The support of members of the Arkansas Alumni Association has been very meaningful to Hill. While he was working in Texas, Hill would connect with the Dallas Chapter, and he loved being able to connect with other people who shared a history with and love for the University of Arkansas.

“It’s really supportive because we are all in our careers,” Hill said, “but it’s like you never can forget the U of A because of the job the Alumni Association is doing creating opportunities to participate in an event or to come back home for homecoming. It’s just amazing to never feel like you’re a stranger. It’s great to get a little piece of the U of A anywhere you go.”

Read more about Hill’s childhood, his time at the U of A, and his career as an appraiser in his upcoming book titled Assessing MyValue: Thoughts from a Trailblazer in the Real Estate Industry.

Razorback Generations

Gaye Warren Cypert ✪+ B.S.E.’57

BY CATHERINE BALTZ ✪+ B.A.’92, M.ED’07

Gaye Warren Cypert and Jim D. Cypert B.S.B.A.’57 LL.B.’59 (deceased) were high school sweethearts from Springdale who both decided to attend the University of Arkansas. “I knew from the time I was an early teenager that I wanted to be a first-grade teacher and that the U of A had a great education program,” said Gaye. “Also, my future husband was already at the university.” Jim received his first degree in business and then graduated from the School of Law, with a break in his education for service in the U. S. Army.

Gaye and Jim had wonderful experiences at the U of A, making friends for a lifetime. Gaye is a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, and Jim was a Sigma Nu. Gaye reminisced about the dances she attended with Jim and the pinning ceremonies that were part of Greek Life. They both served

as officers in their Greek organizations and many other campus organizations. They both loved to attend football and basketball games.

While she was at the U of A, Gaye found a mentor in Robbye Woods Kinkade B.S.E.’49, M.S.’51, her adviser and professor of elementary education. Gaye completed her student teaching at the Peabody Training School under professor Kincade. During Gaye’s first year of teaching post-graduation at Washington Elementary School, Kincade continued to mentor her as she did with several of Gaye’s fellow graduates.

After her teaching career, Gaye was a travel agent specializing in group travel for more than 30 years. Jim established his legal career and practiced law in Springdale for 56 years.

Photos submittedd

The Cyperts traveled all over the world on their own, through Gaye’s work and with Razorbacks on Tour. At home, Gaye and Jim stayed involved in their local community and the university. Jim was active with the Arkansas Bar Association and served as its president. He served on numerous boards of directors, including Arts Center of the Ozarks, Washington County Red Cross and the Elizabeth Richardson Center. Jim passed away in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Of all her accomplishments, Gaye is most proud of two things — her family and the work she has done to raise breast cancer awareness. Gaye, a breast cancer survivor, is one of the founding members of the Ozark Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and has worked diligently on establishing and supporting the local Race for the Cure.

“Hopefully, I’ve helped others, and I have met a lot of wonderful women survivors who I would never have known if I hadn’t had breast cancer,” Gaye said. Gaye credited the opportunities she had as a U of A student to volunteer and develop in leadership roles for helping her in the many nonprofit volunteer roles she has

held for many years. Gaye's advice for students is take advantage of the many opportunities available. “Prepare yourself for a bright future and definitely have fun,” she said. “Join the alumni association and stay connected.”

Gaye enjoys access to information about the university and the association that her life membership provides and encourages others to be a member.

Jim and Gaye’s love of the university and Razorbacks was shared with their children and grandchildren, who all attended the U of A. Gaye and Jim’s daughter Julie C. Roblee ✪+ B.S.E.’81 married fellow graduate Richard D. Roblee ✪+ B.S.’82 and has three children, Anna K. George B.A.’08, James D. Roblee ✪ B.S.’15, and Thomas Roblee B.S.’14. Gaye and Jim’s second daughter, Jamie Kitzmiller ★ FS’85, and her husband, Michael Kitzmiller ★, had three daughters, Claire E. Kitzmiller Zimmerebner B.A.’11, Emily Kitzmiller B.S.N.’16 and Caroline Kitzmiller B.A.’18.

All the grandchildren say that attending the U of A is the best decision they ever made and helped set the foundation for their success. All are avid Razorback fans.

Opposing page on left, Gaye Warren and Jim Cypert at a formal dance in 1955. Right, Gaye Cypert and her six grandchildren celebrate gameday at the U of A in 2022.

Above:

1. James D. Roblee with wife, Holly Hilburn Roblee ✪ B.A.’12 and their children.

2. Thomas Roblee and his wife Mackenzie Youngman Roblee.

3. Anna George with husband Carl George B.S.B.A.’06 and their three daughters.

4. Claire E. Kitzmiller Zimmerebner and husband Scott Zimmerebner B.S.’11

5. Julie Cypert Roblee and Jamie Cypert Kitzmiller.

Photos submittedd

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Catherine Baltz ✪+ B.A.’92, M.Ed’07

Alumni Scholarship Program A Conversation Between Volunteer and Student

BY SAMANTHA GIUDICE

The Arkansas Alumni Association awards more than $1 million in scholarships every year. At the center of it all are the student applicants and the applications' readers. As an Arkansas Alumni Endowed Scholar, the scholarship from the association has been crucial to my success at the U of A and will allow me to graduate undergrad debt free.

I had the opportunity to sit down with one of the readers of the applications, and she put into perspective exactly how the process works. Having participated in the scholarship review for the Arkansas Alumni Scholarship Program for over 10 years, Autumn Parker ✪ B.S.H.E.S.’00, M.Ed.’02, B.S.B.A.’09 said she has read “over a thousand” student scholarship applications.

Parker came to the U of A as an undergraduate to study hospitality and pursue a career in the culinary arts. After spending only six months away from the U of A while researching different graduate programs, Parker was offered a job at the U of A that included fully paid graduate school. This job focused on student orientation. It was in this position that she fell even more in love with the U of A. Parker described how seeing students get “to the goals that they set, even if they didn’t know what those were,” is one of the parts she most enjoys about working with students.

Because of her time spent at the U of A, Parker said that being a life member of the association is “part of making a commitment to stay connected and be part of this family of Razorbacks forever, which is really important to me.”

Parker views the association as a way to not simply state she is an alumna of the U of A but to stay deeply connected with the U of A, even years after graduation. It was through the association that Parker became involved with the scholarship process. When recalling the first application reading year she participated in, Parker said, “It was a lot. ... It was a lot of applications, and that year wasn’t even close to how many we get now.”

Through the process, Parker has been exposed to students who put their all into their experience at the U of A and has been able to watch as these Arkansas Alumni Scholars go from nervous high school students to undergraduate students who are willing to reach out and

grab opportunities “against all odds.” The association’s scholarship is a truly life-changing experience.

As an Arkansas Alumni Endowed scholar, I have witnessed the change it brings firsthand. Entering my undergraduate career with the scholarship was like a first taste of success that allowed me to gain just enough confidence to make a home for myself on the U of A campus. Because of the alumni scholarship, I know I can reach out to any office on campus for help or assistance, and the worst thing they can do is say no. The confidence this scholarship has given me is part of the reason I felt the need to study abroad for a year in South Korea and part of the reason I am applying for master’s degree programs. The association has opened more doors than I can count, and I am sure my undergraduate experience would not be the same without it.

Autumn Parker is the director of undergraduate recruitment and management at the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

Photos submitted

Autumn Parker, top row, reads scholarship applications in 2022. Bottom Row: Samantha Giudice, author, models a traditional hanbok while visiting the Han River in Seoul, South Korea.

Shaping the Future

Walker Family Committed to Supporting Arkansas Educators

There’s always that one teacher. Many former students can easily recall memories of their favorite teacher, one who nurtured their love of learning or created a space in which they belonged. This is especially true for Don ✪+ B.S.A.’74 and Sheroll Walker ✪+ B.S.E.’75, who recount similar experiences and have a deep appreciation for those pursuing a career in teaching.

As an educator, Sheroll gained a firsthand perspective on some of the challenges teachers face. “Watching the passion and impact of Sheroll’s experiences as a teacher has made education a special priority for us, and our admiration for teachers has only grown seeing their significance in the lives of our daughter and now our grandson,” Don stated.

The Walkers want to mitigate costs for Arkansans pursuing degrees in teacher education at the University of Arkansas. They recently established the Don and Sheroll Walker Endowed Teacher Education Scholarship through the Arkansas Alumni Association. This endowment will create more opportunity and access in support of aspiring teachers.

Don and Sheroll recognize the importance of both community and financial resources in helping prospective teachers accomplish their career objectives. “I’d love to see every student have the necessary support to become successful educators, particularly here in Arkansas,” Sheroll said.

Clockwise, Don Walker joins faculty and staff at the annual Jingle Mingle. Don and Sheroll with daughter Jessica Walker Nohl ✪ B.A.’22. Don and Sheroll Walker enjoy an Alumni Awards Celebration. Photos

This focus on providing more financial support to Arkansans is in alignment with Chancellor Robinson’s initiative to advance student success for Arkansans. In his First 100 Days Plan, Chancellor Robinson reiterated student success as a pillar of our landgrant mission and committed to securing endowed resources to help bridge funding gaps for in-state students.

The Don and Sheroll Walker Endowed Teacher Education Scholarship will provide funding for undergraduate students from Arkansas who exhibit financial need and plan to pursue teaching at the elementary or high school level after graduation. This support illustrates the couple’s strong commitment to improving the future for new teachers and is an investment in educational excellence in Arkansas.

The Walkers are both U of A alumni and even had a couple of classes together while studying at the university. Sheroll earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education while Don completed a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. After graduation, they remained engaged with the university through the Arkansas Alumni Association and continued building lifelong connections that helped shape their lives to this day.

After retiring from a 42-year career, Don served as treasurer of the Arkansas Alumni Association National Board of Directors and is currently in a two-year appointment as president. The association’s mission to connect and serve the U of A family brings students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends together through meaningful engagement opportunities offered worldwide each year. Thanks to the generosity of members and donors, the association awards more than $1 million in scholarships annually. “The association has kept us connected to campus, and we reap so many benefits from the relationships we’ve built here,” said Don.

Walker Nohl, Don Walker, Sheroll Walker, Jessica Nohl, and Brent Nohl ✪ B.A.’02

Photo Submitted

Grad Bash

The Arkansas Alumni Association hosted Grad Bash at JJ's Grill, a special evening for December 2022 graduates to celebrate their accomplishments and be welcomed into the Arkansas Alumni family.

10534 James R. Haymon '72

10535 Jordan Mays Garcia '10

10536 Victoria E. Smith '94

10537 Janet L. Marshall

10538 Dick Bumpas '73

10539 Gloria Bumpas

10540 C. L. Clark Jr.

10541 Gail W. Clark '74, '83

10542 Cathy Rogers Gates '82, '86

10543 James D. Gates '82

10544 Jim Maxey '80

10545 Karl E. Freeman

10546 Francina Freeman

10547 William Randal Wright '78

10548 Nan Wright

10549 Joe Kleine '85

10550 Dana Tucker Kleine '85

10551 Catherine Brunetti '12

10552 Michael Brunetti

10553 Gabriel D. Mallard '98, '05

10554 Ellen Mallard

10555 Jackie L. Davis '79, '80

10556 Lisa Barnes Davis '84

10557 Houston R. Harrison '91

10558 Kerry A. Harrison

10559 Dr. James R. Parks '01

10560 Silvia Parks

10561 Monica Alicia Frame '01

10562 Joe Neil Frame

10563 David Hamilton '80, '81, '93

10564 Tammy Hamilton

10565 Randy E. Thompson '92

10566 Keri Thompson

10567 Cleveland O. Reasoner III '89

10568 Laurie Reasoner

10569 Joseph K. Serio '82

10570 Cynthia Foster Serio '82

10571 Jane Johnston

10572 DuVal D. Johnston '73, '75, '86

10573 Dr. Jane Scroggs

10574 Bob A. Zierak '59

10575 Margie L. Moldenhauer

10576 Robert A. Luter '85

10577 Glynis S. Luter '86

10578 Robert Nathan Clay '82

10579 Linda Jane Clay '98

10580 Sara McClain '95

10581 Mark McClain

10582 Katie Pyles '20

10583 Dr. Dennis W. Berner '70

10584 Virginia Berner

10585 Dr. Stephen A. Cross '80, '85

10586 Helena Cross

10587 Daniel H. Plake '14

10588 Joe Don Harmon '92, '09

10589 Marion L. Rial '85

10590 Cathy L. Rial

10591 John McKisick Jr.

10592 Audrey S. McKisick '81, '88

10593 Reggie Allen Perry '86

10594 Kathy Perry

10595 David M. French '80

10596

10597

10598

10599

10622

10623

10624

10627 Jay B. Folladori III '75

10628

10629 Cassandra M. Buhler '06

10630 Don St. Denis '85

Photos submitted

Cape Cod & the Islands

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For more inFormation on r azorbacks on tour visit WWW.ARKANSASALUMNI.ORG/TRAVEL

Members, alumni, friends and family – anyone can travel with Razorbacks on Tour.

Workin' Like a Hog

U of A faculty and staff members celebrated the holiday season at the Arkansas Alumni Association's annual Jingle Mingle celebration. Attendees enjoyed a hot chocolate and cider bar, festive appetizers, a photo booth and fellowship at this event sponsored by WealthPath.

Class Ring Pickup

U of A students received their official class rings at an informal drop-in reception at the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House on Friday, Dec. 9. Big Red congratulated ring recipients while guests and family members enjoyed light refreshments, photo opportunities and a special gift.

Photos by Catherine Baltz

Photos by Catherine Baltz

Chapter Game Day Events

1. Central Arkansas Chapter Pre-Game Party for Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Bradley at Simmons Bank Arena on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022.

2. Seattle Chapter Watch Party for Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Texas A&M on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022.

3. The Charleston Chapter hosted watch parties throughout the season.

Football Postseason

U of A alumni and friends gathered in Memphis, Tennessee, to watch the Arkansas Razorbacks defeat the Kansas Jayhawks in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

1. The bowl trophy was presented by Kristen Collier Wright ✪ B.A.’98, J.D.’01, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of AutoZone. Wright is a two-time graduate of the U of A and serves as treasurer of the Arkansas Alumni Association National Board of Directors.

2. Quarterback K.J. Jefferson, AutoZone Liberty Bowl MVP, and Wright.

3. Coach Sam Pittman and Wright.

4. Brandy Cox Jackson ✪ M.A.’07, Arkansas Alumni Association executive director, and Wright.

Photos submitted

Photos by Brandy Cox Jackson

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Juan Martin, lying on the floor of his dorm room, provides support for Hiram Luigi to practice a handstand in 1943. Both students were from Puerto Rico and were members of the Pan-American League on campus.

1943 Razorback

1873

• Joseph Carter Corbin, who had been a conductor on the underground railroad before the Civil War, becomes president of the Board of Trustees. During his two-year term of office, he successfully advocated for establishment of a branch of the university that would provide higher education opportunities for African American students in the state and signed the contract for construction of Old Main.

1883

• Alice A. Childress becomes the first woman to graduate from the Branch Normal College at Pine Bluff, earning a Bachelor of Arts. She later became a professor at Branch Normal.

1893

• Mary Anne Davis, then a new instructor at the university, attends the National-American Woman Suffrage Association meeting in Washington, D.C., as Arkansas’ delegate.

1913

• Edgar Finley Shannon is named the first dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; William N. Gladson is named the first dean of the College of Engineering, and James Ralph Jewell is named the first dean of the School of Education.

1923

• Kappa Phi, originally a secret society for women on campus, was granted a charter by Phi Mu to become the Alpha Beta chapter of their national sorority, making it the fifth sorority on the U of A campus. This year marks Phi Mu’s 110th anniversary at the U of A.

• The official seal of the University of Arkansas is designed by Zelma Rothrock B.S.E.’37 and adopted by

the Board of Trustees. The state seal had been used previously

1943 Fraternities aid university efforts to house Army Training Units, providing a solution to the lack of enrollment of men students that risked the closing of fraternity houses.

1953

• Professor J. Paul Sheedy becomes the new champion coffee-drinker of the U of A following his heroic effort in downing 60 consecutive cups in one hour, exceeding the previous record by 18 cups.

1973

• KUAF goes on the air as a student radio station, providing eclectic music shows, news and cultural reports.

1983

• Inaugural event of the Fulbright Institute of International Relations, a center of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, took place in the form of a symposium that consisted of a major address and two panel discussions intended to increase interest in internationalism.

1993

• The University of Arkansas athletics program adds women’s volleyball, which begins using Barnhill Arena for its competitions.

• The Black Cultural Center is opened on campus. Its name is changed to the Multicultural Center the next year. Today it is known as the Center for Diverse and Multicultural Education.

2003

• The Inn at Carnall Hall opens after a renovation of the university’s first residence hall for women. The inn provides guest accommodations for visitors to campus as well as a restaurant and bar.

2013

• Founders Hall is opened as a mixed-use residence hall with the lower two floors allowing connection to the food services, and Hotz Hall is reconverted to a residence hall for honors students. Major renovations and expansions of Ozark Hall and Vol Walker Hall are also dedicated.

• Ray Thornton LL.B.’56, an alumnus, former congressman and former president of the UA System, donates his personal and professional papers to the University Libraries’ Division of Special Collections.

Students picket in front of Vol Walker Hall in 1963, calling for the integration of dormitories on campus. It would take a lawsuit and court order in the fall of 1963 for the U of A to allow Black students to live in residence halls on campus..

1963 Razorback

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

1960s

John A. White Jr. ✪+ BSIE’62 of Hilton Head, South Carolina, published a book on leadership titled Why It Matters: Reflections on Practical Leadership. The book draws on his six decades of expertise as a corporate

From Senior Walk

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,

leader, chancellor, dean, educator, engineer and consultant to create a thorough and thoughtprovoking treatise on leadership.

1980s

Angela Mosley Monts ✪ BA’80, Ph.D.’22 of Fayetteville is the interim vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion.

John R. Clark ✪+ PHD’83 of Fayetteville is the recipient of the 2022 Chad Finn

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+

Ambassador Award from the American Pomological Society. As a Distinguished Professor of horticulture at the U of A, he has been worked at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station as a fruit breeder and researcher.

Cheri M. Poellot BA’89 MED’16 of Springdale is the new director of admissions and enrollment management in the Graduate School and International Education.

1990s

Erica Estes BA’97 MA’99 of Fayetteville is the assistant vice chancellor for Career Services, which is in the Division of Student Affairs.

2000s

Chunxue “Victor” Wang MED’01 EDD’02 of Redlands, California, has published his 56th refereed book, Handbook of Research on Educational Leadership and Research Methodology

Photo by Chieko Hara

Demond Dortch ★ BSIE’02 of Lincoln, Nebraska, is the assistant vice president and chief mechanical officer at BNSF Railway. He will assume systemwide responsibility in driving and continuing alignment and advances in reliability, efficiency and productivity across the mechanical department.

Amy Lyn Wright ★ BSBA’02 of College Station, Texas, was named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2023 Silver Anniversary Team based on outstanding accomplishments as a senior basketball player 25 years ago.

2010s

strategically conceptualize and prepare grant proposals to government agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense to secure funding.

Caylin Cierra Craig BA’16 of Dallas, Texas, is an associate in the Dallas office of Crowe & Dunlevy. A member of the Bankruptcy & Creditor’s Rights and Litigation & Trial Practice Groups, Craig’s litigation practice focuses on a variety of commercial disputes in which she represents individuals and companies in state, federal and bankruptcy court.

Hunter W. Wilson ✪ BSBA’18 of Fort Worth, Texas, is pursuing his MBA at Texas Wesleyan University.

2020s

American Law Schools Section on Women in Legal Education’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award.

In Memoriam

1940s

Joan Gearhart Havens FS’46 of Fayetteville on Oct. 12, 2022.

Martha R. Stearns BSE’48 of Alexandria, Virginia, on Nov. 25, 2022.

Betty J. Bridges BS’49 of Heber Springs on Oct. 19, 2022.

Barrett S. Duff BSCHE’49 of Pasadena, California, on Sept. 20, 2022.

Fred Hunt ★+ BSBA’49 of Little Rock on Dec. 1, 2022.

George D. Mobbs ✪ BSBA’49 of Little Rock on Nov. 14, 2022.

Mary Roy Moses BSE’49 of Hope on Nov. 16, 2022.

Barbara Greengrass Eason MS’52 of Houston, Texas, on Oct. 12, 2022.

Mary Hooker Koldus ✪ BS’52 MED’59 of BryanCollege Station, Texas, on Dec. 3, 2022.

Patricia Miller Righthouse BSE’52 of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Feb. 5, 2022.

Bob Trimble Jr. BSBA’52 of Little Rock on Oct. 12, 2022.

Pat Falls Barrett BSHE’53 MS’77 of Clarksville on Oct. 12, 2022.

Burr E. Fancher BSA’53 MS’58 PHD’79 of Albany, Oregon, on Oct. 29, 2022.

Bobby Dale Fritts BSBA’53 of Athens, Alabama, on Oct. 5, 2022.

J. Byron Grimmett Jr. BSA’53 MED’54 of Waldo on Nov. 10, 2022.

James J. Miner BSA’53 MS’54 of Pittsburg, Texas, on May 12, 2022.

Charlotte B. Martin BSIB’12 and Brennan L. Martin MBA’15 of Miramar, Florida, welcomed their child, Silas Huck Martin, in June 2022. They both work for Diageo, one of the world’s largest spirits companies.

Adnan Ali Khalaf Alrubaye

PHD’13 of Fayetteville is an assistant professor of poultry science who is the recipient of the Golden Tusk Award from the U of A. Gage Greening ✪ BSBME’14

PHD’19 of Fayetteville is a senior grant consultant at ScienceDocs. At ScienceDocs, Greening supports entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses, and academic investigators developing innovative biomedical technologies to

Amanda Grace Fleming BSHES’20 of Little Rock, received an American Wine Society Educational Foundation/Banfi Auction Scholarship. Fleming’s research is focused on "Investigating Quality Attributes and Wine Production Methods of Arkansas Grown Grapes."

Bethany R. Cole MA’22 of Rogers is the author of a new book titled The Wanderer: A New Translation for Middle Earth Readers.

Friends:

Yvette Murphy Erby ✪ of Fayetteville stepped down from her role as vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion to return to the faculty of the School of Social Work in Fulbright College.

Cynthia Nance ✪ of Fayetteville is the recipient of the Association of

Bob Ramsauer BSBA’49 of Texarkana, Texas, on Oct. 14, 2022.

1950s

John Lynn Fletcher BS’50 MA’51 of Lexington, Kentucky, on Nov. 23, 2022.

C.R. Sawrie BSE’50 MED’56 of Little Rock on Nov. 17, 2022.

William Cody Wilson BSE’50 of New York, in 2022.

Margaret Bell Benge BA’51 of Houston, Texas, Oct. 2, 2022.

Ronald P. Bridges BSME’51 of Heber Springs on Nov. 22, 2022.

Polly Anna Williams Core ✪ BSE’51 of Fort Smith on Nov. 14, 2022.

Corley P. Senyard Sr. BSME’51 of Greenwell Springs, Louisiana, on Oct. 8, 2022.

Meade P. Shaw MS’53 of Elmer, Louisiana, on June 14, 2022.

Sylvia Varnall Robirds BA’54 of Houston, Texas, on Nov. 2, 2022.

John C. Stewart ✪+ BSBA’54 of Mabank, Texas, on Aug. 22, 2022.

Mary Ann Pich Willey BSHE’54 of Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 26, 2022.

Donald L. Neal BSBA’55 of Fort Smith on Nov. 16, 2022.

Robert C. Moseley BSBA’56 of San Antonio, Texas, on Oct. 13, 2022.

James Doyle Solomon BSA’56 MS’60 of Clinton on Oct. 3, 2022.

Bob A. Reynolds BSBA’57 of Harrison on Oct. 26, 2022.

Tom Allen BSBA’58 of Little Rock on Sept. 28, 2022.

Senior Walk

James C. Douthit BSBA’58 MBA’59 of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on Jan. 30, 2017

T. G. Goldsborough ✪+ BSBA’58 of Bella Vista on Dec. 1, 2022.

Charles H. Kimbro BS’58 MS’60 of Frisco, Texas, on Jan. 31, 2021.

John D. Phillips ✪ BA’58 of Little Rock on Nov. 11, 2022.

Sue D. Vines BSE’58 of Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 4, 2022.

Lloyd Barnhart BS’59 of New York City, on Sept. 27, 2022.

Monte J. Hopper BS’59 of

1960s

Lawrence A. Davis Jr. MED’60 of Pine Bluff on Oct. 15, 2022.

Harlow K. Fischman MS’60 of Sandpoint, Idaho, on Oct. 27, 2022.

Sarah Whalen Kraft BA’60 of Omaha, Nebraska, on Nov. 22, 2022.

George W. Amos MA’61 PHD’68 of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Oct. 24, 2022.

W. C. Anderson BSE’61 MA’65 of Decatur on Nov. 16, 2022.

Samuel W. Cupps ✪ BSME’61 of Muskogee, Oklahoma, on Oct. 11,

Lucille McCall MS’61 of Little Rock on Oct. 21, 2022.

Carrol Noble MED’61 of Hot Springs on May 14, 2022.

Sherrel N. Dodd BSBA’62 of Garfield on Nov. 2, 2022.

Gary D. Grammer BSPH’62 of Springdale on Nov. 12, 2022.

Judy Gurley BA’62 MA’63 of St. Louis, Missouri, on Dec. 9, 2022.

Jack L. Royal ✪+ BS’62 of Texarkana, Texas, on Nov. 21, 2022.

Duane L. Hunt MA’63 of

Jerre M. Van Hoose BSAGE’63 of Springdale on Dec. 2, 2022.

Sandra D. Williams BSE’63 of Tomball, Texas, on Sept. 12, 2022.

Richard C. Carson Jr. BA’64 of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Dec. 2, 2022.

Opal R. Crow MED’64 of Sherwood on Nov. 13, 2022.

Mary Baxter Fritts BSE’64 of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Nov. 7, 2022.

Don Watson BSBA’64 of Van Buren on Oct. 4, 2022. Kenneth H. Castleberry

Brenda J. Blagg B.A.’69

May 3, 1947 – Dec. 14, 2022

Brenda Blagg, 75, of Fayetteville, died on Dec. 14, 2022. She was born on May 3, 1947, to William and Jaunita Johnson Blagg in Newport. She graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Blagg was on The Arkansas Traveler staff and served as its editor.

After graduation, Blagg entered her full-time journalism career covering Northwest Arkansas and the state for more than 50 years. She was a longtime political correspondent and author of Political Magic: The Travels, Trials and Triumphs of the Clintons’ Arkansas Travelers. Her weekly syndicated column, “Between the Lines,” ran in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and newspapers statewide until October 2022.

During her storied career, Blagg taught news writing as an adjunct professor at the U of A and served on the board of the Lemke Journalism Alumni Society. She was a founding member of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Coalition and had served as a board member of the Arkansas Press Women. Blagg won hundreds of state and national awards for writing, editing and photography. In 2009, she was inducted into the Lemke Hall of Honor, and in 2011, she was named the recipient of the 18th annual Ernie Dean Award for valor in journalism.

Blagg was well known locally for her portrayal of Letitia Mae Stufflebeam in the Northwest Arkansas Gridiron Show. Letitia Mae, “Aunt Titty,” and her husband, Elmer, had been staples of the annual show Blagg helped start and write since the late 1970s to raise scholarship money for the Society of Professional Journalists.

She was survived by two sisters, including Janie Blagg B.S.E.’95, M.Ed.’06; three nieces; a nephew; and eight grand-nieces and nephews.

Margaret E. Bonnell BA’66 of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, on Aug. 22, 2022.

James Luker LLB’66 of Wynne on Nov. 16, 2022. Kirk Pond BSEE’66 of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on Oct. 26, 2022.

Linda Owen Rimer BSN’66 of Little Rock on Dec. 1, 2022.

Walter Edward Smith BSE’66 of Bogart, Georgia, on Nov. 13, 2022.

William E. Atkinson Jr. ✪ MD’67 of Little Rock on Oct. 22, 2022.

Jerome Henry Brand MA’67 of Grand Island, Nebraska, on Nov. 3, 2022.

Jon R. Brittenum BSBA’67 of San Benito, Texas, on Oct. 13, 2022.

BillieAnn Dishongh BSE’67 of Hot Springs on Sept. 6, 2022.

Grace Ann Durden ✪ BSE’67 of Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 22, 2022.

William Hix Smith Jr. ★ BSAGE’67 of Nashville on Oct. 18, 2022.

Connie J. Carter BSE’68 MED’75 of Rogers on Nov. 7, 2022.

Harry Vernon Foster BSA’68 of Rover on Oct. 26, 2022.

Chester Eugene Canada PHD’69 of Canyon, Texas, on Oct. 9, 2022.

Walter Martin Geels BS’69 MBA’71 of Subiaco on Nov. 20, 2022.

Charles Freemon Shuster BSPH’69 of Tontitown on Dec. 7, 2022.

1970s

Nadean R. Bell ✪ BA’70 of Keller, Texas, on Jan. 15, 2022.

Mike A. Limbird BSIE’70 MSE’90 of Little Rock on Oct. 15, 2022.

John D. McGlynn BSBA’70 of Marshfield, Missouri, on Oct. 19, 2022.

Lezlee Holt BA’71 of Eureka Springs on Dec. 7, 2022.

Brenda S. Knee BSHE’71 of Springdale on Oct. 17, 2022.

A. H. Pilch ✪+ EDD’71 of Sylva, North Carolina, on Oct. 20, 2022.

Jo Ann Senko BSHE’71 of Fort Smith on Nov. 2, 2022. Ron Brewer BSBA’72 of Fayetteville on Nov. 29, 2022.

Peter J. Pagones JD’72 of Pickerel Lake, South Dakota, on Oct. 7, 2022.

Dwain Cromwell BA’73 of Fayetteville on Nov. 2, 2022.

Thomas Francis Donovan JD’73 of Rogers on Oct. 12, 2022.

Robert M. Parker BSE’73 of Springdale on Oct. 19, 2022. Greg Moldenhauer BSBA’74 of Fayetteville on Oct. 13, 2022.

Elna Weatherbee Lewis ✪ BSE’75 of Madison, Alabama, on Sept. 23, 2022.

J. Gregory Jefferies ✪ BA’76 of San Angelo, Texas, on July 3, 2022.

John Leonard BSBA’76 of Fayetteville on Oct. 12, 2022.

Rebecca Thompson Millwee ADN’76 of Little Rock on Dec. 11, 2022.

David M. Walker BSCE’76 of North Little Rock on June 10, 2022.

Joyce M. Harms ★ MED’77 of Little Rock on Oct. 25, 2022.

John O. Murphy Jr. EDD’77 of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Nov. 23, 2022.

Photo credit NWA Democrat-Gazette

(John Clark continued from page 39)

science writer. Fred Miller, experiment station science editor and photographer, produced the original videos and recorded Clark’s music to go with them.

Clark has narrated 29 videos and provided original compositions like “Table Grape Getalong,” which accompanied the release of a group of table grape varieties. The videos have been viewed over 350,000 times. Sometimes, Clark wrote variety-specific tunes, like “Traveler” and “Dazzle,” that musically capture the traits of the fruits. For example, the song for PrimeArk® Traveler blackberry has melodies that “travel” up and down the fretboard to underscore the variety’s “traveling and shipping” qualities. The pink wine grape Dazzle called for “flat-picking” to give it “a little zip,” Clark said.

Clark is also a regular columnist for Growing Produce and American Fruit Grower magazine. He has authored over 800 publications in his career, including nearly 400 service and popular press articles, 12 book chapters and 186 refereed publications.

From the Beginning

Clark began his journey in plant breeding with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station in early July 1980 as a research assistant for Moore, founder of the fruit breeding program. Clark arrived in Fayetteville with his wife, Sharon ✪+ B.S.H.E.’83, and their 1-year-old son, Johnathan, from their home state of Mississippi. Clark earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in horticulture from Mississippi State University and grew up on the J.R. Clark Dairy farm in Madison, Mississippi, where his family also grew beef cows and row crops.

Farming was inherently in his constitution, he says, but fruit breeding was outside of his field until he came to Fayetteville about a year after attending a grape breeders conference at the Division’s Fruit Research Station near Clarksville. He also knew a U of A graduate student, Keith Patterson B.S.B.A.’70, M.S.’79, at Mississippi State, who told him stories about Fayetteville’s amenities like the Swinging Door music venue on Dickson Street, where Patterson had bartended.

With a mind to continue his education in horticulture, a job with Moore that paid $12,000 a year in 1980 allowed him to pursue his doctorate by taking one class per semester as he worked at the Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fayetteville. In 1983 he completed his Ph.D. and became resident director of the

Fruit Research Station and continued to work with Moore on fruit breeding projects until 1996 when Moore retired, and Clark relocated to the Fayetteville campus.

Arkansas Genetics for All

Although the Fruit Breeding Program has always focused on making improvements in varieties for Arkansas, the genetics from these developments sometimes are more valuable to growers outside the state, Clark said.

“The breeding program is here to help Arkansas growers,” Clark said. “That’s our primary focus, so anything that works other places, or if the genetics have value somewhere else, that is always secondary to Arkansas growers.”

McKinney said, “The impact of John’s career is truly worldwide, but his focus on ‘Arkansas first’ has never wavered.”

“This has been a fabulous opportunity,” Clark said. “Inspiration is what contributes to things happening for you and drives enthusiasm, which expands those opportunities. I’m thankful for working for an organization that supported those opportunities. It was a lot of work, and I don’t know how many gallons I’ve sweated, but it has been really something how it all worked out.”

Awards and Accomplishments

Over the course of his career, Clark has been recognized with some of the highest honors from the Division of Agriculture and professional organizations like the American Society for Horticultural Science and the American Pomological Society. In 2019, he was presented with the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award for Research by the Arkansas Alumni Association. He has served on numerous committees and boards dedicated to horticulture and fruit breeding and advised four Ph.D. students, 11 master’s students and 13 undergraduate students. Many have gone on to lead breeding and research programs in the public and private sectors. He has also informally served as a mentor to many young researchers and extension specialists across the world. Clark was inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2018.

OFFICERS

President Don Walker ✪+ ’74, Fayetteville, AR

Past President

Ron Rainey ✪ ’91, ’93, ’01, Little Rock, AR

Treasurer

Kristen Collier Wright ✪ ’98, ’01, Forrest City, AR

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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

Class of 2024

Amy May Hopper ✪ ’15, Belton, MO

Chris Johnson ✪ ’93, Little Rock, AR

Bobby Jones ✪+ ’84, Savannah, GA

Faheem Khan ✪ ’91, Lewisville, TX

Connie Lewis Lensing ✪ ’74, ’77, Memphis, TN

Nathan Looney ✪ ’09, Little Rock, AR

Courtney Norton ✪ ’07, Fayetteville, AR

Oliver Sims ✪ ’85, Carrollton, TX

Kristine Stover ✪+ ’81, Tulsa, OK

Cedric Williams ✪ ’93, Forrest City, AR

Class of 2025

Heba Abdelaal ✪ ’11, Ramstein, Germany

Steve Berner ✪+ ’69, Oklahoma City, OK

Judy Simmons Henry ✪ ’81, ’84, Little Rock, AR

Sarah K. Hudson ✪ ’07, ’10, Washington, DC

Lauren Love ★ ’19, Ann Arbor, MI

Daniel McFarland ★ ’15, Baltimore, Maryland

Bill Stovall ✪+ ’72, Charleston, SC

Richard Welcher ✪ ’99, ’04, Fayetteville, AR

Kristen Collier Wright ✪ ’98, ’01, Forrest City, AR

STAFF

Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni and Executive Director of the Arkansas Alumni Association

Brandy Cox Jackson ✪ MA’07

Director of Alumni Programs and Special Events

Deb Euculano ✪

Director of Finance

Hal Prescott ✪

Interim Director of Marketing and Communications

Lisy McKinnon ✪ BA’97

Becky Afonso ★, Special Events Coordinator; Lisa Ault ★ BSBA’94, Associate Director of Business Operations; Catherine Baltz ✪+ BS’92, MED’07, Assistant Director of Communications; Tim Barker ★, Fiscal Support Analyst; Collin Brunner ★ BSHES’10, Assistant Director of Revenue Management; Beth Dedman ★ BA’20, Digital Media Specialist; Callie Free BSBA’19, M.Ed.’21, Assistant Director of Internal Relations; Mary Kate Harrison ★ BA’15, MA’17, Executive Assistant for Alumni Outreach and Development; Katie Leonard ★ BSBA.’19, Alumni Scholarship Assistant; Shamima Majid, Fiscal Support Analyst; Elaine Olson ✪ Administrative Specialist-Alumni Programs and Special Events; Patti Sanders ✪+ BSA’08, Associate Director of Alumni Scholarships; Joni Thompson, Administrative Assistant, Emma Veidt ★ BSBA’19, Assistant Director of External Relations

Carol A. Childers BA’78 of Sarasota, Florida, on Nov. 24, 2022.

Ronald V. Lester MS’78 of North Little Rock on Nov. 5, 2022.

Teresa J. Ballard BSE’79 EDS’95 EDD’97 of Walnut Ridge on Nov. 6, 2022.

Kenneth L. Coon Sr. EDD’79 of Hot Springs on Dec. 8, 2022.

Katherine C. Goble BA’79 of Johnson on Oct. 5, 2022.

Ed W. Harris EDS’79 of Jacksonville, Florida, on Oct. 12, 2022.

Michael R. Munson ✪ BSEE’79 of Searcy on Oct. 6, 2022.

1980s

Rita Wooley BSHE’80 of Little Rock on Oct. 28, 2022.

Robby Jack Zink BSBA’80 of Springdale on Oct. 7, 2022.

Betty Davis Berry ADN’83 of Springdale on Nov. 17, 2022.

Jay Hoyt Rodgers BA’83 of Rogers on Nov. 5, 2022.

Ricky A. Norton FS’84 of Okolona on Oct. 13, 2022.

David Armstrong Clark BSBA’85 of Grapevine, Texas, on Dec. 7, 2022.

Robin Ann Schmidt BA’85 of Tucson, Arizona, on Oct. 21, 2022.

Sue Harlan Simmons EDS’85 of North Little Rock on Oct. 22, 2022.

Beth Beavers Prescott ✪ JD’86 of Fayetteville on Nov. 5, 2022.

Daniel L. Wickliff BS’86 of West Fork on Oct. 20, 2022.

Charles Floyd Smith JD’87 LLM’88 of Dardanelle on Nov. 18, 2022.

1990s

John P. Kuykendall BSBA’91 of Springdale on Oct. 15, 2022.

Archie McNeill V MS’91 of Milam County, Texas, on Oct. 1, 2022.

Michael Spence Gilbreath FS’93 of Fayetteville on Dec. 4, 2022.

Linda Baker FS’94 of Hot Springs on Nov. 2, 2022.

Christopher Dean Tobler MA’94 MBA’98 PHD’07 of DeLand, Florida, on Nov. 2, 2022.

Amanda Harrison Robinson BM’95 of Fayetteville on Oct. 1, 2022.

Blythe A. Whitehead JD’95 of Rogers on Sept. 30, 2022.

Lonnie B. Lane BA’96 of Cabot on Nov. 3, 2022.

Timothy James Cooley FS’98 of Chattahoochee, Florida, on Nov. 13, 2022.

2000s

Susan E. Dollar PHD’04 of Natchitoches, Louisianna, on Dec. 20, 2021.

Ruphell Louise (Craig) Pilcher FS’05 of Bentonville on Oct. 20, 2022.

Ron Huery BSE’05 of Memphis on Nov. 5, 2022.

2010s

James Dwight Kindred BA’11 of Little Rock on Nov. 8, 2022.

Charles Kalen Eldred BSBA’12 of Bradenton, Florida, on Dec. 3, 2022.

Helen Jeanine Palmer BA’12 of Newark, Indiana, on Oct. 30, 2022.

Griffin L. Marczuk BSBA’16 of Little Rock on Nov. 28, 2022.

Todd A. Wilkerson PHD’19 of Kansas City, Kansas, on Aug. 30, 2022.

Friends

Henry W. Foster Jr. ✪ of Nashville, Tennessee, on Sept. 25, 2022.

The research team learned some valuable lessons about using the compact devices, Haggard said. For example, it’s essential to anchor the devices securely. One unit was lost when a storm surge overpowered the concrete pad used to hold it in the streambed. Brad Austin Ph.D.’15, a research scientist for the Arkansas Water Resources Center, said they now use a steel cable as a safety line to limit how far the units can travel downstream if they break loose from their moorings.

Also, some streambeds can cover the devices with sand, fine gravel or other materials during high flows, obscuring the sensor surfaces.

Even so, Haggard said the water resources lab team continues to use the devices in ongoing research. They are currently using them to study rainwater surges in small streams in the White River Basin.

(Runnels and Rivulets continued from page 37)

An Anniversary to Remember

‘Some

of the Challenges Are Still With Us’

“I would not be here if not for Silas Hunt. … I don’t think we can say enough about his determination,” said alumna Arkie Byrd B.A.’74, J.D.’78, speaking at the university during a commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Hunt’s decision to enroll at the University of Arkansas on Feb. 2, 1948, breaking the color barrier at the U of A and setting in motion desegregation of the American South.

Byrd earned her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees at the U of A and then set off into the world, becoming a fellow of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and then staff attorney for the National Partnership for Women & Families (formerly the Women’s Legal Defense Fund). She told students to not be afraid “to look outside the box,” but also to not be afraid “to come back.” She returned to Arkansas and is a partner with the Little Rock-based law firm of Mays, Byrd and O’Guinn PLLC.

“You have to be the engine and take the initiative,” Byrd told students. “How badly do you want a legal education, and what are you willing to do to get it? There are always challenges, but how do you navigate them?”

Photo by J.T. Wampler, Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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