THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER |UATRAV.COM
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009 | Page 5A Systems Research, in 2008, and is recognized for its academic programs in enterprise systems from Page 3A and enterprise resource planning. Hunt, FedEx Freight and ship“The Walton College of pers like Wal-Mart look to lo- Information Systems Departgistics students for employees,” ment has been a ‘core school’ said Mathew A Waller, a logistics for a long professor at time, and is the UA. “Mike expected to Duke, CEO Scholarships and fel- c o n t i n u e , ” of Wal-Mart, lowships for first-rate said David came through students have allowed us Douglas, an logistics.” to attract incredible stu- Information Among Systems prodents to the program.” fessor at the other success— Chancellor G. David UA. “Workes, the Walton College of with Gearhart ing Information Wal-Mart, the Systems Department was again department is able to establish selected as one of 10 Wal-Mart a partnership that will provide Stores Inc. Information Systems students with scholarships.” Division’s “core schools.” Gearhart said the UA “can The Walton College Infor- be proud of its institutions for mation Systems Department placing it above the competihad the second-most publica- tion level. tions in the top two journals “You build a great school, in Information Systems, MIS one faculty member and one Quarterly and Information student at a time,” he said.
RANKINGS
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STEPHEN IRONSIDE Staff Photographer
Students enter the Walton College of Business Monday afternoon. The banner adorning the outside of the building touts Walton’s top 25 ranking among public schools.
University’s reputation attracts some students, professors to UA April Robertson
Contributing Writer This year, almost 20,000 students are attending the UA, and hundreds of professors have returned to teach. The paths leading each of them to campus are undeniably varied, but they often revolve around the UA’s reputation, location and value. For professors, there are numerous reasons to teach at the UA and take on the responsibilities of “teaching, research and service,” said Neil Allison, chair of the Faculty Senate. For some departments, professors might be expected to earn grant money for the college or publish books, meaning the road to professorship is not a “just-addwater” technique, despite any preconceived notions of teaching. “Having a good record as a graduate student and having publications of your own and a promise to teach well are most important (qualities for hiring teachers),” Allison said. Leading seminars and accepting teaching assistantships and temporary jobs are also valued. But even after a professor is hired, there’s never a guarantee that he’ll keep his job. “Some professors stay here for several years, but others end up moving back home or simply lose interest,” Allison said. English Professor James Gamble had his mind set on attending college in Kansas City when his attention was turned to the UA. “All I knew about Arkansas was
chickens and that the UA lost to Texas in 1969 when I decided the UA would be the best place to complete my Ph.D.,” he said. The deciding factor for Gamble was the quality of publications written by various UA English professors. “I came to the UA to study under Ellen Gilchrist because her writing impressed me,” he said. At the beginning of his career at the UA, professors John Locke, James Whitehead and Brian Wilkie were inspirations to Gamble. And even though each of them has passed away, Gamble maintains that the department has continued its excellence. “I had planned to move away from Arkansas many years ago, but it turned out to be a good place to be,” he said. For students, the most attractive quality of the UA is its combination of academic excellence, nice facilities, research opportunities, great athletics and available financial aid, said Associated Student Government President Mattie Bookhout and Vice President Andrew LeNarz. “Even though we have a big campus scale, we have small departments that offer more for students,” Bookhout said. “It allows you to hone in on what you want in your education.” Among the various opportunities, Bookhout said she values the amount of funding available for students to study abroad. LeNarz said his favorite part of the UA has been the combination of Greek life, the ASG and classroom experience.
“At the UA, you can earn multiple degrees or simply walk away with a variety of information in addition to your major,” he said. For many students, it’s not only academics, but also the entertainment, restaurants and music in Northwest Arkansas that they appreciate. These aspects, along with the diversity of Fayetteville residents, have inspired Herbert M. Vanegas to become a teaching assistant at the university. “In Oklahoma, there wasn’t much diversity, even at Northeastern State University, where I attended before,” Vanegas said. “There are people from so many different places here; this and the culture attracted me to Fayetteville.” Junior Jonathan Carlsmith, a journalism major, said he decided to attend the UA “to learn and experience all that I could at a school with a good reputation and heading in the right direction.” Carlsmith expressed positive feelings about the UA in general, but he didn’t find Fayetteville as diverse as he would have liked in respect to tolerance of the gay community. Although Vanegas chose the UA because of the diversity and Carlsmith chose it despite the diversity, psychology major Blake Matthews didn’t even consider it in his lineup of most important qualities in a college. “I came mostly for the money,” he said. “Other schools had let me in, but their scholarship departments had not been as generous as the boys down in Old Main.”
Admissions Office uses Twitter, Skype to reach prospective students Lana Hazel
Assistant News Editor Think back to when you were in high school, tediously researching colleges across the country and frantically sending in last-minute applications. Did you call prospective colleges on Skype? Probably not. But at the UA, the Admissions Office is now chatting with prospective students via Skype in an effort to connect with them on their level, through the lifestyle they already have. Using new technological trends like Twitter and Skype is just one aspect of the office’s efforts to better communicate with students. The Admissions Office is responsible for a wide range of functions, from recruitment to sports camps to campus tours. “It starts with sophomores mostly, but we’ll even visit elementary or middle schools sometimes,” said Wendy Stouffer, associate director of operations. “It’s a lot more about college readiness than just the UA. We are trying to get more Arkansas students to go to college in general.” The office organizes college fairs, ACT workshops and high school visits, which are scheduled for Dallas, Little Rock and Kansas in October. Other than communicating with prospective students through Twitter and Skype, the staff uses
large mailings, e-mails, Hog Chat, Facebook and MySpace. The office has been on Facebook for about a year, Stouffer said, but Skype and Twitter are newer additions, and @ UofAAdmissions already has more than 200 followers on Twitter. Hog Chat, a live chat that allows students or family members to chat with the staff or check on their admission status, is especially popular with international students, Stouffer said.
The Admissions Office Web site also includes a link to Skype, through which students can call an e-recruiter in the office. Stouffer said she’s already had four chats in the last three weeks. The campus tours led by student ambassadors are another important function of the Admissions Office. The tours are designed to highlight the main buildings and features of the campus and are available for prospective students, as well as current students’ families. Students can sign up for tours through the Web site or by calling the office. There are four tours each weekday, three on Saturdays and more on football Fridays, tour coordinator Kristen Parnell said. The
hour-long tours are busiest in the fall semester during early admissions, but there is a still a six-family limit to keep them at a decent size. “The tours are scripted, but not scripted,” Parnell said, referring to the training for ambassadors. “We encourage (the student ambassadors) to throw in their personal experiences.” Students can apply to be student ambassadors each spring. The only requirements are that they have been at the UA for at least one year and love the university. “People should be ambassadors because it is a good way to know more about the campus and make friends from the ambassador program,” said Suzanne Hill, a senior student ambassador. “If you love the UA, you will be great for promoting the campus and telling people why they should come here,” she said. Hill said the student ambassador program is basically like any other Registered Student Organization. “It’s more like being part of a club than it is about volunteering,” she said. The ambassadors participate in intramural sports and several community service projects. Last year, they adopted a child for toy donations during Christmas. Applications for student ambassadors are available on the Web site at Admissions.uark.edu/ambassador, and questions can be directed to studamb@uark.edu.
STEPHEN IRONSIDE Staff Photographer
Cindy Sagers of the biological sciences department talks with junior biology major Jennifer Yaney about the prospects of undergraduate research and post-graduate funding. Sagers is a large advocate of research in her department and meets with students regularly to promote it.