University of Arkansas at Little Rock

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate student is shedding light on long-overlooked contributions black communities in Arkansas made to the World War I effort. Crystal Shurley, an archivist at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies who completed her Master of Arts in public history in December 2018, wrote her thesis on the history of the Arkansas Colored Auxiliary Council, an early archivist group that was active during World War I and has remained a relatively undocumented part of Arkansas history. "This is an important piece of black Arkansas history that has not been investigated," Shurley said. "I think it's important that we remember that history is made by everyone, and not everyone that is a history maker is a white male. Unfortunately, in history we often focus on people who are in the limelight instead of ordinary people who have worked hard to achieve great things and often get no credit."

Three new school records were set for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock swimming and diving program Feb. 21 during the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in Colombia, Missouri.

Nine University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law students have been selected to clerk for the state of Arkansas by Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office for the spring 2019 semester. "The law clerk program exposes students to the fulfilling experience of public service," Rutledge said. "Law clerks play a valuable role for the state performing research and writing for Arkansas's top attorneys in a great service-learning environment." The new law clerks include Sarah Fendley, Hannah Johnston, Edward Mader, Robert Murphy, Amanda Partridge, Sydney Sadler, Christian Scott, Chandra Smith, and Katelyn Spellman.

Freshman Tilde Bocker sits among the individual top-20 through the first two rounds of the Texas State Invitational at Plum Creek Golf Course in Kyle, Texas. Bocker's performance has helped Little Rock sit 14th among the 16-team field after day one of the first tournament of the spring season. Bocker is tied for 20th after posting a 3-over 145 on day one, beginning with a 1-over 72 in the morning round. Bocker then shot a 2-over 73 in round two, pacing the Trojans to a 31-over 599 after 36 holes.

An article written by University of Arkansas at Little Rock researchers, students, and collaborators has been accepted for publication into "Nanoscale," a peer-reviewed scientific journal, as well as included in the 2018 Nanoscale HOT Article Collection. The article, "Quantification of cellular associated graphene and induced surface receptor responses," presents a new, combination-based way to quantify and analyze the effect of graphene at the single cell level.

Several University of Arkansas at Little Rock students are working at a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program for the second year in a row to assist members of the public and the campus community file their taxes free of charge.

Four UA Little Rock students have received the prestigious Student Undergraduate Research Fellowships from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to conduct research this spring with help from faculty mentors. The Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program provides up to $2,750 to undergraduate students to conduct in-depth research projects in their specific fields of study with the assistance of faculty mentors. To be eligible, all fellowship recipients have a minimum grade-point average of 3.25, at least 30 hours of credit toward a degree, and support of a faculty mentor. Funds also are provided for students to travel to conferences to present their accomplishments.

UA Little Rock announces its fall 2018 Chancellor's List, recognizing more than 700 students with superior academic performance in the fall 2018 semester. To be eligible for the Chancellor's List, students must earn at least nine credit hours and at least a 3.9 grade point average. Students must not have D, F, I or "no credit" grades on their semester grade reports.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock announces students who have made the Dean's List for the fall 2018 semester, recognizing more than 900 students whose academic performances have been superior at the end of each semester. To be on the Dean's List, UA Little Rock students must earn at least nine credit hours and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average. The student must not have any D, F, I, or "No Credit" grades on their semester grade report.

Julie Evans Sanders has always known that she wanted to run her family's 66-year-old construction company one day. Earning a Master of Science in construction management at UA Little Rock has helped her develop the skills she will need to do just that. Sanders has been working at H.W. Tucker Company Inc. for years, learning all aspects of the company's work - from project management to preparing bids to handling billing and accounts payable.

Two first-year nursing students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock saved a man's life Friday at a North Little Rock gym because they were able to quickly administer CPR and give other life-saving help in the crucial moments before paramedics arrived. Megan Crawley, 23, had gone to the North Little Rock Athletic Club on Friday, Jan. 11, to work out. She arrived at 10:45 a.m., just seconds after 67-year-old Charles Rainey collapsed. People were yelling for a doctor, and a man asked Crawley if she knew one in the building. "I said I was a nursing student, and a man told me, 'You have to go! There's no one else back there,'" Crawley said. Crawley ran over to Rainey and couldn't find his pulse. She saw that he was turning blue, checked his airway, and saw that his tongue was swollen and knew he wasn't getting air. She began giving Rainey breaths, while Jessica McCrary, the general manager of the Athletic Club, started compressions. Ryan Ruff, another full-time UA Little Rock nursing student who works at the front desk of the athletic club, got an automated external defibrillator and charged it. He's also a medic in the National Guard. "We put the pads on him and shocked him," Crawley said. "It [the AED] told us to keep doing CPR, so I started doing compressions, and Ryan did breaths."

Acxiom recently awarded $5,000 scholarships to four students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This initiative offers $5,000 scholarships to U.S.-based students from diverse backgrounds who are enrolled in a full-time post-secondary degree program such as computer science, computer information systems, management information systems, information quality, information systems, engineering, mathematics and statistics or related areas of study.

More than 30 nursing students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock brought some Christmas cheer to families in North Little Rock by volunteering at the annual "Shop with A Cop" program last month. Tommy Norman, a North Little Rock police officer who has gained national attention for his positive community policing and outreach efforts, started the "Shop with a Cop" program, now in its 13th year, to help financially struggling students at Christmas time.

Nora Bouzihay, who is pursuing a Doctor of Education at UA Little Rock, was a recipient of the Rising Star Award at A Celebration of Startups, presented by Remix Ideas, in December. In March 2018, Bouzihay launched her own hijab/scarf company, Nowara Co. Nowara, which means "flower" in Arabic, was the nickname given to her by her Moroccan grandmother.

Lillian Alderman, a graduate student studying school counseling at UA Little Rock, has received a $1,400 Program for Continuing Education Grant from P.E.O. Chapter CY of Hot Springs Village.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law announces its fall 2018 graduates.

Senior forward Ronjanae DeGray has received Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week honors for her stellar performances against ULM and Louisiana over the weekend. The senior is receiving this honor for the second time in her career at Little Rock and the first time this season. DeGray averaged 17.8 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting an incredibly efficient 53.6 percent from the floor in her last four games. The senior notched her first double-double of the season with an 11-point-10-rebound game against Missouri State. In Thursday's matchup against the Warhawks, the forward scored 23 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. She continued her hot shooting with a double-double against Louisiana as DeGray pulled down 11 rebounds to go along with her 25 points, which tied her career high. The senior's performance led the Trojans to two impressive wins to open their conference schedule.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is researching how places of worship in Little Rock work with nonprofit organizations to promote community engagement and provide social services to vulnerable populations. The Little Rock Congregations Study is part of an ongoing research project led by Dr. Rebecca Glazier, professor in the School of Public Affairs, stemming from research begun in 2012 to study the effects of religious organizations on community engagement in Little Rock. The interdisciplinary project brought together 59 student researchers from UA Little Rock who gained invaluable research experience. More than 110 clergy members from congregations across Little Rock completed the survey, while 24 clergy were interviewed. Additionally, students wrote 22 community spotlight stories.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Community Orchestra presented its fall concert on Dec. 2 in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the UA Little Rock Fine Arts Building. The Community Orchestra, directed by Dr. Victor Ellsworth, performed "Overture to Rouslane and Ludmila" by Mikhail Glinka, Franz Schubert's Unfinished Symphony No. 8 in B minor, Sinfonia in D for two Horns and Strings by Leopold Mozart, Concerto Grosso No. 8 by Arangelo Corelli, and Symphony No. 104 by Joseph Haydin.

Student musicians at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock presented the Jazz Ensemble's fall concert on Nov. 28 in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the UA Little Rock Fine Arts Building. The Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dr. Michael Underwood, played "Follow Me," "Told You So," "Blue Bossa," and "Daddy's House Party."

A group of chemistry students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock found out that book smarts alone were not enough to overcome an escape room final project. Inspired to build teamwork amongst his students and to make class more exciting, Dr. Anindya Ghosh devised a unique escape room group project to challenge the students in his Intro to Inorganic Chemistry class.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Wind Ensemble presented its fall concert, "Under Cover of Night," Nov. 30 in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the UA Little Rock Fine Arts Building. Dr. Ken Goff directs the Wind Ensemble, while David Burkhalter served as the concert's student conductor. The Wind Ensemble performed "Antithigram for Band" by Jack Stamp, "Salvation is Created" by Tschesnokoff, "The Thunderer" by John Philip Sousa, and "Under Cover of Night... Into the Light of Day" by Stephen Mtlillo.

The United Soccer Coaches recently released their selections for their 2018 NCAA Division I All-Region Team. Senior forward Arola Aparicio Gili received Second-Team honors and senior defender Liesa Seifert received Third-Team honors for the Southeast Region.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock students competed in 3MT on Nov. 7. The competition for doctoral students, which is branded by the University of Queensland in Australia, challenges students to summarize and present their doctoral research in a short, three-minute "elevator speech." Competitions have been held at colleges and universities around the world. Winners receive scholarship awards, with cash values of $400 for first place, $300 for runner-up, and $200 for the people's choice award, awarded by audience vote. This year's competition was won by Ali Abdulhussein, with Diamond McGehee as the runner-up and Brian Keltch being awarded the people's choice award. Other students who participated were Sudha Shanmugam, Evan Xiaowei Liu, Wei Dai, Ujwani Nukala, and Dileen Abdulqader.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock students put on a successfull Dance Harvest 2018 show Nov. 8-11, which featured choreography by dance faculty member Robin Neveu Brown and eight undergraduate Bachelor of Fine Arts students who are completing the required two-year choreography sequence.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student spent the summer at a prestigious study abroad program where he examined Argentina's films to determine the role they play in citizens' LGBTQ rights. Dylan Wright, a junior Spanish and political science double major from Little Rock, attended the School for International Training through the study abroad program, "Argentina: Human Rights and Social Media," from March through June.

UA Little Rock Senior Veronica Marin was named to the CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District First-Team

UA Little Rock volleyball players senior Veronica Marin and junior Carol Barbosa represented Little Rock in the Sun Belt's announcement of the 2018 Sun Belt Volleyball Postseason Awards. Marin was named as Player of the Year along with being named First-Team All-Conference and Barbosa was elected Second-Team All-Conference.

The following people recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

UA Little Rock Senior Taylor Lindberg was named the Sun Belt's Setter of the Week after the Trojan's pair of victories in Louisiana this weekend. The Benton, Ark., native handed out 40 assists this weekend, 26 of them coming against ULM, to go along with an all-around effort of 16 kills, 14 digs and four blocks. The setter also showcased her serving skills against the Warhawks, dealing four services aces in the match, three of them coming consecutively. Lindberg has tallied 2,989 assists for the duration of her career, 723 coming this season, and recently moved to second on the all-time Trojan assist list. This is the first player of the week award for the Arkansas native.