Hundreds of American flags dotted the southeast corner of Centennial Bank Stadium in recognition of Patriot Day, Sept. 11. The Red Wolves hosted the Tigers from our neighboring University of Memphis. Thousands of fans were on hand to enjoy a picture-perfect evening and the teams’ record-setting offensive performances, with 105 total points scored.
ON THE COVER
Craig O’Neill, ’72, a broadcasting personality for THV11 in Little Rock, is known throughout the State of Arkansas for his rich voice quality and animated personality. His capacity for entertaining audiences took root on the stage of A-State’s Wilson Hall, where he was in several fantastic plays. See how he brings adventure to children and gives back to his community, page 16.
MY VOICE
DR. THILLA SIVAKUMARAN VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT AND GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT
Greetings from Jonesboro to all Red Wolves: Since becoming the vice chancellor for enrollment management and global engagement, I’m constantly asked by alumni, “what can I do for Arkansas State?” My answer is always, “help us continue the A-State legacy.” Recruiting the next generation of A-State students begins with our 100,000 alumni across the state and around the world. Telling others about the way a professor made a difference in your life. Relaying the story of how you found your lifelong friends while in college. For many of you, your relationships and families began here in Jonesboro. This is how you became A-State Made, and it is that legacy of success – both professional and personal – that we want continued through your family and your friends. I’m sure you are familiar with the in-state tuition rate for the dependent of any A-State alumnus. We continue to offer that to all alumni and their families. Today, we have expanded that in-state wavier to residents of the six states bordering Arkansas, so let your friends and neighbors know. We have also created new on-campus housing awards and set aside more than $1 million in additional need-based aid for this year’s high school seniors. For many of you, you were the first in your family to receive a university degree, or perhaps the first to receive an advanced degree. Arkansas State remains proud that we have some of the best social mobility in the state for our graduates, and that we continue to serve a high percentage of first-generation students. To our alumni, I want A-State to now have the first opportunity to be the choice of your children and grandchildren. I am inviting you to come back to Jonesboro and take a tour with our recruiters. Person after person tells us the same story: wow, how much campus has changed. Once you’ve seen the growth at your alma mater, we want you to spread the word. If you know the names of college-bound students, send them to my team at Admissions@AState.edu and we will follow up with them. You are the legacy that is A-State Made.
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INSIDE 16
FALL 2021 VOLUME 21, ISSUE 1
FEATURE STO R I E S 0 6 – TH E H E RA LD TO
CELEBRAT E 100 YEA R S, 1 ,0 0 0 s OF STOR I ES
2 6 – WINDGAT E’S G EN ER OSI TY BOOST S A RTS ED U CATI ON INTO T HIRD D I M EN SI ON
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3 2 – FOR T HE LOV E OF MEDICINE 3 8 – A RKA NS A S REP RES ENTATI V E JA M I E S COT T MA K ES M A R K I N S ERVICE TO STATE
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4 6 – MA KING T HE M OU SE: A -STAT E A LUM PA RT OF DIS NEY’S GLOB A L GROWT H ___________________________________
COVER STORY
1 6 – A HEA RT FOR A R KA N SA S
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SHA RE YOUR N E W S
5 0 – CLA S S NOT E S
6 0 – BIRT HS A ND M A R R I AG ES
T H E M AG A Z I N E O F T H E A R KA N S A S STAT E U N I V E R S I TY A LU M N I A S S O C I AT I O N 0 2 – VO I C E S
VOICES MAGAZINE OF THE ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE EDITOR - LINDSAY HARMON BURNETT ‘05 EDITOR - VAN PROVENCE ‘07 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS - GINA BOWMAN ‘76, TOM MOORE ‘73, ‘91, CASEY PEARCE ‘03, DR. BILL SMITH DESIGN - MARY REED MELTON ‘04
Q&A
PHOTOGRAPHER - TRAVIS CLAYTON
2 2 – N E W DIR E CTO R O F ATH L ET ICS TOM BO W E N, FAMILY HAPPY AT A -STAT E 4 4 – S COTT G O R DO N JO INS STA FF A S NE W D E AN O F NUR SING A ND H E ALT H PR O FE SSIO NS ____________________________
S N A P S H OTS
0 4 – I N T HE NE WS
2 0 – ON CAMPUS
3 6 – W H E RE THE HO WL H AVE YOU BEEN?
4 2 – ALU M NI E VE NTS
PRINTING - CORNING PUBLISHING COMPANY
A-STATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT - PEGGY ROBINSON WRIGHT ’93, ‘96 VICE PRESIDENT - JOHN BAINE ’95, ‘97 SECRETARY - NATALIE ROGERS ‘10 PAST PRESIDENT - DALE MORRIS ‘70
BOARD MEMBERS JESSICA BAKER ‘07
RICHARD HARTNESS, SR. ’68
ERIC BLACKWELL ‘01
MARGO AUFDERHEIDE KAGEBEIN ‘76
KENT BRIDGER ‘89
JULIE MATTHEWS ‘94
JASON BROWN
MICHAEL MILES ’02, ‘11
JAMIE CARADINE ‘78
BRANDON MORRIS ‘08
CHARISSE M. CHILDERS ’88, ’91, ‘01
JOY MURPHY ‘92
RENEE CLAY-CIRCLE ‘87
NEKIA SLATER ‘14
JENNIFER STOUT COLE ’00
SHELLEY LUNBECK TUSTISON ’04
BILL HARRIS ‘93
NONIE WIGGINS ‘83, ‘09, ‘12
JARED WOODARD ‘01
CHANCELLOR - DR. KELLY DAMPHOUSSE
6 2 – WO LVE S AR O UND TH E WORLD ___________________________________
VICE CHANCELLOR FOR UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT DR. ERIKA KRENNERICH CHUDY ‘98, ’00, ‘20
OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - LINDSAY HARMON BURNETT ‘05
A LU M N I SP OTLIGHT
DIRECTOR, ANNUAL GIVING - TARA TOWNSEND THOMASON ‘97 DIRECTOR, MEMBERSHIP - MARSHA MAYS CARWELL ‘05 DIRECTOR, AFFINITY RELATIONS - AMANDA MILLER MCDANIEL ‘93
5 3 – M AT T HUBBAR D ___________________________________
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - CARISSA KIRK GRIFFIN
Voices is published two times a year by the Arkansas State University
M Y VO ICE
Alumni Association. Subscriptions are available through membership in the A-State Alumni Association. Single issues are available for $6 each.
0 1 – D R . T HILLA SIVAKUMAR A N
Editorial offices are located in the Cooper Alumni Center,
VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT AND GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT
MAIL CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND ADDRESS CHANGES TO: A-STATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC. P.O. BOX 1990
6 5 – L INDSAY BUR NE TT
is (870) 972-2586 and our fax is (870) 972-2039.
VOICES
T H E L A ST WO R D
2600 Alumni Boulevard, Jonesboro, Arkansas. Our telephone
STATE UNIVERSITY, AR 72467
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALUMNI RELATIONS
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WEBSITE: AStateAlumni.org
EMAIL: Alumni@AState.edu
ITN
8.7.21
IN THE NEWS
Members of the first class at Click for video
A-State Campus Queretaro celebrate commencement.
9.3.21
Ryan Aplin ‘12, 2021 Hall of Honor inductee.
8.7.21
Inaugural Gonzalez Award presented to Kevin
5.15.21
Ludwin Ramirez Chavez of Celaya by Chancellor
The women captured their second-straight outdoor title and sixth-straight track and
Damphousse and Ricardo Gonzalez.
field and cross country championship. In doing so, the Red Wolves added the final jewel to the first Sun Belt Triple Crown in program history.
9.3.21
5.15.21
Hall of Honor inductees. Joe Slayton ‘80,
The men claimed their second outdoor championship in the last three meets,
Sharika Nelvis ‘14, Demario Davis ‘11,
with Bennett Pascoe winning men’s Most Outstanding Track Athlete honors,
and Tom Baumgartner ‘12, 2021
while Lexington Hilton took men’s Freshman of the Year laurels.
Gina Bowman ‘76, Honorary Letter Winner. 0 4 – VO I C E S
4.17.21
Congrats to the #AState student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers on their first-place win in the Deep South Conference concrete canoe competition.
9.4.21
The 2021 A-State football season
Click for video
kicked off with a 40-21 win over UCA.
Following a gift from Hytrol Conveyor Co., the Hytrol Materials Handling Laboratory was established on the A-State campus during the spring 2019 semester.
Click for video
9.11.21
The College of Agriculture hosted a groundbreaking event for the expansion of the Judd Hill Farmers’ Market.
9.11.21
Click for video FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 0 5
The family of student Anna Strack was named the 2021 Family of the Year at A-State. The announcement was made at a family picnic for students and their families at the residence of Chancellor Kelly Damphousse.
FEATURE STORY
Photos: Terrance Armstard
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T H E H E R A L D TO C E L E B R AT E 1 0 0 Y E A R S , 1 , 0 0 0 S O F STO R I E S
W
hether you remember it as the Aggie Herald, State College Herald, or The Herald
of Arkansas State University, the university’s student newspaper is coming up on a
century of service to the institution.
The current Herald staff, adviser and journalism faculty are preparing to celebrate the newspaper’s centennial in November, culminating with a celebration on Thursday, Nov. 18, exactly 100 years to the day after the first edition. Watch for details of the celebration at AState.edu/Herald100. The Herald of Arkansas State University is based in the School of Media and Journalism, an area of excellence within the College of Liberal Arts and Communication, following Board of Trustees action in December 2018. Dr. Brad Rawlins is school director and professor of strategic communication, and Sandra L. Combs, associate professor of multimedia journalism production, is faculty adviser. Who is better qualified to tell The Herald’s story than the program alumni? Voices asked some journalism graduates from across the decades to briefly recall for this issue some special moments, favorite memories, or thoughts on how their Herald staff experience impacted their life. Here’s what they told us:
MJ Pearle, BS, journalism, ‘73, is a former corporate communications executive, retired and living in North Carolina. “Campus unrest and Vietnam War protests highlighted my tenure as Herald editor. We covered hard-hitting topics like pollution and wrote editorials against the war that the ROTC department head let me know he hated. I worked with some great staffers, including my North Little Rock High School classmate and A-State football great David Mitchell, The Herald’s first Black columnist (appointed by me). During the year that I and John Wallace edited The Herald, our newspaper was selected among the eight best college newspapers in the U.S., as judged by Sigma Delta Chi, the national journalistic society. All of the winners were big colleges, except Arkansas State. Roy Ockert and Tex Plunkett helped me gain the skills I would need to manage corporate communication staffs. I was told I made two Dean’s Lists during my Herald tenure — one for academics and the one that Dean Robert Moore compiled at the then-governor’s request of college campus radical leaders. I never decided which honor was my favorite. I was hired right out of college to be a reporter for the Little Rock bureau of The Associated Press. Three years later, I fell in love with my competitor at UPI. We married and embarked on a journey that led us both to different career paths — hubby to public radio and me to corporate communications/public
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relations. Overall, I served in corporate communications for three Fortune 500 companies and managed two corporate charitable foundations.” 0 8 – VO I C E S
Rusty Starr, B.S., journalism, ‘76, is retired as publisher of the Palatka Daily News in Florida.
Lori Webb Freeze, B.S., journalism, ‘86, is news editor for the Stone County Leader in Mountain View
“Under the guidance of student editors, I
“The Herald newsroom is central to my A-State
polished my writing skills as a Herald reporter.
experience, and the students/staff who
As a Herald line editor, I developed a love for newspaper design that
populated it were my people. We had many laughs, challenges and
prompted me to leave my Arkansas security blanket and join the New
pressure-filled deadline mornings. I cherish so many Herald memories.
York Times Regional Newspaper Group as a copy editor. Using the
I’ve always said The Herald newsroom experience was almost too
leadership skills I was encouraged to develop at A-State, I managed
real. I learned to schedule afternoon classes because too many
several promotions — four as an editor and a fifth to become a
morning ones got skipped when my pages hadn’t gone to paste-up.
publisher. A-State prepared me well.”
The responsibility felt immense and eclipsed all else. I always dreaded seeing the marked-up copy of an issue waiting for me, but the only one I remember distinctly was a Homecoming issue in which the focus had
Chanda J. Washington, B.S., journalism, ’95, is public affairs and marketing division chief for Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George’s County, Maryland. “I have many fond memories of The Herald, and what I value the most are the real-life experiences I gained while serving as a reporter and editor. During my time on The Herald, we covered a controversial topic
been on features about times past. A note from Mr. (Marlin) Shipman heaping praise on the content made my entire week. Knowing that my goal was to return to my hometown and work (as I have done for 34 years now), the future Dr. Shipman told me that weekly newspapers needed people like me. I sincerely hope I’ve lived up to the potential he saw in me that day. If I have, it is largely owed to my experience at A-State. I appreciate Dr. Shipman and Dr. Joel Gambill, in particular, for instilling their knowledge and passion for journalism.”
involving the highest level of leadership for the university as well as addressed concerns from readers about the inequities in reporting.
John D. Wallace, B.S., journalism, ‘74, is communications director for Verizon and lives in Colleyville, Texas
These are the experiences of the real world! As a public relations official, I make sure to provide college journalists the same access to government officials as the reporters from top-tier media organizations. A memory that influenced my professional growth is the time I wrote a column about the importance of Black History Month. My editor told me bluntly — the article was not strong enough. It lacked critical
“I remember how incredibly proud I was to serve as editor for a
details and gave a superficial view of the importance of the month.
semester during the year The Herald became the first Arkansas
He pushed me to dive deeper and do more research to help make the
college student newspaper to earn all-American recognition. Not the
column stronger. The trust between reporters and editors is necessary
University of Arkansas . . . but Arkansas State University. I remember
to create impactful work. Being able to have those frank conversations
what a blessing and privilege it was to learn and apply the outstanding
early in my career was helpful in managing constructive feedback
training provided by educators like L.W. ‘Tex’ Plunkett, Roy Ockert and
years later.”
Rebecca Gardner Rasberry. I remember how gratifying it was to work alongside fellow students like Larry O’Dell, MJ Pearle, Debbie Hale, the late Don Jones, Tom Moore, Millie Caldwell Ward, Vicky Garman Rudy and the woman I would ultimately marry, Charlene Sterne Wallace (above), who also served as Herald editor. FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 0 9
My career eventually shifted from daily newspaper writing and editing to corporate communications with GTE and later Verizon. The communications toolkit I built as a reporter and editor of The Herald would serve me well throughout my life. Equipping me to think. To question. To research. To gather and organize information effectively. And then to write — clearly, concisely and thoroughly — so audiences could be provided honest, objective and trustworthy information. And those tools and skills continue to bless my life to this very day.”
Dorothy Bland, Ph.D., B.S., journalism, ‘80, is a journalism professor at the University of North Texas and a former publisher for Gannett. “My days working on The Herald were great fun! I shall never forget my very unpopular review of ‘The Wiz,’ a campus theatre production, that caused a few folks to turn over tables in the newsroom. I loved reporting, editing and working alongside Michael Lewellen and the rest of the team. Indeed, that was before the digital age and mobile phones.
Although The Herald has its beginnings with Vol. 1, No. 1, on Nov. 18, 1921, the first issue of The Herald of Arkansas State University was published Jan. 18, 1967, as a special edition featuring one
That public service reporting class and Herald experiences convinced me to make journalism my career. Before going into higher education, I rose through the ranks of Gannett from reporter to publisher. Yes, I worked for USA Today and earned three Gannett rings for excellence as a publisher. It is the top award that Gannett gives to publishers.”
of the biggest stories in the institution’s history. It was the first publication to break the news of the Arkansas General Assembly decision to grant university
Vicky Garman Rudy, B.S., journalism, ‘75, is a former city manager, and now consults in municipal operations and leadership development. “I always tell others, when they ask about my college degree, that I had a vocational education and was ready to launch a career in journalism the day after graduation. We learned hands-on how to do everything from writing to pasteup. We cut and pasted columns of typeset stories as they spewed from the first-generation computer setup. We also learned to set type on a Heidelberg press. I smashed a few setups in my day. As a Herald editor and Indian (yearbook) editor, I could write, edit and produce almost
status for then-Arkansas State College, followed by Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller’s bill-signing ceremony. Editor Roy Ockert and other Herald representatives at the State Capitol journeyed back in a snowstorm, writing articles en route and finalizing the special edition that night.
any version of the printed page. I also gained experience as a beat reporter working for the
Faculty adviser L.W. (Tex) Plunkett, ’34,
News Bureau. I count those days as a most valuable preparation for every career decision.
is shown checking one of the first copies
I went straight into business communications. I worked first as an editor for the State of Arkansas, then Shell Oil Co., before inexplicably finding myself in municipal government.
off the press. Ockert, ’67, went on to serve as editor of three Arkansas daily
The life experiences were afforded to me by the opportunities I first received in Arkansas State’s journalism program. I often muse over the current discourse about the role of media in this modern age of 24-hour news, and the impact of social media. I can remember, as a Herald editor, the long conversations we had about what stories to cover and how. The press has, it seems, always played a role in forming public opinion.” 1 0 – VO I C E S
newspapers and teach at A-State and two other colleges during a distinguished career spanning more than a half century.
My 30-year public relations career was comprised of municipal
Don Tomlinson, B.S., journalism, ‘70, is a former professor of journalism at Texas A&M University.
government, higher education, and Fortune 500 positions, including senior communications specialist in global issues management at FedEx, director of public relations at Delaware State University, and press secretary to a former mayor of Wilmington, Delaware. News
“Because I did not change my major until
reporting preparation at A-State and subsequent years of reporting
the spring semester of my junior year, I went
was an essential part of my success in public relations. Understanding
from writing news and feature stories that first semester to adding
news values helped me consistently get news stories placed and
being managing editor and writing editorials my senior year. It was
receive millions of media impressions, including in The New York
like a dream come true. Because of the confidence reposed in me by
Times (twice) and on NBC’s Today Show. Thanks A-State College of
Joel Gambill and the fabulous experience I gained, my academic and
Communications!”
professional careers took off. In short order, I became a television reporter in Little Rock, got a master’s degree in journalism at the University of North Texas, and then some years later went to law
Lici Beveridge, B.S., journalism and B.A., French, ’97, is a newsroom team leader for the Hattiesburg American and also works for the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss., Gannett Co., Inc., publications.
school at UALR. After eight years in law practice (including media clients), Joel told me about an opportunity teaching media law at Texas A&M (and being the newsroom lawyer for the 25,000-daily circulation student newspaper). I got the job and spent the next 20 years there, becoming a tenured full professor. I also taught entertainment law at the University of Houston Law Center for 10 years (where I additionally earned a graduate law degree in intellectual property with a copyright specialty). Clearly, I could have done none of that without the start I got on The Herald. Thanks so much!”
“Working on The Herald staff was an amazing experience. I believe I worked with the best group of budding journalists. Together we created some very meaningful journalism. Along the way I learned a lot about leadership, accountability, flexibility and teamwork. We took our jobs seriously but we also had a lot of fun along the way. Road trips, stale newsroom pizza, late-night deadlines . . . it was all part of the package that prepared me for the real world.
Anthony Hicks, B.S., journalism, ‘81, had a career in public relations and now lives in Memphis.
I was editor during the 75th anniversary of The Herald. Back then we still used paste-up and light tables. Oh, and a darkroom, too. Our reporters wrote their stories on Apple IIe computers with the tiniest
“While not a Herald staffer, the familiarity I
screens. It’s amazing how we are all not blind! But the experience
gained with its newsroom operations through
helped me so much. At my first job post-graduation, I was able to
class assignments and casual observation of the operation was
step right into my new role and get to work with very little training.
very helpful. This was the manual typewriter era. I remember what
I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn so much, not just from my
a seminal moment it was when a computer was introduced into The
professors but also my fellow students.”
Herald newsroom. When I arrived on campus, my first journalism class was taught by Leland ‘Tex’ Plunkett. I credit the news writing fundamentals I learned from Tex as the foundation for the nine years I spent reporting for newspapers including The Commercial Appeal, Arkansas Gazette, and others. I am grateful to Dr. Joel Gambill for recommending me for my first full-time reporting job at the Marianna Courier-Index.
Scott Mitchell, ‘98, was a featured guest last April in the Dr. Joel Gambill Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series. He advised students to get involved in The Herald and shared some of his memories.
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Larry O’Dell, B.S., journalism, ‘74, is retired from reporting for the Associated Press in Virginia. “Throughout a 41-year journalism career, the last 30 at The Associated Press in Richmond, Va., the attribute that served me best was versatility. I credit that largely to the education I received working on The Herald. From freshman sports writer to Herald editor, all the reporting, writing, editing and newsroom leadership experiences proved invaluable at three newspaper jobs in Arkansas. But they really paid dividends at the AP, where reporters in state bureaus must be well-rounded. There were lots of little lessons in my A-State journalism journey that, when added together,
A-State alumni who have served as faculty adviser to The Herald
made a difference. I learned I had to have a thick skin when a coach falsely accused me of misquoting him. I learned tenacity, and not to expect to be the most popular guy in town, when all copies of The Herald were pilfered by a group that didn’t like something we wrote. Watching a PR person fabricate a quote and disseminate it without the purported speaker’s approval begat a healthy sense of skepticism. I’m sure I am just one of many communications professionals who built a career on the solid foundation provided by The Herald. I remain grateful for the experience.”
Leland W. “Tex” Plunkett ’34 Dr. Joel Gambill ‘65 Roy Ockert ‘67 Dr. Thomas Victor Dickson ’68 Dr. Marlin Shipman ’69 Dr. Gilbert Fowler ‘71 Tommy Mumert ’78 MSC ‘86 Dr. Lillie Fears ’84 MS ‘86
Wendy Reiser Cromwell, B.S., journalism, ‘91, is digital marketing manager for Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities. “Chasing down a breaking story on deadline and making lifelong friends stand out among the many memories in The Herald newsroom. We, as a staff, would rework the issue to adequately cover the developing story on deadline and send to Phareta Calkin in the Print Shop. All-nighters were crazy fun and required so much caffeine. Granted, classes the next morning were a little rough but walking out of class and seeing the latest issue in the boxes was worth it. During my tenure, The Herald transitioned from typesetting/paste-up to designing in QuarkXPress and being able to hit a button and pull a proof on Phareta’s end. This was good training for the digital innovations that have reshaped the newspaper/communications industry in the last 30 years. Being on staff of The Herald ensured that we graduated with the skills necessary to make an impact in our first jobs. We learned to double-check our sources and facts; to write with clarity; deal with office politics; and budget our time to meet deadlines. These foundational skills have served me well in my career as a journalist and
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communications professional in higher education and nonprofit sectors.”
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During renovation of Wilson Hall in Samuel G. Smith, B.S., journalism, ‘12, is a software engineer for Built In, in Chicago. “I came to A-State from a poor, isolated town in Arkansas’
2016, workers discovered this copy of the May 8, 1953, issue of State College Herald, which had been
Delta. Moving to Jonesboro — the big city to me at the time
sealed in a wall. Content produced
— was terrifying. I spent most of my first semester in my
by Herald staff that included Gene
dorm afraid to leave or talk to anyone. I had been bullied and abused so severely and for so long because I was gay, overweight, and my family was different, that I felt like I wasn’t worth anything.
Foreman, ‘56, future executive editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, and
When I met Bonnie Thrasher (faculty adviser to The Herald) my first semester at A-State, she sensed my anxiety, winked at me, and quickly became my friend. That friendship grew over the years as I worked in various roles at The Herald, spending late nights in the newspaper office laughing with her and hearing her stories. She cared so much about her students, and that care helped transform my life and bring me out of my shell. I miss her tremendously and wish she were with us to celebrate 100 years of The Herald. Rest well, my friend.”
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Charles Rasberry, ‘56, future chair of A-State’s Department of RadioTelevision, may have made someone think it deserved time capsule treatment.
Without the Print Shop, The Herald of Arkansas State University might not have had much to celebrate this year. After student reporters and editors write their articles and lay out the newspaper, graphic communication students and
A-STATE REMEMBERED
professional staff set up the pages for printing, using a commercial press to apply ink to paper, then bundle the hundreds of copies for distribution to readers across campus. The Herald is just one of the countless printing jobs that move through the Print Shop each year, both for A-State and for other state entities. Journalism students take a course in graphic communication to develop their understanding and appreciation for the processes that occur after proofreading is completed and corrections are made. In this edition of “Then and Now,” here are some images from the Print Shop, with veteran institutional printers Homer Hallett, ’61, and Bobby Ruff included in some of the old photos, along with numerous students who worked in the Print Shop as part of the process of learning the craft of printing. Printing technology has changed drastically over the years, from the days when type was set one letter at a time, to the Linotype machine that cast molten lead (hot type) to form one line at a time, to a photographic (some called it cold type) page composition using a computer, and now digital page images converted directly to a press-ready printing plate. The earliest known campus Print Shop was in the original engineering building, at the corner of Caraway and Aggie Roads. It later moved to the lower floor of today’s Fine Arts Annex, which originally was part of the Training School. In 1983, the printing operation moved into the new Education-Communications Building, its home now for nearly four decades. Pradeep Mishra, director of Printing Services, welcomes visitors anytime. 1 4 – VO I C E S
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A HEART FOR ARKANSAS
“The most rewarding part of my job is seeing the results of what we do – the children,” Keel hile it may be true that Randy Hankins ‘72, began his stage career at A-State said. “Since its opening in 1962, St. Jude has advanced cures and treatments for cancer, sickle cell diseaseas the Tin Man in a production of “The Wizard of former Oz,” it’spatients also true he has and other life-threatening diseases. Some of our arethat in their sixties,
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always had a heart. and great-grandparents. It is just miraculous.” thriving today as grandparents
Now andher loved O’Neill,the hisability career gone Keelknown credited timestatewide at A-Stateas ason-air being personality influential inCraig developing to path lead has the hospital from the air student at A-State, to the number one-rated disc jockey in Little in sobeing manyonfacets of as its aoperation. Rock, to news anchor at THV11 in Little Rock. “My time at Arkansas State University prepared me in my career and more specifically for my position St. he Jude, notstopped just through gaining thetotechnical accounting but also how Along the at way, never giving his time help others, and it’s knowledge estimated that he has to workhis with teams, develop and jugglefundraisers multiple, competing priorities,” Keeltosaid. donated time and talent to relationships well over 9,000 charity through the years. Prior the “I learnedhis to main ask for helpwas when I needed it, make course corrections whenonI got off course, and pandemic, focus “Craig’s Reading Roadtrip,” which focused childhood literacy. most importantly, developed solid critical thinking skills to solve complex problems.” “I’m almost 70, and during a pandemic I can’t go out to schools and read,” said O’Neill. “But The need to solve complex problems was taken to a new level as the COVID-19 pandemic began I just fell in love with books. I’ve always enjoyed reading, but in the last 20 years, I’ve just to sweep the globe in early 2020. The hospital’s supply chain director retired in March, leaving become a born-again reader and realized that the best way I could impact culture was to go yet another role for Keel to fill until the interim director arrived 30 days later. into schools, read to these kids, and show them how much fun reading is. When you open a book, there’s magic. It’s an adventure in words and stories and drama, in sound and sight, “Initially, my role during the pandemic was dramatically different,” Keel said. “I was the and it engages the child. So that’s what I did for the last two-and-a-half years before COVID logistics leader in the St. Jude Incident Command Center, the central hub for decision making hit. I’d been reading tocrisis. school kidsresponsible and I miss it.” during the COVID-19 I was for ensuring we could source key personal protective equipment to keep our patients, families and staff safe. This required working with Aour partbuyers of O’Neill’s heartalternative was captured whenensuring he was they a student at Arkansasvetted State.and Hevalidating met and to identify vendors, were thoroughly fell love withwere his wife Jane ‘72, and thearrived. two have been married for 50 years. Majoring in theinsupplies legitimate when they radio-TV, with a minor in history, he tried out for “The Wizard of Oz” as a freshman and landed alsoasparticipated in small groups developing new processes to zone thelove campus to protect a “I part, did Jane. According to O’Neill, it wasn’t love at first sight, it was at first sound. the clinical staff, patients and families,” she added. “We had to change many processes related to how received supplies, which vendors be allowed on campus, how and “She fell we in love with my voice because I was would impersonating a robot that was lostpatients in space, families as well as staffIwould the campus and we howjust wealways would clean areas, especially and she was impressed could access do the robot. And then, hit it off. It was the if we had a COVID-19-positive patient or family member. I also helped most of my direct classic, you go on a date, you have a great time, and you just know. I never even proposed, departments make the transition to remote work.” never got down on one knee, I just assumed. She’s the best, and, next thing you know, you’ve been married 50 years.” After the first two months of the pandemic, she moved to more of a monitoring mode over many of these duties, a role that continues today as spikes in cases and the rate of positives require While in college, O’Neill began working at local radio station KBTM, and was also a part that the hospital make adjustments to its practices. She also advocates for “masking up” to of a five-man improv group that also included Rodger Bumpass, voice of Squidward on protect the children and those who care for them. Nickelodeon’s “Spongebob Squarepants,” and the subject of a Voices feature in 2009. “That was real education – Arkansas gaveare memany. the grades and the background and then Themy unique trials presented by the State pandemic A constant challenge is providing theI was on theprotective radio station and theneeded stage. to One of the biggest contributions what stage gave personal equipment keep staff, patients and familieswas safe. Guidelines me. It taught meCenters so much what workschange and what doesn’t and it was just fabulous,” he said. issued by the forabout Disease Control frequently, sometimes daily, and zoning the campus to keep clinical areas insulated and protected from COVID-19 is an ongoing O’Neill said that counting himself, four of the five men in the improv group are still performing. responsibility.
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“I’ll bet you if you talked to them, they would say the same thing. They would say being up Keel said she initially chose Arkansas State because her hometown university made it 1 8 – VO I C E S
affordable to work and go to school. “It took me a long time to find on that college stage and performing was so important. And bonding – my passion so I had several gap years. I then returned with more bonding is as important as anything.” focus and drive.”
do it. You want me to talk about Arkansas State University, I can do it.” O’Neill added that one of the strong points of working in television is to hear the stories of others. “Hearing other peoples’ stories develops
In 1972, O’Neill an on-air at KARN in Little Rock, That drive led tobecame her amassing morepersonality than 30 years of experience then moved across to KLAZ in 1978, She where heleadership started the prank in managing hospitaltown financial operations. held
empathy, and when we slow down and tell the stories of others, that’s when we are at our best,” he said.
telephone for which he System becameinwidely known. In 1981 he moved positions atcalls University Health Shreveport, Louisiana, to KKYKshe and became the number-one radio personality the state. He where served as chief financial officer and senior viceinpresident,
After 50 years in media, O’Neill has no definite plans for retirement. “I
at Good Shepherd HealthatSystem in Longview, and also spent the next 19 years KKYK and KURB in Texas, Little Rock, thenatmade the
don’t think I will, because I think I’ll always be doing something. In fact,
CHRISTUS Schumpert Health System,the also in Shreveport. jump to television when he became sports anchor at THV11.
I’ve even thought about death because at the age of 70, you read the obituaries and some of your classmates appear every once in a while.”
In addition her Bachelor ofyears Science accounting A-State, “I’ve been to performing for 50 on in radio and TV,”from O’Neill said. “And she also holds a Master of Healthcare Administration from Trinity I’d like to say that my current job as news anchor was journalism, but University. Keel is also a William G. Follmer Bronze award recipient it’s not, it’s still performing.” in HFMA (Healthcare Financial Management Association), and in
As the pandemic lags on, O’Neill continues to miss the opportunities
December 2015, she was named to Becker’s Hospital Review list of O’Neill said that he went from “wild and crazy Craig’s morning show,” 130 women hospital and health system leaders to know – an honor to sports, which still had a wild and crazy air to it, to news anchor – a that has been repeated five consecutive times. In January, she was move that was at least in part attributed to the United States’ 2003 named by Forbes magazine as one of the best non-profit CFOs of 2020. invasion of Iraq. A family of a U.S. serviceman asked him to call the
“I’ve got to learn to be kinder to people who are enamored with
to read to children. One of the “five billion reasons” he did the reading tour was to show kindness.
smartphones,” he said. “I am a phone bigot because I’m an avid reader. And like I tell my granddaughter, who’s 12, the world is so
soldier in Iraqaton his birthday heshe hadenjoyed been awatching fan of O’Neill’s As a student Arkansas State,because Keel said radio show. A-State compete in football, volleyball, women’s and men’s
much bigger than a four-by-four screen. And we need to slow our
basketball, and tennis. Most of her accounting classes were held at
Slow thinking, processing, and evaluating instead of just simply
“I called himsmall, and wished him happy birthday his satellite phone night, were and often included the sameon students.
reacting. And what’s happened in the United States is that our default
number,” said O’Neill. “They had just gotten through building a school
mechanism is fury. We’re constantly in a state of agitation and we’re
“Theitgroup students were and fromyou a wide and struckofme so much thatvery thatspecial was not what hearvariety about in
angry all the time when, if we would slow down and just use our ability
of backgrounds,” said. “ItI was was great through classes the United States.she I decided going going to read about the them (in Iraq) together I had two really great faculty Dr.paper, Coy the first first thingand every day and not sports. Whenmembers I opened in the
to analyze, which waiting does for you, we would be so much kinder
thinking – it’s not just kids, it’s all of us. We need to slow down.
and gentler. That’s another message I take to kids.”
London and about Patricia Toney-McLin.” thing I read was Iraq and Afghanistan, but mostly Iraq back then because I wanted to make sure that I stayed in touch with what they Now, as an alumna of Arkansas State University and an employee were doing.” at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, she’s certainly aware that A-State’s Up ‘til Dawn organization is consistently among the “I had gotten attached to it,” he continued. “I don’t want to say nation’s leaders in campus fundraising for St. Jude. enamored with it because it was awful, but I had gotten attached to
Craig and Jane live in Little Rock and have two grown children, Abby and Thomas, and two grandchildren, Bella and Amelia. Some of the organizations to which he has given his time and talent over the years include The American Cancer Society, Arkansas Children’s Theatre, Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Big Brothers /
it, to how that was going. And so there was that Iraq, the Middle East, “Truthfully, everything about Arkansas State is a source of pride for education. I knew history of politics, and I’ve known every governor me,” she said. “It’s a great school with great leadership, and it’s part since 1970. Newsand is so much bigger sports. Butdays believe it or not, in of my foundation roots. I love thatthan students these not only
Big Sisters, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Muscular Dystrophy Association,
television, news is easierbut because you have a whole newsroom. And as focus on their education, they also give back to the St. Jude kids.” a news anchor, what you’re basically doing is delivering what everyone
Multiple Sclerosis Society.
else has assembled. Forconsists me, it was justson, a natural evolution to move Keel’s immediate family of one Jonathan, and his wife from
If only the Tin Man had a heart – like Craig O’Neill’s.
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Ballet of Arkansas, Easter Seals, Florence Crittenton Home, American Heart Association, Hope Lodge, VIPS, and
this sports into news. And what has evolved now events, is, 12 years Ally.area Keel of enjoys traveling, attending sporting and cultural gardening, cycling, hiking, and economics, reading, later, I can cooking, do anything. If you wanttennis, me to music talk about I can saying, “I really like variety in my work and life.” FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 1 9
Craig O’Neill credits his time with A-State Theatre as important to his success. Click to see how A-State’s School of Journalism and Media recently collaborated with A-State Theatre.
OC
8.24.21
ON CAMPUS
Students at the
fan favorite, Silent Disco.
4.27.21
Students participated in the inaugural Day of Giving 5K hosted by the Student Philanthropy Council.
8.20.19
A-State rugby kicked off their season by hosting.....
6.16.21
Heather Middleton ‘95, named Mom of the Year. Middleton was nominated by her son Reed, who is a License2Howl Scholarship recipient at A-State. L-R Chancellor Damphousse, Eden May, Reed Middleton, Heather Middleton, Mike Middleton, and Beth Damphousse
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5.8.21
Graduate students celebrating
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their hard work.
4.17.21
Fans enjoying the spring football game at Centennial Bank Stadium.
7.27.21
9.2.21
Dr. Travis Marsico, the inaugural recipient of the Chancellor’s
A-State dance ready for the
Medal for Research and Creative Activities.
24th Annual Order of the Pack. 2 0 – VO I C E S
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S nom
4.29.21
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Rashad Kirksey is selected as the 2021 Wilson Award winner. In addition to Kirksey, the other DSAs include Brenna Cannon, Imani Udoumana, Bailey McAlexander, Sarah Hall, and Megan Gunnels.
4.26.21
Students enjoyed the movie night on Allison Field in celebration of the university’s inaugural Day of Giving. The event was hosted by the Student Philanthropy Council.
Scan for mination video
5.8.21
Head baseball coach Tommy Raffo and family celebrate the graduation of Anna Raffo ‘21.
8.13.21
Summer commencement on Allison Field at Centennial Bank Stadium.
8.22.21
Students enjoyed playing lawn games at the Welcome Back Bash hosted by the Student Activities Board.
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8.21.21
Current student Keragan Gordon celebrates with her mom, Mandy Gordon ‘09, at NPC Bid Day. FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 2 11 3
8.26.21
Students and current members of Alpha Phi Alpha at the Community and Organization Fair.
Q&A
Are you settled into your new job as Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics? I would not use the term settled; I’m becoming more and more acutely focused and spearheading what I need to do to make us successful. I feel very good about the university graduating 100% of our student-athletes and striving to win championships. I’ll never be settled. I’ll be driven and focused on those priorities. What was the appeal about Arkansas State to make you want to be the athletics director? Very early in my tenure at the University of Memphis, Terry Mohajir and I became very good friends, and still are, and very good colleagues, and I was up here a lot. I was building as much capital improvements in Memphis athletics as Terry was at Arkansas State. So, I came up continually to watch the progress and the stadium renovation. In 2019, when I was the president and founder of Bellwether Athletic Leadership Strategies (a national consulting company), I was hired by Arkansas State to do some research work with Terry and his leadership team. I had a chance first-hand to spend a lot of time on campus and meet more people living in Jonesboro, going downtown, and became very impressed with this community. So, the feel for me was coming back to something I thought I knew well and do the challenges and use the opportunities. Did you come in with a vision for the direction for the program? It’s a simple vision. Be the best. Be great. We are good here and good is okay. But, good is the enemy of great. So, the minimum standard here is excellence and being the best you can possibly be. That means the best in the academic arena. That means the best in competition in the Sun Belt Conference. That means the best in how we behave in our city and community. But, more importantly, it also means the city of Jonesboro, our alumni, our faculty, our staff, our students, our people step up and create support and excitement for this program. Being the best means we’re all in this together to be the best. Have you had an opportunity to meet and visit with fans and alumni? Everyone I’ve met in the city of Jonesboro and at Arkansas State University is extraordinary. People in Jonesboro are very good people and committed to building a great city and being a part of a great community. I embrace that. My wife and I and our children are very happy here and feel very welcome. This is the most welcome I’ve felt anywhere I’ve been. Have they shared their ideas and thoughts about the current state of the program and its future? Everybody has an opinion. Everybody has an idea of how we get ready to play certain opponents or how we should use our starting lineup or who’s actually coaching and playing our non-conference schedule. People are very passionate and want to be a part of Arkansas State athletics. Their opinion and input matters. I love the passion, the energy and the knowledge. This a very educated fan base. What is the key to your success in developing a successful college athletics program — hiring the right staff? Budgets? Promotions? Fundraising? All of the components are real, but they aren’t the keys. The key is to get a unified family dynamic where everyone feels a part of what we are and what we do. Right now, the most critical thing that can happen at Arkansas State is for people to come out and support the program. Come out and fill the football stadium, go to basketball games, go to the soccer games, come out to see the volleyball matches, be a part of and come out and fill the baseball stadium and be a part of this. How has your family adapted to Arkansas State and Jonesboro? My second son Peter who graduated from high school in May was already accepted and heading to the University of Tennessee when he came to Arkansas State and basically fell in love with the school. Now, he’s a freshman living in Kays Hall at Arkansas State. A-State is a diamond in the Mid-South and in the Delta that we think the world about. It is a great university and our family feels very welcome here. We’re part of the community and a part of the Arkansas State community. I have met so many wonderful people. (Bowen and his wife, Mia, are the parents of three children: sons, Andrew and Peter, and daughter, McKenna.) Is there anything else you want the alumni and fan base to know about you? I’m very transparent, I speak the truth and I do what I say. So, I judge myself by my actions and not my words. I feel like the most unimportant person by myself, without everybody else, the team, the people, the community. It’s not ever been about me. 2 2 – VO I C E S
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FEATURE STORY
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WINDGATE’S GENEROSITY BOOSTS ARTS EDUCATION INTO THIRD DIMENSION
S
tudents, faculty, staff and community representatives gathered Sept. 13 for a ribboncutting to celebrate the opening of the Windgate Center for Three-Dimensional Arts, followed by tours to the facility.
In addition to emphasizing the positive impact the center will have on A-State’s Art + Design programs, Chancellor Kelly Damphousse thanked the donors for making the $7.9 million state-of-the-art facility possible.
“Today, we mark the Windgate Foundation’s generosity that makes today’s ribboncutting possible. Thank you to Pat Forgy, Robyn Horn and all the folks at Windgate – you are making a tremendous difference for our students.”
Dr. Temma Balducci, chair of the Department of Art + Design, told the audience, “The Windgate Center for Three-Dimensional Arts opens so many possibilities for our students in terms of their creativity. They have access to equipment and processes that simply Click for video
were not available or even feasible in the Arts Annex, where they have long since outgrown the space.”
“The benefit of being able to spread out, literally having room to grow and explore their
VOICES
creative potential, will be incredibly important for our students moving forward. We are
2 8 – VO I C E S
thrilled to have the new Windgate Center for Three-Dimensional
Art + Design student Grace Westerman, who cut the ribbon,
Arts open for classes this semester.”
expressed her enthusiasm about the new space. “I cannot wait to take classes in the Windgate Center. It’s a beautiful building that
Damphousse pointed out the building was completed during a
makes me proud to be a studio art major and at A-State. I know
difficult time of trying circumstances. “The facility was designed,
from upperclassmen how much difference the new space makes,
constructed and brought online during one of the most challenging
with separate areas devoted to woodworking and metalworking.
periods in the history of American higher education. I want to
And, everyone is excited about being able to cast.”
take a moment to pay homage to everyone who worked through COVID-19 protocols to keep this project moving forward.”
With almost 22,000 square feet of space, Windgate Center has classrooms for ceramics and sculpture, along with large spaces
Dr. Carl Cates, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Communication,
for woodworking and metalworking.
discussed the broader impact of the programs that will be significantly enhanced by the addition of the Windgate Center.
Balducci also noted everyone is “excited about the foundry, which will allow students to do casting, something they have
“The study of art and design, one of the most versatile areas of
not been able to do for almost two decades. In addition to the
study on this campus, not only fosters critical thought and creativity,
classroom spaces, the building also has offices for our 3-D faculty,
but serves as an excellent convergence of creativity and process
a sculpture garden, an exhibition space that will more than double
resulting in various forms of expression,” he stated. He also
the exhibition space we currently have in the Fine Arts Center, and
credited Les Christensen, former director of Bradbury Art Museum,
studios for our advanced students.”
and John Salvest, professor of art, now both retired, for their work in developing the concept and funding proposal. FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 2 9
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FEATURE STORY
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FOR THE LOVE OF MEDICINE
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ike many young married couples, Tyler and Shana Childress spend a significant
amount of time enjoying their favorite activities together, such as playing
basketball and tennis, walking their dogs, cooking, and watching Marvel
movies. However, there’s one task that takes up a majority of their waking hours together.
“Studying,” Shana said emphatically.
The Childresses, who are Beebe natives, are completing their first year of medical school at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University (NYITCOM at A-State) in Jonesboro. It’s not unusual for aspiring physicians to meet in medical school and eventually marry, but it is more uncommon for a couple to start and complete their medical education together. The couple feels fortunate to have each other to lean on through a challenging but rewarding experience.
“It’s been crucial,” Tyler said. “If one of us doesn’t understand something, we can help explain it to each other and really talk through it. There’s also the motivation factor. If one of us doesn’t feel like studying that day, we can pick each other up. We hold each other accountable. There’s a ton of information we’re constantly having to process and it can be really tough, but we’re both just really blessed to have each other to rely on and help push through.”
The Childresses’ relationship has been particularly beneficial in a year that has brought unexpected challenges in numerous walks of life. In a typical year, medical students regularly gather in study groups and benefit from the camaraderie they build with their classmates. Social distancing requirements brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have limited much of that interaction, but the Childresses have had their “built-in study partner.”
“We watch all of our lectures together and then go back and review them together,” Shana said. “We’ve talked to classmates who live alone and it can be difficult for them to study with classmates through Zoom. It’s just been so great for us to have each other right there all the time.”
Shana estimates that they spend about 40 to 50 hours a week studying, and they do a
VOICES
vast majority of it together. When asked if they’ve grown tired of each other, both Shana and Tyler smiled at each other and jokingly replied, “Not yet.” 3 4 – VO I C E S
Tyler and Shana became friends shortly after Shana’s family moved
states, Arkansas annually ranks near the bottom in physicians
to Beebe when the two were in fifth grade.
per capita and in a number of health outcomes, such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
“We were friends as kids, and then we reconnected when we were in the same AP chemistry class in high school,” Tyler said. “We
NYITCOM at A-State was established to train physicians in
started dating then and have been together ever since.”
Arkansas to help meet the growing need for doctors in the region and to provide health education programs to help Arkansans lead
Upon graduating from high school in 2015, Tyler and Shana attended
healthier lives.
Arkansas State together. They married shortly after they graduated from A-State in 2019 and then moved to Little Rock where they
Tyler is interested in specializing in either family or internal
spent one year working at Baptist Hospital, Shana as a patient care
medicine, while Shana plans to pursue pediatrics or obstetrics/
technician and Tyler as a scribe in the emergency department.
gynecology. They want to practice in Arkansas once they complete their medical training.
With dreams of becoming physicians, they soon began applying for medical school, and last fall, they ended up back on the campus
“We just understand the realities of the disparities of healthcare
where they spent their undergraduate years. In 2016, New York
in Arkansas,” Shana said. “The mission really resonates with us.
Institute of Technology opened a second location of its medical
We’ve seen it firsthand. The majority of my family lives in a place
school in Arkansas through a partnership with Arkansas State
where the nearest hospital is about 45 minutes away. Going to the
University.
doctor is a big deal because of the time and travel. We’re excited to have the opportunity to help
NYITCOM at A-State sits in the middle of the
fulfill the mission of our school.”
Jonesboro campus, and it proved to be the perfect place for the Childresses to study medicine.
The Childresses are among a number of A-State alumni who have benefited from the A-StateNYIT partnership. NYITCOM at A-State has now graduated two classes of physicians, and 25 A-State alumni were among those who received their Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the medical school that is headquartered in Wilson Hall.
“We definitely wanted to stay in state for medical school, and NYITCOM was just a great fit,” Tyler said. “We were on the A-State campus when NYITCOM opened, so we got to see this place from the start. We took tours when it first opened and developed some really strong relationships. We already knew a lot of people here and we knew our way around town, so that made the transition easier.”
As native Arkansans, the Childresses also connected with the mission and vision of NYITCOM at A-State. Among U.S.
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FEATURE STORY
W
hen Jamie Scott was growing up, she was all too
aware of the civil rights movement in her
However, the students, accompanied by four African American ministers, came up Sept. 9 for the first day of school.
hometown of North Little Rock. Her uncle Richard
Lindsey was one of the seven African American students in the
The NLR Six were met by a group of white students who
NLR Six who had registered to attend North Little Rock High
blocked their entrance into the school.
School in 1957, a couple of days following the integration of Little Rock Central High School. Only six attempted to enroll.
Her uncle’s story of his hope to track a quality education and
other similar accounts inspired Jamie and set her on a path to
According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, the North Little
promote self-empowerment, leadership, community service
Rock School Board had decided to postpone “indefinitely” the
and youth development. One way to help fulfill her objectives
integration of North Little Rock High School on Sept. 4, 1957.
was through being an elected official.
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ARKANSAS REPRESENTATIVE JAMIE SCOTT MAKES MARK IN SERVICE TO STATE
“I knew from a young age that each and every person has a responsibility to impact change no matter where they live or even where they come from,” said Scott, who is serving her second term in the Arkansas House of Representatives representing District 37. “I became interested in politics, because it’s not always as simple as casting your vote.” Rep. Scott is the youngest Black female elected in the history of the Arkansas state legislature. She discovered her love for politics after completing her master’s degree in criminal justice at Arkansas State University in 2007. She earned two bachelor’s degrees in criminology and sociology in 2004 and was recruited to work on Hillary Clinton’s first presidential race in 2007. She decided to run for office after participating in the 2016 Women’s Campaign School at Yale University and Harvard University’s Authentic Leadership Program. “All of these empowered me to act on my abilities,” Rep. Scott continued. “My instructors were centrally focused on one thing – increasing the number and influence of women in elected and appointed office across the U.S. and I was energized to join the ranks of women standing for change.” Although she treasures her position as a state representative, it’s a time-consuming venture. “During the legislative session, my days and nights are long. I tend to greet the sun around 4:25 a.m. and take a run or work out with my trainer to get my blood going, followed by breakfast. I then arrive at the office around 7 a.m. I have brief conversations and/or briefings with my staff around 8:30 before heading to the Capitol for committee meetings around 10 a.m. Scott generally checks emails from her constituents and responds to letters such as requests for letters of recommendations, action requests and local organizations requesting support. Around 10 a.m., it’s off to a committee meeting to hear the latest bills and to advocate for bills she is sponsoring or opposing. When noon hits, she either stops by the cafeteria to pick up a quick bite or heads to a luncheon close to the Capitol with colleagues. After lunch, we usually have our daily caucus meeting to discuss the day’s committee hearings and bills. “I briefly check more emails, voicemails, and prepare for my afternoon votes,” she added. “On my way back to the House floor, I pause to greet several groups of constituents from my district and take photos. I am off for a first vote on a bill fresh out of committee the previous day and to entertain my packed afternoon schedule of additional committee meetings or bill presentations.” 4 0 – VO I C E S
In addition to her dedication and time as a House representative
Arkansas State to stay close to home. I value my family just that
and her career in public service and fighting for equal rights and
much. I wanted to be far enough to grow up but close if I needed
fair opportunities for all, Scott is the executive director for Pulaski
my family.
County Youth Services. In that role, she ensures that free drug prevention, character development, and academic enrichment
“My family always felt like it was the next step for me. It was the
programs are available to children in Pulaski County.
professors and faculty there that made it worthwhile for me. I became a leader on campus and it was definitely those baby steps
Committed with a strong work ethic, Scott is a graduate of the
at A-State that made all the difference to where my career is now.”
Harvard Kennedy Government Executive Education Authentic Leadership Program, the Women’s Campaign School at Yale, the
Scott acknowledges that Dr. Lonnie Williams, vice chancellor for
Little Rock Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Greater Little Rock
the Division of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement,
Class XVII, the Lead Arkansas Class XIII Leadership Program,
helped to shape her future. She enthusiastically notes that
and the distinguished Presidential Leadership Scholars Program
Williams was a mentor to her as a student.
hosted by the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation, George W. Bush Foundation, and Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation.
“Hands down, it would be Dr. Lonnie Williams,” she said. “He’s the epitome of a leader. He leads with a servant heart of gold. I still
She is a recipient of the 2017 Citizen of the Year Award from
call him first before I make any big decision. He was there for me
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, the Democratic Party of Arkansas’s
in college when my father passed away my junior year. It was the
2017 Emerging Leader Award, the Bishop D.L. Lindsey Spirit of
hardest thing I’ve ever faced. He helped me navigate through those
Excellence Community Award, the William H. Bowen School of
trying times when I wanted to return home. I’ll never forget the
Law’s GLO Award, and the Women of Excellence in Education
impact he’s had on me and so many others around the state. Dr.
Award. She is also a 2019 Arkansas Business 40 under 40
Rick Stripling was also a great mentor and boss. I was his work-
honoree, Arkansas State University Living Legend Award
study student until I graduated. That experience I gained working
recipient, and Arkansas State University’s Emerging Young
in his office helped me a lot as a young professional.”
Alumni Award recipient. So, where does State House Representative for District 37 Jamie To support these efforts, she has successfully secured over $3
Scott go from here?
million in government and community grants for youth programs and juvenile transition services. Before joining Pulaski County
“My greatest career achievement thus far is not being a State
Youth Services, Scott dedicated five years as director of Upward
Representative, but it has been serving the youth of Little Rock
Bound Programs at an historically black college and university
from Arkansas Baptist College to my current role as the executive
school through which she prepared first generation college
director of Pulaski County Youth Services. My future goals are to
students to achieve a strong higher education experience.
continue within this vein, expand my reach of children in Pulaski County and beyond, and continue to be an advocate for equal
The faculty at A-State helped to build her confidence and to see
rights in education and even the criminal justice system.”
her leadership strengths. And continuing a career in politics? “My time at Arkansas State means a lot,” continued Scott, who was also a member of the dance team on campus. “As a young
“A lady never tells, but I am definitely interested in continuing what
lady going off to school, I admittedly did not realize the full value
I started!”
of a college education. I was a first-generation student. I attended FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 4 1
AE
7.22.21
ALUMNI EVENTS
Future Red Wolves before the Cardinals vs. Cubs game.
9.11.21
Alumnae of Alpha Omicron Pi gather together at the
alumni tailgate vs. Memphis. Lindsay Burnett ‘05, Jennifer Warren ‘07, Courtney Dildine ‘05, Claire Eaton ‘10, Marsha Carwell ‘05 and Hannah Warren ‘07
9.11.21
Steve Ewart ‘69, Becky Ewart ‘77 and friends at the alumni and friends tailgate vs. Memphis.
4.16.21
Alumni staff members Amanda McDaniel ‘93, Tara Thomason ‘97, Lindsay Burnett ‘05, Marsha Carwell ‘05 and Carissa Griffin at the annual Bark at the Park event at Tomlinson Stadium.
4.16.21
Kenna Womack ‘07 with daughter Kennedy and pup Maverick at Bark at the Park.
7.22.21
#WolvesUp from St. Louis. Kathryn Webb ‘91, Chancellor Kelly Damphousse, Tim O. Brown ‘79 and Mark Webb ‘89 4 2 – VO I C E S
4.16.21
Lisa Golden ‘86 with her dog Cali at Bark at the Park.
7.22.21
#WolvesUp for the Cardinals vs. Cubs game. L-R Sandra Storment, Van McClendon ‘76, Aaron Lubin, Dr. Wayne Buck ‘73, Janey Buck ‘73, Dr. Dale Morris ‘70 and Trisha Morris ‘70
7.23.21
12.10.19
Jon Baker ‘09, Susan Jespersen ‘73 and other
Pancakes and PJs?
alumni enjoying the Endangered Wolf Center tour.
8.21.21
Rick Miles, Paul Holmes, Kristin Fowler, Jared Woodard, and Tommy Fowler volunteering at the annual watering hole alumni event.
7.23.21
Alumni, current students and friends viewing the Red Wolves and hearing about the conservation efforts at the Endangered Wolf Center.
9.11.21
Antwaun Sanders ‘10, Dr. Pat Walls ‘80, Angela Austin ‘00 and Jamie Caradine ‘78 at the alumni and friends tailgate vs. Memphis. FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 4 3
Q&A
“I am thrilled and highly honored to join the exceptional culture of Arkansas State University and the College of Nursing and Health Professions,” Gordon said. “Dean (Susan) Hanrahan built CNHP into the robust college that exists today, and her outstanding legacy serves as a springboard to propel the college into an exciting future. “In a time when health care is increasingly vital yet understaffed, I will work passionately alongside CNHP’s dedicated faculty staff and students to further the college’s mission of addressing the health care education, research and outreach needs of Northeast Arkansas and beyond.”
Before arriving at A-State, Scott Gordon was associate dean and former interim dean of the Wellstar College of Health and Human Services at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
4 4 – VO I C E S
The College of Nursing and Health Professions is the largest on campus and has produced more than 10,000 graduates in a number of disciplines. Do you have any new strategies in mind for continuing the student growth of each of the 25 degree programs? This is a challenging time for higher education enrollment in the U.S. due to a declining number of students of traditional college age, alternative education trends, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the Arkansas State University College of Nursing and Health Professions is well-poised to maintain the robust program growth seen under former Dean Hanrahan for the past 26 years. Our continued success will be founded on anticipating cutting-edge healthcare trends and proactively creating or modifying educational opportunities to meet new demands. Some current healthcare directions include evolving healthcare technology, telemedicine, mental/behavioral health, and interprofessional education/practice (individualized whole-person wellness through multi-disciplinary team-based patient care). For programs in which online courses are possible without compromising educational quality, we will continue to reach new students through distance learning, typically with the help of remote clinical partnerships. In addition to enhancing enrollment, online learning offers a distinct social justice aspect, as many online students are from underserved populations, geographically isolated, and/or adult learners who cannot leave their jobs. This is a critical time for health care throughout the world with the pandemic and natural disasters creating understaffing in hospitals. When it comes to recruiting, what is your approach for convincing students that nursing and other health care professions hold an exciting future? Employability of our graduates is one of our best recruiting tools. Even excluding the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, growth of the healthcare industry is outpacing almost every other major employment sector. These societal healthcare demands are projected to increase indefinitely. A vast majority of our graduates find employment immediately upon graduating and meeting their professional certification and licensure requirements. Moreover, the high demand for our graduates allows them more options when it comes to place of employment, salary, schedule flexibility, and job mobility. Although many times stressful, the excitement of being a healthcare provider also comes with the immeasurable rewards of positively affecting patient health and sometimes saving lives. Few professions can claim such a societal impact. The CNHP students have access to vast experience opportunities with two major hospitals located within the community. How will this aid students and faculty to continue building the health care education system at Arkansas State? The importance of our healthcare partners on student education cannot be understated, and their commitment to this partnership was one major factor that drew me to the Arkansas State University College of Nursing and Health Professions. I will add that our partner network also extends well beyond our vital local healthcare providers. Whether it is a major healthcare network, a hospital, a small independent clinic, a government agency, or a nonprofit agency, the simple fact is that our programs would not exist without our many clinical and other professional partners in the Delta region. It is a time-honored and required practice in healthcare education for preceptors to pay back to the profession by conveying their years of experience to professionals-in-training. Moreover, simply placing students into clinical and field situations does not guarantee a quality experience. In that respect, we are extremely fortunate to have hundreds of passionate and dedicated individual preceptors at these sites who tirelessly mentor our students to high standards. There is great comfort in the fact that our preceptors take as much pride as we do when it comes to preparing our students for their respective professions. In addition to nursing, A-State also offers a mix of departments, including disaster preparedness and emergency management; medical imaging and radiation sciences; dietetics; physical therapy; occupational therapy; social work; health studies; athletic training; and the most recently added programs in occupational and environmental safety and health. What does this diverse list mean to Arkansas State? There are few colleges in the country that offer such an impressive number of healthcare education programs. This program diversity supports a comprehensive and integrated approach to individual whole-person health and wellness (physical, medical, mental, behavioral, rehabilitative, safety/ prevention, etc.). The college’s forward-thinking mission also emphasizes the prevention of disease or injury before they occur as well as the treatment of disease or injury in those already afflicted. Having so many diverse programs in the CNHP forms the foundation for our interprofessional education efforts, in which students are trained in multi-disciplinary team-based patient care. Patient-centered interprofessional practice is gaining momentum in U.S. healthcare settings, and the CNHP is well poised to produce future leaders in this area. An additional benefit of having numerous diverse programs in the college is that students have many healthcare education options right here at Arkansas State University. This allows students to more easily explore various healthcare pathways without leaving the university, and perhaps transfer to the program and career track that best fits their aptitudes and personalities.
FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 4 5
FEATURE STORY
4 6 – VO I C E S
FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 4 7
MAKING THE MOUSE: A-STATE ALUMNA PART OF DISNEY’S GLOBAL GROWTH
I
magine having a job limited only by your imagination.
Sarah Farmer Earll ’82, was fortunate enough to have such a job. Earll worked as a Disney Imagineer for almost 27 years before retiring in 2017. At Disney, Imagineering is the theme park design department, and during her time with the company, Earll had a hand in the Imagineering of Tokyo DisneySea, Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure, a park that struggled to find its niche in its early years – until the Imagineers did an overhaul that resulted in what has become a very popular sister park to the original Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. A native of Yellville, Ark., Earll earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in dramatic arts, then followed that up with a Master of Arts in speech communication and theatre arts in 1985. After graduation, she went to work in Little Rock’s theatre industry. “Through the help of one of our professors at Arkansas State, I got an internship at Arkansas Repertory Theater,” said Earll. “I was the stage-managing intern and one of the jobs I did was being the company manager on tour. We had a touring company that went around Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas, and maybe a few places in Louisiana and did a traveling show.” Earll moved with her husband Brian, also an A-State graduate in 1985, to California in 1988 when he went to work in their family business. “I thought that I might try to work at theaters around here since I had paid my dues, so I thought,” she laughed. “And I did volunteer at a couple of theater companies, but I mean, this is Hollywood. Everybody does theater for free for the exposure so they can have something for their agent to come see them in. That wasn’t going to work for me because I needed a job, but I wasn’t union since the Arkansas Rep at the time was not a union company.” Earll’s typing skills helped her land a job at a hospital as a secretary, then helped her get her started at Disney as well. “I just kind of coincidentally kept meeting people who had worked at Imagineering, and they kept encouraging me to apply,” Earll explained. “After a year of interviews and letter-writing and campaigning, I did finally get a job in the project management group as a project secretary to get my foot in the door. “I learned all about project management and how scheduling and estimating works. Everything you do just builds upon what you’re going to do later. I didn’t want to have a career as a
4 8 – VO I C E S
secretary but I knew that I would learn a lot from it and that it was
year for 10 years, which when you say it out loud now it sounds insane,
something that I could do and learn other things.”
but it was the strategy at the time and a couple of those parks did end up getting built.”
Earll moved into Imagineering, and her first big project was to work on a second park for Disneyland Paris – a park that never materialized.
When reflecting on her time at A-State, Earll said that the student productions in the theatre department played a unique role in advancing
“The concept for that park got shelved right after the first Disneyland
her career.
opened in Paris,” said Earll. “So I went on from that to various functional departments mostly in project management. But when the second Tokyo
“I directed two shows as a student and during my last year we were
park got turned on, I was able to move over into a creative position on that
there, the drama fraternity was one of the co-sponsors of the first
team. That was Tokyo DisneySea.”
Renaissance Fair,” she said. “We did the first one with the drama department, the history department, and maybe the English department.
Earll said that she made it her niche to manage what is termed show
Brian ended up winning Lord of the Fair. He wasn’t my husband at
adaptation. Show adaptation involves not only the translation of the
the time and I don’t think any of the judges even knew that he was my
Disney stories, but the adaptation of it for a different audience like those
boyfriend but we still have his little trophy.”
in Japan and China. “From my experience at Arkansas State, what helped me in my career “We had to make the translations sound lyrical and charming like they do
most was really a broad understanding of theater because my eventual
in English, but for instance, humor doesn’t necessarily translate because
job at Imagineering builds a really big permanent theater – which is the
it’s very contextual and the context is different in Japan, and things that
Disney theme parks,” Earll added. “And, the importance of teamwork. In
they find funny you would think might be strange,” Earll said. “We had
the theater, everyone has their own job, but we all work together toward
to learn how to introduce the characters in different ways, because
one goal. There’s one director, and yet we all contribute our talents and
especially in China, they didn’t grow up knowing the difference between
creativity to the production. So, I came into it having that knowledge and
the Disney characters or Hello Kitty or Kung Fu Panda. They just see good
vocabulary. Knowing what a set was, knowing why lighting was
animation as being American, as Western, and so therefore it’s good. I did
important, why you need sounds and how it can buffer from one zone
that for Tokyo DisneySea and after that the same job for Hong Kong
in a park to another with different sound, just the way we
Disneyland and then California Adventure and then Shanghai.”
treat the set.
that you see in a Disney park, we say is ‘on stage.’
Earll said that everyone who worked on Tokyo DisneySea
So my experience
probably sees it as their shining star.
really transferred into the theme park world
“I think everybody who worked on Tokyo DisneySea really sees that as probably their crowning achievement because it really just is so spectacular,” she said. “We built a volcano on landfill. I was there when it was just a field, and now it’s lakes and volcanoes and magic. This was the late ‘80s, early ‘90s and Michael Eisner had declared the ‘90s as the Disney decade. We were going to build a theme park a
FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 4 9
quite naturally.”
CLASS NOTES 1960s
Charles Flynn Allen ’65 ’70 – Retired October 21, 2020, after serving 56 years as an Arkansas educator. Charles taught at Batesville Southside High School, then served as principal of Cushman High School. He served as superintendent of schools for three different Arkansas public school districts. He completed his administrative career by serving for 26 years as CEO of the Arkansas Corrections School District.
Dr. Jahnae Barnett ’66 – Announced she will retire from William Woods University after being president of the university for 30 years. Dr. Barnett is the longest-serving president in the university’s history, first female to hold the position, longest-serving female president of a four-year college or university in Missouri history, and is currently serving the second-longest active tenure of any four-year college or university president in the state. W. Dan Hendrix ’69 – President and chief executive officer of the World Trade Center Arkansas announced his retirement effective June 30, 2021.
1970s
Jerry Kincade ’70 – Recently retired. He is a former hospital CEO. Dr. Nancy Hendricks ’72 – In 2020, Nancy had her article, “Hattie Caraway, the First Woman Elected to the U.S. Senate, Faced a Familiar Struggle With Gender Politics,” published at Smithsonianmag.com.
Dr. B.D. Tiner ’72 – After 40 years of clinical practice, Dr. Tiner announced his retirement from Alamo Maxillofacial Surgical Associates.
Sandra Massey ’78 ’80 – First female chancellor in the ASU System retired in December 2020. The ASU Board of Trustees renamed the “Hangar” complex in the student/ community center on the Arkansas State University-Newport campus in her honor, the Sandra C. Massey Center for Student Success.
Sandra Green Hawkins ’73 – Is celebrating teaching 22 years in higher education, 14 years with A-State faculty. Marsha Conner McGaughy ’73 – Celebrating 48 years of marriage to Cleve McGaughy ‘76. They spent their wedding day at the 1973 Arkansas State Homecoming game. They married at 10:30 a.m. to be able to make the game. Regina Bowman ’76 – Recognized as Honorary Letter Winner by the Arkansas State Lettermen’s Club.
Robert Gardner ’76 – Retired from the National Guard and dentistry at the VA in 2019 after nearly 40 years of practice.
Steve & Terri Cobb ’78 – Family was recognized as Craighead and Northeast District 2021 Farm Family of the Year.
Keith ‘Catfish’ Sutton ’78 – Prolific wildlife journalist was inducted into the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mo.
1980s
David Pickler ’80 – David’s company Pickler Wealth Advisors has been named on the annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastestgrowing private companies.
Joe Slayton ’80 – Recognized as a Hall of Honor inductee by the Arkansas State Lettermen’s Club. Anita Brackin ’81 – Recently named as Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce VP of workforce development.
5 0 – VO I C E S
Sarah Farmer Earll ’82 ’85 – Retired from Walt Disney Imagineering after nearly 27 years. Most of her career was spent in the creative development of international theme parks, focusing on show writing and story adaptation (see the feature about Sarah in this edition).
Bryan Earll ’84 – Owner of Apex Fasteners, expanded his company in 2020 and was able to add seven additional staff members. Price Gardner ’84 Named one of three distinguished alumni of University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Dr. Timothy Langford ’84 – Appointed Chair of the Department of Urology in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Chuck Tucker ’84 ’85 – Retired in May 2021 from Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation 36 years with the organization.
W. Dan Hendrix ‘69
Felecia Blanton ’85 – Recently received the Attorney General’s Honors Award from Missouri AG Eric Schmitt.
Regina Bowman ‘76
Dr. Timothy Langford ‘84
1990s
Karla Jones ’90 ’95 – While employed at Crowley’s Ridge Education Service Cooperative, she completed Shelton Academic Reading Approach training and certified as a dyslexia therapist. Karla recently transferred to recruitment and retention novice teacher mentoring department supporting novice teachers in their first three years of teaching.
Scott Foushee ’85 – In April 2021, Today’s Power Inc., North Little Rock-based renewable energy company, named Scott to the board of directors. Alec Farmer ’86 – Elected to the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield board of directors.
Dr. Augustine Lado ’87 – Appointed senior adviser to the president on anti-racism at Clarkson University. Mitzi Langlois Young ’88 – After earning her MSE in gifted/ talented/creative education, she became the gifted/talented facilitator at Nettleton University Heights Elementary School and University Heights School of Medical Arts in Jonesboro.
Peggy Jeffries ’89 – Named the 2021 Arkansas Bandmaster of the Year.
David Hershey ’91 – VP of creative for the CBS/Viacom TV stations in Dallas-Fort Worth, Hershey recently won his 30th regional Emmy award for his creative work in television. Chris Hills ’91 – In July 2021, Chris was the featured speaker for the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission’s “A ghost town, a man who keeps its past alive, and a chance to learn all about it.”
Theresa Nedelman ’91 Recently announced as a 2021 Northeast Arkansas Women in Business Award winner.
Robbie Johnson ’92 – Promoted to vice president and chief development officer for Baptist Memorial Health Care.
Mitzi Young ‘88
Christy Valentine ’92 ’01 – Joined Hytrol Conveyor Company, Inc. as the company’s manager of academic partnerships.
Robbie Johnson ‘92
Col. Denise Beaumont ‘94
Voices Magazine welcomes Class Notes submissions from alumni. There are three ways to submit information: STANDARD MAIL: Class Notes Editor Voices Magazine P.O. Box 1990 State University, AR 72467 -------------------------------------------EMAIL: Alumni@AState.edu -------------------------------------------ONLINE: AStateAlumni.org/ClassNotes
Dr. Summer DeProw ’93 ’95 ’98 Selected as provost at the University of Arkansas –Pulaski Technical College.
Col. Denise Beaumont ’94 – Retired from the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, after 26 1/2 years of service on active duty.
Terry Mohajir ’93 – Accepted the athletics director position at the University of Central Florida in February 2021.
April Leggett ’94 – Was elected City Clerk for the City of Jonesboro and was sworn into office on January 1, 2021.
Rex Vines ’93 – Promoted to Arkansas Department of Transportation deputy director and chief engineer in April 2021. Rex has served as assistant chief engineer since 2019. Julie Allen ’94 – Honored by the Arkansas Economic Developers & Chamber Executives for her service, Allen is executive director of Newport Area Chamber of Commerce, where she has served since 2002.
FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 5 1
Dr. Matt Moore ’94 ’96 – Was appointed research leader for the Water Quality and Ecology Research Unit in the National Sedimentation Laboratory, Oxford, Miss., effective April 25, 2021. Jennifer Green ’95 – Joins Knutson Construction in Minneapolis as CFO.
Christie Jordan ’95 – Recently announced as a 2021 Northeast Arkansas Women in Business Award winner.
CLASS NOTES CONTINUED
Beverly Sinkuler ‘95
Beverly Sinkuler ’95 – Recently named CFO of Levi Memorial Hospital in Hot Springs. Jeremy Wesson ’95 – Promoted to senior district director for the Northeast District of Farm Bureau in January 2021, Wesson serves as liaison between the state organization and the 12 counties in his district. Sultan Ahmed Al-Qassemi ’96 – Appointed as the deputy ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah.
Shelli Wilson ‘04
Joe Sugg ‘05
Kimberly Dale ’99 – Honored by the Arkansas Economic Developers & Chamber Executives for her service, Dale is principal in the firm of Branch, Thompson, Warmath & Dale. Lance Turner ’99 – Named editor of Arkansas Business. Lance has worked for Arkansas Business for 22 years.
Melissa McDaniel ‘07
Dr. Natalie Parker-Holliman ’03 ’14 – Received her Ph.D. in global collaborative STEM education from Texas Tech University. Marissa Mayberry Mill ’03 – Recently received her health coaching certification. Natalie Rockefeller ’03 – Was recently featured among the next generation of philanthropists by the Arkansas DemocratGazette.
2000s
Jeremy Miller ’00 – Hired as director for the northwest district by Arkansas Farm Bureau’s organization and member programs department in Huntsville.
Kim Provost ’96 – Was promoted to executive director of the NEA Baptist Charitable Foundation. Jeff Rutledge ’97 – Named 2021 Outstanding Alumnus by U of A’s Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences in the Dale Bumpers College of Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences. Jeff received his B.S. in plant science from A-State.
Paul Rowton ’98 – Appointed to the ASU System Board of Trustees by Gov. Asa Hutchinson in February 2021.
Mike DeFoe ’01 – Named executive director of finance for Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital.
Brian Fowler ’04 – Named one of the Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 Award recipients. Rodneikka Scott ‘04 – Hired as the first chief membership & diversity programs officer for Endocrine Society in Maryland.
Sara Fenter ’01 ’04 – Recently announced as a 2021 Northeast Arkansas Women in Business Award winner. Matt King ’01 – Promoted to senior vice president of administration and advocacy at Arkansas Farm Bureau. Matt has been with Arkansas Farm Bureau for 15 years.
Shelli Wilson ’04 – Promoted to First Financial Bank’s chief lending officer of its Northeast Arkansas division effective Jan. 1, 2021. Stephen Carroll ’05 – Elected to the American Pharmacists Association Board of Trustees.
5 2 – VO I C E S
Candence Brooks ‘09
Ashton Pruitt ‘09
Joe Sugg ’05 – Elected president of the Arkansas Optometric Association in May 2021. Jared Wiley ’05 – Promoted to assistant chief engineer for planning at the Arkansas Department of Transportation. Meredith Green Cook ’06 – After 11 years with St. Bernards Healthcare, she is now with Ascension Health working as a talent market campaign specialist. Ashley Broadaway Henderson ’06 – Named one of the Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 Award recipients.
Katherine AufderHeide Holmstrom ’07 – Featured in Arkansas Money & Politics for making an impact for the state through AEDC. Katherine was also named one of the Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 recipients, and was honored by the Arkansas Economic Developers & Chamber Executives for her service. She’s the senior project manager in the business development division at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
Melissa McDaniel ’07 – Named new market president in Northeast Arkansas for Iberiabank.
Matt Hubbard ‘07 covers Tokyo Olympics
Bryant Moore ’07 – Celebrated his 10-year anniversary of living in Washington state and is a professional engineer at Semrau Engineering & Surveying.
Working the Tokyo Olympics was not only a huge honor, but was also unlike any sporting event I’ve ever worked . . . mainly due to COVID-19 protocols. Before I even got on a plane I had to have two negative tests within 72 hours. Upon arrival, the procedure to get cleared through the airport took two and a half hours. And that was quick; for some of my co-workers, it took seven hours.
Shauna Thomas ’07 – Promoted to branch manager coordinator for the North Arkansas market area for Farmers and Merchants Bank in March 2021.
Shunqetta Cunningham ’08 ‘10 – Was a guest speaker on a panel discussing entrepreneurship with African American founders in February 2021.
Chris Woodard ’08 – Was named to Talk Business & Politics 40 Under 40.
Graycen Bigger ’09 – Was recently featured in AY Magazine’s Woman Wednesday, “about you” section. Candence Brooks ’09 – Joined the staff at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at A-State as a business consultant. Ashton Snowden Pruitt ’09 – Named Greenbrier’s new communications director in Greenbrier.
The people of Japan could not have been nicer. They were absolutely incredible. I arrived in Tokyo Monday, July 19. Our first telecast wasn’t until Saturday, July 24, so we had a few days to setup and get prepared. My job was the graphics producer for swimming. I had to come up with all the lower-third stats (screen information) on the swimmers, as well as full pages and other content. One thing about swimming is it’s very scripted. You know who your top swimmers are so you revolve the show around them. We had an incredible team led by one of the best sports producers in all of television, Tommy Roy. He’s the Michael Jordan of sports producers. Our announcers were top notch, led by Dan Hicks and Rowdy Gaines with Michele Tafoya doing interviews. Once we got in our daily telecasts it was extremely busy. We had two shows a day. Also, we have to remember we were 14 hours ahead of Central Time so it was morning when we were covering the finals in the prime time show back in the States. A normal day consisted of leaving for the arena at 6 a.m. and not returning until 10 p.m. We would be on air until roughly 12:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Central). We would have a couple hours off and then right back at it to record the preliminaries that night, which would air the next day in the States. While there wasn’t much time to tour Tokyo, it was still an incredible experience that I will cherish forever. Had the pleasure to meet Michael Phelps, which was by far my highlight of the whole two weeks. Our last telecast was the morning of Aug. 1 (my birthday) and our whole crew threw me a party that night to celebrate. It was the most perfect way to cap off a long, grueling two weeks. FA L L 2 0 2 1 – 5 3
CLASS NOTES CONTINUED
2010-present
Jerry Jackson ’10 – Recently joined Arkansas Elite Realty in Jonesboro, April 2021. Gregory Williams Jr. ’10 – One of six El Dorado natives to be honored for service to the community during El Dorado’s seventh annual Black History Person and Youth of the Year presentation in February 2021. Demario Davis ’11 – Recognized as a Hall of Honor inductee by the Arkansas State Lettermen’s Club.
Ryan Aplin ’12 – Recognized as a Hall of Honor inductee by the Arkansas State Lettermen’s Club.
Tom Baumgartner ’12 – Recognized as a Hall of Honor inductee by the Arkansas State Lettermen’s Club. Phillip Butterfield ’12 ’14 – Joins East Arkansas Broadcasters Network as a team analyst and broadcaster.
Colton Gilbert ’11 ’13 – Named Little Rock School District union president effective August 2021. Bethany Hines ’11 ’12 – Recently promoted to producer at CNN, based in New York City. She will focus on sponsored content for TV and digital. Jake Pendergist ’11 – Started a new job as a legal assistant at Scholtens & Averitt in Jonesboro in spring 2021. Jessica Saum ’11 ’16 – One of four finalists for Arkansas Teacher of the Year. Tyler Turner ’11 – Named Jackson Preparatory School’s head football coach in Jackson, Miss.
Kristy Brasfield ’13 ’15 ’17 – A teacher at Blytheville High School, Brasfield was named the 2021 Arkansas History Teacher of the Year, an annual award presented by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to K-12 American history education. Justin Chlapecka ’13 ’15 – Joins Fisher Delta Research Center in Missouri as new extension rice specialist.
Matthew Weatherford ’13 – Named principal of Sacred Heart Catholic School in Danville, Va.
Jake Mizell ’14 – A former AllAmerica pick at A-State, Mizell was selected to lead the Red Wolves as the rugby program’s new head coach effective March 1, 2021. Sharika Nelvis ’14 – Recognized as a Hall of Honor inductee by the Arkansas State Lettermen’s Club.
Jamie Fleming ’12 – One of three teachers named “Teachers of the Year” from Ashdown Schools in Ashdown.
Amanda Guillory ’13 – Named Milton Elementary/Middle School principal in Louisiana.
Bradley Kolwyck ’12 – Named superintendent at Scott County R-4 “Kelly” Schools in Benton, Mo. Zach Owens ’ ‘12 – Named new Jonesboro Young Professionals Network (JYPN) president, Owens is also vice president and loan officer at Unico Bank in Jonesboro.
Carlos McCants ’13 ‘15 – Started a new position as the associate athletics director at the University of Central Florida in the spring of 2021.
Zach McQuigg ’13 – Named principal at Boiling Springs High School in South Carolina.
Rebecca Steimel ’13 ’17 – Named principal of St. Paul School in Arkansas. 5 4 – VO I C E S
Rachael Tucker Parsels ’14 ’16 – Hired as Indigo Research Partner’s first hub manager in 2018. She is now the senior hub associate for the Midsouth and her territory spans from Texas and Oklahoma to Alabama, almost 400,000 square miles. Kim Raath ’14 – As co-founder and CEO of Topl, Raath was recently featured in multiple publications for her work. Her company has a mission to empower growth and enable investment, and has built a dedicated blockchain that is flexible and open enough to be the infrastructure backbone for developing economies.
Jerry Jackson ‘10
Gabe Roberts ’14 – Selected in Arkansas Money and Politics Future 50.
Jessica Saum ‘11 ‘16
Phillip Butterfield ‘12 ‘14
DJ Brown ’17 – Recently named the new principal at Mabry Middle School in South Carolina. Jennifer Hannah ’17 – Is now over media relations, social media, grant writing and management for the NEA Food Bank in Jonesboro.
Kimberly Webb ’14 ’19 – Named the 2021 Arkansas Outstanding Young Band Director. Hannah Belew ’15 – Named principal of St. Joseph Middle School in Arkansas. Jeremy Brown ’15 ’17 – Formerly a professional baseball player for the LA Dodgers, Brown became Springfield Central High School’s principal on July 1, 2021. Mallory Floyd ’15 – Started working at the Garland County Prosecutor’s Office. Marco French ’15 – Principal of Queensborough Elementary School in Shreveport, La. French was named 2021-2022 Louisiana State Principal of the Year. Rachael Wilcox ’15 ’21 – Named social emotional learning coordinator for the Washington School District in Missouri. Kendra Scott ’16 – Named assistant principal at Cedar Ridge Elementary in Branson, Mo.
Jeremy Brown ‘15 ‘17
Jessica Wagner ’18 – Selected to represent the MAESP Distinguished Principals Program, Wagner is principal at Sequiota Elementary School and has been selected as exemplary new principal.
Jordan Hale ’18 – Was named to the Talk Business & Politics 40 Under 40.
Sydney Wendfeldt ’18 Third runner up in the 2021 Miss Arkansas Pageant, Wendfeldt is now a graduate student at the University of Arkansas.
Rashad Lindsey ’18 – Hired as new MACC Greyhound men’s assistant coach in Moberly, Mo.
Monique Smalls ’17 – Named principal of Kelly Edwards Elementary School in South Carolina for the 2021-2022 school year. Ashlee Sutterfield Smith ’17 – A retail banking manager for Farmers and Merchants Bank in Mountain Home, Smith was selected for an Emerging Leader Spotlight by the Arkansas Bankers Association. Sarah Thompson ’17 – Is working as a communications coordinator at the UTHSC Health Science Center Health Sciences Library and she’s working on a master’s in information science from UTKnoxville.
Jamal Jones ‘19
Lindsey Wingo ’17 – Recently announced as a 2021 Northeast Arkansas Women in Business Award winner.
Kacee Kareus ’17 – Became the assistant principal at Trusty and Morrison Elementary Schools in Fort Smith. Elizabeth Love ’17 – Named principal of Spradling Elementary in Fort Smith.
Sam Holt Renshaw ‘18
Robert Morris ’18 – Has been appointed associate director of development at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Alan Pillow ’18 – Appointed as director of the Northeast Arkansas Transportation Planning Commission. Sam Holt Renshaw ’18 – Currently a second-year law student at the University of Alabama School of Law, Renshaw’s article, “International Cybersecurity and Psychology,” was selected for publication in the Law & Psychology Review published spring 2021. Brandon Stover ’18 – Named head baseball coach at Cooper High School in Abilene, Texas.
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Meredith Carvell ’19 – Elected to serve as a managing editor for the Arizona Law Review, Carvell is currently completing her 2L year at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Jamal Jones ’19 – Joined the Red Wolves Foundation as the new director of letterwinner relations. Verl Mitchell ’19 – Earned his graduate certificate in enterprise systems/business analytics from the Sam M. Walton Graduate College of Business, University of Arkansas in May 2020. Cori Keller ’20 – Placed in the top 15 in the 2021 Miss Arkansas Pageant. Keller is a graduate student at A-State and works for ESPN as a sports analyst.
CLASS NOTES CONTINUED
Kirsten Stephens ‘20
Ellie Stafford ’20 – Placed in the top 15 in the 2021 Miss Arkansas Pageant. Stafford, a graduate student at A-State, recently got engaged to fellow alumnus Nick Smith ’20. Kirsten Stephens ’20 – Graduated from the Leadership Memphis FastTrack Spring 2021 program, which is designed for emerging leaders who want to make a change in the Greater Memphis area.
Linwood Whitten ‘20
Chelsi Long ‘15
Linwood Whitten ’20 – Recently appointed as interim assistant vice president of students at Alabama State University. Chelsi Long ’15 – Named principal at Alcoa City Middle School in Alcoa, Tenn. Drew Calhoun ’21 – Received the Excellence in Heritage Preservation Award by Preserve Arkansas.
Jessica Miller ‘21
Asa Carter ’21 – Drafted in the MLR (Major League Rugby) collegiate draft.
Jessica Miller ’21 – A runnerup in the 2021 Miss Arkansas Pageant, Miller is now a graduate student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. George Sharpe ’21 – Drafted in the MLR (Major League Rugby) collegiate draft.
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Wesley Brown
Cheyenne Nelson
Alumni
Wesley Brown – Joined the board of the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio, one of the nation’s top nonprofits recognizing individual engineers and inventors who hold a U.S. patent of highly significant technology. Cheyenne Nelson – Proposal development director for McVeigh Global Meetings & Events in New York City, Nelson was named a 2021 Connect Corporate 40 Under 40 recipient.
Lindsay has posted link for QR in slack
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IN MEMORIAM CLASS OF 1940 Mrs. Mary Burnett
Mr. Jimmy Gorham Mr. Robert Martin
CLASS OF 1944 Mrs. Carmalita Collier
CLASS OF 1958 Dr. Shirl Strauser Mr. Ron Hogue Mr. Robert Manns Mr. Raymond Robak Mr. Jerry Cooper
CLASS OF 1948 Mrs. Imogene Snodgrass CLASS OF 1949 Mr. Harold Waddle Mrs. Betty Parks Dr. John Easley CLASS OF 1950 Mrs. Janelle Viertel Mrs. Nellie Hatridge Mrs. Mariella Hays CLASS OF 1951 Mr. Jerry Grimes Mr. H.M. Julian CLASS OF 1952 Mr. Ray Scott Mrs. Dorothy Martin Dr. Gary Dehls CLASS OF 1953 Mr. Bob Blackwood Mr. William Watson CLASS OF 1954 Mrs. Christine Dobbs Mr. Edward Tyler Mr. Max Smallwood Mr. Bartus Allen CLASS OF 1955 Mrs. Marylyn Looney CLASS OF 1956 Maj. Gen. Eugene Stillions Mr. Floyd Perrin Mr. Loren Spence CLASS OF 1957 Mr. Dale Courtney Mr. Paul Culp Dr. Luther Knight
CLASS OF 1959 Mr. John Shields Mr. Ben Pulliam Mr. James Billings Mr. Al Lindsey Mr. Don Hindman Mr. Jim Ferguson Dr. David Richardson Mrs. Janice Williams
CLASS OF 1964 Mr. Roy Hayden Mr. James Huston Mr. Gene Roebuck Mrs. Glenda Fry Mr. Marvin Moore Mr. William Bruce CLASS OF 1965 Dr. Donald Quinn Mr. Anthony Canepa Mrs. Joan Graham Ms. Edna Crider Mr. Jerry Robertson Mrs. Geraldine Speight Mr. Howard Starnes Mr. Harold Thomas Mr. Bob Reed
CLASS OF 1960 Mr. Bill Caldwell Mr. Bill Carson Mrs. Frances Lambie Mrs. Doris Landrum Mrs. Barbara Keedy
CLASS OF 1966 Mr. Raymond Bowen Amb. James Pardew Mr. James Frizzell Mrs. Sue Nance Ms. Virginia Stone Mr. Phillip Kustoff
CLASS OF 1961 Mr. Thomas Cloninger Mr. L.M. Yerkes Mr. George Roepe Mr. Jackie Hancock Mr. Tom Porter Mr. Everett Sullivan Lt. Col. Bill Hughes
CLASS OF 1967 Mr. Hal Mason Mr. George Kopp Mr. David Cady Mr. Anthony Rowton Mrs. Clara Hendrix Mrs. Annabelle Provence
CLASS OF 1962 Ms. Tillie Henderson Mr. Fred Hilton Mr. Sonny Erwin Mr. Jerry King CLASS OF 1963 Mrs. Gretta Jernigan Mr. Dennye Bullock Mr. Sidney Gifford Mr. James Mebane Mrs. Bonnie Manning Mr. Jim Carter Mrs. Jane Hodgkins Mr. Chuck White
CLASS OF 1968 Mr. Bill Ponder Mr. Hubert Smith Mr. Kenneth Wood Rev. Tommy Carney Mr. Richard King Mrs. Janis Smith Mrs. Betty Kell CLASS OF 1969 Mrs. Joyce Townsend Mr. Ed Ross Mrs. Annie Morrow Mr. Harry Caldwell Ms. Charlotte Staggs Mr. Donald Lamb 5 8 – VO I C E S
Mrs. Carolyn Summers Mr. Dighton Ewan Mr. Bob Dawson Mrs. Martha Meador Mrs. Sue Brewer Col. Larry Haynes CLASS OF 1970 Mrs. Tacey Cravens Mr. Frank Edmonds Mr. Harold Kohler Mr. Wayne Crocker Mr. Robert Black Mrs. Mary Leggett CLASS OF 1971 Mrs. Linda Kesl Dr. Eddie Reddick Mrs. Maggie McRaven Mrs. Margaret Gunter Mr. William Berry Col. Bill Merritt Mrs. Barbara Mathis Mr. Lynn Smith CLASS OF 1972 Mr. Paul Guariglia Mrs. Patsy Barfoot Rev. Lewis Gentry Mrs. Judie Hackworth Brig. Gen. Frank Toney Mrs. Linda Isabel Mr. Gerald Tong Mr. DavidEdington CLASS OF 1973 Mrs. Paula Asher Mrs. Brenda Ashmore Mrs. Patricia Adams Mr. Danny Beebe Mrs. Vicki Hesson Mr. Robert Jackson Mrs. Carole Burkett Mrs. Mary Wetzel CLASS OF 1974 Mrs. Monica Lindley Mr. Harold Jones Mr. Ronald Hoofman Mr. Don Nall Mr. Howard Hulen
Mrs. Martha Bartz Mr. Rick Huskey Mr. Paul Doty Mrs. Cheryl Green Mr. Buster Briggs CLASS OF 1975 Mr. Dale Morris Mr. Raymond Huckaba Mr. Thomas Baskins Mr. Bryan Reuteler Mr. John Thomas CLASS OF 1976 Mrs. Ruth McGaughey Mr. Gene Stalcup CLASS OF 1977 Mr. Terry Gairhan Mr. John Marotta CLASS OF 1978 Mrs. Denise Vawter Mrs. Sandra Ralph Mr. Mike Roy Dr. Barbara Sloan Mrs. Evelyn Osborn CLASS OF 1979 Mr. Willie Ferguson Dr Herschel Gaines Ms. Margaret Cook Mr. Phil McLarty Mr. Roy Douglas CLASS OF 1980 Mr. Brian Conatser Mrs. Peggy Hanshaw Mr. Roy Lamb Mr. Tommy Bonds Mr. Bobby Box Mr. John Jenkins CLASS OF 1981 Dr. Mike Talbert Mrs. Kathy Bays
CLASS OF 1982 Ms. Winona Thiel Ms. Ruthie Mathews Mrs. Debbi Lamb Mr. Ronald Rodgers Ms. Cynthia Pruett CLASS OF 1983 Mr. Mel Stimson CLASS OF 1984 Mr. Steve Broadaway Mr. Chip Vanaman Mr. Randy O’Neal Mr. Ross Gallant Mrs. Jean Nalley CLASS OF 1985 Mr. Phillip Henegar Mr. Don Covey Ms. Pamela Hooten Mr. Harry Graham Cpt. David Powers Mr. Jeff Nichols
CLASS OF 1986 Ms. Billie Hoggard
CLASS OF 1992 Mr. Kyle Linson
CLASS OF 1987 Ms. Karin Telle Mrs. Laura Kingston Mr. Mark Hoskins Mr. Daniel Sheets
CLASS OF 1994 Mrs. Tonya Everhart Ms. Renita Hickman Mr. Doug Dempsey
CLASS OF 1988 Ms. Emma Green Ms. Darla Nichols CLASS OF 1989 Mr. Wendell Wells Mrs. Terri Mangrum Mrs. Anita Casteel CLASS OF 1990 Rev. Bob Heath Mrs. Christine Orr Mrs. Brenda Collier CLASS OF 1991 Mrs. Debbie Meredith
CLASS OF 1995 Dr. Reita Gorman CLASS OF 1997 Mr. Jonathan Long Mr. Jared Ford Mr. Jay Harper Mr. Jason Crittenden Mr. Jeff Yancey CLASS OF 2000 Mr. Najmi Haydar Mr. John Brooks Mr. Robert Holifield Mr. Mitchell Minor
CLASS OF 2002 Mrs. Brandy Arender Ms. Jenny Wolff Mr. Denzil Smith
CLASS OF 2009 Ms. Tiffany Buirts Mr. Gary Gray Mr. Sam Pierce
CLASS OF 2003 Mr. Jon Adams Mr. John Ford Mr. Gary Parker
CLASS OF 2010 Ms. Terayn Montgomery Ms. Lesle Watson
CLASS OF 2004 Mr. Ryan Hoover Mrs. Lynn Starling CLASS OF 2005 Ms. Elizabeth Allen Ms. Launa McCray CLASS OF 2006 Mr. Todd Meyer Mr. James McPherson CLASS OF 2008 Ms. Dana Jones Mr. Kyle Speed
O B I T U A R Y – J A M E S W. PA R D E W Former U.S. Ambassador James W. Pardew, a Jonesboro native and Nettleton High graduate who was named Distinguished Alumnus in 1996, died June 2 in Arlington, Va. Pardew visited the A-State campus in 2018 to make a presentation for the university’s Lecture-Concert Series. He discussed his experiences and involvement in negotiations for restoring peace in the Balkan region of Europe, details he had recently chronicled in his book, “Peacemakers: American Leadership and the End of Genocide in the Balkans.” After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and a commission in the U.S. Army at A-State in 1966, Pardew enjoyed a successful 27-year military career, attaining the rank of colonel and serving as an intelligence officer. His military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and Air Medals. Following his service as U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria, Pardew was deputy assistant secretary general for operations on the NATO International staff. Among his many career achievements as an American diplomat, he received the Department of State Distinguished Honor Award, the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service, and the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal. Pardew and his wife, the former Kathy Hoffman, donated their art collection, including modern art from Bulgaria, to the ASU System Foundation. In recognition of their generosity, the Board of Trustees named the Pardew Gallery in Bradbury Art Museum, where the collection will be exhibited in 2022.
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CLASS OF 2011 Ms. Ginger Adams Mr. Marc Stringer CLASS OF 2012 Mr. Chuck Hardy CLASS OF 2013 Mr. Tejaye Moye Mr. Ryan Montgomery CLASS OF 2015 Mr. Logan Shipman Mr. Travis Eibel CLASS OF 2019 Mr. Anthony Rhoades
welcome to
O U R PAC K
WOLF PUPS & MARRIAGES
1 Sharon Langston Daniels ’88 ’89 married Skeeter Daniels in June 2021 at St. Catherine’s at Bell Gable in Fayetteville.
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Shawnie Gerlach-Neisler Wilson ’00 married Burt Wilson in July 2021.
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Kristen Myers Ferguson ’06 and husband Brock ’04 welcomed their third son, Mac, in August 2021. Mac joins brothers Graham (10) and Sloan (5).
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Derek Bowman ’07 and wife Lindsey ’10 welcomed their twin daughters, Lainey and London, in August 2021. Lainey and London join big sister Beckett (5).
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Alli Perciful Egart ’07 and husband Tim ‘08, welcomed a third baby boy, Dawson, in June 2020. Dawson joins big brothers Cullen (10) and Maddox (7).
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Dr. Kyle Fulton ’09 – After eight years together Kyle and Adam Eversole of Ohio married in February 2021 in a surprise ceremony on the front porch of their home in New Orleans.
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Tylee Tracer-Anderson ’10 ’18 and husband Codie, welcomed a son, Tripp Tyler Anderson, in March 2021.
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Allison Easley Doss ’11 and husband Matt ‘12, welcomed their son John Parker in December 2020. John joined siblings Charlotte Olivia (5) and Brooks Matthew (4).
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Morgan Bookout Brunson ‘12 and husband Matt, welcomed a son, Wynn Paul, in April 2021. Wynn joins big brother Beckham and he can’t wait to go to A-State games.
10 Alexandria Washburn Edgington ’12 married James in June 2020. James is a fourth-year student at NYITCOM at A-State. 11 Colby Hundley Hignight ’14 and husband Jeffrey ’05 welcomed daughter Madelyn James in July 2021. 12 Carley Caldwell Dillard ’16 and husband Clark ‘11, welcomed sons Barrett in May 2019, and Grant in April 2021. 13
Lindsey Locke Taylor ’16 and husband Thomas, welcomed a daughter, Landry Marie in March 2021. Landry joins brother Harrison (8) and Lockelyn Rose (4).
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Stevie Walters Bush ’17 married Austin Bush ’17 in August 2019 in Jamaica. The couple met during their sophomore year at A-State.
15 Jade Collins Chisum ’17 and husband Jordan, welcomed their daughter Ellison James in June 2021.
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Send us your announcements and high-resolution photos. Submissions are included as space permits. Class notes may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium.
A STAT E A LU M N I . O R G / C L A S S N OT E S
16 Ashley Mears Chapman ’18 and her husband, Raymond, welcomed their second child, Luke, into the family in October 2020. 17 Kennedi Wiles Blankenship ’19 married Eli Blankenship in May 2021. Their relationship began during their senior year at A-State. 18 Mary Ward Anderson ’20 and her husband Colton ‘20 both graduated with their bachelor’s degrees in December of 2020, less than a month before their wedding. Because of COVID-19, they decided to not attend their graduation ceremonies. After learning of this, Chancellor Kelly Damphousse took time out of his schedule to give them a private graduation, where he presented them with their diplomas. 19 Sydney Ratliff McFaden ’20 married Luke McFaden ’20 in May 2021. The couple began dating in high school and attended A-State together.
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20 Brandon Palidar ’20 married Christina Marie, in July 2021 in Twinsburg, Ohio. 21 Ellie Stafford ’20 and Nick Smith ’20 became engaged in June 2021 after four years together at A-State. 22 Tessah West ’21 got engaged to current football player Wyatt Luebke. They were engaged in January 2021 on Allison Field at A-State.
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VOICES
WAW
Wolves Up from Park City, Utah! Jeffrey and Kacey Higgins
WOLVES AROUND THE WORLD
are both 2010 graduates and 1924 Sustaining Life Members.
Congrats to Luke McFadden ‘20 & Sydney Ratliff McFadden ‘20 of Wynne, Ark. #WolvesUp from the wedding party, full of many #AStateAlumni and current students!
RJ Crotts, son of Rebecca Crotts ‘01 representing Arkansas State at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.
Wolves up from Chicago. We love that these alumni ran into each other while dining in Chicago. Joe Miles’ 74 and wife Kathryn, Zach ‘12 and Sarrah Owens’ 14, Shane ‘12 and Candace Smith.
#WolvesUp from Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. Roelf ‘16 and Destiny ‘17 Pienaar
#AStateAlumni pictured include Marsha Mays Carwell ‘05,
in Puerto Penasco, Mexico.
Mary Pierron Mays ‘95, Emily Ballard Gairhan ‘05 and Candy Ballard ‘76.
Jared Woodard ’01, Lindsey Woodard ’03 and their daughter Bentley in Panama City Beach, Fla.
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Wolves Up from PNC Park, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Nathan Baggett ‘19.
Wolves Up from A-State Rugby player Javier Munoz and A-State Dance team member Riley Roberts from Marbella, Spain.
Matt ’11 and Allison ’12 Doss, Jeffrey ’10 and Kacey ’10 Higgins, Logan ’09 and Hillary ’11 Hartwig, Trevor ’08 and Whitney ’10 Young, and Alissa Hampton ‘24
Wolves Up from NYC! Corbin Richardson ‘17 Canaan Richardson ‘20 Ami Richardson ‘91.
Wet wolves on float trip in Eureka Springs Left to right: Lindsay Bennett ‘12, Trenna Barker ‘11, Kimberly Short ‘11, Shannon Nadolni ‘11, Daniel Short ‘11
#WolvesUp from Aaron Mohundro ‘00 at Dunn’s River Falls, Jamaica!
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THE LA ST WORD
LINDSAY BURNETT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALUMNI RELATIONS
The 2021 fall semester is off to a great start here on campus. Our students were as eager to return to campus and in-person learning as we were to being able to host events again. Taking a year-and-a-half break on face-to-face events was a big change for our alumni staff. We adjusted and went virtual when it made sense. Needless to say, we are so happy to see our amazing alumni again and in person. The Alumni Association hosted more than 120 guests at the first St. Louis area alumni gathering this past July. We gathered in Carmine’s Steakhouse at the Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis at the Arch before heading to the Cardinals vs. Cubs game at Busch Stadium. The next day we all enjoyed a private tour of the Endangered Wolf Center where we learned about their conservation efforts. We had a special friend tag along with us at these fun events; maybe you read his letter on page 36. We enjoyed having Howl tag along with us and can’t wait for the next adventure. We do have plans for another alumni St. Louis trip, so mark your calendars for July 2022. More details will follow. Besides St. Louis, we have so many fun events lined up for this fall and spring. Please check out AStateAlumni.org to stay up-to-date on everything happening. Upcoming events: • Oct. 7 – Pregame gathering at Native Brew Works in Jonesboro prior to the A-State vs. Coastal Carolina football game • Oct. 12 – Culture at the Cooper event with Beau Jones • Oct. 19 – Alumni Par-Tee in Rogers at Top Golf Also, in • Nov. 5 – Class of 1970 & 1971 50-Year Reunion October, • Nov. 6 – Alumni & Friends Homecoming Tailgate at the Cooper Alumni Center JCHF’s virtual • Nov. 18 – The Herald’s 100th anniversary celebration (see feature, page 6) concert. Click • Dec. 4 – Pancakes & PJs at the Cooper Alumni Center for tickets. • Dec. 4 – Capitol holiday lighting from the ASU System Office in Little Rock • Dec. 7 – Culture at the Cooper event with Zach Jones of Bearded Bouquet • Jan. 15, 2022 – Bubbles & Bingo fundraiser for the Rugby Club at Cooper Alumni Center Additionally, A-State’s second annual Day of Giving will be coming up in the spring, on April 5, and we will once again ask all Arkansas State University alumni, friends, students, staff and faculty to give back to the program of their choice, like they did this earlier year (see pages 24-25). This is our university, our future, our day. #Give2AState Enjoy all the photos and articles we’ve prepared for you in this edition of Voices, our largest ever. And encourage a friend to join us in the A-State Alumni Association. Wolves Up!
VOICES
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NONPROFIT
Alumni Advocacy
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