CH A NCELLOR ’S | MESSAGE
Student success
can take many forms and is more than simply completing a college degree. I view student success as a process that results in an educational experience, much of which occurs outside the classroom, leading to an enriched life. I see examples of this experience when our jazz band travels the country and the world, serving as ambassadors of UAM while learning about different people and cultures. I see it in our basketball team working with young children in a service project at the Great American Conference tournament in March. I see it in our nursing students teaching healthy lifestyles in communities throughout the region. I see it when members of our football team join with culinary students from our McGehee campus to teach healthy eating habits to elementary school children. And I see it when students in our School of Forestry and Natural Resources are able to play an essential role in waterfowl research. Since coming to UAM in 2015, I have spoken at length about student success and our goal of making this university a model open access institution. The centerpiece of this initiative has begun to take shape. Recently we began site preparation for the construction of a Student Success Center to be located between the Administration Building and Wells Hall. This center will consolidate student services such as admissions, financial aid, the registrar, counseling and testing under one roof to better serve our student population. I want to thank UA System President Don Bobbitt, the Board of Trustees, the members of the southeast Arkansas legislative delegation, and Governor Asa Hutchinson for making this new facility a reality. You can read more about the Center and view the architect’s renderings in this issue of UAM Magazine. As UAM continues to play a vital role in the economic health of southeast Arkansas, I am pleased that the institution is part of the ACT Work-Ready Communities Initiative. Thanks to grants from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the Delta Regional Authority, UAM will be able to assist area communities in demonstrating to current and future employers that this region will go the extra mile to train our workforce with the skills they demand. There is no better evidence of student success than what our alumni accomplish after they leave UAM. We are pleased to honor Dr. Moses V. Goldmon, executive vice president and chaplain of Lane College as our 55th Distinguished Alumnus. I first met Dr. Goldmon at homecoming last fall and was immediately impressed by his passion for helping young people and his commitment to the value of a higher education. This spring, one of the most beloved figures in UAM history reached a milestone that may never be broken. Softball Coach Alvy Early became the winningest college coach in Arkansas history, regardless of sport or division. On April 8, Coach Early led the Cotton Blossoms softball team to a 1-0 win over Ouachita Baptist, the 1,162nd victory of his illustrious career. For nearly four decades, Coach Early has made a positive impact on the lives of the young women he has coached and we are proud of his accomplishments. As we prepare for a new academic year, I hope you will make plans to come to campus for ParentFamily Appreciation Day and Homecoming. Exciting things are happening at your university! Best Wishes, Karla Hughes, Chancellor
ON THE COVER: Dr. Moses Goldmon, Class of ‘84 and the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus. For information, you may contact: Mike Owens, Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni and Communication Strategies (870) 460-1028 (office) (870) 460-1324 (FAX) owens@uamont.edu Lisa Jo Ross, Alumni and Development Officer (870) 460-1028 (office) rosslj@uamont.edu If you want to find out what’s happening on campus, or want to contact us about something significant that’s happened in your life, check out our website at www.uamont.edu. Parents, if your son or daughter attended UAM and is no longer living at this address, please notify our office of his or her new address. Thank you.
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UAM MAGAZINE
FEATURES SPRING-SUMMER 2017
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A CALLING Devoted to faith, family and education, Dr. Moses Goldmon has found his calling at Lane College. He is UAM’s 55th Distinguished Alumnus.
THIS ISSUE Chancellor’s Letter | Campus News |
IFC
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Alvy Early Sets Record | Sports |
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Technology Campus News | Alumni News |
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Foundation News / Donors |
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UAM MAGAZINE is published three times a year by the University of Arkansas at Monticello, the UAM Alumni Association, and the UAM Foundation Fund. Jim Brewer, Editor Director of Media Services (870) 460-1274 (office) (870) 460-1974 (fax) brewer@uamont.edu
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Duck “Jewelry”
Success!
With the help of local sportsmen, a duck banding project has UAM at the forefront of waterfowl research.
A new Student Success Center will be the centerpiece of an initiative to make UAM a model open access institution. Spring-Summer 2017
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CL AU DE BA B IN | a remem br ance
Leaving A Lasting Legacy
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Dr. Claude Babin brought quiet, steady leadership in changing times BEING PRESIDENT OF ARKANSAS A&M College was never at the top of Claude Babin’s wish list. When thenPresident Jack Mears resigned in early 1962 after reaching an impasse with the A&M board over a variety of issues, Board Chairman Clifton Trigg asked Dr. Babin to apply for the position. “My primary love was always classroom teaching,” Dr. Babin said in an interview in the fall 2007 edition of UAM Magazine.“I did not set out to be president of Arkansas A&M.” Dr. Babin may not have wanted the job, but the A&M board refused to take no for an answer. He was named interim president in May 1962, then reluctantly accepted the position full-time in July, beginning a 15-year term as the last president of Arkansas A&M and the first chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Claude Babin died February 25, 2017,
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at the age of 93, leaving behind a legion of admirers and a legacy of quiet, steady leadership that guided Arkansas A&M and UAM through turbulent times. It was Dr. Babin who helped rebuild the frayed relationship between the College and the A&M board of trustees, who helped lift sagging faculty morale and guided the campus through a peaceful integration at the height of the civil rights movement. It was Dr. Babin who spent most of his 15 years as president and chancellor rebuilding the school’s image in the eyes of a national accrediting agency and it was Dr. Babin who helped facilitate the merger of Arkansas A&M with the University of Arkansas. Add in the construction of the Science Center, Fine Arts Center, and Royer Hall, and it’s not a bad resume` for a man who didn’t want the job in the first place. “In the brief time I knew Dr. Babin, he
impressed me as a man of compassion who truly loved UAM and all that it stands for,” said UAM Chancellor Karla Hughes. “He always viewed himself, first and foremost, as a teacher, but his leadership has had a lasting impact on this university.” Born February 6, 1924, Claude Babin grew up in Clinton, La. He graduated from high school in 1941 and entered Louisiana State University at 17. Dr. Babin earned a history degree from LSU in 1945 after twice being rejected for military service for poor eyesight. He received a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a doctorate from Tulane University before accepting a teaching position at Arkansas A&M in 1954. He never left, although his initial appointment was for one year. “I had a family to support and I needed some assurance that I would have a job for more than a year,” Dr. Babin said.“If not, I would have to start looking.” A&M President Horace Thompson assured Dr. Babin that his job was safe and told him he would be re-appointed, beginning a 38-year tenure as a teacher and administrator. Dr. Babin stepped down as chancellor on January 1, 1977, to return to the classroom. He remained a member of the faculty until his retirement in 1992. In 1998, the UAM Business and Communications Building was renamed the Babin Business Center in his honor. Dr. Babin’s legacy will extend beyond his time at UAM, thanks to the creation of the endowed Barbara Murphy Babin Scholarship in honor of his late wife, who died December 6, 2006. Dr. Babin is survived by his son, Claude Hunter Babin, Jr., his wife, Joyce Babin, a granddaughter, Catherine Babin, all of Little Rock, and a brother, Harold B. Babin of Zachary, La. Memorials may be made to the Dr. Claude H. Babin Scholarship Fund at UAM.
Alumni Enjoy a Day
At The Races Oaklawn Park At Its Finest! 1
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FEBRUARY 20, 2017
Win or Lose, We Had a Great Time! 1. Brandon Hogg enjoyed the buffet line in the Arkansas Room prior to post-time.
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2. Joe Peebles picked a winner but Jean Hendrix wasn’t quite so lucky. . 3. Chancellor Hughes visits with alumni at the luncheon catered by Oaklawn Park. 4. David Funderburg points out a winner. 5. A large group of alumni came to Oaklawn Park for food, fellowship and a great time watching some of America’s best thoroughbred racing.
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Success Draws Attention UAM-UAMS partnership notes success of UAM science graduates in Pharmacy School
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PRE-PHARMACY STUDENTS AT the University of Arkansas at Monticello may be able to transfer early to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy under a new program to help recruit qualified students from rural and underserved areas in Arkansas. The Rural Health Early Admissions Program was created recently through a memorandum of understanding. Under the program, UAM and UAMS College of Pharmacy jointly will accept approximately five high school seniors each year into the program. Participants will complete four to six semesters of undergraduate pharmacy pre-requisites at UAM, followed by enrollment at UAMS in the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program. Early acceptance into the program at UAM guarantees the students will be accepted into the UAMS College of Pharmacy if the student satisfactorily completes designated courses at UAM as well as meets other requirements listed in the memorandum. “The UAMS College of Pharmacy is excited to partner with UAM in the Rural Health Early Admissions Program,” said UAMS College of Pharmacy Dean Keith Olsen. “The college’s goals are to recruit qualified students from rural and underserved areas of Arkansas and to attract those pharmacists back to rural areas of the State. We believe this program can accomplish these goals.”
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WELL-EARNED REPUTATION The continuing success of UAM’s science students has caught the eye of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
UAM Chancellor Karla Hughes called the agreement a “validation of the quality of our mathematics and science program and particularly our programs in healthrelated professions. We have always taken a great deal of pride, not just in the remarkable acceptance rates of our graduates to medical, pharmacy and dental schools but their success once they have been accepted.” Applicants must attain an ACT score of 25 or above in high school with demonstrated excellence in mathematics and science courses, have a cumulative high school grade point average of 3.5 or higher, complete an interview with UAM and UAMS faculty and administrators, and demonstrate a strong interest in and commitment to the pharmacy profession. Once enrolled at UAM, participants must achieve a score in the 50th percentile or higher on the Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT), maintain a grade point average of 3.25 at UAM (transfer students are not eligible for the program),
complete at least 69 hours of Pharm.D. pre-requisite coursework at a grade of C or above, complete at least 40 hours shadowing a licensed Arkansas pharmacist, and complete satisfactory interviews with the UAMS College of Pharmacy. High school seniors must conform to UAM undergraduate application deadlines. Joint interviews will take place on the UAM campus in February and July of each year before undergraduate registration. Morris Bramlett, dean of the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, said the agreement was “a wonderful opportunity for our students to be part of a ground-breaking program that will help UAM, UAMS and the state of Arkansas. This agreement recognizes that UAM serves a rural population whose residents are underrepresented in health-related professions. This will provide another avenue to bring those students to the table and give them opportunities they might not otherwise have.”
Your Membership Matters! Your alumni dues benefit our current students, your fellow alumni and the University. Every donation helps students reach their goals and achieve success while in college and enhances their lives once they graduate by creating opportunties for growth and a sense of loyalty to UAM. Please consider joining today!
Different levels of membership offer something for everyone Single Membership – $30 yearly Joint Memberships – $50 yearly
New for 2017, we are offering Lifetime Memberships Households with at least one member 55 or older – $500 one-time donation Households under 55 – $750 one-time donation
If you make the permanent commitment by choosing our new Lifetime Membership, $100 of your donation will go directly into the Alumni Legacy Scholarship Fund. This scholarship has recently been established specifically for children and grandchildren of UAM alumni with preference given to Alumni Association members.
WAYS TO Join
Scan Code!
Online
UAM Alumni Association P O Box 3520 Monticello, AR 71656-3520
www.uamont.edu/join
YOUR MEMBERSHIP MATTERS!
Your gift helps fund scholarships, awards, Homecoming, alumni events and UAM Magazine. Winter-Spring 2017 5
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GOVERNOR’S ANNOUNCEMENT
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson makes the formal announcement of the launch of the ACT Work-Ready Communities Initiative before a packed house in the John F. Gibson University Center. (Below) State Senators Jane English of North Little Rock and Eddie Cheatham of Crossett, co-sponsors of workforce legislation.
Work-Ready Work-Ready Communities Initiative To Better Prepare SEARK Workforce
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GOVERNOR ASA HUTCHINSON announced the launch of the ACT WorkReady Communities Initiative for the Workforce Alliance of Southeast Arkansas at a recent ceremony on the UAM campus. The event was held to inform business, civic and community leaders from seven southeast Arkansas counties (Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Cleveland, Desha, Drew and Lincoln) of their county’s involvement in the ACT Work-Ready Communities Initiative and to encourage collaborative involvement to reach the goals that will earn each southeast Arkansas county ACT Work-Ready Community Certification. “Certification will demonstrate to current and future employers that southeast Arkansas is willing to go the extra mile to
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equip our workforce with the skills employers demand,” said Denisa Pennington, grant manager for the Workforce Alliance of Southeast Arkansas at the UAM College of Technology-Crossett. The Workforce Alliance of Southeast Arkansas was established through grants awarded to UAM from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the Delta Regional Authority which were made possible by passage of Act 1131 of 2015 by the Arkansas General Assembly to support regional workforce planning and implementation of grants and projects. The legislation was co-sponsored by State Senators Jane English of North Little Rock and Eddie Cheatham of Crossett. “This initiative is vital to the continued growth and economic health of southeast Arkansas and I am pleased that UAM is able to play a leading role in this important endeavor,” said UAM Chancellor Karla Hughes. Some of the goals of the initiative are: • To reduce turnover, overtime and waste while increasing employee morale;
• To streamline the hiring process; • To improve the effectiveness of training dollars; • To ensure that workforce skills meet the needs of local employers; • To determine skills improvement and training needs; • Provide members of the workforce with skill credentials to enhance their employability nationwide; • To attract new employers and promote economic development; • To keep a pipeline of qualified workers available for current employers; • To decrease unemployment rates and improve the quality of life in the region.
CELEBRATING THE
Class of ‘17 MAY 12, 2017
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The Class of 2017 Receives Their Degrees at Commencement 1. Chancellor Karla Hughes and newly-minted graduate Jacob Chisom of Monticello smile for the camera. 2. Chancellor Hughes presents the 55th Distinguished Alumnus Award to Dr. Moses Goldmon. 3. Chancellor Hughes (far left) introduces the finalists for the Hornaday Outstanding Faculty Award. They were (from left) Dr. Robert Ficklin, Dr. Kate Stewart, Dr. Mary Stewart, and Dr. Kay Walter. Dr. Kate Stewart was selected for the honor. 4. Happy graduates line up to receive their degrees. 5. Yes, they did!
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A MAN OF
PRINCIPLE FAITH, FAMILY AND AN UNSWERVING BELIEF
in the value of education form the foundation of Moses Goldmon’s life. The eighth of 10 children, Goldmon learned about faith and family from his parents, Curtis and Barbara Goldmon. He learned the value of education at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, thanks to a faculty member whose background mirrored his. Today, Goldmon is the executive vice president and chaplain of Lane College in Jackson, Tenn., and the 55th recipient of UAM’s highest honor, the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
“I don’t know if it’s a product of age,” says Goldmon, “but my time at UAM, just over the last four or five years, has really become precious to me. When I realized the significance of this award, I had to sit down and gather myself. I don’t normally tell people when I win some kind of award or honor, but this got me a little out of character. I’ve shared this with a lot of people and asked them to come be a part of it, so it’s really special to me.” Goldmon grew up on a farm in south Jefferson County and attended Pine Bluff High School, where he caught the eye of college football recruiters as a standout wide receiver. The University of Arkansas and Arkansas State asked him to walk on and he received interest from NAIA schools but the only full scholarship offers came from UAM and UA-Pine Bluff. “The coaching staff at UAM really wanted me,” remembers Goldmon. “Everybody else was kind of ho-hum about it, with the exception of UAPB.” Goldmon’s father steered him to UAM with some sound advice. “He knew I had too many friends in Pine Bluff and at
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the school,” Goldmon says. “He thought it would be more of a distraction than I needed at that point in my life and he was right.” Goldmon lettered four years for the Boll Weevils from 198083 and started his last three seasons at wide receiver. He keeps in touch with a few of his former teammates but doesn’t dwell on past football glory. But ask him about his favorite memory as a Weevil and 34 years melt away. The date was September 10, 1983. UAM was locked in a back-and-forth struggle with its archrival, UAPB, in the first game of the season. UAM scored late to cut the Golden Lions’ lead to 28-27 and Goldmon knew what was coming next. “I knew we were going for two and I knew the play we would run,” he says. The play was a button-hook pass to the wingback but there was a problem. Marvin Seets, the starting wingback, had injured himself on the touchdown. Goldmon took matters into his own
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hands, motioning for Lance Gasaway to come into the game for Seets. Goldmon and Gasaway normally alternated at wide receiver, but for this play, Goldmon moved to wingback. “I wanted the ball,” he says. “I wanted to run that play. I was able to catch it and we won the game in the last few minutes.” Away from football, Goldmon was a health and physical education major with a history minor and was planning a future as a coach. He joined Kappa Alpha Psi and became active in campus Greek life, but it was a class with Dr. Mary Jane Gilbert that changed his career goals. By the early, 1980s, Gilbert was already a UAM legend after starting the women’s basketball program and guiding it to 111 wins in six seasons. But it was in the classroom where she had the most impact. “I tell this story quite a bit, especially to our faculty members because it reminds me how important faculty-student relationships are,” Goldmon says. “We were in class one day and she had everybody go around and talk a little about themselves and I mentioned that I was one of 12 in my family. And she said she was one of 11 in her family and from there we clicked.” Goldmon credits Gilbert with teaching him the importance of studying. “She told me to go to the library and to read all the material in the books,” he says. “She gave me a lot of tips about how to effectively take and pass exams. She also made me realize how much of an impact you can make on people’s lives at the college level.” By the time he graduated from UAM in 1984, Goldmon was being drawn to teaching and eventually, a life in higher education. He entered the master’s degree program at Iowa State to pursue a physical education degree with a concentration in sports management with plans to “teach a little, coach a little, and ultimately become an athletic director.” But a year as a graduate assistant teaching undergraduates made him choose a different path. “I realized how much I enjoyed teaching and got to do a couple of things in administration
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and all these years later, here I am,” he says. After earning his master’s degree in 1987, he was accepted into the doctoral program in health education at the University of Tennessee and received an Ed.D. in 1991. In February 1992, he was named executive director of the East Tennessee Area Health Education Center in Knoxville and six months later accepted a position as associate director of the North Carolina Health Careers Access Program at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, a job he held for nine years. In 2004, he became director of the Action Research in Ministry Institute at Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh, N.C., earning a master of religious education degree in 2009. Along the way, he held adjunct teaching positions at both UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central, was an assistant professor of field education and later an assistant professor of religious education at Shaw, and compiled an imposing list of published research on a variety of topics. Goldmon began pastoring in 1999 with no formal theological training, a reflection of the deep Christian faith instilled by his parents. When Goldmon was a child, his parents insisted that all their children attend Sunday School and church. “If you didn’t go, you didn’t do anything the rest of the day,” Goldmon says. “No television, no leaving the house. It was a pretty easy choice.” Goldmon’s faith led him to pastor churches in North Carolina and Tennessee and in 2014 he was able to combine his higher education experience with his theological background when he accepted a position as executive vice president and chaplain of Lane College, a private historically black institution affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Goldmon calls working at Lane a calling. “I think it relates to the mission of the institution and the kind of students we address,” he says. “I came from a similar, although different, background from many of our students. Similar in that there were not a lot of people in my family who had
gone to college at the time, but different in that I had a real strong family structure. Many of our students don’t. I’ve come to realize that by sharing who I am and doing everything that I can to make sure that our college is structured in a way that our students have an opportunity to meet somebody, whether it’s me or someone in the community, that it will help them understand that a college education can be a way to a much better life and an opportunity to make a difference in the world. That may sound trite, but I really mean it.” Now 55, Goldmon and his wife, Suzzette, would seem settled in Jackson. Their
oldest daughter, Christa, is a first-year medical student at Meharry Medical College in Nashville while younger daughter, Patrice, is a second-year law student at North Carolina Central. But Goldmon has one more career goal in mind. Since 2016, he and Suzzette have been attending seminars for prospective university presidents at the encouragement of Lane President Logan Hampton. He has also received additional support from UAM Chancellor Karla Hughes. “Dr. Hampton came into my office one day and asked me ‘Have you ever thought about being a chancellor or president?’”
Goldmon says. “I told him no and he said I should think about it.” Since then, Moses and Suzzette have gone through a year-long program and are now being mentored. “In the midst of all that, I realized that I do aspire to be a college president,” he says. “And Dr. Hughes was actually instrumental in helping me make that decision. When I read about her being UAM’s first female chancellor, I arranged my schedule so I could come to homecoming and meet her. We connected and after I left, I called her back a couple of times and we talked specifically about how to prepare yourself and how to know it’s
LIFE’S CALLING
Working with young people and steering them on the right path is more than a job to Goldmon, who views his position at Lane College as a calling. (Below) The Goldmon family – Moses, Suzzette, Christa and Patrice.
something you’re called to do. She helped me sort through a lot and realize that it’s something I want to do.” Should Goldmon get the call to lead an institution of higher education, he’ll no doubt take with him the devotion to faith, family and education that have made him successful and worthy of the title “Distinguished Alumnus.” Spring-Summer 2017
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DETERMINATION
Chancellor Karla Hughes is a picture of determination as she applies a band to a captured mallard with the help of UAM graduate student Ethan Massey. The ducks were captured using traps at four to seven different locations each night.
A project funded by UAM and local sportsmen is Arkansas’ only program to band mallard
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Sometime during the 2012-13 duck season, Wil Maxwell, Trent Scogin and Douglas Osborne of Monticello were hunting in the delta near McGehee when the conversation in the blind turned to the lack of banded ducks being harvested in Arkansas. “I’ve been duck hunting since I was seven years old,” says Maxwell. “Been doing it heavily for the last 20 years. In 2010 I started noticing we weren’t harvesting as many banded ducks. The old ratio through the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s was about one band for every 100 ducks harvested. In 2010, our camp harvested approximately 2,000 mallards with only four bands. That’s one band for every 500 ducks. I asked Douglas, ‘Did they stop banding ducks?’” Osborne, a licensed master duck bander who had recently joined the faculty in the School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, explained that cuts in federal funding to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had curtailed banding efforts in the duck breeding grounds of the northern plains and Canada. In addition, Osborne said, “Some
of the mallards had moved to different areas in the breeding grounds. The permanent banding stations they use in the breeding grounds catch whatever’s there, and right now, it’s mostly teal.” “Well, why can’t we do it here on their wintering grounds?” asked Maxwell and that’s how the only mallard duck banding program in Arkansas was born. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission currently bands wood ducks and Canada geese, but not mallards. Maxwell, who when he’s not duck hunting is president of Maxwell Hardwood Flooring of Monticello, offered to help fund the project and secured additional funding from other private businesses, including Silvicraft of Monticello. Osborne went to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Bird Banding Lab and the Mississippi Flyway Council to get approval for the project, Spring-Summer 2017
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CATCH & RELEASE
(From left) Tommy Maxwell, Cliff Gibson, Chancellor Hughes, Phil Tappe, Wil Maxwell, Wayne Owen and Douglas Osborne with ducks captured and banded by a UAM waterfowl research program. (Below) The freshlybanded ducks are released into the wild.
then contacted the U.S. Geological Survey to would come back.” acquire a master bander permit to band mallards “We’ve known for some time that ducks have in the southeast. When Osborne mentioned he high site fidelity on their breeding grounds,” says had private funding for the project, he got a quick Osborne.“They’ll return to the same spot over and green light. over. What we didn’t know was do they have the Osborne went to work immediately following same site fidelity on their wintering grounds.” the close of the 2012-13 duck season, putting out Apparently, the answer is yes. “Site fidelity traps with the help of both graduate and underis even tighter to specific blocks of woods than graduate students in UAM’s School of Forestry and I originally thought,” says Osborne. “We know Natural Resources. Following the 2016-17 season, the ducks are coming from the prairie potholes Osborne employed three graduate students and in Canada into Arkansas and the delta. But we’re 12 to 15 undergraduates to run between 12 and catching the same ducks over and over and over 25 traps at four to seven different sites per night. in the same block of woods they were banded in. By the end of February, Osborne and his students I caught the same bird 360 days apart in the exact had caught and banded more than 2,800 mallards, same trap I caught it in the first time.” nearly triple the 1,000 mallards caught in 2016. Ducks banded by Osborne and his students According to Osborne, banding ducks can have been harvested in Sasketchewan with only a have a huge impact on management decisions affew bands scattered through the Dakotas and Misfecting the number of ducks that can be harvested souri while most of the bands are being harvested by hunters. “Waterfowl populations are assessed in Arkansas. “These birds are making big jumps every year using adaptive harvest management,” from Canada to Arkansas and they’re wintering Osborne explains. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife here,” he says. “That shows how important this Service uses adaptive region is to wintering “These birds are making big harvest management waterfowl.” to survey waterfowl jumps from Canada to Arkansas Osborne says the populations every year banding program has and they’re wintering here. That multiple benefits, not and assess them. If they get big drops in num- shows how important this region the least being the inbers, then they may say, volvement of students is to wintering waterfowl.” ‘Next year, you can only in hands-on research. shoot one pintail instead of two.’ The regulations Thanks to private funding, Osborne is able to change every year. Ducks are one of the only game pay his students, but it’s about more than putting species that we can do that with on an annual basis.” money in their pockets. “My students love this,” When a banded duck is harvested, hunters Osborne says. “I’ve got 12 undergrads who are should go online to www.reportband.gov and beating on my door everyday asking ‘What can report the number on the band.“The data received I do for you today?’ This is an opportunity for from these bands is driving the decisions we’re our students to find out what kind of life their making about how many ducks can be harvested,” forestry degree, their wildlife degree, is going to Osborne explains.“The information helps identify give them. I didn’t have that opportunity when I overall harvest, survival rates, age and sex ratios, if was an undergraduate.” we had a really good hatch this year. It provides a To Maxwell and others underwriting Oston of information for us to analyze to help with borne’s research, the project is a labor of love. management recommendations.” Maxwell has harvested 37 banded ducks in his Maxwell’s initial interest in the project centered lifetime. “To duck hunters, bands are sometimes on a term known as “site fidelity.” Do the same referred to as jewelry,” says Maxwell. “Harvesting ducks keep coming back to the same area year after a banded duck is like a bonus. There are hundreds year after year. “We were making food and water of thousands of wildlife and waterfowl enthusiasts available for late season ducks,” says Maxwell. “I in this state, and this project is a huge benefit for was interested in the success of those practices. I them, for UAM, and for the students involved. wanted to prove or disprove whether the ducks This is money well spent.” Spring-Summer 2017
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MORE THAN A CATCH-PHRASE For Chancellor Karla Hughes, the key component of her vision of student success will soon become a reality with the construction of an $8.5 million Student Success Center.
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SINCE BECOMING CHANCELLOR of the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Karla Hughes has focused on the success of UAM’s students. “That’s why we’re here,” she says. “As educators, it is incumbent upon us to do everything we can to make sure our students stay in school, earn a degree and have the opportunity to lead successful lives.” Part of Hughes’ vision of student success will begin to take shape this summer when UAM breaks ground on a Student Success Center, which will be located between Harris Hall and Wells Hall on a site formerly used as a parking lot. The
center will house elements of the registrar’s office, financial aid and cashier’s office as well as admissions and recruiting, housing, career counseling, academic advising and the university bookstore. The center will also be home to a Chick-fil-A restaurant. The Student Success Center is the result of conversations with student leaders and student surveys. “As we have met with student government and other student leaders, their overriding concern was a lack of gathering places for students on campus and the lack of a true student services center,” said Hughes.“After exploring our options to determine the feasibility of converting an existing building into a student-centered facility, we determined our best course was the construction of a completely new, state-of-the-art center that will provide a sense of campus community while bringing together all the components students need to succeed.” The Student Success Center should be completed in time for the 2018 fall semester. COMING SOON (Facing page) An exterior view of the Student Success Center, facing east. (Near left) An interior view of the central concourse. Spring-Summer 2017
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A WINNER Alvy Early has won more games than any college coach in Arkansas history, setting a mark that may never be broken.
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IT’S POPULAR TO SAY THAT RECORDS ARE MADE to be broken, but some stand the test of time . . . Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Cy Young’s 511 career victories, Cal Ripken’s consecutive games played. April 8, 2017, Alvy Early set a record that may last awhile.
On that day, Early coached the UAM softball team to a 1-0 victory over Ouachita Baptist University. It was the 1,162nd win of his career, more than any college coach in Arkansas history, regardless of the sport or division. That win moved Early past his old friend Norm DeBriyn, who guided the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team to 1,161 wins in 33 seasons. “I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet,” says Early. “Individual accomplishments are not why I coach. It’s the process of seeing young people develop and reach their potential, maybe doing things they didn’t think they could do, that brings me the most satisfaction. I guess that’s why I’ve stayed in it so long.” Early came to UAM in 1979 and was asked to replace a legend. Mary Jane Gilbert had created the women’s basketball program from scratch and coached the Cotton Blossoms to 111 wins in six seasons. Early stepped in and took the program to new heights, winning 425 games, five conference championships, and in 1990, coming within a whisker of winning the NAIA national championship, losing in the title game. In 1997, while still coaching women’s basketball and serving as director of athletics, he took on the additional duties of softball coach and built an immediate winner. The Blossoms won seven Gulf South Conference West Division titles, reached the NCAA Tournament four times and the NCAA Super Regional in 2010. Early was the GSC Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2010 and was named the GSC Coach of the Decade for 2001-2010. When UAM moved to the Great American Conference in 2012, Early led the Blossoms to the new league’s first regular season and tournament championships.
But Early’s legacy at UAM goes beyond wins and losses. In 38 seasons he has served as friend, confidante and fatherfigure to the young women he has coached. “I never had a father in my life,” says Carol Harrington-Strickland, a 199495 basketball All-American. “When my mother passed, Coach Early opened his home to me. I got to see a father interact with his wife and sons and the love that they have for each other. That made a big impact on me. I love Coach Early.” Early’s sons – Preston, Brian and Kent – are all successful coaches in their own right, following in their father’s footsteps. Preston is the women’s basketball coach at Rogers High School, Brian the defensive line coach at Arkansas State, and Kent the softball coach at Bentonville High. “My dad’s always been a hero to me,” says Preston Early. “Looking back now, I think I pursued coaching because of the life I had growing up.” How long Early continues to coach is up to him.“I’m fortunate that my job is my hobby,” he says.“I still enjoy the interactoin with the players and the challenge of getting a team ready to compete.” So Early keeps coaching, pushing the record to new heights while winning games and influencing lives. It’s his legacy. Spring-Summer 2017
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Mawuenyega
Hill
Goosby
Writing Their Own Chapter The 2016-17 UAM basketball team rewrote the record books and carved out their own niche in Boll Weevil history by becoming just the second men’s basketball team to win a conference title.
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THE UAM MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM capped an historic year by capturing a share of the Great American Conference regular season championship and advancing to the NCAA Central Region Tournament before losing to defending national champion Augustana. The Boll Weevils finished the year with a 23-7 record and slew of individual and team honors. The 2017 Weevils became the second men’s basketball team in school history to win a conference championship, joining the 1956 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference champions. Individually, head coach Kyle Tolin was the Great American Conference coach of the year and three players – junior forward Derlyton Hill and junior guards Cobe Goosby and Karim Mawuenyega earned All-GAC honors. Hill, from Palm Bay, Fla., was the GAC Newcomer of the Year and a first team all-league selection after averaging 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. Hill was also named to both the
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NABC all-district second team and the All-Central Region second team. Goosby, from Elba, Ala., was second team All-GAC after averaging 14.9 points and 6.2 rebounds while dishing out 128 assists and making 36 steals. A New Orleans
Tolin
native, Mawuenyega was also a second team selection, averaging 14.5 points while leading the Weevils in steals with 47. The Weevils began the season by winning 14 straight games, tying the school record set by the 1985-86 NAIA national runner-up team. After a couple of losses, UAM reeled off five wins in a row to reach 19-2. The Weevils were 13-2 at home and 17-5 in GAC play. As a team, UAM shot 72.7 percent from the free throw line, 48.5 percent from the field and averaged 83.3 points a game.
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2017 UAM Football Date Opponent Sept. 2 SW OKLAHOMA (6:00) Sept. 9 @ NW Oklahoma (TBA) Sept. 16 EAST CENTRAL (6:00) Sept. 23 @ SE Oklahoma (TBA) Sept. 30 @ Harding (6:00) Oct. 7 ARKANSAS TECH (3:00) Oct. 14 @ Oklahoma Baptist (1:00) Oct. 21 SOUTHERN NAZARENE (3:00) Oct. 28 @ Ouachita Baptist(TBA) Nov. 4 HENDERSON (3:00) Nov. 11 @ Southern Arkansas (2:00) (All games are GAC games)
Boll Weevils Do It Again! UAM wins second consecutive Great American Conference Tournament
2017 UAM Volleyball
For the second year in a row, the UAM baseball team is headed to the NCAA Division II Playoffs. The Boll Weevils successfully defended their GAC tournament championship May 14 with a 6-1 victory over Henderson State in Arkadelphia to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Central Region Playoffs in Emporia, Kan. The Weevils will take a 32-19 record into the playoffs, a double-elimination format, and will face No. 1 seed Emporia State in the opening round. The Weevils saw four players selected to the All-GAC Tournament team. The all-conference selections were catcher Brady Weiss of Chandler, Ariz., first baseman Guy Halbert of Lonoke, pitcher Braden Chambers of Fordyce, and pitcher Dawson Moser of DeWitt. Outfielder Brian Ray of Crossett was named the tournament’s most valuable player. To reach the playoffs for the second straight year, UAM swept through the GAC Tournament without a loss. The Weevils opened with 7-6 and 6-5 wins over Southeastern Okalhoma to advance to the GAC Final Four, then took down Arkansas Tech before winning the tournament with back-to-back wins over Henderson.
Date Opponent Sept. 1-2 Memphis Tournament Sept. 5 CROWLEY’S RIDGE (3:00) MISSISSIPPI VALLEY (7:00) Sept. 12 @ Ouachita Baptist (6:30) Sept. 15-16 SAU Tournament Sept. 19 HENDERSON (6:30) Sept. 21 @ Harding (6:00) Sept. 23 @ UA-Fort Smith (2:00) Sept. 26 SOUTHERN ARKANSAS (6:30) Sept. 28 @ Arkansas Tech (6:00) Oct. 4 @ Mississippi Valley (7:00) Oct. 6 @ NW Oklahoma (6:00) Oct. 7 @ SW Oklahoma (2:00) Oct. 13 SOUTHERN NAZARENE (6:30) Oct. 14 OKLAHOMA BAPTIST (1:00) Oct. 16 CENTRAL BAPTIST (6:30) Oct. 17 @ Crowley’s Ridge (5:00) @ Williams Baptist (7:00) Oct. 20 @ East Central (6:00) Oct. 21 @ SE Oklahoma (1:00) Oct. 26 @ Southern Arkansas (6:00) Oct. 31 ARKANSAS TECH (6:30) Nov. 2 OUACHITA BAPTIST (3:00) GRAMBLING (7:00) Nov. 7 @ Henderson (6:00) Nov. 9 HARDING (6:30) Nov. 16-18 GAC Tournament
Making Their Mark On The Links Lauren Johnson and Frida Rydberg Are UAM’s Top Golfers UAM’s Lauren Johnson and Frida Rydberg have been named to the All-Great American Conference women’s golf team for the third consecutive season. Johnson was a second team selection while Rydberg earned honorable mention honors. A senior from Dewitt, Johnson was also selected to compete in the Central Super Regional Tournament of the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships. Rydberg, Lauren Johnson a junior from Jarfalla, Sweden, won a pair of individual titles during the fall semester.
Frida Rydberg
Spring-Summer 2017
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CTC-GP Partnership
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Agreement benefits industry and provides hands-on training for Crossett campus students (Reprinted with permission from Arkansas Business)
A WORKER-TRAINING TECHNIQUE that evolved in the Middle Ages is gaining new currency in 21st century Crossett. Georgia-Pacific, Ashley County’s largest employer, has partnered with the UAM College of Technology-Crossett on a pilot program to develop the highly skilled manufacturing workers that GP needs but has had trouble finding. The Advanced Manufacturing Technician Program combines classroom education with on-the-job training that looks a lot like apprenticeships of old. Students in the five-semester program take courses at the college that count toward an associate of applied science degree while also working 24 hours a week at the GP paper mill in Crossett. GP has committed $150,000 over a two-year period to the program, which covers the students’ tuition, fees, books and supplies, and it pays the students — starting at $12 an hour — for their work at the mill. The company calls the partnership the Georgia-Pacific Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education or GP Fame and says that students in the program “are not only receiving training for a future job; they also are obtaining a high-level technical education and practical job experience.” The program has another big benefit: Students have the potential to gain this education, training and experience debt-free. The program, which began last fall with
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HANDS-ON TRAINING Students at the UAM College of Technology-Crossett can receive on-the-job training in the school’s Advanced Technician Program, thanks to a partnership with Georgia-Pacific that allows students to work and earn a salary while completing the program.
a class of six, seeks “to close the skills gap that we were seeing in the marketplace,” said Chris Clark, senior human resources manager at the GP plant in Crossett. There was “an uneasiness about the future,” he said. GP was questioning how it would find the workers capable of responding to changes in the industry and in overall technology, he said, asking itself,“How are we going to be able to keep up with that and compete with other manufacturers? “For me, the overall deciding factor was we looked at (the kinds of potential employees) we were able to bring in and just realized that we’re going to have to improve that,” Clark said. “How do we do
that? That was the question.” The answer came to Clark at a pulp and paper conference at which he heard a presentation on the Kentucky Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education, or KY FAME. GP used that program as a model. UAM-CTC was “extremely excited” about the potential of the program when GP broached the subject, Clark said.“They were willing to help us in any way that they could. In terms of an industry partnership with education, I really think they are the model for that type of relationship.” Clark said in his previous experience in partnering with educational institu-
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tions, “it’s really been more on the outside contributes $25,000 toward supplies. whether manufacturing is a career choice looking in, and this partnership really took As students progress through the prothey want to make, Rushing said. “Manuit to the next level where we’re hand in gram, Clark and Rushing said, they can facturing, they have to turn out a product hand, sitting at the table, developing the move up from earning $12 an hour to $14 that meets the need of the user,” she said. curriculum, talking about how to make and then $16 an hour by the last semester. “And our graduates from this program have the program successful, involved with the This apprentice-style program “provides got to meet the work needs of the regional students directly. an opportunity for talented students who employers.” “I couldn’t have asked for a better partmay not have an opportunity to go to a “This apprenticeship program is just nership than UAM-CTC.” four-year institution, who may not be able like a two-and-a-half-year interview,” Linda Rushing, vice chancellor at to afford college any other way,” Clark said. Rushing said.“We always tell our students UAM-CTC, said the school had worked Timothy Griffin, 19, of Monticello in our practicum courses: ‘This is your in the past with Georgia-Pacific and had “a started the program in August. “I thought interview. Don’t blow it.’” wonderful working relationship” with the it was a great opportunity to get the Work apprenticeships made the news company. She called G-P “visionary” in its experience and get the schooling at the last month when Marc Benioff, founder proposals for education projects. same time,” he said. “And being able to go and CEO of cloud computing company “When they come to us with a need, through school debt-free is also a great Salesforce, pitched President Donald we know that it’s something that not perk of it.” Trump on the goal of creating 5 million only will address their training needs but Griffin is currently taking electrical and apprenticeships in the next five years. is something that our B e n i o ff w a s a t a other area employers meeting with U.S. and “ . . . this partnership really took it to the next level where German business and need,” Rushing said. Clark and Cathie we’re hand in hand, sitting at the table, developing the political leaders, includHillier, training man- curriculum, talking about how to make the program suc- ing Trump and Gerager at the G-P plant, cessful, involved with the students directly. I couldn’t have man Chancellor Angela worked with Rushing; Merkel. Germany and asked for a better partnership than UAM-CTC.” Janie Carter, assistant other European counvice chancellor of UAMtries are known for CTC; and Campbell Wilkerson, a career mechanical classes and later will be taking strong apprenticeship programs that offer development facilitator and instructor at welding and production courses. students education and career opportunithe school, to develop the pilot program When he first started his part-time job ties outside of a traditional four-year coland the curriculum. The school wants the at the GP mill, Griffin and his classmates lege program. The programs have come program to serve not only Georgia-Pacific “went to every spot in the mill, just to get to encompass white-collar as well as bluebut other companies, Rushing said. a little feel of how it went.” Now, however, collar jobs. “The beauty of this project is that when the students each have their own posts, Although not as popular in the U.S., some of these other companies have heard running the machines with the operators apprenticeships are growing, according to about what we’re doing, they’ve said,‘What at that spot. the Department of Labor. can I do to join?’” “They teach us how the machine works Chris Clark of Georgia-Pacific says A two-year $988,570 grant from and some little tricks that they’ve picked participating in apprentice-style programs the Arkansas Department of Higher up over the years, and they give us advice,” like GP FAME take commitment on a Education to the University of Arkansas Griffin said. “They actually let us run the company’s part, but “when I saw the poat Monticello’s Workforce Alliance of machines too.” tential benefit of it, I thought there was Southeast Arkansas is helping fund the He enjoys the work. “And I’ve always no way we couldn’t do it,” he said. program, Rushing said. The grant is aimed learned better hands-on,” Griffin said. “So “I hope it becomes the wave of the at supporting technical training and career being able to go out in the mill and actually future because that way employers are readiness.“This FAME program is just one look at it and touch it and do it helps a lot.” directly involved in shaping the type of small portion of that grant,” she said, which The program helps students determine future employees they want and need.” Spring-Summer 2017
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Perseverance Pays Off
THE WAIT IS OVER
Dan Cameron (left) and Benny Roark (right) received their degrees during 2017 commencement exercises.
Dan Cameron and Benny Roark Return For Their Degrees
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FOR TWO RECENT GRADUATES of the University of Arkansas at Monticello, spring commencement exercises held a special meaning. Dan Cameron and Irvin “Benny” Roark both received bachelor of general studies degrees after long absences from their alma mater. Cameron enrolled at what was then Arkansas A&M College in 1968 and was preparing to graduate in May 1971 when he discovered he was six hours short of his degree. Cameron was working fulltime and unable to return to campus to complete six hours in literature, making him the only one of six siblings without a college degree. Fast-forward to 2016. Cameron’s sister, Stella, explained her brother’s predicament to Chancellor Karla Hughes. After a review of Cameron’s transcript, it was discovered that he had passed six hours of biblical literature from another school that
fulfilled his literature requirements. Cameron’s newly-minted degree is appropriate for a man from a family of educators. His mother was a teacher in the White Hall School District for 35 years and his father served on the White Hall School Board for 20 years. His daughter, Cindy Gammel, and her husband, Ryan, are both 2015 UAM graduates. Since leaving Arkansas A&M in 1960 without a degree, Benny Roark has done everything from managing a hardware store to serving as a volunteer for the Iditarod, Alaska’s iconic dogsled race. Roark attended A&M from spring 1958 through summer 1960 after stints
at both Arkansas College (now Lyon College) and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He left Monticello to get married and opened a hardware store in Bentonville, where he met Sam Walton, who was tinkering with the idea of starting a discount store business. The two became close friends and even started a Boy Scout troop together. Roark later worked for F. W. Woolworth in Tulsa and Kansas City before returning to Arkansas where he opened a salvage yard in Fordyce, which he sold after 28 years. Now retired, Roark completed his bachelor of general studies degree at UAM last fall and celebrated the milestone at commencement May 12.
Sue Rownd (1921-2017) First female editor of the Weevil Outlet campus newspaper Sue Rownd (class of ‘42), the first female editor of the Arkansas A&M campus newspaper, died May 2, 2017. She was 96. Mrs. Rownd was the subject of a feature story in the last issue of UAM Magazine, relating her experiences as a student as the country prepared for war. Rownd edited the paper, wrote a gossip column to get as many students names in the paper as possible, and along with her friend and future newspaper publisher Charlotte Tillar, made sure the paper was printed on time. Born Ellen Sue Rogers on April 14, 1921, in Pottsville, Ark., Mrs. Rownd grew up in Grady. After graduating from Arkansas A&M, she taught high school in Wabbaseka, Russellville and Springdale prior to starting her family.
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Bennie Ryburn, Jr. (1934-2017) Bennie F. Ryburn, Jr. (class of ‘57), a long-time state legislator, businessman and civic leader in southeast Arkansas, died May 8. He was 83. Mr. Ryburn attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville before graduating from what was then Arkansas A&M College with degrees in both economics and history. He owned the famly automobile business, Ryburn Motor Company, for 25 years and in 1966 was elected to the first of seven terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives. As a state legislator, Mr. Ryburn was one of the sponsors of legislation to merge Arkansas A&M with the University of Arkansas. After leaving the legislature, he turned his energies toward banking. He was involved with a number of financial institutions, including The First State Savings and Loan Association of Southeast Arkansas, Citizens Bank of Tillar, Pine State Bank of Kingsland, and Arkansas Bankers Life. He was CEO and chairman of the board of The Bank of Star City, Commercial Bank of Monticello and First State Bank of Warren. OBITUARIES
Friends We’ll Miss ALUMNI, FACULTY & FRIENDS
Samson L. Arnold (BS ’96) of Monticello, March 13, 2017 Vada S. Adams (BSE ’58) of Fordyce, December 15, 2016 Wayne R. Adams of Forsyth, Mo., December 3, 2016 Thomas J. Ballard (BSE ’62) of Pine Bluff, March 4, 2017 Sue Dell Black of Pine Bluff, March 30, 2017 Margaret Montgomery Bondurant of Little Rock, April 10, 2017 Beverly A. Boyd (BSE ’74) of Pansy, April 13, 2017 Dixie Gayle Buchanan (BSE ’58) of Cabot, March 28, 2017 Bobby J. Chambers of Little Rock, May 27, 2015 Ora King Clanton of Warren, April 24, 2017 Betty A. Boyd Conatser (BA ’55) of Oakwood, Ga., April 17, 2017 Edwina Daugherty of Pine Bluff, April 25, 2017 Linda J. Ellington (BA ’74) of Dermott, March 13, 2017 Rita Ann Rocconi Gronwald of Jefferson, April 27, 2017 Robert A Hall, Sr. (BS ’60) of North Little Rock, April 16, 2017 Fred W. Harrod, Jr. (BS ’77) of Hampton, April 27, 2017 Tommy L. Hobson (BS ’86) of Jasper, Ala., March 22, 2017 Dr. Yum Y. King (BS ’57) of Pine Bluff, January 18, 2017
Roy C. Koen of DeWitt, March 2, 2017 Raymond L. Laakso of Hattiesburg, Miss., January 3, 2017 Linda S. Lindsey of Colorado Springs, Colo., March 10, 2017 M. L. Mann (BSE ‘56) of Monticello, April 12, 2017 Gwendolyn Merritt McCarthy of Bastrop, La., March 4, 2017 Garel L. Mckiever (BA ’70) of Monticello, April 14, 2017 Glen Wayne McKinley of Pine Bluff, February 10, 2017 Errol D. Miller (BA ’42) of Little Rock, November 8, 2016 Joseph A. Musick of Monticello, February 27, 2016 Hugh Lynn Nutt of Rogers, November 12, 2016 John J. Phillips, Jr. of Clarksville, January 13, 2017 Chelsea Ann Richardson of Crossett, April 4, 2017 Kevin Dean “Kebo” Rinehart of Republic, Mo., March 14, 2017 Kolbe W. Schufft (BGS ’16) of Haughton, La., March 5, 2017 Dr. Dwight C. Shelton, Jr. ( BA ’62) of Little River, S.C., January 26, 2017 Melessa E. Shock (BS ’85) of Cabot, April 20, 2017 Robbie Lee Stephenson of Monticello, February 27 2017
John D. Taylor of Zachary, La., Feburary 17, 2016 Vera Thompson of Monticello, April 8, 1017 LaJoyce Walter (BA ’98) of Hampton, May 2, 2017 Samuel F. Work III of Pine Bluff, March 4, 2017 ALUMNI NEWS
Wee Weevils WELCOMING THE CLASS OF 2038
Audrey Elizabeth Burton, born September 9, 2016, to Mindy (Dees) (BBA ’05) and Adam Burton of Little Rock. Khloe Jaye Corbin, born October 6, 2016, to Katie (BS ’14) & Deric Corbin (BS ’14) of Madison, Tenn. Stella Claire Clowers, born January 30, 2017, to Taylor Armstrong (AA ’15) and Cameron Clowers (CP ’11) of Dermott. John Lee Davis, born February 17, 2017, to Ember and John Davis, of Monticello. Bryant James Halley, born February 2, 2017, to Crystal (Ratcliff ) (BA ’02) and Chris Halley (BA ’08) of Sheridan. Lea Elise Dominguez, born March 9, 2017, to Rebecca (Owens) (BA ’12) and Eligio Dominguez of Monticello. Please report Class News, Births and Deaths to Lisa Jo Ross at ROSSLJ@uamont.edu or go to our website: www.uamont.edu/alumni Spring-Summer 2017
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A LASTING GIFT
Chancellor Karla Hughes left) accepts an endowed award presented by the family of the late Dr. Tim Chase. With Dr. Hughes are (from left) Summer, Paige and Madisyn Chase.
Remembering Tim Chase
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The Chase family presents an endowed award in his honor The family of the late Dr. Tim Chase has presented a donation to the UAM Foundation Fund to create an endowed award in his honor. The Tim D. Chase D.D.S. Endowed Award will be presented annually to an Arkansas student enrolled for at least one year at UAM and majoring in a mathematics or science discipline. The recipient must be in good academic standing with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better. First preference will be given to any mathematics or science major with second preference to a student-athlete competing in football, baseball, softball or basketball. Dr. Chase was a 1985 UAM graduate who built a successful dental practice in Monticello before his untimely death in 2016. He was posthumously named UAM’s 54th Distinguished Alumnus last May. “I want to express my sincere gratitude
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to Paige Chase and her daughters, Summer and Madisyn, for this generous gift,” said UAM Chancellor Karla Hughes. “Dr. Chase was a wonderful husband and father, a dedicated leader of the community, and an avid supporter of this university. I only had the opportunity to know him briefly, but he impressed me with his love for UAM. Coming to UAM was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for Tim and I think he’d be pleased that his family has chosen to honor his memory in this way.” As a UAM student, Dr. Chase was a member of Alpha Chi honor society, the Medical Science Club, Student Government Association, Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities, a Red Cross water safety instructor, and in 1985, an honor graduate. He graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in
Memphis in 1989 with a doctor of dental surgery degree and spent one year at the University of Kentucky’s Chandler Medical Center before returning to Monticello. He held a number of offices with the Arkansas State Dental Association, serving as the organization’s president in 200910. He was a charter member of the board of directors of the Arkansas Mission of Mercy, served on the board of the Arkansas State Dental Examiners and was president of the Southeast District Dental Society. Always active in community affairs, Dr. Chase served 12 years as an alderman on the Monticello City Council and served as the city’s interim mayor after the death of his father-in-law, Allen Maxwell. Dr. Chase was also a past-president of the Monticello Rotary Club and was active in the Monticello School Foundation, Chamber of Commerce, First Baptist Church, and a coach of both Little League baseball and softball. Persons wishing to contribute to the Chase endowment should contact the Office of Advancement at (870) 460-1028.
CLU B D O N O R S | F O U N DAT I O N
INDIVIDUAL DONORS The UAM Foundation donors list includes alumni, friends and other contributors whose gifts were received January 1 – April 30, 2017. Please report any corrections to Roxanne Smith at (870) 4601227 or smithrr@uamont.edu
Unity & Movement Club $2,500 or more Mr. and Mrs. William C. Bulloch Ms. Paige Chase Ms. Margaret B. Grider Mr. and Mrs. Nat Grubbs Mr. Lionell Moss Mr. John J. Phillips, Jr. (deceased) Mr. and Mrs. Randall S. Risher Mr. Richard L. Robertson Mr. Corey E. Wood
Galaxy Club $1,000-$2,499 Mr. and Mrs. Alvy E. Early Dr. Robert S. Graber Dr. and Mrs. William M. Heroman Mr. and Mrs. Jay Hughes Mr. and Mrs. Thomas V. Maxwell Mr. and Mrs. Wil Maxwell Mr. Kent L. McRae Dr. and Mrs. Steve S. Morrison Mr. and Mrs. Scotty D. Watkins
Emerald Club $500-$999 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Baker Dr. Joseph M. Bramlett Mr. and Mrs. John David Carter Mrs. Grayce F. Choate Mr. Aaron Flemister Mr. John Harmon Mr. James P. Henley Mr. and Mrs. Frank D. Hickingbotham Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Humphries Mr. and Mrs. Franklin D. Jackson Mr. William “Hud” Jackson Dr. Louis J. James Mr. and Mrs. James Ledbetter
Mr. and Mrs. David S. Leech Mr. Landon Lively Dr. and Mrs. James L. Lowry Mr. Glenn Manning Ms. Angela J. Marsh Mr. and Mrs. James E. McClain, Jr. Mr. Lamar G. Moore Ms. Matti J. Palluconi Mr. and Mrs. Larry E. Patrick Mr. Donald S. Pearson Mr. Timothy R. Pruitt Mr. David O. Rauls Mr. Danny M. Shedd Dr. Christopher Sims Mr. Frank Vondra
Loyalty Club $200-$499 Ms. Cynthia L. Adair Ms. Carolyn A. Ashcraft Mr. and Mrs. Mike Beard Mr. Alex D. Becker Ms. Hannah C. Berman Dr. Gregory A. Borse Ms. Misty Brakebill Mr. James L. Brewer Ms. Jacqueline D. Bryant Mr. and Mrs. John L. Bullock Mr. and Mrs. Andy Davis Mr. and Mrs. Barry Davis Mr. and Mrs. Kent Davis Ms. Dorothy Everts Ms. Patricia A. Ewens Ms. Christine L. Felts Ms. Marcia Green Dr. and Mrs. Gene Gulledge Mr. and Mrs. Harry E. Halstead Ms. Christine L. Harris Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Harrison Mr. Stephen W. Huselton Dr. Carl B. Johnston Mr. and Mrs. Scott Lyons Mr. and Mrs. Michael B. Mettetal Mr. Joseph D. Murphy Mr. Adam Patrick, Jr. Ms. Melissa Peel Mr. and Mrs. William Reynolds Mrs. Deborah S. Roark Ms. Linda F. Rushing Ms. Shela F. Upshaw Mrs. Mary M. Whiting
Century Club $100-$199 Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Anderson Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Armstrong Ms. Relda G. Aylett Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell L. Barnett Mr. and Mrs. James L. Barton Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Bonds Mr. and Mrs. Nick F. Bowman Mr. and Mrs. Jerry W. Bradshaw Ms. Mildred F. Brazeel Mrs. Jessie C. Chappell Ms. Mary Anne Curlee Mr. and Mrs. Gary D. Cope Mr. and Mrs. Denzil R. Cox Drs. Lloyd and Peggy Crossley Ms. Marilyn Dvoracek Mr. and Mrs. Ronald K. Echols Dr. Laura K. Evans Mr. and Mrs. Danny Funderburg Ms. Mary K. Granier Mr. and Mrs. Caroll W. Guffey, Jr. Mr. Jimmy T. Harrison
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony R. Hogue Mr. J. Larry Hopper Mr. Griffith Jackson Mr. and Mrs. J. Ted Jenkins Mr. Jay S. Jones Mr. and Mrs. Marvin C. King Mr. Chuck Kuehl Dr. and Mrs. Thomas B. McGinnis Ms. Cynthia K. McKinstry Mr. J. David McPherson Mr. and Mrs. David L. Morgan Mr. Quinton L. Morgan Ms. Suzanne Norris Mr. and Mrs. Carroll W. Mosley Mr. and Mrs. Randy K. Norris Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. Parsley Mr. Floyd Pittman III Dr. and Mrs. Jason T. Ross Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Sanders Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Schneider Mr. Bret M. Shell Mr. and Mrs. Michael Shepherd Mr. and Mrs. Larry G. Smith
Business & Corporate Donors American Legion Post III Arkansas Seed Dealers Association Arkansas State Dental Association Celebrate Maya Project Commercial Bank & Trust Co. Community Communications Co. Drew Central High School Class of 1961 ExxonMobil Foundation Georgia-Pacific Luebke Farms Maxwell Hardwood Flooring McQueen & Co., Ltd. Monticello High School Class of 1965 Oklahoma United Methodist Foundation Risher Fitness Management South Arkansas Rehabilitation Spectra Energy State Farm Insurance Companies UAM Institute of Management Accountants Union Bank & Trust Co. United Health Group Wells Fargo Woodman Lodge #7
Spring-Summer 2017
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UA M S P O R T S A S S O CI AT I O N | M EM BERS
SPORTS ASSOCIATION Legacy Club ($2,500 +) Mr. and Mrs. Ken Mann Mr. Corey Wood Mr. and Mrs. Alvy Early Mr. and Mrs. Rick Futrell Mr. and Mrs. John Harvey Mr. and Mrs. Tim Pruitt Mr. and Mrs. Wil Maxwell
Varsity Club ($1,000 - $2,499) Mr. and Mrs. Bill Lawrence Mr. Doug Barnes Mr. and Mrs. Brent Feathers Mr. Cliff Gibson Mr. and Mrs. Paul Griffin Mr. John Harmon Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie McFarland Ms. Patricia Nicholson
Coaches Club ($750 - $999) Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Owen
Green and White Club ($500 - $749) Dr. and Mrs. Barrett Brown Mr. and Mrs. Kelton Busby Mr. Tony Fakouri Maj. Eric Grider Mr. and Mrs. Logan Hancock Diversified Computer Resources Denise Harris Mr. and Mrs. George Harris Mr. Randy Hawkins Mr. and Mrs. Lee Johnson Mr. Stephen Jones Mr. James Ledbetter Maxwell Hardwood Flooring Mr. Larry Phillips Mr. Wayne Rich Mr. and Mrs. Bennie Ryburn, III Mr. and Mrs. Kenny Shipp Mr. and Mrs. Todd Stitt Mr. Max Terrell Mr. and Mrs. James Thomason Mr. Frank D. Vondra
Ring of Champions ($300 - $499) Ashley County Family Dentistry Mr. and Mrs. Danny Barber Mr. Bob Bell Mr. and Mrs. Roeland Bell Mr. and Mrs. Donald Bent, Sr.
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UAM Magazine
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bradshaw Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Brakebill Dr. Russell Bulloch Mr. Denzil Cox Mr. Kevin Craft Mr. and Mrs. Ken Ellis Mr. and Mrs. Steve Feathers Mr. and Mrs. John Free Mr. David Funderburg Mr. and Mrs. Bill Givens Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Griffith Mr. and Mrs. Don Hartley Home, Inc. Col. L. R. and Dr. Karla Hughes Mr. and Mrs. Mark Karnes Kats Electric Co., Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Brad Koen Dr. and Mrs. Jack Lassiter Mr. and Mrs. Mike Lowe Mr. Dennis Marini Mr. and Mrs. Brett McFadden Dr. and Mrs. Steve Morrison Ms. Ellen Murphy Mr. and Mrs. George Owens Mr. and Mrs. Grant Pace Mr. Scott Pace Mr. Adam Patrick Mr. Jeff Pope Mr. Wesley Reeves, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. David Stover
Weevil-Blossom Club ($50 – 299) Ms. Diana Abney Mr. James Adcock Mr. and Mrs. Del Ainsworth Ms. Judy Armstrong Ms. Virginia Arnold Mr. Marcus Arrington Mr. Michael Arrington Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Asbell Mrs. Irma Bain Mr. Randy Barber Mr. and Mrs. Michael Beaird Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Beetschen Mrs. Viola Bent Ms. Dessa Blair Mr. Johnnie Bolin Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Bolin Ms. Grace Borse Mr. Mark Brakebill Ms. Misty Brakebill Bratcher Uehling Real Estate Ms. LaMonica Brown Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Brown Mr. and Mrs. Landon Bullard Mr. and Mrs. Terry Dan Bullock Mrs. LeAnne Burch
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Burns Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Calhoun Mr. Chris Carlow Mr. David Carter Ms. Mildred Carter Mr. and Mrs. Roy Cates Mr. and Mrs. Donald Chain Mrs. Marilyn Chambers Mr. and Mrs. Chris Chapman Mrs. Janice Chapman Mr. and Mrs. Bob Chilton Mr. and Mrs. John Christy Mr. and Mrs. Brian Clark Mr. and Mrs. John Claro Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Clary Mr. Steven Connell Mr. and Mrs. Michael Cook Mr. and Mrs. Dan Courson Mr. Eric Cox Ms. Victoria Cox Mr. W.F. Curtis Mr. and Mrs. Fred Daley Mr. and Mrs. William Darden Mr. Scott Davis Mr. and Mrs. Barry Davis Mr. John Dawson - Arkansas Pulpwood Co., Inc. Mrs. Marie Ford Mrs. Sally Drabble Ms. Michele Dumas Mr. and Mrs. Richard Dunn Mr. and Mrs. Brian Early Mr. and Mrs. Kent Early Mr. and Mrs. Preston Early Mr. Michael Efird Mrs. Alice Eubanks Ms. Betty Eubanks Mr. Benjamin Evans Fairwinds Auto Sales Mr. and Mrs. Joe Fakouri Mr. and Mrs. Harold Farley Mr. and Mrs. Darrell Fisher Mr. Steve Fleming Mr. Gary Fletcher Mr. and Mrs. William Ford Ms. Kellye Heflin Foster Mr. Stephen Frost Mr. and Mrs. Danny Funderburg Mr. Jason Garrett Mr. and Mrs. Ray Gavin Mrs. Rosa Gentry Mrs. Felicia Gibson Mr. and Mrs. Joe Gibson Mr. Jerry Gibson Mr. John W. Gibson Drs. Glen and Mary Jane Gilbert Mr. Randy Graham Ms. Marcia Green Mr. Nat Grubbs – South Arkansas
Rehabilitation Ms. Gladys Gulledge Ms. Pamela Gulledge Ms. Dena Halbert Mr. and Mrs. Truman Hamilton Mr. Werner Haney Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hargis Mr. Theodore Harkey Ms. Gladys Harkey Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Harrington Hattiesburg Hydraulics Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Harrison Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Harrod Mr. and Mrs. John M Harshaw Mr. Joey Hartley Mr. Mike Hartley Ms. Mae Hayes Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Heflin, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Heflin, Sr. Mr. Jay Hefner Ms. Kimberly Hendricks Ms. Lisa Hendrixson Ms. Pam Hendrixson Mr. Joshua Henson Mr. Rufus Henson Ms. Shannon Herman Mr. Phillip Herring Ms. Veleria Hobgood Mr. and Mrs. Bert Hopgood Mr. Dan Hornaday Mr. Ed Horvath, Jr. Mr. Charles Hughes Mr. and Mrs. Jay Hughes Mr. and Mrs. Richie Huie Ideal True Value Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Irons Mrs. Polly Irons Mr. and Mrs. Marty Irwin Mr. and Mrs. Billy Jacks Mr. and Mrs. Bill Jackson Mr. and Mrs. Hud Jackson Mrs. Patricia Janes Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Jinks Mr. Norman Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Richard Johnson Mr. Bill Jones Mr. Jay Jones Mr. Jeff Jones Mr. Steven Jones Mrs. Emily Jung Mrs. Cindy Kauffman Mr. and Mrs. James Keasler Mr. Tom Keith Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Kimbrough Mr. and Mrs. Geoff King Mr. Grover King Mrs. Shirley Kirchoff Mrs. Peggy Kirkpatrick Mr. and Mrs. Don Koen
UA M S P O R T S A S S O CI AT I O N | M EM BERS Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Kuehl Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kyles Kyzer Plant Nursery Ms. Sarah Landley Mr. and Mrs. Kent Lang Mrs. Angie Lauhon Mr. and Mrs. Bob Lee, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Leonards Mr. and Mrs. Eric Lewis Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Lifgren Mr. and Mrs. Mike Lloyd Ms. June Love Mr. and Mrs. Mike Lovelace Mr. and Mrs. Bob Lucky Mr. Kyle Luebke Ms. Lucille Lyons Mr. and Mrs. Scott Lyons Mr. Corey Lytch Mr. Reggie Lytch Madden Funeral Services Ms. Trenia Martin Mr. and Mrs. David May Mr. and Mrs. Bob May Mr. and Mrs. Larry McClendon Ms. Judy McNabb Mr. Mark McNabb Mr. David McPherson Ms. Mary Ann McPherson Mr. James McPherson Ms. Lisa McPherson Ms. Wanda Mealler
Mr. and Mrs. Craig Merrell Mr. Tay Millen Mr. and Mrs. Rick Mobley Mr. and Mrs. Peter Moffatt Mr. and Mrs. James Moore Mr. Wynnsan Moore Mr. Earnest Najorka Mrs. Dora Nichols Mrs. Peggy O’Reilly Mr. and Mrs. Gary Orr Mrs. Peggie Orrell Mr. and Mrs. Rick Owens Mr. Edwin Parker Ms. Barbara Parnell Mrs. Kay Patenaude Ms. Melissa Peel, CPA Mr. and Mrs. Mike Pennington Pepper Oil Co. Mr. and Mrs. Dillard Pettus Mr. and Mrs. Jody Philley Mr. and Mrs. Keith Phillips Mr. and Mrs. Mark Pierce Mr. Tommy Pierce Mr. Michael Piraino Ms. Delores Polite Mr. and Mrs. Owen Powell Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Powers Mr. and Mrs. John Pratt Mr. and Mrs. Curt Preston Mr. and Mrs. James Prince Mr. and Mrs. Chris Pyles
Mr. Brian Ramsey Mr. and Mrs. Max Ray Mr. Matthew Reaves Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Reeves, Sr. Rest Haven Funeral Home Mr. and Mrs. Kerry Rice – Signs, Shirts & Decals Ms. Rita Richard Mr. James Riley Mrs. Donna Rowton Mr. and Mrs. Jim Ryan Mr. and Mrs. Scott Saffold Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Salmon Mrs. Sarah Santo Mr. Ryan Schmidgall Ms. Debra Schneider Scotts Sports Connection Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Sears Mrs. Susan Sexton Mr. Dick Shepherd Mr. and Mrs. Colvin and Lea Ann Shivers Mr. Dave Sigler Mr. and Mrs. Mike Sims Mrs. Carol Sanders Mr. and Mrs. Gary Smith Mr. and Mrs. Jay Smith Mr. and Mrs. Rusty Smith Mr. and Mrs. Josh Sollars Ms. Stacey Stanberry Star City Insurance Agency
Mr. Thomas Stephens Ms. Teresa Stone Mr. and Mrs. David Streeter Ms. Susan Swecker Mr. Nick Temple Mrs. Claudette Thomas Mr. and Mrs. Billy Thurman Mr. and Mrs. Mark Tiner Mrs. Debra Tomlinson Mrs. Bonnie Tournear Mr. Jim Trimm Ms. Jo Ann P. Tucker Mr. Doyle Tyler Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Upton Mr. and Mrs. Adam Veller Mrs. Linda Walker Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Ward Ms. Alisa Ware Mrs. Barbara Warner Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wellborn Mr. and Mrs. Howard Wells Mr. Steve White Mr. B Terry Williams Mr. Larry Wilson Mrs. Karen Wisener Ms. Jane Witt Mr. and Mrs. Max Woodfin Ms. Emilene Word Ms. Kristie Wright
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University of Arkansas at Monticello Alumni Association P.O. Box 3597 Monticello, AR 71656