Bell Tower Magazine Fall 2020

Bell Tower The

The magazine of the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith

FALL | WINTER 2020

UAFS PROUD LION STRONG How the UAFS community is succeeding in 2020

Welcome The iconic Donald W. Reynolds Bell Tower welcomes students to campus and represents the unique bond between the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith and surrounding Sebastian County. Since 1995, the Bell Tower has been the physical symbol of our commitment to offering the greater Fort Smith region relevant, excellent, and affordable educational opportunities. When you see the Bell Tower, you know that you are home.

RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

The Bell Tower

FALL | WINTER 2020 STAYING SAFE: Members of the colleges of STEM, Health Science, and CAST gathered on March 23 to box up more than 1.000 pieces of personal protective equipment for frontline health-care workers in the state.

Dr. Linus Yu, interim dean of the College of STEM, delivered the boxes to UAMS that evening. For more information about the campus response to COVID-19, see page 6.

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For viewing the change of seasons in Fort Smith, few places are better than the Donald W. Reynolds Campus Green. As dusk approaches in late summer, the Campus Green seems to glow with anticipation of the semester ahead.

Even a pandemic could not stop the annual rite for new students.

Cub Camp teaches students about the campus, helps them make new friends, and sets them up for success as Lions.

The idea of creating a living learning community for students from a particular college was new to the campus last year, but the early reviews suggest it has been a success.

Students were plugged in, responsible, and committed to each other’s success.

Kyle Bates and Merary Ramirez are part of an Arkansas education experiment. The two apprentices, unlike typical student interns, had full ownership of their classrooms with the oversight of a mentor teacher.

They gained experience, insight, and even a salary.

Change of Seasons

Team Spirit

Learning Happens Here

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

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STEM Students United

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UAFS VISION

UAFS will be a national model for preparing students for workforce mobility through education and professional development while serving as the thought leader in the region.

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THE BELL TOWER Fall/Winter 2020 Volume 11, Number 1 The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith CHANCELLOR Terisa C. Riley, Ph.D. CONTRIBUTORS Judi Hansen, Rachel Rodemann Putman PHOTOGRAPHERS Rachel Rodemann Putman

On Campus

Community

Alumni

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6 8 9

11 14 14 15

16 UAFS @ The Bakery District 17 Future FIT 18 Community Support 19 SebCo Leaders 20 Women’s Financial Series 21 Kannan Abroad

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The Chancellor’s Letter Why We Give:

Georgia Pacific UAFS Covid Response Wellness Stand A Year of Grace

The chancellor reflects True Colors Dave Stevens Pantry Textbook Share Mental Health

Athletics 22 Kaundart Arena

Legendary coach honored 23 Holland Wins 500th

ART DIRECTOR John Sizing, www.jspublicationdesign.com

Ciara Fleer Class Notes Mentors Network Shakayla “Shae” Canaday, ’19 Andrea Edwards Class of 1956 Alumni Association Awards Legacy Scholarship Students Fort Smith Coffee Company Sharon Winn

The only faculty member to teach at every UAFS iteration.

The Bell Tower is published semi-annually by the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, P.O. Box 3649, Fort Smith, AR 72913, for friends, faculty, and alumni of the university. Tel.: (877) 303-8237.

Email: alumni@uafs.edu. Web: belltower.uafs.edu.

Send address changes, requests to receive The Bell Tower, and requests to be removed from the mailing list to alumni@uafs.edu or UAFS Alumni Association, P.O. Box 3649, Fort Smith, AR 72913.

LETTERS ARE WELCOME, but the publisher reserves the right to edit letters for length and content. Space constraints may prevent publication of all letters. Anonymous letters will not be published.

Send letters to alumni@uafs.edu or The Bell Tower, P.O. Box 3649, Fort Smith, AR 72913.

Views and opinions in The Bell Tower do not necessarily reflect those of the magazine staff nor of the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith.

Contents©2020bytheUniversityofArkansas–FortSmith.

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FROM THE CHANCELLOR Dr. Terisa Riley

Resilience

The start of this new school year doesn’t look the same, but in many ways, it is the same as last year’s. There are still students who are starting their journey, whether it takes them to a certificate, an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree, or a master’s degree. For them, there is the same combustible mix of excitement, curiosity, and just a little uncertainty that fuels every first semester.

There are still students who know the culmination of their studies is so close they can almost taste it. They might have just one semester or one year left. Maybe it’s an internship or a practicum or an apprenticeship to master before taking the big step to fulltime employment. Whatever it is, they are ready to take it on.

None of that changes the fact that the start of this year looks very different from the start of last year. We have students who are on campus for face-

BY THE NUMBERS Preparing to reopen campus safely, UAFS undertook the

to-face instruction, students who are learning exclusively online, and students who are learning in one hybrid form or another. I know many members of the staff and faculty worked tirelessly to pull all of this together so that academic year 2020-2021 got off to the best start possible.

This issue of The Bell Tower will tell you a little about how the pandemic impacted our campus and how we managed that impact. UAFS, you know, never shut down. We learned new skills and made accommodations so that continuing the smooth operation of our university was uninterrupted. We expected some hiccups, and there were some, but we remained committed, and I believe we succeeded.

Success is our only option. What we do is too important to accept any other outcome. Our students need the education we offer, and our community needs the students we educate. As we work together to further the economic development and enhance the quality of place of the greater Fort Smith region, we do so with Lion pride and strength. We are proud of what we have accomplished and eager to share the story with you.

Terisa C. Riley

UAFS MISSION

UAFS prepares students to succeed in an ever-changing global world while advancing economic development and quality of place.

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job of compiling a mighty stockpile of personal protective equipment.

Here’s what some of the order looked like.

CLOTH MASKS:

4,505 DISPOSABLE MASKS:

74,770 DISPOSABLE GLOVES:

56,700 FACE SHIELDS:

2,680 HAND SANITIZER:

171 gallons SANITIZING CLEANER:

226 gallons SANITIZING WIPES:

1,284,450 wipes

Helping Hand If your business would like to support UAFS, its mission, and its students, please contact Christy Williams, director of corporate and foundations relations, at 479-788-7022 or Christy.

Williams@UAFS.edu.

Georgia-Pacific WHY I GIVE

The Georgia-Pacific Consumer Operations LLC (GP) facility, also locally known as Dixie®, has been a long-term investor in the community, supporting students and scholarships for many years. GP is committed to growing local talent and keeping that talent in the River Valley.

GP strives to support UAFS in numerous ways including scholarships for technical skills development in the electrical and industrial maintenance programs and supporting the at Chancellor’s Leadership Council Scholarship. In addition to sponsoring the programs offered at UAFS, GP is fully committed to supporting the students, professors, and other leaders at the university in an effort to help garner interest in developing local talent.

Georgia-Pacific is one of the world’s leading makers of tissue, pulp, paper, packaging, building products and related chemicals. Our products are part of everyday life. While they fill a diverse range of home, commercial, and industrial needs, they have one thing in common: They’re all made to high standards of quality and safety. Our life’s work is to help people improve their lives by making and innovating products and services our customers value. Our focus is on delivering mutual benefit: Win-win outcomes that make life better for customers and employees alike.

ON CAMPUS Dear Lions...

To follow the unfolding impact of COVID-19 on the UAFS campus, students, faculty, and staff needed to look no further than their inboxes.

“Dear Lions,” wrote Chancellor Terisa Riley on March 10. “As your chancellor, your health and safety are my top priorities.”

She assured the university family that senior leadership was carefully monitoring the reports about coronavirus spreading across the country.

“Dear Lions,” she wrote on March 19. “In these unprecedented times and uncertain times, it is more important than ever to communicate with you frequently.”

From that day, she was as good as her word, keeping the university community informed with updates – both written and video messages – so that every-

one knew what was happening.

No one was left to wonder why a specific decision was made, and no one could claim to have exclusive inside information.

Everyone had the inside information.

From the decision to extend spring break by a week “out of an abundance of caution” announced March 13, to the move to remote learning announced March 26, to conversations about ways to “hold students harmless” announced on March 27, to the current smorgasbord of courses taught online, in person, and in a variety of hybrid forms, Riley has brought the campus community along with her step-by-step and at a carefully considered pace.

When the scope of COVID-19’s spread across the country became clear, much of Arkan-

sas, including its schools, shut down abruptly. But with an extra week of spring break to prepare, faculty rallied to see students through the semester. At the end of exams, students were able to choose to accept the letter grade assigned to them, or have that letter changed to a “pass,” or withdraw from the course.

In the meantime, the university began to plan for a summer with online-only classes and the eventual return of staff to campus. A four-stage plan brought people back in a staggered schedule so numbers grew gradually as the university stocked up on sanitizing stations and personal protective equipment.

After the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees should be asked universities to plan for in-person

CARES Act Student Emergency Funds

U

AFS received a little more than $5.5 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act; half of that money was designated for students, half for the university. On May 6, Chancellor Terisa Riley announced that she would designate not 50 percent, but 75 percent,

nearly $3.9 million, to eligible students.

Students were eligible if they had a FAFSA on file; were not enrolled exclusively online before March 13; were not high school student in concurrent programs; and were not transient students, 60+ waiver recipients, nor international or non-citizen students.

A formula determined how much students received. Students who lived on campus on March 13 received $1,000; students who had Pell Grants in the spring semester received $500; students who were for multiple designations. Thus a student who was eligible for the grant, lived on campus, had a Pell Grant, and was a graduating senior would receive $2,000.

Because not all students were eligible, some had acute needs before the CARES money was available, and some had needs not met by the CARES Act money, the Student Emergency Assistance Program, administered by the UAFS Foundation, granted more than $26,500 in awards from March through August.

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RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

eligible for CARES funds received $400; graduating seniors received $100. Students could receive money

classes in the fall, the virus took a hard-right turn. New cases in Arkansas began to rise, and not everyone in the UAFS community was comfortable with on-campus learning.

So UAFS offered a variety of class types. Students can opt to take in-person classes, fully online classes, synchronous online classes (students log in at a required time and join lectures and discussions), hybrid classes that are mostly online but meet in person sometimes, and alternating hybrid (a different group of students meets on campus one time per week while the others log in via computer).

With that abundance of caution Riley mentioned earlier, UAFS will switch to remote learning for everyone after Thanksgiving weekend.

Concerned that students, faculty, and staff are likely to travel over the holiday, just as the flu season takes off, university leadership decided the last week of classes and all exams will be delivered online.

Sadly, fall commencement will be virtual as well, but happily, there will be an opportunity to honor spring graduates whose ceremonies were postponed.

As for spring 2021, plans are being made, but the single, best thing anyone knows about COVID-19 is that it is unpredictable. The single, best thing anyone knows about UAFS is that it will rise to the challenge.

“Happy Friday, Lions,” Riley wrote on Aug. 21. “It is hard to believe that the first week of our semester has come to a conclusion.” Nobody on campus ever doubted it.

NEW LIONS: COVID couldn’t stop Cub Camp. Here members of the Blue Camp take first-year students on a campus tour.

ON CAMPUS Staying Healthy

Fueling Workouts

MEETING NEEDS: The Wellness Stand is a collaboration between the LionHeart volunteer program and the RAWC to provide students with a midday boost.

U

AFS launched a new initiative this fall to offer and encourage healthy eating choices. A collaboration between the

we are willing to put in the work to make that happen.”

“As a LionHeart leader, the willingness of the UAFS staff and

LionHeart Volunteer Program and the UAFS Recreation

community has been evident since I joined,” said Drew Yarbrough, a

and Wellness, the LionHeart Wellness Stand opened in the

sophomore volunteer. “Working on ideas for service opportunities that

Recreation and Wellness Center (RAWC), providing students grab-and-

target identified issues both on and off campus has always been the

go snacks that promote a healthy lifestyle.

priority. Having the backing of the university helps aid what we can

This initiative works alongside the Dave Stevens Lion Pride Pantry, which provides grocery and high-need items for students who may be

accomplish and gives confidence for future projects and endeavors.”

“There are so many students who come in and out whether that be

facing food insecurity at home. The Wellness Stand began as a collabora-

to work out, play basketball or volleyball, attend a fitness class, climb

tive idea between Meighan Pendergrass, director of Campus Recreation

the rock wall, or just chill and play some ping pong,” Yarbrough ex-

and Wellness, and Katie Cochran, coordinator for Student Activities, and

plained. “Knowing that you can grab a snack that is health sensitive on

the pair hope it can provide nearly 100 food items each day.

your way in or out to refuel should be pretty popular with the regulars and hopefully draw in some new students as well.”

continue to meet our students where they are on campus to provide

Items for the Wellness Stand will be sponsored by the RAWC and

them with their basic needs,” said Cochran. “We all know that when a

the Student Activities Office. Donations of healthy snacks, such as fruit,

student’s basic needs aren’t met, they are more likely to struggle with

granola bars, and individual juices, can be dropped off at the Lion Pride

classes and work, so being able to add this component to campus life is

Pantry with a note designating them for the Wellness Stand.

really important to me. It continues to show that, at UAFS, we care about our students as a whole, we want to see them succeed on all levels, and 8 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

The stand will be open from noon to 2 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at the RAWC entrance for the 2020 fall semester.

RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

“My hope for students visiting the Wellness Stand is that we can

#RileyYear1 ON CAMPUS

A Year of Growth, Grace, and Gratitude

RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

MOVE-IN: Chancellor Terisa Riley had been on campus for just a month when she helped new students move into the dorms.

This July marked a year since Dr. Terisa Riley took the helm as the third chancellor of UAFS. She moved to Fort Smith amid the historic floods and watched the community rise to recover as one in her first months on campus.

“I spent my first several weeks in Fort Smith marveling over the resilience of the people of the River Valley,” she said. “I heard our mayor say ‘Fort Smith Proud, River Valley Strong,’ and watched this city live it every day.”

Embarking on a listening

tour in her first months on campus, Riley found the same pride and strength echoed across the UAFS campus and the community.

“This place is special,” she said. “The pride our faculty and staff have for this institution and the dedication they have to meet the needs of every student are unique. I’ve attended and worked at a lot of universities, and there is nowhere I’d rather live and work than at UA Fort Smith.”

Riley quickly immersed herself in her new home

town. She serves on the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, Van Buren Chamber of Commerce, United Way Board of Directors, Fort Smith Regional Council, Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors, and Regional Workforce Development Board.

As she discovered more about the ways UAFS shines, Riley also made careful notes of where the institution could grow, developing a strategy to showcase the university’s strengths to the nation.

“There are so many

wonderful programs and professionals at UAFS, but we’ve been hiding our lights under bushels,” she said. “There is truly no reason anyone should want to go anywhere other than UAFS.” Riley supported comprehensive reviews of the university’s branding, marketing, communication, and website to ensure the mission and story of UAFS reached wideranging audiences.

One of Riley’s first major undertakings was forming the first diversity, equity, and inclusion committee. “In my initial call for volunteers, more than 40 individuals raised their hands to serve,” she said. “I was so moved by their desire to do the hard work of ensuring that we create a climate of value and respect for all people. Making our campus welcoming and inclusive is deeply important to me, and it is abundantly clear it’s just as important to the people who call UAFS home.”

She also has strengthened the university’s dedication to shared governance, meeting regularly with the student government association, faculty senate, and staff council. She has held open forums and town halls, spoken on panels and at safe space events. She is hosting a year-long slate of virtual Chancellor Chats, ensuring everyone who holds UAFS dear has access to the university and its administration.

And then, just past her eight-month anniversary at UAFS, Riley was faced with leading a university through

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ON CAMPUS #RileyYear1

a global pandemic. She navigated uncharted territory with patience, avoiding rash decisions and consulting with leaders across campus to make the right choices for UAFS. She invited advocates from all areas of the institution to discuss plans for moving classes online, canceling the spring commencement ceremony, and finding innovative ways to pivot the university to ensure the safety and security of its members.

As she announced the cancellation of the spring commencement in a video, tears welled in her eyes. She felt the pain of the graduates, the stress of students preparing for an unknown future, and

While my first year as chancellor was more challenging than anyone could have imagined, it was also absolute joy.

— Dr. Terisa RIley the exhaustion of faculty and staff making the rapid and challenging move to remote instruction.

She emphasizes the importance of empathy, compassion, and inclusion in her leadership, and she spreads credit for the successes of the spring transition or the university’s fall reopening.

“The truth is, the individuals

at this institution have shown me grace through all of the events of this year. At every turn, when difficult decisions had to be made, and the devastating effects of COVID-19 turned our operations, budgets, and lives upside down, Lions have stood together. Everyone at this institution, from our first-year students to our most experienced faculty, worked their absolute hardest to make the best of the hand we were dealt.

More importantly, they worked diligently to care for each other while maintaining exceptional educational experiences.“ As she begins her second year, Riley knows the university will continue to grow; Lions will continue to care for each other

and will give each other grace when they need it. The gems of the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith will continue to shine beyond the bushels once hiding their lights.

“While my first year as chancellor was more challenging than anyone could have imagined, it was also a year of absolute joy. The faculty, staff, students, alumni, and supporters throughout the region make the University of Arkansas Fort Smith a special place that is destined to grow because of our strong partnerships and dedication to access, opportunity, and success.

I feel honored and grateful to serve as the chancellor of this outstanding institution.”

giving may be easier than you think.

There are ways you can support the university today while still providing for your family and preserving your assets for retirement.

Office of Planned Giving

For more information on how to create a lasting legacy, please visit uafslegacy.org or contact us at 479-788-7033.

Request your free guide to planning your will and trust.

Forward Lions ON CAMPUS

MURALIST: Londan Booth contributes to the “Forward Lions” mural on the Waldron Road side of the Alumni Center.

RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

Showing Our True Colors Jasmine Smith, ’14, the assistant director of alumni affairs and annual giving, had the idea that she wanted the alumni office to feel more welcoming to visiting alumni.

“I want alumni, when they come into our office, to feel like

they have come home,” she said.

With the approval of Alumni Director Rick Goins, ’07, ’04, and Blake Rickman, vice president of university advancement, Smith renovated the office; new colors, new carpet, new wall decorations.

But she didn’t stop there.

Smith, inspired by the public art in downtown Fort Smith that is the legacy of the Unexpected, had an idea for a mural on the Waldron Road side of the Alumni Center at the corner of Waldron and Grand Avenue.

Bryan Alexis, associate professor of graphic design, envisioned the mural, and his students made it a reality.

In his artist statement, Alexis said he sees the Alumni Association and the lion mascot, Numa, as points of continuity that unify the university through all the transformations it has undergone.

“This mural sends a message to … students and alumni to ever advance, to keep moving forward through ever transitioning life,” Alexis wrote.

“The lion image is imposing, in the center, with transitioning colors surrounding. He is regal, thoughtful, powerful, yet contemplative.”

The mural isn’t just for students and alumni. As a piece of public art on a major roadway at the edge of campus, it also speaks to the surrounding city.

“This mural stands to remind the students, alumni, and Fort Smith community that our students, past, present, and future, carry the power of the lion into every transition of life,” Alexis wrote. “If they have ever been a part of the transformative life on this campus, at any point, they will forever be a lion.”

“We are so excited to have this amazing mural to welcome not only alumni but everyone to campus and to be part of the growing art scene in Fort Smith,” said Goins. “This is just the first of what I am sure will be many ways Jasmine Smith impacts the Alumni Association and UAFS. I’m so proud of her, Professor Alexis, and, most of all, our talented students.”

To see the completed mural, please turn to the back cover.

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ON CAMPUS Twilight

Shadows lengthen At dusk in late summer, shadows lengthen as students stride purposefully. The Campus Green, with its network of sidewalks, joins the disciplines, the Campus Center, and housing and dining services. It also brings together the student body as members walk from the library to the coffee shop to the classroom to the parking lot. Fall will come and then winter. There will be rain and cold and frost. But an August evening is a fine thing, and the Campus Green is one of the best places in Fort Smith to enjoy it.

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RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

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ON CAMPUS Dedication The Textbook Share Project

S

Pantry Named for Dean Dave Stevens The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith officially renamed its needs pantry in honor of its popular dean of students at the unanimous request of the UAFS Student Government Association. SGA voted to rename the food and necessities pantry the “Dave Stevens Lion Pride Pantry” in April.

UAFS Chancellor Terisa Riley said, “All of the individuals who participated in making a needs pantry, not just a food pantry, for the students on our campus have worked very hard, and every time we can help other Lions, we are more successful.”

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pantry has served 450 food sacks to university students and their families.

This spring, the SGA recognized Stevens’ vital role in the success of current resource programs available to students on campus, such as the Lion Pride Food Pantry, the Grab-and-Go Sack Lunch Program (which is temporarily suspended due to concerns over COVID-19), and the Student Emergency Fund. They also noted Stevens’ history of going above and beyond what is required of him to help all students.

“The Dave Stevens Lion Pride Pantry is now able to provide so much for our students, specifically during this pandemic,” SGA President Claire Hollenbeck said. “The SGA could not have gotten the food pantry off the ground without the dedication and support of one of our wonderful advisors,

tudents in several courses can save money

by borrowing textbooks for a short-term loan.

Students check online to see if a particular text is available or they visit the

Dr. Dave Stevens.”

“Our students are sacrificing a lot to be a part of this campus.

All of us felt as if students needed a place they can achieve their goals without having to worry about where their next meal is going to come from,” Stevens said. “I am tremendously grateful to the Student Government Association.”

The pantry, which first opened as a blessings box in 2019, continues to evolve. At the beginning of the fall semester, it provided backpacks to students.

Plans are in development to provide warm coats to students this winter and Thanksgiving meal boxes for students before they head home over the holiday, said Meighan Pendergrass, director of UAFS Campus Recreation and Wellness.

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the Boreham Library and tell staff what they need. The library’s promise to students: “We’ll find just the right person in the library to answer your question.

“When we opened this morning, there were six people waiting outside the door for me,” Pendergrass explained. “We gave out 10 backpacks, 12 food sacks, and we will continue to give more out because just like Dr. Riley said, this will truly be a needs closet.”

More than 41 percent of college students experience food insecurity each month.

Further, 44 percent worry about running out of food.

And nearly half of students at four-year institutions are worried about running out of food, according to a 2019 survey from the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, reported as “College, and University Basic Needs Insecurity: A National #RealCollege Survey Report.”

To make a gift to the pantry, you can visit giving.UAFS.edu.

RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

LION PRIDE: Student Government representatives and members of the University leadership team cut a ceremonial ribbon at the official opening of the Dave Stevens Lion Pride Pantry.

circulation department at

De-stressing ON CAMPUS

The Calm in the Storm

REFUGE: Counselors in the Pendergraft Health Sciences Center are treating students through video chats or phone calls this semester.

The vast majority of students Karen Martindale-Orite sees on campus might be said to be having trouble “adulting.”

“The most common things I see are what I call developmental issues,” said Martindale-Orite, a licensed professional counselor who sees students at the Student Counseling Center on the third floor of the Pendergraft Health Sciences Center.

“The vast majority are young people away from home for the first time, facing more adult responsibilities than they have before, experiencing some time constraints, and the work is harder, and the faculty expect more self-initiative,” she said.

Dr. Dave Stevens, dean of students, believes the

counseling center fulfills a vital task on campus.

“Today, across the country, we see serious mental health issues with students,” he said.

“For some, just having someone to talk to who is confidential, professional does a lot to help them cope, to help them make it day to day.”

UAFS contracts with Western Arkansas Counseling and Guidance Center to provide staff for the center. Having the center on campus is a great convenience for students who might otherwise have transportation and time issues, Martindale-Orite said.

The student health fee allows students up to eight sessions per year, although MartindaleOrite said the university has

allowed some extensions.

If students need more care, they are easily referred to the Guidance Center, where there is a sliding fee scale for many.

She noted that the 1525 years age group has the highest incidence of thoughts about suicide, an age group encompassing most college students. If students are referred or come in on their own, she can assess them and take whatever the appropriate next step is.

Sometimes that includes referring students to the Crisis Stabilization Unit on the WACGC campus. A three-day inpatient stay can stabilize students.

Nontraditional students also make use of the counseling

center, Martindale-Orite said.

“For them, it’s usually stress but stress times three,” she said. “They have school plus family plus work. It can be overwhelming.”

If students need medication, counselors work with the Powell Student Health Center and with medical doctors on staff at the Guidance Center. If students graduate and still need care, they can be referred to the Guidance Center.

Both Martindale-Orite and Stevens talked about the importance of explaining mental health issues during student orientation.

“We talk to students about self-care,” Martindale-Orite said. “But we also want them to pay attention to their friends.”

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COMMUNITY Coming Soon: UAFS @ The Bakery District Will Be The Place To Be In less than a year, if all goes as planned, UAFS will open a second downtown location, this one focused on business, training, consulting, and economic development in the Fort Smith region.

UAFS at The Bakery District will become the new home for the Center for Business and Professional Development and the Family Enterprise Center, both currently housed in the Flanders Building. The new operation at The Bakery District, a developing hub for community events at 70 S. Seventh Street, joins The Blue Lion, an entertainment venue at 101 N. Second St. The new space will allow the university to provide non-credit training for both blue-collar workers and C-Suite executives “where the people are,” said Kendall Ross, director of the CBPD. The Bakery District is a popular new space in the remodeled Shipley Baking Building. On the open and airy first floor are second locations of both Fort Smith Coffee Company and Bookish: An Indie Shop for Folks Who Read as well as other businesses. There is also outdoor patio space.

Ross said sketches for the UAFS space include 10 offices upstairs in the building with a large meeting area and smaller work stations and collaborative space. Downstairs there will be a large conference room that can

managers, practical information for people looking to develop their businesses and Fort Smith’s economy.

He also sees a place for technical training like that offered by Future FIT, which seeks to prepare unemployed

The new space will allow the university to provide non-credit training for both blue-collar workers and C-Suite executives “where the people are,” said Kendall Ross, director of the CBPD.

THE BAKERY DISTRICT: The first floor of former Shipley Baking building has been transformed into a hip meeting place, retail and dining space, and indoor and outdoor seating area. UAFS plans to develop space upstairs for learning and non-credit training by fall 2021.

be divided into two classrooms, one large enough for 45 students, and the other for 75 students.

Ross sees the new initiative as an expansion of CBPD’s

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mission to provide training and consulting services in a way that is cost-effective and relevant.

He envisions seminars and workshops for executives and

or underemployed workers for good jobs in manufacturing.

Although he can see some capstone projects or advanced university classes taking place at the Bakery space, Ross does not think the venue will be used much by students in for-credit classes. But he would like to see faculty from across all colleges on campus buy into the new outreach.

“We know there is a need for non-credit training – at all levels,” Ross said. “We know that The Bakery District is a happening place. This gives us a chance to provide what people need where the people are. What we offer will be customizable, exactly what people want.”

Workforce Development COMMUNITY

Program a Perfect FIT for Fort Smith Future FIT, a new program within the Center for Business and Professional Development at UAFS, is taking the guesswork out of lining up graduates’ skills with employers’ needs.

The genesis of the project was a 2017 study conducted by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission that indicated there were 24,000 manufacturing jobs open in Arkansas, including 900-1,000 in Fort Smith. Further research showed that 80 percent of those jobs require a high school diploma or GED and some technical skills.

So AEDC contacted 10 manufacturers in the Arkansas River Valley, employers like Rheem, Gerdau and International Paper, and asked them what they needed in entry-level workers. These companies, working with AEDC, developed a job standards report spelling out what they needed in new employees.

AEDC took that list to Kendall Ross, director of the Center for Business and Professional Development, and asked him to develop a curriculum to train workers to these standards.

“That’s how Future FIT was born,” Ross said. “It’s a 96-hour course. It meets three hours a night, three nights a week, for 12 weeks. At the end of the course, we have an employment event for (the students). We can’t get them jobs, but we give them the skills and connect them with employers.”

Six of the nine students in the first cohort received jobs immediately after graduation, an excellent rate, especially considering some had past

FUTURE FIT: A new program administered by the CBPD prepares unemployed and underemployed area residents for better paying jobs.

felony convictions.

Using a learning management system through Tuling University and about $70,000 worth of equipment, students learn about safety practices, hydraulics, and pneumatics. They learn to work with power hand tools and on an assembly line. The course includes a mathematics section.

An important aspect of the program is teaching essential “soft skills,” workplace behaviors employers expect: punctuality, time management, consistent effort, integrity, honor, and customer service.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic turned education upside down, Future FIT has undergone some changes. It is now a five week course wiith four weeks of online learning and one week of practical laboratory experience.

Ross expects the next session to start in October.

The CBPD has a two-year agreement with the AEDC, a division of the state Department of Commerce, to offer the class four times in 2020 and four more

in 2021. The state pays the bill; there is no cost to the students or the university.

“What is the worth of this to the community?” Ross asked. “We’re taking people who are either unemployed or underemployed and moving them to a living wage; it’s sustaining that family. The family moves from surviving to thriving. In the long term, we can reduce recidivism and reduce foster care rates.”

Those last two points are significant in the greater Fort Smith area where repeat offending and high foster care rates are vexing, but the program has implications beyond the Arkansas River Valley.

“The state came to us; of all the colleges and universities in the state they came to CBPD, to develop this plan,” Ross said.

“What we’re going to do is take what we have developed and give everything to 10 other universities and colleges to begin this same process.”

That training will

concentrate its efforts in the state population centers at colleges like Northwest and Northeast Arkansas community colleges and the University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College.

The course also unifies UAFS as Ross pulls from across the campus to teach portions of the course. Staff from the College of Business, College of Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, Human Resources Department, and the College of Applied Science and Technology participate.

But the value to the individual student is perhaps the greatest value of the course. Ross told the story of a 19-year-old graduate who’d spent years in foster care and then moved into the Children’s Emergency Shelter’s Get Real 24 program, a housing option for young adults who have aged out of the foster care system. The young man needed help with those essential soft skills and an opportunity to find worthwhile work.

He was a member of the first cohort who graduated into a fulltime job. Ross followed up with a call to Human Resources, who reported the graduate was doing a “fantastic” job.

“Now you have taxpayers, contributing members of society,” Ross said. “They have solid jobs working at least 40 hours per week with benefits.

After a 90-day probation period, most of them will have a chance for a raise. This is a great opportunity for people who thought they might not have any opportunities.”

FALL | WINTER 2020 THE BELL TOWER 17

COMMUNITY Sales Tax Renewal

Tax Funds Propel Growth TIME: The Donald W. Reynolds Bell Tower has been announcing the time to Fort Smith for more than two decades.

B. Allen Sugg, president of the University of Arkansas System, sat down to talk to Westark College President Joel Stubblefield.

Sugg suggested Westark become part of the UA System.

The property tax that brought growth to the college now presented a hurdle. The Arkansas state constitution stated that a community college could not keep its millage if it became a four-year university.

It was complicated.

If UAFS was to be born, voters would have to repeal the millage tax, dissolve the community college district, and approve the sales tax of one-quarter of one percent. The money was to be collected for maintenance, operations, and capital improvements.

Campus leaders knew it would take at least a half-cent

18 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

tax to replace the millage, but they did not want any county residents to pay more in sales tax than they had in millage.

They also could have presented a 30-year tax, but they had a 20-year plan, and they asked for a 20-year tax. Leaders wanted to prove what the new university could do if entrusted with the funds.

The sales tax passed by 76 percent on July 17, 2001.

And that 20-year plan was completed in 10 years.

Here’s what else the University did, as enumerated by the University’s current chancellor, Dr. Terisa Riley.

In the past 20 years, the university has created more than 45 bachelor’s degree programs and two master’s programs.

In the last 10 years, it has conferred more than 13,000

degrees, including about 7,000 bachelor’s degrees.

It has transformed its campus and learning spaces with $6 million in renovations, including upgrades to nearly every building on campus.

The sales tax yields more than $500,000 a month for the university, Riley said. In 2019, the university received $6.3 million. Despite the pandemic, sales tax revenue for the first six months of 2020 is up by nearly $100,000 over the first six months of 2019.

Riley attributes that to the federal stimulus payments and increased unemployment payments, which allowed residents to buy what they need.

The sales tax approved by voters in 2022 will sunset on Jan. 1, 2022.

And so Sebastian County voters will be asked on Nov.3 to extend the sales tax by 10 years.

Without the $6 million from the sales tax revenue, the scenarios are not good.

“We would have to cut about $6 million from our annual budget of about $80 million,” Riley said.

There are only a couple of ways to make up the money, she said. One way would be to increase fees and tuition. The necessary increase would be about $1,200 per student per year or $5,000 more for a fouryear degree.

The other possibility is that the university could eliminate academic programs, concurrent degree study, and student success initiatives.

RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

Many people look at the moment when Westark College became the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith – marked by a flag raising at one minute after midnight Jan. 1, 2002 – as the major transformational moment in the university’s history.

An argument can be made that a moment more than a decade earlier put Westark on the road to full university status. On May 1, 1990, Sebastian County residents voted for an increased property tax, to 5.25 mills, to help Westark Community College grow. With the additional income, Westark bought science laboratories, instructional equipment, and computers, and it built and remodeled buildings, according to The First 85 Years: 1928-2012, a history of the university by Billy D. Higgins, associate professor of history; Stephen Husarik, professor of humanities; and Henry Q Rinne, former dean of Fine Arts.

The community support that the millage represented helped Westark gain momentum, and it added the University Center, which allowed students to remain in Fort Smith while they completed 4-year degrees granted by other universities.

Then in 1997, Westark gained status as a “unique community college” with authority to offer a limited number of bachelor’s degrees in its own name.

It was clear that Sebastian County was ready for a four-year university.

So it might have been surprising, but it also might have been inevitable that in 2000,

Voices COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY LEADERS: Judy McReynolds, Jason Green, George McGill, Kim Weaver

Judy McReynolds Chairman, president, and CEO ArcBest UAFS Foundation Board member emeritus

For companies like ArcBest, it is important to have a strong, collaborative partnership with the higher education community, and for those of us based here in the River Valley, we are blessed to have access to such an institute in the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. We all appreciate what Chancellor Riley and the leadership team at UAFS has done to develop new educational experiences and strengthen degree programs that produce knowledgeable and capable graduates that go on to be productive and impactful members of society. I think it speaks volumes to the successes that are being realized there with this simple statistic: Nearly half of ArcBest’s Arkansas employees who attended a major Arkansas college attended UAFS. Jason Green Vice President – Human Resources ABB UAFS Foundation Board Member Consultant to the UAFS College of Applied Sciences and Technology

UAFS is and continues to be a key to the success of the greater Fort Smith region. The university has a significant impact on our economy, plays a vital role in the development of talent, and supports a variety of our community needs not only with four-year degrees, but two-year degrees and certification programs as well. Our longterm business strategy depends on having the right people in the right place with the right skills. Through a community-based effort that includes UAFS, business and industry, the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Fort Smith Public Schools and other

regional school districts, we are building a pipeline of technically and scientifically skilled talent for our current and future businesses.

Mayor George McGill Alumnus, 1998 Mayor of Fort Smith Member of the UAFS Board of Trustees

UAFS is one of the pillars that brace Fort Smith and the whole River Valley. The university provides an excellent education, and its graduates have a significant impact on our communities. When visitors come to Fort Smith, they often say they are envious that we have the luxury of a strong university within our city limits.

Because of the programs at UAFS, we can provide all the talent a new business might need, from the manufacturing floor to the executive suite. Companies in the Fort Smith area have grown to expect the university to provide all the training they need for workers because that’s the way the partnership has worked for so long.

Kim Weaver Alumna, 2004 Head volleyball coach, Alma Airedales Former volleyball player and assistant coach UAFS

Becoming the assistant volleyball coach at UAFS was a dream come true! We moved from Fort Worth to Fort Smith, bought a house, and settled in to what I thought would be a long tenure there! Partway through the fall season, Travis Biggs, assistant superintendent for Alma schools, called. Deciding to accept the offer from Alma was difficult because of how much I just love being a Lion! I have known Coach (Jane) Sargent since I was 12. She taught me how to be a competitor as an athlete and then taught me so much about leading through the profession of coaching. My time as a student and employee at UAFS will have a lasting impact on my life!

FALL | WINTER 2020 THE BELL TOWER 19

WOMEN’S SERIES: Members of the Mollie Wilson Women’s Financial Series, along with financial advisor David Craig and former UAFS faculty member Emma Watts are gathered at the February meeting and luncheon.

Investors’ ROI Exceeds Dreams part group counseling facilitator, and part good luck totem.

Whatever changes went on in the group, whatever changes rocked the world, the Women’s Financial Series has remained committed to its original goals: educating women, providing investing experience, and sponsoring projects at UAFS. Since the first investment, more than $400,000 has been awarded in scholarships to almost 80 different students through the Mollie Wilson Women’s Financial Series Scholarship. In the 2019-2020 academic year, the Women’s Financial Series provided $70,000 for scholarships. The number includes an extra $20,000 over what they gave the year before for seniors nearing graduation

FORMER PRESIDENT: JoAnn Campbell led the Women’s Financial Series as president last year.

20 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

and needing a financial boost to get across the finish line.

The extra money was the result of an outstanding year for the portfolio, which was valued at $706,000 on March 3.

The members meet monthly for lunch, an update on the portfolio, and a program, which may or may not be about finances. Study sessions where members get into the weeds about stocks are held as needed. Annually, each member contributes $500-$1,000, sometimes more.

Anne Thomas, senior director of development, has been involved with the group since 2007.

“I am impressed with their loyalty to the group and their savviness as investors and decision-makers,” Thomas said. “These women, and David Craig, are some of the most philanthropic individuals as they commit a part of their earnings to educate our students.”

Blake Rickman, vice chancellor for advancement, saluted the women for finding a “unique and beneficial way to make a difference for our students.”

The women “interact with people on campus in a special way; they interact with our stu-

dents, our alumni, our guests,” Rickman said. “They gain from the fellowship, education, competition, and guidance of a financial advisor, but the crux of what they do is that it’s all going to the students.”

And what about the man Bethell calls “our lively discussion leader, bearer of all news good and bad, guider of decision making, executor of trades, statement of fashion”?

In addition to attending the 2-hour study sessions and the 90-minute monthly meetings, Craig places the trades, watches the portfolio, prepares the reports, keeps the women on track, Bethell said.

Craig admires the women, whom he calls entrepreneurs.

He said he tries to keep them focused and rational on stock options. He guides them, but he does not make decisions for them.

“Working with these women is my opportunity to give back,” Craig said. “It is the highlight of my life.”

Since the pandemic hit Arkansas, a core of around 15 members meet regularly on Zoom. As for the ups and downs of the stock market, the women are in it for the long game.

RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

Mollie Wilson and Dr. Carolyn Moore planted a seed in 1994, and the results keep growing.

Moore (then Carolyn Branch) and Mollie Wilson began thinking about a kind of investing club, an undertaking that would allow women to learn something about investing and finance and maybe lead to a benefit for the university, then a community college.

And so the Westark Women’s Financial Series was born with $25,000 startup money from the Westark Foundation, of which Moore was the executive director. Twenty-six years later, members still study the markets, buy and sell stocks, and, while protecting their capital, donate earnings to the Foundation. In 1997, the name of the series was amended in memory of Wilson.

It is now the Mollie Wilson Women’s Financial Series.

Founding member Barbara Bethell is the “unofficial historian” of the group, and she believes there have been at least 118 members and more than 15 presidents.

The women’s financial consultant David Craig, president of October Wealth Advisors, joined the group soon after the start.

Craig is part financial instructor,

International Travel COMMUNITY

UAFS Professor Stranded; Luckily, Birds Abound In late 2019, UAFS biology professor Dr. Ragupathy Kannan prepared for his second and third Fulbrights: a six-week gig as a Fulbright Specialist in India at Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, followed by a six-month semester at the University of Ruhuna teaching climate change biology.

But 2020 and the novel coronavirus had other plans.

Kannan arrived at Matara, Sri Lanka, in February. After what he described as “seven weeks of bliss,” COVID-19 turned his world topsy turvy.

The Fulbright program was suspended worldwide. Although they were strongly urged to return home, Kannan and his wife, considering the relatively stable health conditions in Sri Lanka and deteriorating circumstances at home, decided to stay put.

The situation is dreary, he says, and the global death toll unspeakable. Prolonged lockdowns have brought misery to many people. But for himself, things could be worse.

“Here I am in a comfortable house, at the end of a winding wooded lane, perched atop a cliff over the clear blue Indian Ocean,” he wrote for the publication Indian BIRDS. “I have a stocked pantry, Internet access, and above all, I am surrounded by abundant birdlife.”

For the lifelong birder, the experience is rich. Kannan has

LEARNING BY DOING: Dr. Ragupathy Kannan said he travels widely to ’hone his expertise in global ecology and environmental biology.’

documented 88 species from his balcony, including 7 endemics, unique species found nowhere else in the world.

The balcony, from its height, offers what can only be called a

his first Fulbright in 2007, teaching at G.P. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in India. After that experience, he brought a faculty member to UAFS under the Fulbright

Observation of the natural world in therapeutic, “For that, I am grateful to the birds around us.”

– Dr. Ragupathy Kannan bird’s eye view. On either side of the balcony, he wrote, “are towering trees whose canopies are at eye level.” He is treated to “spectacular aerial displays,” and can record birdsong he might not hear at ground level.

Kannan started at Westark College in 1994 and received

Scholar-in-Residence program and five students from his host university to the University of Arkansas for graduate studies.

Proud of the awards, Kannan said, “It’s a recognition of my more than 25 years of pursuing international research initiatives in the area

of environmental biology and climate change.”

He notes the role UAFS has played in his scholarship.

The university “has always encouraged me to travel widely to hone my expertise in global ecology and environmental biology. I could not have become an internationally recognized scholar without their constant investments in scholarly activities.”

Today Kannan is grateful to UAFS for allowing him to teach his classes remotely from Sri Lanka. He is also thankful to the University of Ruhuna for enabling him to extend his stay in Sri Lanka as honorary visiting professor.

For now, Kannan said, he feels safe. Sri Lanka has had a strong, effective response to the virus, with just 12 deaths in a country with 21 million people.

And there are the birds.

In July, Kannan wrote, “The death toll worldwide nears 600,000 (more than 1 million at press time). It is hard to shake away the blanket of sadness.”

Late at night, when thoughts about his son “in faraway Arkansas” and his indefinite stay in a foreign country crowd out sleep, he tries to keep his mind on his birding.

“One night it was the magnificent White-bellied Sea Eagle … soaring over my balcony with a snake-like eel in its talons …; another it was the beautiful White-tailed Tropicbird … drifting like a fairy over the ocean,” he wrote.

In dark and uncertain times, his “hobby-turned-profession” is therapeutic. “For that, I am grateful to the birds around us.”

FALL | WINTER 2020 THE BELL TOWER 21

ATHLETICS Kaundart Arena Celebrates Tradition of Diligence, Excellence

KAUNDART: ’He had a unique ability to take average players and make good players out of them, and sometimes he would turn an average player into a great player.’

that wasn’t so optional.

Boyer remembers a day when the three-hour session ended, and Coach Kaundart looked at the clock and mused about the team’s next opponent, saying, “I wonder if the boys at Little

challenges. “He taught me how to step up and face some headwinds and not walk away from them.”

He also learned psychology.

“He loved teaching you that you could do things you never

country that year,” he said about 1959. “What a privilege it was to be taught by the best and to learn to play for the best and to learn how to play the game the right way.”

Kaundart, who went on the play for the Razorbacks, supports his judgment with statistics. “Out of those eight players, six went on to play college ball on scholarships: three went to Division 1 schools, one went to a Division 2 school, and one to a junior college. That just does not happen.”

Boyer went to the University of Arkansas as a scholarship All-

What a privilege it was to be taught by the best and to learn to play from the best.

— Tommy Boyer, UA System Board of Trustees Rock Central are still practicing. You know, it’s important to put in more time practicing than they do because if we practice more, our chances of beating them will be better.”

Practice continued.

He learned how to face

thought you could.”

Kaundart won five state championships at Fort Smith High School/Northside, but the team Boyer knows best is the one he played on.

“We were one of the two best high school teams in the

FOLLOW THE LIONS ON FACEBOOK: TeamUAFS | UAFS Lions Athletics | UAFS Cheer | #RuntotheRoar

22 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

American basketball player. He is in both the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Kaundart eventually took his successful formula to Westark Community College, where he coached for 13 years, leading the

ARCHIVE PHOTOS

For Tommy Boyer, it wasn’t a question of if UAFS should honor basketball coach Gayle Kaundart; it was a question of when and how.

Boyer, a member of the University of Arkansas System Board, took that question to Chancellor Terisa Riley in her first weeks on campus.

“I told him I’d treat his request as I would any request from the community, so a notso-fast process,” she said.

Boyer was undeterred.

“I’d probably had conversations with 30 to 40 former players who wanted to know when UA Fort Smith was going to do something,” Boyer said.

Boyer’s esteem for Kaundart dates back to his basketballplaying days at Fort Smith High School.

Kaundart “had a unique ability to take average players and make good players out of them, and sometimes he would turn an average player into a great player,” Boyer said.

“The years I spent with him molded my entire life,” said Boyer, a successful businessman and entrepreneur.

Playing for Kaundart for three years, he said, taught him the value of hard work.

Basketball practice was three hours a day Monday through Saturday, with a two-hour “optional” session on Sunday

Holland #500 Wins ATHLETICS

GAYLE KAUNDART The court and seating in the Stubblefield Convention Center have been named the Gayle Kaundart Arena in honor of the successful coach who brought the first national collegiate basketball title to Arkansas in 1986.

YEARS COACHED AT WESTARK COMMUNITY COLLEGE:

13 WIN/LOSS RECORD:

379-87

Lions to eight NJCAA Tournament appearances. In 1986, he brought the first national collegiate basketball title to Arkansas.

So Riley asked staff members to perform due diligence. The university talked to residents, former players, the Fort Smith School District. They researched statistics and read newspaper stories.

When the results were in on Kaundart, the chancellor took a proposal to the University of Arkansas System, where, she said, many of the members knew the coach, and all the members endorsed the plan.

Ruth Kaundart, Coach Kaundart’s widow, said she is “just

thrilled” about the naming.

“He loved Westark top to bottom,” she said. “He always said it was the greatest two-year college in the country, with the greatest faculty and the greatest students.”

She said he husband “under all that crust” was kind and compassionate, and what he wanted for the men he coached was that they find a way to be successful in their lives while remaining kind.

Over the summer, the basketball arena floor was refinished to accommodate new NCAA regulations about the three-point line. Before the surface was resealed, the coach’s signature, writ large, was added

to indicate that the floor and seating are now to be known as the Gayle Kaundart Arena at the Stubblefield Center.

Using the signature is a way to say, “you left your mark, and your legacy will not be forgotten,” Riley said.

Athletic Director Curtis Janz said the university is planning a ceremony to dedicate the naming when it becomes possible to have such a gathering; he hopes that will be this spring.

“Coach Kaundart embodies the ideal of striving to be excellent and creating a great human being at the same time,” Riley said. “He represents a goal we can strive for, a role model. I am not going to let that man down.”

WINNING PERCENTAGE:

81.3 AVERAGE WINS PER SEASON:

29 NJCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES:

Historic Win for Holland The UAFS baseball team started Homecoming weekend with a 13-7 win over Eastern New Mexico University on Feb. 28, capturing a milestone win for head coach Todd Holland: his 500th career win. As of March 1, Holland had a 158-108 win-loss record over his six years at UAFS. The season was shortened by COVID-19.

8 BI-STATE CONFERENCE TITLE:

9 REGION 2 CONFERENCE TITLE:

7

RACHEL RODEMANN PUTMAN

ARKANSAS JUNIOR COLLEGE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS:

11 NATIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIP:

1 (1986)

FALL | WINTER 2020 THE BELL TOWER 23

w CUB CAMP

TEAM

What happens when you take 175 brand-new first-year students determined to figure out the college thing and match them with 115 upperclassmen who are eager to give them the behindthe-scenes tour and throw in a handful of grownups hollering “Distance!” and “Pull up your mask!”? You get Cub Camp magic.

The COVID Cub Camp had the same authentic “Let’s get this party started” vibe as Cub Camps back through the years. There was teamwork, some dancing, some learning, some running, and some candles to light up the night.

The exuberance of this year’s Cub Camp was just what the students, younger and older, needed to shake off the cobwebs of a long time at home and to commit to the year ahead.

24 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

SPIRIT

w

FALL | WINTER 2020 THE BELL TOWER 25 COLOR WAR: As Cub Camp draws to a close, students express their exhilaration.

Better Living through STEM: S

TEM people – that is, people who study or work in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – like to perform tests and measure results.

Measuring the results of the first year of the STEM Living Learning Community highlights some impressive successes.

Forming the STEM LLC at UAFS was the brainchild of former STEM dean Dr. Ron Darbeau, who hoped it would result in improved recruitment, retention, and academic performance. It took shape over the summer of 2019 and started with first-year students that August. The students, whose majors ran the gamut of STEM

concentrations, lived together, sometimes played together, and ideally learned together.

The results, explained by interim STEM dean Dr. Linus Yu, showed that 91 percent of students in the LLC registered for a second year at UAFS. That’s 5 percent more than other STEM students in the Lion’s Den dormitory, and 20 percent higher than non-STEM students in the Lion’s Den. The LLC students earned a respectable 3.42 grade point average while completing a knock-your-socks-off 48 hours of credit. That compares to 40 for other STEM students in the Lion’s Den and 36 for other students in the Lion’s Den. Yu said the objectives of

the STEM LLC are: • Creating a community that fosters organic study groups among students with similar courses.

• Providing interaction for students with peers in similar fields of study.

• Meeting students where they are for tutoring and office hours.

• Developing relationships through frequent contact with faculty members.

• Fostering leadership opportunities.

Shanna Turney, who worked closely with the students and their families, said she hoped to create a sense of community

REAL WORLD: Students participating in the STEM LLC had a chance to go to the Fort Smith Regional Airport to see a device that scans a room and makes recommendations based on engineering and architecture about where to locate items.

26 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

among the students.

“We really want this to be seen as a team environment and let the students see that as a group, we are a team, and we want to help you grow into the person you want to be,” Turney said.

The students went on field trips over the course of the year.

The last one was on Zoom and explored the jobs available to STEM graduates.

Thanks to Morrison-Shipley Engineers, Inc., in October, students visited the Fort Smith Regional Airport, where they learned about a mapping tool that scans a room to determine the best place for an object from an architectural and engineering point of view.

MATIA STEWART

Lessons from the LLC They also enjoyed a field trip to the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, explored the science of cooking with chemistry by using dry ice to make ice cream, had a mingling opportunity with STEM faculty, and relaxed with a December De-Stress Fest, complete with coloring and puppies.

The second year of the LLC started with some changes. One component added something Turney advocated the first year: “Typically, (LLC students) have a common class so they can study together and learn together.”

This year, Yu said, the STEM curriculum has added a “zero level, zero-credit course” to build community. The course

poses thorny questions to encourage the students to see issues from a new perspective and work together to solve problems.

Perhaps the main thing Yu hopes students get from their involvement is learning that they can count on each other and that the faculty will support them.

“We know that if they get involved in activities on campus and make connections with faculty, they will do better,” Yu said.

Like almost everything else, the STEM LLC has had to make some accommodations because of COVID-19. There are fewer students because many do not want to live on campus right now. And it is challenging to

biochemistry major

“

What surprised me about the Living Learning

Community was the staff. They are really hands-on and try their best to get to know you and help immerse you into the world that

plan activities, especially field trips. Still, Yu believes, providing opportunities like special tutoring and faculty office hours in the dorm help students remain enrolled and succeed in their courses.

Asked if he thinks other colleges might successfully create other living and learning communities, Yu says yes immediately, then takes half a step back.

“Well, we do have a challenging curriculum, and that helps the cohort become a team.”

In the middle of the spring 2020 semester, Turney was more positive. She hopes other colleges will create communities because they build relationships, and “relationships are contagious.”

is UAFS through the eyes of a STEM kid. I like the field trips the most. It’s nice to see how STEM shapes the everyday world around us. It has opened my eyes to many job opportunities that I can apply to my major.

Something I’d like other people to know about the LLC is that it is a way to make new friendships with people of your major or even others. Coming into college, I knew that not many people have my major. Since joining the STEM LLC, I have met many different people with my major and been able to explore many job opportunities with my major and others.

KAREN GARDUZA biology major

“

”

What surprised me the most about the Living

Learning Community is how dedicated the professors and advisors are to us and the program.

I love how involved and how passionate everyone is about the program, how, whenever we have a meeting, the people who tell us about their jobs know exactly what to say to us and give us valuable information and tips.

What I want people to know is this program is really worth your while. It’s an amazing experience for those incoming freshmen who aren’t sure of exactly what they want to do with their major; it helps them explore other jobs out there.

”

FALL | WINTER 2020 THE BELL TOWER 27

LEARNING HAPPENS HERE THE UAFS TEACHING APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM BREAKS NEW GROUND

A

fter carrying out a unique program during an unprecedented year, two new UAFS graduates are fullfledged second-year teachers at Spradling Elementary.

Merary Ramirez and Kyle Bates, spring 2020 grads who were Arkansas’ first paid teaching apprentices, are a couple of months into a new year of teaching after completing their first year by overseeing remote learning for their young students.

The apprenticeship concept arose when Dr. Martin Mahan, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Fort Smith Public Schools, began brainstorming about paid internships for new teachers. He had

ter observing a teacher. Eventually, they have the chance to teach a class or two. Sometime around the middle of the semester, they take control of the class for a couple of weeks, and then they begin to return the class to the original teacher.

Ramirez and Bates were in full charge of their classrooms from the first day with Burdick’s counsel. To compensate for their greater responsibilities, the two apprentices split the salary of a first-year teacher.

The pilot program was a success, but it wasn’t always tidy.

“We’re building the plane as we’re flying it,” Dawson said. “We’re learning by doing, and you have to be willing to let things get

an able brainstorming partner in Dr. Monica Riley, executive director of the UAFS School of Education.

They pulled together a task force of university students and faculty and representatives from the school district and created a template. From there, they went to the Arkansas Department of Education and received a waiver renewable for five years.

A perfect trial opportunity came open at Spradling. The teacher in one of two thirdgrade classes left, and the other teacher, Courtney Burdick, was willing to step out of direct teaching to become a mentor teacher.

That opened the way for Ramirez and Bates.

Typically, student interns begin a semes-

messy because it is going to pay off down the road.”

By the spring semester, both the college students and the elementary pupils were doing well.

The apprentices benefitted from on-thespot training, Burdick said. Her relationship with them is unlike that of other mentors and new teachers.

“I’m the little fly that’s always there when they need me. At a moment’s notice, I can say, ‘This is what you need to do. I need you to change this quickly.’”

Burdick said the apprentices have “classroom management skills beyond a second- or third-year teacher’s. They have excellent

APPRENTICES: Merary Ramirez, left, and Kyle Bates are making educational history in Arkansas.

FALL | WINTER 2020 THE BELL TOWER 29

UAFS graduates about 100 education majors a year, and they go to work in 22 different schools in the region.

Riley would like to see the apprenticeship program offered in all of them.

STANDING TALL: Kyle Bates holds his students’ attention during a mathematics lesson.

management skills, curriculum understanding, and overall professionalism. I feel confident about them as second-year teachers.”

Burdick was equally confident about the third graders because of the Spradling Team Assessment Reporting System that indicates the students “are hitting their goals” in

math, reading, and writing.

Burdick herself underwent assessment too. A UAFS 2016 graduate, she was completing an online master’s degree at Arkansas State University. Like her apprentices, she looked forward to a May graduation. Her “in-field experiences” this year have correlated effectively with her studies.

If there is one thing that everyone involved with the project agrees on, it is that the right people have to be in the right spots for this to work.

“I asked the principals if they would be willing to try something like this in their schools,” Mahan said. “Ms. Dawson was very proactive in reaching out to me. We also needed to have

the right mentor teacher, someone who was willing to step out of the classroom for a year and be a mentor. The lead teacher had to be someone who wanted to do it and was qualified.”

Dawson echoed him.

“For this to thrive, the administrator of the building and the mentor teacher have to have the right mindset,” she said. “Because these are not first-year teachers, and they don’t know what they don’t know. So the mentor has to be willing to serve; that’s what the position is about. Now you have two classrooms and two other adults you’re in charge of on top of all the kids. You need to have a desire to lead and to serve.”

MARTY MAHAN

ROBYN DAWSON

COURTNEY BURDICK

The success of this program “is a huge compliment to the teaching at UAFS, a huge compliment to the principal at Spradling.

It’s a huge compliment to the leadership of Ms. Burdick.

And the work ethic of the students is phenomenal!”

“It’s given me a whole year to interview (the apprentices).

My kids come to school with needs other kids don’t have.

I get to see not just how they teach, but how they love my kids when their parent is in jail or when they haven’t eaten since yesterday’s lunch or when they have serious behavior issues because of something that’s happening at home.”

“The 100 percent thing that I always lay down is that there is no option for failure here. I am not going to let them (the apprentices) fail.”

30 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

The apprentice teachers have to be the right candidates, too, and Ramirez and Bates are the first to say so. They are especially concerned about the possibility someone might accept an apprenticeship and then not finish the year.

“If you give up …,” Bates said.

“You’re messing with children’s futures!” Ramirez completed the thought.

Riley is happy enough with the pilot to want to see it extended to other school districts.

“I hope this becomes a state model,” she said. “I think there is an opportunity for that, and I think it widens the pool of people willing to teach. We have students who are responsible financially for themselves or their families, and we tell them that for their last semester, they need to quit work and put in 40 hours a week in an unpaid internship. That’s a step out they just can’t make. But with a paid apprenticeship, it becomes a more realistic goal.”

UAFS graduates about 100 students a year, and they go to work in 22 different schools in the region. She’d like to see the

REACHING OUT: Merary Ramirez assists students working in a small group.

apprenticeship program offered in all of them.

It appears that all interested parties in Fort Smith are pleased with the experiment: Ramizer and Bates have been hired at Spradling as second-year teachers who have already accrued retirement benefits for one year.

Explaining her decision, Dawson said, “Due to the

apprenticeship partnership with the Department of Higher Education, UAFS, and FSPS, these two young professionals had a unique opportunity to work as a first-year teacher under the covering of a fully certified mentor. They spent a year in an intensive program to learn best practices of the teaching profession. With the

heavily scaffolded support with a gradual release, these two young educators bloomed into amazing teachers. When the opportunity arose to bring them on as full-time staff, I jumped at the opportunity.

I was fully aware of their strengths and wanted to continue to have them serve students at Spradling!”

DR. MONICA RILEY

KYLE BATES

MERARY RAMIREZ

“The strong piece for us is the mentor piece. The two interns are not alone. They have a lot of support, and that is making a difference in their experience.”

“I didn’t know how all-consuming this job is. With some jobs, when you clock out for the day, you’re done.

I am constantly thinking about school. I dream about learning outcomes; I have nightmares about things that can go wrong.

When I’m with other people, my mind wanders to school, and they have to call me back.”

“What surprised me the most is how deeply you begin to feel for the kids. If you are with them for months you get to watch them grow. I didn’t know I would feel it this strongly.”

SPRING FALL || SUMMER WINTER 2020 2018 THE THE BELL BELL TOWER TOWER 25 31

ALUMNI

options and segregated access

UNIVERSAL DESIGN

for people who have disabilities,

Grad Seeks Access for All

Fleer said.

She offered this example of the contrast. “The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) tells you things like what kind of a light switch to use and where to place it. But Universal Design goes beyond that to help all people.

Motion-activated lights help people using wheelchairs and walkers, but they also help parents pushing strollers, shoppers loaded down with packages, everybody.”

As she worked her way through her project, Fleer needed to talk to some business owners. UAFS Alumni Director Rick Goins put her in touch with Brandon Parker, ’09. Parker and his wife Jessica, ’09, own Carrot Dirt Organics, a healthy eating business that recently relocated to 7309 Chad Colley Blvd. at Chaffee Crossing.

“I just can’t say enough nice things about Ciara,” Parker said. “She was always detailed, professional. She’s just amazing.”

Parker helped Ciara by introducing her to people in the community.

“I think most people would be willing to incorporate some UniACCESS: Careful design means everyone can participate equitably.

versal Design in their businesses,” Parker said. “They just don’t know what they don’t know.”

Fleer would like to tell them.

She notes that the cheapest time to make Universal Design part of

Ciara Fleer, ’17, always knew she

challenging curriculum,” Fleer

wanted to be an occupational

said. “I knew I wanted to start at

For her capstone project at

a venue is at the beginning. As a

therapist. But she also knew

UAFS. I loved it, and I loved the

UCA, Fleer studied Universal De-

consultant, she could help busi-

she needed something to set

supportive faculty.”

sign, defined by Ron Mace in 1985

ness owners make good design

as “the design of products and

choices.

As a newly minted OTD –

her apart when she reached

maybe with a side gig.

“We are slowly reducing the

graduate school. So on her way,

a doctor of occupational therapy –

environments to be usable by all

she stopped to get a bachelor’s

and an August graduate

people to the greatest extent pos-

impact of disability throughout

degree in chemistry with an

of the University of Central

sible without the need for adapta-

the whole community,” Fleer said.

emphasis in biochemistry.

Arkansas, Fleer is ready to get

tion or specialized design.”

“Someday, if everyone adopted

“It was the right decision for me: It showed I could handle a

started in clinical practice in the greater Fort Smith region –

32 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

It differs from accessibility, which often requires separate

these principles, we could have a community where you wouldn’t

News & Notes ALUMNI

even have to wonder, ’Will I be able

Gabriel Gould held a grand

the November issue of Jezabel

engagement on Dec. 3.

to get in the door? Will I be able

opening for the second location

magazine.

Spencer Meares, ’16, is a client

to read the menu? Will I be able to

of Fort Smith Coffee Company

Katie Kidwell, ’12, married Jordan

manager with The Nielsen

hear my companions?’”

in The Bakery District at 70 S.

Donmopyer on Oct. 19. 2019.

Company in Bentonville.

Seventh St. in Fort Smith in June.

The couple lives in northwest

Jasmine Wright, ’11, received a

April Mayo, ’04, is director of

Arkansas.

master’s of education degree in

Fleer is ready to help Fort Smith become that community.

nursing and administrator at

Danielle and Logan

special education with a graduate

Mercy Hospital Paris.

Emery, both ’17,

certificate in applied behavioral

Please take a moment to tell

Matt Hutchins,

celebrated the birth

analysis.

your former classmates and us

’08, and his

of their third child,

Blake Hansen, ’10, received

what’s been going on since you

wife Dayna

Zion Barrett Emery,

an MBA from Arkansas State

left UAFS, Westark, or Fort Smith

welcomed

on Oct. 17, 2019. Zion was 8

University.

Junior College. Tell us about your

their first child,

pounds, 2 ounces, and 21 inches.

Cheyenne Kassworm, ’11,

job, your family, your hobbies,

Albert James

Brooks Hedstrom, ’19, teaches

received her master of education

civics and world history at Rogers

degree from the University of

Heritage High School, where he

Arkansas. She teaches English

is also the assistant coach for the

for Fayetteville High School and plans to marry Tanner Boots on

Drop Us a Line

your adventures, your plans – whatever you want to share with other alumni.

Hutchins, on Dec. 12, 2019.

2010s Daniel Scamardo, ’19, is a bank

cross country track team.

(highest resolution, please). Then

operations specialist, working

Casey Ludolf, ’19, teaches English

July 11, 2020.

make sure we have your full name

through each department of

at Pea Ridge Middle School.

Tony Jones, ’16, encouraged the

now, the name you used when

the company over two years

Braydon McKeown, ’19, teaches

Class of 2019 to carry forward the

you were here if it’s different,

for Celerit Technologies in Little

special education at Belle Pointe

lessons learned on campus in his

and the year you graduated or

Rock.

School in Fort Smith. He is

address at UAFS Commencement

attended classes. Email your class

Harvanova Stanislava, ’13,

working on a master’s degree

on Dec. 14, 2019. He graduated

note to alumni@uafs.edu or mail

completed a master’s degree in

in special education at the

from the University of Arkansas

it to Alumni Affairs, UAFS, P.O.

strengthening and conditioning

University of Central Arkansas.

School of Law in May 2020 and

Box 3649, Fort Smith, AR 72913.

at Arkansas Tech. She has written

He went to Boys Town National

was the administrative assistant/

Or stop in to see us in the office

a book, “The Indigo Child,” which

Training in Nebraska in November.

law clerk for Justice Robin Wynne

at Grand Avenue and Waldron

is available on Amazon. She is an

Jasmine Myers, ’18, teaches third

on the Arkansas Supreme Court

Road.

adjunct professor of health and

grade at Pike Elementary School.

in Little Rock this summer while

wellness.

Nata Matthews, ’12, received

preparing for the bar exam.

Kelsey Marvin, ’19,

her doctor of nursing practice

Rachel Barnes Scharbor, ’11,

Bill R. Scarth and Carolyn (West)

and her husband,

degree from Creighton University

a dental hygienist for Dr. Carl

Scarth, both ’56, were married

Jordan, welcomed

in Omaha. She is a nurse

Friddle, opened The Cloth

and received bachelor’s degrees

their second

practitioner at Baptist Health

Collective in February inside the

from The University of Tulsa.

child, Forrest

Family Clinic-Massard.

Shops at Brick City. All items in

Bill earned juris doctorate, and

Jackson Marvin,

Kody Nichols, ’10, has joined

the shop are sourced from USA

Feel free to include a photo

1950s

Carolyn earned a master’s degree

on Nov. 22, 2019. Forrest weighed

Mercy Clinic Pediatrics in Fort

manufacturers.

in special education from TU.

6 pounds, 12 ounces.

Smith. He received his doctor of

Eve Stockton, ’18, announced her

Daniel K. Tu, ’17, passed the CPA

medicine degree at the University

engagement to Dallas Easley on

exam.

of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

New Year’s Day 2020.

Chris Eads, ’07, is a business

Thuder Phanphengdee, ’17, is

and was the chief pediatric

Krysten Fagan, ’18, announced

development manager at Weldon,

an associate material planner at

resident at Arkansas Children’s

her engagement and plans to

Williams, and Lick.

Ingersoll Rand, Trane Custom.

Hospital.

be married on April 11 to Rylan

Rachel McGrew, ’08, has been

Daniel Hobbs, ’13, has been

Iker Sedeño, ’17, is

Russell.

named to the Arkansas Business

promoted to branch manager of

teaching Spanish at

Tyler Armstrong, ’17, has started

40 under 40 class of 2020.

the Central Mall branch of First

Asheville School, a

a new position as the pro bono

Kim Weaver, ’04, is the head

National Bank.

boarding institution in

coordinator in the Fort Smith

coach for the Alma Airedale’s

Chukwukere Ekeh, ’15, was

North Carolina.

office of for the Center for

volleyball team.

profiled as one of the 50 Most

Kim Phu and Tony Phanouvong,

Arkansas Legal Services.

Kaity Gould, ’09, and husband

Beautiful Atlantans of 2019 in

both ’16, announced their

Effie Lynn, ’18, and husband Paul

2000s

FALL | WINTER 2020 THE BELL TOWER 33

ALUMNI News & Notes

Luis Aguilar, ’15, and Ashlee

Smith. She also runs her travel

Company, where he will help

Zepeda announced the birth of

business, Travel Endeavors.

clients navigate state and federal

their son Luka Manuel Aguilar on

Davin Chitwood, ’19, is a personal

laws and regulations regarding

Feb. 5, 2020. He was 19.5 inches

lines producer with Cross Pointe

privacy and data management.

and 5 pounds and 11 ounces.

Insurance in Fort Smith.

Callie Spahn, ’19, accepted

Matthew Seiter, ’16, is a customer

Lauren and Brad Andrews, ’18

a position teaching at Carnal

service representative at Motion

and ’14, welcomed their first

Elementary School this year.

Industries.

child, Declan Matthew Andrews

Kassandra Crowder, ’17, has

Madison Serratt, ’19, is a business

on July 9, 2020. Declan weighed

announced her engagement to

development manager at Weldon,

7 pounds and 11 ounces.

Logan Wilmoth on July 12 at

Williams, and Lick.

Delta Lake in Wyoming.

Koby Chadick, ’14, is an analyst

Taylor Elise Smith, ’13, became

at Midwest Growth Partners.

the school administrator and K-8 principal at Harvest Time Academy in Fort Smith on June 1.

announce the birth of their son

Ryan LeFleur, ’10, is the new

Hollan K. Lynn on Sept. 29, 2019.

director of bands at Ozark High

At birth, he was 20 inches and 6

School.

pounds and 8 ounces.

Dusan Stojanovic, ’16, accepted a position as admissions recruiter

Emilie Anne Payne, ’19, has accepted a teaching position

Jordan Hale, ’13, is a field

at the Arkansas Colleges of

at Cass Job Corps Civilian

representative for Rep. Steve

Health Education. He will

Conservation Center in Ozark.

Womack, R-Rogers.

continue as an adjunct professor at UAFS.

Kristen Phillips, ’19, is a planning

Megan Nichols, ’15, is assistant

Kellie Hale, ’14, graduated from

specialist in the managed

vice president, commercial

the Oklahoma State University

Stephany Dobbins,

transport group at ArcBest. She

relationship manager at Regions

College of Veterinary Medicine.

’18, and husband

entered a master’s of business

Bank.

She is on the staff at the River

Sonny welcomed

– digital marketing program at

Ryan, ’14, and Laura Millican,

Valley Animal Hospital.

their daughter Eva

Arkansas Tech University and

’17, announced the birth of their

Kallie Tanner, ’14, completed her

expects to graduate in 2021.

daughter Skylar on March 22,

Master of Public Administration

on June 9, 2020, at 6 pounds, 11

Carla Acosta, ’18, has moved to

2020. She was 19” long and 8

degree in 2018. She relocated to

ounces and 20 inches.

Isabela, Puerto Rico, for a year to

pounds. 12 ounces.

Dallas in the spring of 2019. She

JD Clayton, ’18, released his

complete the final two rotations

Nycole Oliver, ’11, ’04, will be

is a project manager for Garland,

newest single, “Slow and Steady”;

of the Ingersol Rand Accelerated

inducted as a Fellow in the

Texas.

it can be streamed on Spotify. He

Development Program.

Academy of Emergency Nursing

Emilie Anne Payne, ’19, will be

is now a team leader with Artisan

Irvin S. Martinez, ’15, has been

later this year.

teaching at Mountainburg Middle

Landscape in Nashville, Tenn.

promoted to benefits coordinator

Travis Sandifer, ’12, has been

School.

Jordan Johns, ’16, is an account

at Tyson Foods.

hired as assistant principal at

Matthew Farrar, ’15, started

manager for Atchley Air in Fort

Nina Vu Matlock, ’17, and her

Greenwood High School.

a new position in Chicago as

Smith.

husband Matthew have moved to

Shawn Young, ’18, has started

an associate consultant for

Josh Simmonds, ’18, is the

Tampa, Fla., where she is a junior

a new position as a registered

the Shelby Group, which is a

Upward Bound Coordinator at

merchandising associate for

representative for Edwards

procurement management

UAFS.

Rooms to Go.

Jones in their Jenny Lind Road,

consulting company.

Gracie and Taylor Gilbreth, ’14

Siedra P. Tidwell, ’16, who passed

Fort Smith office.

Erin Rhodes, ’18, started a new

and ’15, welcomed

all parts of her CPA exam in

Evelyn Tyson-Stewart, ’17,

position as a buying associate at

the birth of their

October, has moved to Dallas,

completed her master’s degree

Tankersley Food in Van Buren.

son Garrison Fay

where she is an assurance senior

in Leadership and Ethics at John

Isai Caranza, ’16, graduated from

Gilbreth on July

at Moss Adams.

Brown University. She is a center

the University of Arkansas School

Nattapol Bantong, ’16, is an

product specialist at Arvest, a

of Law in May. He has accepted

weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and

international tax senior associate

client service agent for Delta

a position as an associate on the

is 20 inches.

at RSM US in Dallas.

Airlines at the terminal at Fort

privacy team at Shellman and

34 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

Jalynn Dobbins

28, 2020, He

(continued on page 36)

News & Notes ALUMNI

people who have been in their shoes.

Mentor Connections 2.0 opens the program to second-year students, who will be paired with a young UAFS graduate.

“We want to allow students to extend their experience from one or two years to three years,” Goins said. “And we want to connect them with graduates who can help them navigate their college years and talk through career options.”

The student-graduate team will add an executive mentor when Young alumni mentor Amanda Coffman, director of client services at Williams Crawford Advertising, executive mentor Susan Devero, executive director of community relations at the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, and UAFS student Alexandra Lee discuss the upcoming year in the fall of 2019.

the student becomes a junior.

The student can proceed in the third year with the same team for consistency or with a new team for additional insights.

In the future, students who

ALUMNI INITIATIVES

are not part of the 2.0 program

Mentor Connections 2.0 Expands Successful Program

still will be able to participate in Mentor Connections, but Goins hopes that opening the program to younger students will give them a richer experience while adding

Six years after the successful

Executives and young alumni

depth to Mentor Connections

commitment to our community.”

membership.

Mentor Connection teams

launch of the first Mentor Con-

from more than 75 area busi-

nections teams, the UAFS Alumni

nesses, including ABB, ArcBest,

meet at least once a month, with

Association is launching Mentor

Hanna Oil & Gas, and Propak, have

students directing the topics of

student awareness of the program

Connections 2.0.

participated as mentors.

discussion. But for the fullest

and let young people start with a

experience for all three team

less intimidating team,” Goins said.

The first Mentor Connec-

“Our mission with Mentor

“We hope 2.0 will increase

tions teams, assembled in 2014,

Connections is to create a

members, communication is more

“The young alumni will be able to

consisted of a third- or fourth-

tradition of mentoring within

organic. Young alumni members

give students advice about their

year student at the University of

the UAFS community that will

say they appreciate the chance to

academic careers and urge them

Arkansas – Fort Smith, a recent

encourage students to stay in the

work with a successful executive

to think about internships before

graduate of the university, and

Arkansas River Valley,” Alumni

in the area, and the executive

their senior year.”

an executive mentor, a successful

Director Rick Goins said. “We

members appreciate the insight

member of the business, industry,

want our graduates to become

into younger generations. The

has created five 2.0 teams and

or nonprofit sectors in the greater

actively engaged business and

students value the chance to

20 Mentor Connections “classic”

Fort Smith region.

civic leaders. It’s part of our

discuss concerns in real time with

teams.

For the 2020-2021 year, Goins

Feel the Fear Shakayla “Shae” Canaday, ’19, credits her degree in Organizational Leadership with helping her discover the skills she needs to expand her business and mentor her employees. Owner and CEO of Brushed Beauty Studio in Fayetteville, Canaday praised the program and faculty members, especially Dr. Kristin Tardif and Justina Buck. She said she managed the balancing act of being a student, business owner, wife, and mother of two because of following her motto: Feel the fear and do it anyway.

FALL | WINTER 2020 THE BELL TOWER 35

RESEARCH

STEM Grad Investigates Cancer

C

uriosity, hard work, and a commitment

scholarship at UAFS, she knew she found a

to giving back took Andrea Edwards

home.

“The scholarship was a great opportunity

from White Hall, Ark., to the University

of Arkansas – Fort Smith, and from there, she

for me, and the program really helped me to

might go anywhere.

develop my leadership skills,” Edwards said in

Right now, the 2013 UAFS graduate is

a recent telephone call.

But being on the Chancellor’s Leadership

working on her doctorate in the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences program at the

Council didn’t solve all of Edwards’ challenges.

“I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where she is researching ways cells repair

changed my major at least twice in my first

themselves and regenerate.

two years,” she said.

What helped to center her was the faculty

The White Hall High School graduate was determined to go to college, and she worked

in the College of Science, Technology, En-

hard to be eligible for an academic scholar-

gineering, and Mathematics. While she was

ship. As high school graduation approached,

taking nursing prerequisites, she realized that

she researched all the colleges in Arkansas

the STEM faculty had what she was seeking.

and looked for financial aid. When she discov-

She admired her professors and wanted to do

ered UAFS and the Chancellor’s Leadership

what they did.

Council Scholarship, a prestigious, full-ride

“The faculty there is amazing. They are

BreAhna Walton, ’19, is a mort-

Aug. 16 at Clauren Ridge Vineyard

Taylor Wewers ’20, will attend

gage consultant with Caliber

and Winery in Edmond, Okla.

the Law School at Notre Dame.

Home Loans in Frisco, Texas.

Aleska Sparks. ’18, is the office

Jacqueline Lyle, ’20, started with

Brenda Rosales, ’19, received

manager and marketing director

Snelling Personnel in Fort Smith

her White Coat on Aug. 13 as she

at McMillan Financial Services.

as social media and marketing co-

entered UAMS.

ordinator and staffing specialist.

Add Heritage Real Estate to

Devon Ratteree, ’18, and Brennan

Sarah Mott, ’20, started as a

the list of alumni businesses you

Dooly, ’19, were married July 31 at

receptionist at PeterBilt.

patronize. Founded in 2019 by

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

John Newsom, ’20, is a child wel-

former UAFS students and alumni,

Candice Fallowwell, ’16, is the

fare specialist with the Oklahoma

Heritage is located at Chaffee

new women’s basketball coach

Department of Human Services in

Crossing and soon will settle in at

and geometry teacher at Garland

Sallisaw, Okla.

Heritage Village near the Arkan-

High School in Garlands, Texas.

Guadalupe Zepeda, ’20, is a

sas College of Osteopathic Medi-

Allison Thompson, ’19, teaches

Stephanie Long, ’19, was named

recovery coach/coordinator at

cine. Alumni involved are Erica

eighth grade English and creative

Celebrate Magazine’s “One to

Harbor House.

Bankston, 2005-2006, co-owner

writing at Chaffin Junior High

Watch” in the Sept. 2020 issue.

Erin Widenmann, ’20, passed her

and chief of operations; Justina

NCLEX boards for nursing and is

Johnson, ’12, co-owner and prin-

a nurse at Vanderbilt University

cipal broker; Hailey Hibbard, ’12, director responsible for story and

School in Fort Smith.

Edwin Terrell Washington,

2020s

’11, is assistant dean of special

Rachel Williams, ’20, has been

Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.

programs in the of Student

accepted into the master of arts

Lauren Becker, ’20, will be teach-

community development; Brooke

Academic Affairs at Meharry

program in Media & Communica-

ing math at the Van Buren Fresh-

Cagle, ’14, creative design; and

Medical College School of

tions at Norfolk State University.

man Academy and Van Buren

Ashley Beasley, ’10, agent. Cur-

Medicine in Nashville, Tenn.

Gage Dalton Norris,’20, has ac-

High School this fall.

rent student Jordyn Johnson,

Morgan Kratts and Taylor Rid-

cepted a position at EY (formerly

Ramona Humphrey, ’20, is teach-

who expects to graduate in De-

enour, ’17 and ’18, were married

Ernst & Young) in Tysons, Va.

ing in Fort Smith Public Schools.

cember 2022, is a content creator.

36 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

News & Notes ALUMNI

“I want to be a mentor for students,”

passionate about their work, and they really

and I’m proud of her success there. I’m pleased

look out for their students.” Edwards said.

to learn that Andrea plans to work in medical

She said. “I hope to give back the excellent

research on cancer in children. It is very encour-

mentoring I received.”

While she was at UAFS, Edwards served three years mentoring students at Darby Junior

aging and comforting to know she will devote

High School in Fort Smith through the Chancel-

her career to this area of such importance.”

lor’s Leadership Council. Working with those

Edwards is in her final semester at UAMS.

Among the many awards she has racked up so far in her young career is a dissertation fellowship from the Southern Regional

students stoked her desire to support the next

Her first two years were devoted to classes,

Education Board Dissertation Fellowship. In

generation.

the last four to working in the laboratory

2019, she was able to attend SREB’s Institute on

of Dr. Kevin Raney in the Biochemistry and

Teaching and Mentoring, a four-day conference

encouragement and believed in me,” Edwards

Molecular Biology Department. She researches

that has become the largest gathering of

said. “I just want to give that back to students.”

the mechanisms that help cells, specifically

minority doctoral scholars in the country.

“I was always around people who gave me

The STEM faculty had their eyes on Edwards, too.

“As Andrea’s faculty advisor, I became aware of her abilities before she was a student in my

“The biggest thing I gained from this

cancer cells, repair themselves and regenerate.

She hopes the project will shed light on how

experience was encouragement to keep

cancer cells survive.

pushing through. I gained a family of people

“Then we can produce therapies that target

who supported me and wanted to give me the

class,” said Dr. Tom Buchanan, professor of bio-

those specific repair pathways, making cancer

tools I needed to be the best version of myself,”

logical sciences. “She compiled an impressive

more sensitive to cell death,” she said.

she said.

Asked what advice she would share with

academic record in our demanding curriculum

She expects to defend the dissertation

for biology majors, and I soon realized she was

about her research in November. From there,

STEM students today on the UAFS campus,

one of the brightest students I’ve ever had.” It

she is headed to UT Southwestern in Dallas

she said, “I worked hard to excel in my classes.

was a pleasure to watch her develop into a con-

for post-doctoral research. Later, she hopes to

I would tell other students to keep working

fident young lady during her time here. It was

teach cancer biology at undergraduate institu-

hard, keep challenging themselves. You really

no surprise when she was accepted into UAMS,

tions and further her research studies.

can accomplish the things that matter to you.”

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Checking In From Oklahoma

N

oting in the Fall-Winter 2019 edition of The Bell Tower that no

toosa, and the private school Town

one earlier than the 1970s was reporting in, I provide you with

and Country, for learning disabled

the following information. In 1956, Bill R. Scarth and Carolyn West

students in Tulsa until Kristin was

Scarth graduated from Forth Smith Junior College. They were married

able to come back into the public

that year at Calvary Baptist Church in Fort Smith. The graduated in

school system in Claremore, Okla.

1958 from the University of Tulsa with Bill receiving a bachelor’s de-

Carolyn was ordained as a

gree in business administration and Carolyn a bachelor’s in education.

minister. She was the founder and

Bill then earned and received a juris doctorate from TU in 1963, and

remains the president of an organization called “Christian Women’s

Carolyn earned and received a master’s degree with an emphasis on

Alliance International.” She has no plans to retire.

special education, learning disabilities, and speech pathology from TU in 1978.

In 1969, Bill and Carolyn were especially blessed by the birth of

Well, there you have it. Something from a beginning at Fort Smith Junior College. We met at a mixer at the beginning of school in 1956.

We are immeasurably grateful for the portion of our education we

their daughter, Kristin. Kristin arrived with brain damage at birth and

received there as well as the introduction to each other we got at the

was what some called (and we knew her to be) a “special child.” She

mixer passing a Lifesaver from lips to lips on toothpicks.

lived happily with us and blessed us every day until her sad passing in

The above is lengthy, and obviously, you can choose what part

2018. She can be said to account for her mother’s attainment of the

and how much of it to print. I enclose a photo taken in a courtroom in

master’s degree above.

Claremore at my retirement in June 2013, with Kristin at the front of

Bill practiced law in Northeast Oklahoma for 50 years, retiring in 2013. Carolyn taught school in the public schools of Tulsa for and Ca-

the two of us.

Best wishes, Bill R. Scarth, ’56

FALL | WINTER 2020 THE BELL TOWER 37

ALUMNI News & Notes

Award Winners Speak at Reunion Dinner

G

uests wouldn’t have

offers grants for self-guided trav-

development of the community

is the highest alumni honor

been surprised to see

el, international study, curriculum

college into a four-year degree

bestowed by UAFS. Its name

Jay Gatsby himself come

development, and research.

granting university and member

comes from the motto of the

of the University of Arkansas

first graduating class of Fort

system.

Smith Junior College in 1928:

Dr. Mohammad Halim,

strolling out of the Reynolds Room on Leap Day 2020 as

assistant professor of chemistry,

UAFS alumni and guests gath-

received the 2020 award. He

ered for the annual reunion din-

requested money for himself

Bill Hanna, presented the award

Recipients are alumni who

ner. In keeping with the Roarin’

and four students to attend

to Marilyn Patterson, who ac-

have distinguished themselves

20s homecoming theme, the

the summer conference of the

cepted in on behalf of the family.

through service to the university,

room looked like the scene of

American Society for Mass

one of the great Gatsby’s famous

Spectrometry, which was

Young Alumni Award

whose outstanding leadership

parties, with art deco designs

replaced with a virtual conference

The Young Alumni Award

in their business or professional

and flapper dresses all around.

at which he spoke. The students

recognizes alumni younger than

lives exemplifies the motto.

In addition to sharing fine dining

will present their work at the

40 who have distinguished

and great conversation, guests

Arkansas IDeA Network in

themselves through service to

Judy and Larry Loux, both 1960

enjoyed updates from Chancellor

November.

the university, community, state,

graduates of Fort Smith Junior

or nation and who are strong

College and long-time teachers in

leaders within their career fields.

Fort Smith Public Schools.

Halim accepted the award

Terisa Riley and Alumni Director Rick Goins.

from Wewers.

Last year’s Honorary Alumnus,

community, state, or nation or

Brittany Slamons, a graduate

Then it was time for the eve-

“Through diligence to victory.”

This year’s award went to

The Louxes served on the

ning’s main festivities, the Alumni

Honorary Alumni Award

of the UAFS class of 2009, is

College of Education Advisory

Association Awards.

To honor friends and supporters

director of the Academic Success

Board for many years. They

of the university who are not

Center and TRIO director at the

established The Judy I. and Larry

Speakman Endowment Award

alumni, the Alumni Advisory

university.

D. Loux Scholarship Endowment

The Speakman award is the brain-

Council established the Honorary

child of Randy Wewers, a 1958

Alumni Award in 2018. Recipients

for the award described her as

majors because they knew

graduate of Fort Smith Junior

are individuals who demonstrate

the true “embodiment of a Lion

beginning teachers sometimes

College. While looking for a way

their outstanding support of the

in all that she does,” and said

struggle financially. Because

to honor the instructor who had a

university through service or

“she never settles for less

they believe in the importance of

profound effect on him, Wewers

monetary gifts, showing they are

than her best. Maybe most

education outside the classroom,

hit on the idea of an endowment

importantly, she shows her

they are enthusiastic boosters

to promote classroom excellence

Lions at heart.

The late Joel Stubblefield won

pride and love for UAFS by

of UAFS Athletics, and they also

among today’s faculty. Students

the award. As the sixth president

continuously helping to make

established Larry D. and Judy

always remember the vivid way

of Westark Community College,

it a better place for new Lions.”

I. Loux Women’s Basketball

Speakman brought her travels

appointed in 1983, and the first

alive. In that spirit, the Lucille

chancellor of UAFS, starting in

Diligence to Victory

Speakman Legacy Endowment

2002, Stubblefield oversaw the

The Diligence to Victory Award

38 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

A statement nominating her

for junior and senior education

Endowed Scholarship.

News & Notes ALUMNI

Alumni Legacy Scholarships awarded to students

T

degrees are all completed.

he Alumni Legacy Scholar-

Legacy Scholarship Endowment

medical program

ship Endowment awarded

is the Roarin’ on the River Low

at Kiamichi Tech-

Hannah Green of

four $1,000 scholarships

Country Shrimp Boil. In addition

nology Center.

Magazine is not

for the 2020-2021 academic year

to the tasty feast in its name, the

Now she is ready

just a legacy; she

at the University of Arkansas –

shrimp boil is known for fellow-

to work on a

is a scholarship

Fort Smith. This is the first year

ship and heated competition to be

bachelor’s degree

legacy. Her moth-

the endowment has been large

named bean bag champion of the

in biochemistry

er, Alisa Green,

enough to make four awards.

year. Usually, the event is in June,

at the same college her parents

but it was postponed this year be-

and sister attended. Her ultimate

the Alumni Legacy Scholarship

cause of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Alumni Legacy Scholarship

’19, was awarded

goal is to attend medical school to

in her final two years at UAFS.

2015 to encourage the children,

Mary Roberts-

become a doctor serving in a rural

Hannah’s father, Lyndol Green,

siblings, spouses, and parents

Elam of Barling

community so she can give back

’81, was a first-generation college

of UAFS alumni to attend the

is seeking a busi-

to all the people who helped her

student who paved the way for his

University. This year’s awardees

ness administra-

with her education.

family. Hannah was named vale-

are Mary Roberts-Elam, Jillian

tion degree and

Hannah Deaver

dictorian of her high school class.

Cochran, Hannah Deaver, and

expects to gradu-

of Fort Smith is

She wants to be a nurse to offer

Hannah Green.

ate in December

following three

compassion and service to people

2021. As a child, Mary watched her

older siblings –

who are sick or hurt.

attended UAFS – or Westark Col-

father balance a full-time third-

and, she says,

lege, Westark Community College,

shift job and family responsibilities

leading two

support this endowment because

Fort Smith Community College, or

while earning an associate degree

younger ones – to

the need continues to exist,” Goins

Fort Smith Junior College – had

in electronics from Westark Col-

study at UAFS. She wants to earn

said. “We are so grateful that the

their lives changed for the better

lege. Now he is her model as she

a 4.0 grade point average as a

generosity of our donors allowed

by that experience,” said Alumni

raises her 6-year-old daughter,

nursing student. The scholarship

us to give four scholarships this

Director Rick Goins. “So we ask

works full time at Experian, and

will allow her to reduce the

year, but that meant saying no to

them to encourage their immedi-

pursues her degree.

number of hours she works

30 other students who were quali-

weekly, giving her more time

fied. I want to reach a place where

her college career while she was

to study. She said she and her

we can make this offer to every

The Alumni Association’s

still in high school, taking classes

siblings are eager to support the

eligible student.”

annual fundraiser for the Alumni

for concurrent credit in the bio-

Fort Smith community when their

Endowment was established in

“We believe that alumni who

ate family members to consider an education here as well.”

Jillian Cochran of Spiro began

“We ask alumni and others to

Get Your Joe To Go – Or Stick Around In late June, Fort Smith Coffee Co. opened its second location in downtown Fort Smith at The Bakery District. The new location at 70 S. Seventh St. has indoor and outdoor seating and is located next to the second location of Bookish: An Indie Shop for Folks Who Read.

Fort Smith Coffee Co., owned by Gabe and Kaity Gould, ’09, is known for roasting its own coffee beans and concocting its own treats. It opened at 1101 Rogers Ave. in May 2017. The original location has hosted many community events and seeks to create and support a vibrant community. When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Arkansas, the Goulds created a drive-thru window to serve customers curbside and to-go. It remains open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. serving up your favorite beverages and baked goods made from scratch.

The new location at The Bakery District provides plenty of room for social distancing and reflection – or reading – or for gathering

with a friend or two or more. It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It offers dine-in service as well as patio seating and to-go.

FALL | WINTER 2020 THE BELL TOWER 39

ALUMNI News and Notes

PERMANENT PRESENCE:

Winn believes she may be the only faculty member to teach at every iteration of UAFS.

of Arkansas – For Smith.

She believes she may be the only faculty member who taught at the institution in every one of its iterations.

In 1963, she was one of four full-time members of the business division, and one of 29 faculty members on campus.

“It was such a small faculty then; everybody knew each other,” she said. “There were only about 1,500 students, so we could know them all really well.”

The campus today, she thinks, is not so tight-knit, but she has enjoyed watching the university grow.

You may be surprised by Winn’s choice of the most significant change in the institution.

When she started at the school, it was a private college with funds from tuition, fees, and private gifts only. A major landmark was reached, she believes, in

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Winn saw it all

S

haron Winn, ’60, held more than one title in her professional life in Fort Smith, but that’s OK: Her employer had more than one title too.

Starting in 1963 and continuing through 2004 (not

counting a 7-year absence from Fort Smith), Winn worked for Fort Smith Junior College, Westark Junior College, Westark Community College, Westark College, and the University

40 THE BELL TOWER FALL | WINTER 2020

1966 when the private junior college became Westark Junior College, a public institution that was able to accept state

and local funding.

Winn remembers faculty and staff gathering signatures to enable a public vote, and on Nov. 2, 1965, voters approved the creation of a community junior college district funded by a millage.

“Oh, that was wonderful when we began to have some outside funding,” Winn said.

“We were able to do so much more. It was a true blessing.”

Then, of course, there was that other change, the New Year’s Eve 2001 change, which made official the creation of a four-year-degree granting institution known as the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith.

Although Winn regrets the loss of a local, elected board of trustees – UAFS has a chancellor-appointed board of visitors, and the UA System has a state-wide board of directors – she supports the growth the university has seen.

“There’s just so many opportunities for the university to grow, and I’ve always enjoyed watching the changes,” she said.

Remaining a part of the Alumni Association has allowed Sharon and Jim Winn to stay connected. Jim Winn taught real estate classes at the college for 15 years.

Although she misses the beauty of Old Main, the student union in a Quonset hut, and the close community feeling that made yearbooks a fun part of college life, Sharon Winn also admires today’s university.

“The school is now a larger regional university, and it looks like everything is terrific.”

ALUMNI LEGACY

SCHOLARSHIP Support future Lions with a gift or memorial in honor of a loved one to the Alumni Legacy Scholarship.

admissions.uafs.edu/lionsshare For more information contact Rick Goins, director of Alumni Affairs, 479-788-7026 Prospective students who are the spouse, sibling, or child of an alumnus are eligible to apply.

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