Monticello Live

Cellist Angela Park, the 2009-2011 National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist winner for strings, will present a free public performance September 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the University of Arkansas at Monticello Fine Arts Center.

Park’s performance is being sponsored by the UAM Division of Music, the Southeast Arkansas Concert Association, the Monticello Music Club, and the Pine Bluff Musical Coterie. (more…)

University of Arkansas at Monticello jazz conductors Gary Meggs and Les Pack will put down their batons and pick up their instruments to serve as featured artists at the Hot Springs Jazz Festival September 18 in downtown Hot Springs.

Meggs, a nationally known saxophone artist, will join Pack, a jazz guitarist, to perform with the Arkansas Jazz Orchestra and other nationally known jazz groups. The festival runs from September 14-19 at various locations around Hot Springs. (more…)

Pictured from left (first row) are Mary Whiting, Debbie Gasaway, Dr. Clay Brown, (second row) Lathan Hairston, Jay Hughes, and Scott Kuttenkuler.

The names and faces are the same, but the job titles and responsibilities have changed or expanded.

In a major administrative reorganization announced recently by University of Arkansas at Monticello Chancellor Jack Lassiter, Dr. Clay Brown, formerly vice chancellor for student affairs, has been named vice chancellor for advancement and university relations. Jay Hughes, formerly dean of students, will replace Brown as vice chancellor for student affairs. Scott Kuttenkuler, formerly director of advancement, will become dean of students and director of governmental relations. Director of Admissions Mary Whiting is now dean of enrollment management while Controller Debbie Gasaway and Business Manager Lathan Hairston have been named associate vice chancellors in the Office of Finance and Administration. (more…)

“Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country,” a traveling exhibition that tells the story of the explorers’ historic 1804-06 expedition from the viewpoint of the Indians who lived along their route, will be on display at the Taylor Library and Technology Center at the University of Arkansas at Monticello beginning August 27. (more…)

Pictured from left (first row): Monica Hall, Kathryn Walsh, Isabel Bacon, Ruth Gordon, Carol Trana, (back row) Emily Barnett, Special Sanders, David Lee Johnson, and Tanesha Curl.

Seven current and former University of Arkansas at Monticello students spent three weeks in Costa Rica recently as part of the school’s Study Abroad Program.

The program is designed to develop oral proficiency in Spanish through total immersion in the culture and day-to-day life of a Spanish-speaking country. The students lived with Costa Rican families, participated in dance and cooking classes, and attended movie nights and soccer games. (more…)

The UAM Colleges of Technology at Crossett and McGehee recently awarded associate degrees, technical certificates, and certificates of proficiency to June graduates of their technical programs.

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The University of Arkansas at Monticello will serve as one of seven host sites for the Arkansas Economic Breakfast Series August 18 from 7 to 9:15 a.m. in conference room A of the Taylor Library and Technology Center.

The breakfast meetings will be coordinated by Accelerate Arkansas, a statewide volunteer group of business and education leaders dedicated to raising the per capita income of Arkansas. Each breakfast will bring together business, community, government and education leaders to discuss topics affecting the state’s economic growth. (more…)

Season tickets are now on sale in the UAM Department of Athletics. Individual reserved seating season tickets for each event are available, and an All-Sports season ticket is also available. (more…)

The numbers are up across the board at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, a trend that has UAM officials excited as they anticipate another record enrollment for the fall semester.

Those numbers include record enrollments for both the just-completed Summer I term and the current Summer II term as well an increase in students who have pre-registered for the fall semester. (more…)

The nursing program at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the dean who directs the program are the subject of a two-page feature article in the current issue of “Nursing Education Perspectives,” the national bimonthly publication of the National League for Nursing.

The article, co-written by Leslie Block, managing editor of “Nursing Education Perspectives,” and Pamela Gouner, assistant professor and dean of the UAM School of Nursing, spotlights the nursing program and its recent accomplishments as well as profiling Gouner and her leadership of the program.

“This is a tremendous honor for both Mrs. Gouner and the School of Nursing,” said UAM Chancellor Jack Lassiter. “Our nursing program has long been recognized at the state level for its academic rigor and excellence and that recognition is now reaching a national audience. ‘Nursing Education Perspectives’ is more than a popular journal – it is a peer-reviewed publication that is respected in the nursing profession. To be featured in this way speaks volumes for the work, not only of Mrs. Gouner, but of a dedicated and well-trained faculty. I offer my congratulations to the entire nursing faculty and Dean Gouner for this recognition.” (more…)

Dr. Ronald Sitton, associate professor of journalism at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, was recently named to the board of directors of the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Sitton joined the UAM faculty in 2004 and has served as advisor for both the university yearbook, The Boll Weevil, and the online newspaper, The Voice. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee.

The University of Arkansas at Monticello awarded degrees to the following students at May commencement exercises:

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Sharon Cantrell has been appointed assistant vice chancellor at the University of Arkansas at Monticello College of Technology at McGehee.

A Dumas native, Cantrell holds a master of education degree from UAM and has been part of the UAM-CTM staff for 18 years. “Sharon has been a valuable member of our leadership team at the McGehee campus,” said UAM-CTM Vice Chancellor Bob Ware. “She is loyal, dedicated and has an unwavering commitment to the institution and its mission. I am pleased to have her as a member of our administration.” (more…)

Alumni and friends of the University of Arkansas at Monticello are invited to UAM Family Night with the Arkansas Travelers at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock on July 13.

The Travs’ game with the Frisco Roughriders begins at 7 p.m. A picnic for UAM alumni and friends will begin at 6:00. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Tickets include game admission, all-you-can-eat hamburgers, hot dogs and soft drinks.

Advance reservations are required by no later than June 25. To reserve tickets, contact the UAM Office of Advancement at (800) 467-8148 or (870) 460-1028.

Joshua Hunter Gillum of Monticello, a senior political science major at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, recently presented a poster of his paper entitled: “Is Islam Peaceful or Violent: Comparing Islam and Christianity to Reveal the Propaganda of Terrorism” at the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) annual conference in Chicago.

More than 8,000 entries were received from students across the country but only 276 were chosen for presentation. Gillum’s paper was inspired by a two-day conference held at Georgetown University in October entitled “A Common Word between Us and You: A Global Agenda for Change,” and the writings of Georgetown Professor John Esposito.

Gillum participated in a student discussion session with Professor Esposito’s Middle Eastern Politics class and was a co-presenter of a paper entitled “Overcoming Asymmetry in U.S. Relations with the Middle East: A Strategic Paradigm of Engagement,” which was written with Dr. Carol Strong, interim dean of the UAM School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Gillum’s paper on Islam and Christianity was presented earlier to the Arkansas Political Science Association (ArkPSA) annual conference held at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Gillum presented a paper entitled “Al Qaeda: A New Generation of Terror” at the ArkPSA conference hosted by Arkansas Tech University, winning an award for best undergraduate paper.

The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) of the University of Arkansas at Monticello raised $1,500 during the 2009-10 academic year to present to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The committee, which consists of two members from each intercollegiate sport, held three main fund raising projects during the past year.

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`The Student Activities Board at the University of Arkansas at Monticello has turned sound fiscal management into a gift to the university. SAB members recently purchased three Dell computers to be presented to the Taylor Library and Technology Center to be used by the general student population.

The $3,600 gift was made by conserving the SAB budget for the 2009-10 academic year.

Pictured from left are SAB member Ronald Forte, a senior psychology major from Monticello; Micah Bateman, SAB vice president and a senior speech and physical education double major from Pine Bluff; SAB President Zack Tucker, a senior political science major from Marked Tree; and Mindy Holcomb, director of student programs and activities and staff advisor to the SAB.

MONTICELLO – The University of Arkansas at Monticello recently released its Chancellor’s List and Dean’s List for the spring semester that included 35 UAM student-athletes.

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From MonticelloLive on Vimeo.

Jim Searcy, treasurer of Eureka Lodge, # 40, F&AM, presents Ms Alexis Pulido with a scholarship in the amount of $1000.00 while Worshipful Master Robin Hood looks on. Ms Pulido is a senior at Monticello High School, and will enter UAM this fall as a Criminal Justice major.

Eureka Lodge, #40, F&AM,was chartered in 1850 and is a benevolent, fraternal society that annually donates to the Junior Auxiliary’s bicycle drive at Christmas and the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. They also give an annual scholarship.

Allen Sharpe is the new men’s basketball coach at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Sharpe was introduced at press conferences in Monticello and Little Rock on Tuesday by UAM Athletics Director Chris Ratcliff. Sharpe is the 14th men’s basketball coach in school history and the son of former UAM Coach Gary Sharpe, who coached the Boll Weevils from 1985-91. (more…)

Members of the UAM nursing faculty are (from left) Pam Gouner, assistant professor and dean, Charlotte Denton, associate professor, Leia O'Fallon, associate professor, Sharon Walters, associate professor, Anita Shaw, associate professor, Christine Felts, associate professor, James Crow, assistant professor, Laura Evans, assistant professor, and Belinda Wells, assistant professor.

Graduates of the University of Arkansas at Monticello’s four-year bachelor of science in nursing degree program achieved the state’s second highest passing rate in 2009 on the National Council for Nursing Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

The results were released recently by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. UAM’s BSN nursing graduates passed the NCLEX-RN at a rate of 96.55 percent, trailing only UA-Fayetteville’s 97.3 percent passing rate. UAM has been ranked among the top five in the state for the past five years. (more…)

Professor William L. Shea of the University of Arkansas at Monticello has received two prestigious awards for his latest book, Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign.

The Civil War Round Table of New York announced recently that Shea is the winner of the Fletcher Pratt Literary Award for the best book published on the American Civil War in 2009. Shea will receive the award at a dinner at the National Republican Club in Manhattan in May. Previous winners include Bruce Catton, Shelby Foote, and James McPherson. Shea is the first Arkansan to be so honored. (more…)

Dr. Sue Martin (left), assistant professor of education at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, accepts a $500 check from Wal-Mart associate Kim Moore. The Wal-Mart Community Grant will provide students attending UAM with funds to offset the cost of Praxis licensure testing fees. The grant helps financially burdened future teachers and administrators, said Martin.

The computer programming team of (from left) Jay Dyson, Justin Walker and Freddie Gibson won first place at the 2010 Arkansas Collegiate Programming Competition.

Two teams of computer information students from the University of Arkansas at Monticello captured the top two places in the Computer Information Systems Division at the 2010 Arkansas Collegiate Programming Competition.

(From left) Jake Hayden, Calvin Davis and Kyle Knight placed second at the 2010 Arkansas Collegiate Programming Competition.

Jay Dyson of Monticello, Justin Walker of Back Gate, and Freddie Gibson of Winchester took first place in the COBOL programming competition. Dyson and Gibson are computer information systems majors while Gibson carries a double major in CIS and geographic imaging systems. The team of Calvin Davis of Monticello, Jake Hayden of Monticello, and Kyle Knight of Hamburg placed second in the competition. All three are CIS majors. (more…)

Graduate students from the School of Education at the University of Arkansas at Monticello served as representatives of the UAM Autism Project at the third annual Southeast Arkansas Autism Awareness Conference April 10 at the Oak Grove Assembly Church in Monticello. The conference was hosted by A Child’s Voice Autism Foundation.

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UAM Chancellor and Mrs. Jack Lassiter hosted a dinner at their home last week for the university’s top scholar-athletes, those who made either the Chancellor’s List or Dean’s List during the 2009 fall semester. The Chancellor’s List requires a 4.0 grade point average on at least 12 semester hours of course work above the 1000 level while the Dean’s List Requires a grade point of 3.5 or better. (more…)

(From left) Editor-in-Chief Linna Jones, adviser Ronald Sitton, Managing Editor Douglas Boultinghouse, Arts & Entertainment Editor Candi Marshall-Daniels and Sports Editor Devin Lockhart hold awards from the Arkansas College Media Association. The annual conference and awards ceremony also completed Sitton’s first year as ACMA director.

The University of Arkansas at Monticello’s campus newspaper, The Voice, and the Boll Weevil centennial yearbook received recognition at the 2010 Arkansas College Media Association’s conference and awards luncheon held recently in Fayetteville.

The Voice took both second and third place in the newspaper category for the Best Web Edition, with the University of Arkansas’ Traveler taking first overall. “I am happy The Voice won second and third place,” said Editor-in-Chief Linna Jones of Gould. “I congratulate the staff members for their achievements.” (more…)

Boll Weevil Stampede
UAM Intercollegiate Rodeo
April 22-24
7:30 pm nightly
Drew County Fairgrounds, Monticello

Admission:
$8 for adults
$5 UAM ID and Children 6-12
5 and under free

Dr. Peggy Doss, dean of the School of Education at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, has been chosen to a national leadership position by the Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities (TECSCU).

Doss will serve as TECSCU’s representative on the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) Governmental Relations Committee.

TECSCU is an organization for the primary administrators of schools, colleges or departments of education in member institutions of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. The American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education is a national alliance of teacher preparation programs dedicated to the “highest quality professional development of teachers and school leaders in order the enhance pre-kindergarten through 12th grade student learning.”

Doss has been a member of the UAM faculty since 1993 and dean of the School of Education since 2005. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from UAM, master’s degrees from both UA-Fayetteville and UA-Little Rock, and an educational doctorate from UALR.

The University of Arkansas at Monticello debate and forensics team brought home 14 awards from the International Public Debate Association (IPDA) national tournament and convention held March 26-28 at the University of Central Arkansas.

As a team, UAM placed fourth in the season-long IPDA debate competition. Individually, McGehee senior Josh Smith placed fifth for the season in varsity debate while Tiffany Reed, a sophomore from Cabot, placed ninth. The IPDA individual public debate competition featured novice, varsity and professional divisions. (more…)

Dr. Kathy King, associate professor of health and physical education at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, recently attended the School Health Education-Higher Education Academy in Atlanta, Ga.

The event was sponsored by the American Cancer Society and the Division of Adolescent and School Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to strengthen school health education.

King was among a group of college and university faculty from 40 institutions of higher education attending the conference. King joined the UAM faculty in 1988. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Southern Arkansas University, a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, and an educational doctorate from the University of Georgia.

(From left) Marie Walker, field coordinator and assistant professor of social work, Angela Brown, Marshae Shaw, Sara McIrvine, Wesley Briant and Christean Bell.

Students and faculty from the University of Arkansas at Monticello’s social work program attended and participated in the National Association of Social Work Conference, Arkansas Chapter, held March 9-12 in Fort Smith.

The conference allowed students to meet and network with social work professionals from different states as well as meet with a number of social work agencies which provide services to individuals and families in Arkansas. Students attended seminars covering a wide range of topics, including ethical practice, mental health treatments, social work safety, international social work, child welfare, and school-based programs. (more…)

Forestry students from the University of Arkansas at Monticello continued their dominance of the Association of Southern Forestry Clubs Conclave competition last weekend, winning the event for the 30th time in its 53-year history. (more…)

Here are some photos of the Stihl chainsaw SE Collegiate Timbersports competition held Thursday night at the University Arena.

The event will be televised on ESPN sometime in the future.