UA Cossatot OER Director Relinda Ruth chosen to represent the University of Arkansas System on U.S. / Canada OER Panel

OER Specialist Relinda Ruth

After reviewing the Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS3) statement of purpose and agreeing with the goals of broad-based, accessible open educational resources (OER), the University of Arkansas System joined the group of 36 public higher education systems and statewide/provincewide organizations committed to supporting student success through OER. UA System President Donald Bobbitt recommended UA Cossatot’s Director of Educational Resources and OER Specialist Relinda Ruth to represent the UA System in DOERS3.

“I am extremely honored that Dr. Bobbitt selected me to represent the UA System within a group committed to developing national and state innovation in OER research, policy, and quality, and I’m looking forward to representing the System in a collaborated effort to improve access, affordability, and achievement for millions of students.” Ruth said, “At UA Cossatot, our OER program has saved students $190,440 during the Fall 2023 semester. Since the implementation of our efforts to reduce or eliminate textbook and educational resource costs for our students in 2015, total savings now amount to $3,387,521.25. We anticipate the savings to top $3.5 million after the Spring 2024 semester.”

The Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS3) Collaborative is a group of 36 public higher education systems and statewide/provincewide organizations committed to supporting student success by promoting free, customizable, open educational resources (OER). Launched in 2018, DOERS3 helps member organizations implement, scale, and sustain OER by advancing research and policy, sharing tools and learnings, and showing how OER can foster equity and student success. DOERS3 serves over 7.65 million students at 829 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada.

UAMS Opens First Milk Bank in Arkansas

By Andrew Vogler

LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) opened the UAMS Milk Bank, the first facility of its kind in Arkansas, during a Sept. 6 ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Donald R. Bobbitt, president of the University of Arkansas System, addressed guests at the ceremony.Andrew Vogler

Located in the Monroe Building just off UAMS’ main campus in Little Rock, the Milk Bank is a facility that focuses on the health of mothers and newborns in Arkansas through encouragement and support of breastfeeding. The new milk bank will help ensure a ready supply of donor milk for sick and vulnerable infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) around the state, shortening the time it takes for regional hospitals to receive critical milk supplies and improving outcomes for babies.

Previously, Arkansas hospitals relied on donor milk purchased from milk banks in Texas, Michigan, Illinois and Oklahoma, costing more than $1 million a year.

https://news.uams.edu/2023/09/06/uams-opens-first-milk-bank-in-arkansas/

Four finalists await judges’ decision as Arkansas 4-H Governor’s Award marks 40 years

The four 2023 finalists for the Governor’s Award stand with U of Arkansas System President Donald R. Bobbitt and his wife Susan on the stairs of their home. From left, Lani McClure of Pope County; Laven Franklin of Madison County; Jack Berryhill of Hot Spring County, and Ethan Wolcott of Sevier County. The Bobbitts hosted the finalists for lunch. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Mary Hightower)

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — The Governor’s Award, the highest honor offered by the Arkansas 4-H program, is marking its 40th year as four finalists eagerly await the judges’ decision on who will be named the 2023 winner.

“The award was instituted in 1983 as a way to recognize one outstanding 4-H member each year,” said Shannon Caldwell, director of programs for the Arkansas 4-H Center.

Applicants must be former state record book winners and submit a current record book along with two letters of recommendation. Finalists are selected during record book judging and are interviewed, with the winner being determined at a separate judging event. A record book is a log that describes the work a member has done on a project and is an important part of 4-H.

The winner is announced at the annual State 4-H O-Rama, which starts July 25 this year and is held on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.

“Each finalist exhibits an impressive scope of ‘making the best better’ through their 4-H work,” Caldwell said. “To quote one of the judges, ‘selecting one winner is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and I’ve made policies’.”

The finalists were recognized at a luncheon hosted by Donald R. Bobbitt, president of the University of Arkansas System, and his wife, Susan, following rounds of interviews with judges.

This year’s finalists are Jack Berryhill of Hot Spring County; Laven Franklin of Madison County; Lani McClure of Pope County and Ethan Wolcott of Sevier County.

Berryhill, 18, is the 2022-23 Arkansas 4-H state president and has represented Arkansas 4-H at the state Farm Bureau Convention and the American Farm Bureau Convention in Puerto Rico. He also facilitated a roundtable at the Southern Regional Teen Leader Conference in Tennessee. Berryhill has held many leadership positions in 4-H, been a Teen Star and state 4-H Ambassador. He was selected for the 4-H National Congress Youth Leadership team, which is responsible for leading all assemblies at the national congress. Berryhill is also a member of the Tech Changemaker program and is frequently seen at 4-H events working as part of the 4-H Video Crew. Berryhill also has an extensive record of community service.

Franklin, 17, has been part of the Arkansas 4-H program for 11 years. He enjoys music theory, plays the piano and guitar and also likes gardening. He has also started a robotics club and soon those simple club STEM projects turned into him fielding a remote-controlled submersible team for the SeaPerch competition. He teaches piano and leads his homeschool robotics club. Among his achievements were being the state 4-H robotics record book winner and his team placed second in the state SeaPerch competition. He spent 2022 learning JavaScript and C++ coding and was taking college trigonometry.

McClure, 18, has been a 4-H member since elementary school. She has served as state Ambassador, National 4-H Congress delegate and said she is ready and willing to encourage and advocate for Arkansas 4-H families. She is always looking for an opportunity to share her 4-H experience and encourage non-4-Hers to get involved. During her time as a national delegate, she spoke to more than 300 schoolchildren in Atlanta about 4-H.

She has used her skills in her main project areas from encouraging individual development in the fine arts, to leading painting workshops and digital art classes. She also organized and led sections of the Pope County 4-H Achievement Banquet in 2022.

Wolcott, 19, started in 4-H when he was 8. Since then, he’s been a Teen Star, 4-H Ambassador and won the Advanced Record Book competition in 2021. Wolcott has championed community service, especially to other youth and families. In 2022, he lent his energies to three new organizations that help families and youth: 100 Families, Breaking the Ties that Bind and You Matter. Over the last two years, Wolcott helped raise more than $72,200 for his community, just in Christmas projects alone. Wolcott was a finalist for the 2022 Governor’s Award and was inducted into the Arkansas 4-H Hall of Fame this year.

Judges for the 2023 Governor’s Award are Christina Breckenridge, Ed.D., chief of staff for the UA System vice president for agriculture; J. J. Pitman, C. A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center director and Desarae Nelson, Ed.D. TRIO Student Support Services director at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.du/. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

UA System Trustees debate merits of University of Phoenix acquisition

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

The University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees on Wednesday (April 19) heard almost three hours of discussion about ongoing efforts to buy the University of Phoenix (UofP). The meeting included a surprise that trustee approval is optional for what could be a more than $500 million deal.

Transformative Education Systems (TES), an organization loosely but not legally affiliated with the UA System, was incorporated to raise the financing to acquire the UofP and enter into licensing and/or affiliation agreements with the UA System. Arkansas law does not allow the UA System to directly acquire the UofP, according to Patrick Hollingsworth, UA System interim general counsel. TES has UA System representation, but most of its officers are independent.

Wednesday’s discussion was the first time the trustees and the public heard more detailed information following reports that UA System President Donald Bobbitt had been working behind the scenes for at least two years to pursue the deal that would affiliate the system with the UofP, which is primarily an online for-profit university with more than 83,000 students. The UA System, of which the flagship campus is the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, enrolls more than 70,000 students, employs over 28,000 and has a total budget of over $4 billion.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/04/ua-system-trustees-debate-merits-of-university-of-phoenix-acquisition/

Provost Charles Robinson Named Interim Chancellor for University of Arkansas

by Talk Business & Politics staff

The University of Arkansas System announced Monday (Aug. 9) that Charles Robinson, provost and executive vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs at the UA, will become interim chancellor for the state’s flagship university beginning Aug. 16.

Bill Kincaid has served as acting chancellor since former chancellor Joe Steinmetz resigned on June 18. Kincaid will move back into his role as senior managing associate general counsel.

UA System President Donald Bobbitt said over the next year a national search will take place to consider internal and external candidates for the permanent chancellor position, and he will form a representative search committee to assist in the search.

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/08/provost-charles-robinson-named-interim-chancellor-for-university-of-arkansas/

Photo courtesy of the University of Arkansas.

UA Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz Resigns

by Jeff Della Rosa (JDellaRosa@nwabj.com)

Joseph Steinmetz, the sixth chancellor at the University of Arkansas, will resign Friday (June 18) after serving in the position for more than five years. Steinmetz noted Thursday (June 17) his surprising decision to step down in a letter to faculty, staff and students.

UA System President Donald Bobbitt will visit with constituents on campus and external university supporters before announcing plans for Steinmetz’s replacement, he said.

“In my annual commencement address, I sometimes tell graduates that the key to a purposeful and enriching life is to find a career that creates deeply meaningful work and not to settle for anything less,” he wrote. “For the past 38 years, higher education has been not only my vocation but my absolute commitment. My wife Sandy is the reason I get up in the morning, but the promise of teaching and learning, research and discovery, and outreach and engagement has kept me returning to the office day after day, year after year — steadfast in my belief of the power of higher education to improve lives. I still strongly believe in the mission of higher education, yet given the many challenges found trying to manage a university in today’s polarized society, I need to do what’s best for my family. And I feel ready to make way for others.”

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/06/ua-chancellor-joseph-steinmetz-resigns/

University of Arkansas Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz announced Thursday he will retire after five years in the position.

CREDIT WWW.PSYCHOLOGICALSCIENCE.ORG