Division of Agriculture announces LeadAR Class 20 members

By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — LeadAR, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s leadership program, has selected 21 Arkansans from around the state as members of Class 20. The 18-month program provides an in-depth learning experience about economic and social issues impacting Arkansas.

LEADAR CLASS 20 — Class 20 of LeadAR, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's leadership program, includes county extension agents with the Division of Agriculture, directors of Arkansas non-profits and leaders of Arkansas businesses. The 18-month program provides participants with in-depth learning experiences about issues impacting Arkansas. (Division of Agriculture photo.) 

Operated by the Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service, LeadAR was founded in 1984 and originally modeled after the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s leadership training program. LeadAR now has more than 500 alumni serving as leaders in their communities throughout Arkansas.

Members of Class 20 will participate in a team-building and goal-setting seminar at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center in Little Rock to kick off the program. Over the next 18 months, they will travel to two-day seminars around the state, covering topics such as infrastructure and public health, natural resources, agriculture, livestock and community and economic development.

“The overall goal of LeadAR is to equip leaders with the knowledge, skills and network they need to make a difference in their communities or organization,” said Julie Robinson, extension associate professor for Community, Professional and Economic Development for the Division of Agriculture. “They will learn about issues affecting rural and urban areas of Arkansas and how the state is interwoven.”

The program includes a national study tour to Washington, D.C., where participants will learn about policy development and meet with their congressional delegation to discuss issues impacting their communities. Members will also travel on an international study tour, where they will learn how international issues and policy decisions impact the United States and Arkansas. The location of the trip will be decided in 2024.

The members of LeadAR Class 20 include county extension agents with the Division of Agriculture, directors of Arkansas non-profits and leaders of Arkansas businesses.

LeadAR Class 20 members:

• Rachel Bearden, Hot Spring County extension agent for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

• Sherry Beaty-Sullivan, Polk County extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

• Chelsea Boozer, government affairs manager for Central Arkansas Water

• Arnetta Bradford, owner of HeBrews 11:1 coffee shop in Hope

• Sylvia Brown, director of strategic operations for the Ruralorganizing.org Education Fund

• Harold Clark Jr., battalion fire chief for Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services

• Angelique Cooper, social media specialist for Southern Bancorp

• Meagan Davis, vice president of government relations and strategic partnerships for inVeritas

• Jody Harris, co-owner of Harris Valley Springs Farm

• Jason Kaufman, district director of Arkansas Farm Bureau

• David Long, northwest Arkansas director of engineering and development for Cromwell Architects Engineers

• Michael Mangrum, owner of MLM Farms in Lake City

• Desarae Nelson, director of TRIO Student Support Services for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock

• Winfrey Norton, outreach editor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service

• Daniel Phillips, state surveyor for the Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services

• Wendell Scales Jr., deputy director of innovation for Arkansas Lighthouse Charter Schools

• Christel Taylor, director of workforce and downtown development for the Newport Economic Development Commission

• Priscella Thomas-Scott, extension instructor and 4-H events coordinator for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

• Dan Villamor, research scientist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

• Stacy Walley, southern lumber sales manager for Weyerhaeuser Company

• Anthony Whittington, director of parks and trails for the City of Hot Springs

LeadAR is supported by program alumni, corporate donors, foundations and the Division of Agriculture. The cost to participants is $3,500, which covers seminar expenses, most lodging, meals and travel expenses. Class members are encouraged to seek tuition support from outside sources, such as their employer, and scholarships are available to help participants with payment.

To learn more about LeadAR, visit uaex.uada.edu/business-communities/leadership/leadar/ or contact Julie Robinson, LeadAR director, at LeadAR@uada.edu.

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.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

Applications now open for 2023 F2OCUS: Future of Food undergrad summer program

By John Lovett
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Opening the realms of possibility in food science is the goal behind the Future of Food: Opportunities and Careers for Undergraduate Students (F2OCUS) Fellowship Program. 

FIRST FELLOWS — The inaugural class of the Future of Food: Opportunities and Careers for Undergraduate Students (F2OCUS) Fellowship Program in 2022 included Maya Henderson, left, Amanda Stuber, Natalie Blake, Derek Mullins, Luke Norman, Sarkis Kalajyan and Addie Gerstner. Application deadline for the 2023 summer fellowship program is Jan. 13, 2023. (U of A System Division of Ag photo)

Applications will be accepted until Jan. 13, 2023, for the paid, summer program, which is open to undergraduates in degree programs that can be complementary to food science, like physics, biology, chemistry, animal science, consumer sciences, psychology and agricultural studies like horticulture.

Kristen Gibson, professor of food safety and microbiology for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, is the F2OCUS Fellowship Program director. The program was created in 2022 with a $730,000 Research and Extension Experience for Undergraduates grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to increase understanding of food supply safety, quality and security. The grant supports the program for five years. 

“We are looking forward to having the second cohort of F2OCUS Fellows on campus in summer 2023,” Gibson said. “We are hoping to select from another great pool of applicants.”

Gibson, who is also director of the Center for Food Safety, is joined by food science faculty members Jennifer Acuff, assistant professor of food microbiology and safety, and Jamie Baum, associate professor of nutrition, as fellowship project directors. Jill Rucker, associate professor of agricultural education, communications and technology for the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, is also a project director and fellowship mentor.

In addition to the four project directors, 10 collaborating mentors with extensive mentoring experience have been chosen to assist with the fellowship program. Industry partners, many of whom are University of Arkansas graduates and serve as adjunct faculty, will also participate in the fellowship program.

F2OCUS Fellow experiences include the 4-H ExCEL Leadership Program at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center in Little Rock, which features a high-ropes course and zipline. Gibson said there will also be numerous food industry visits in northwest Arkansas, such as the Tyson Discovery Center and Newly Weds Foods, as well as a visit to the annual Blackberry Field Day at the experiment station’s Fruit Research Station near Clarksville.

Hands-on learning activities with professors as mentors are expected to result in the development of technical skills in food science research. Participants will take part in the creation of a novel food product with a team of F2OCUS Fellows and engage in externships with food industry and cooperative extension partners. 

 While scientific research is a significant part of the fellowship, there is also a heavy emphasis on team building, leadership development, and communications skills, Gibson said.

The 2023 summer F2OCUS fellowship program runs for 10 weeks from May 22 through July 28. Each student awarded a fellowship will receive a $5,000 stipend, in addition to room and board. Additional financial support for necessary travel is also possible. 

Eight undergraduates who are not enrolled in a food science program will be chosen to spend the summer in Fayetteville, Gibson said.

For more information and to apply, please visit the F2OCUS Program website at https://future-food-reeu.uada.edu.

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

UAMS College of Nursing’s Renteria, Whited Chosen For National Association’s Leadership Programs

By Chris Carmody

Two faculty members from the UAMS College of Nursing have been selected to take part in leadership programs through the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).

Fermin Renteria, DNP, APRN, assistant professor in the College of Nursing, was named to the 2022-23 class of the AACN’s Elevating Leaders in Academic Nursing (ELAN) program. The one-year fellowship is designed to improve the leadership skills of aspiring deans and senior faculty members. Participants begin with a five-day leadership immersion experience this summer, and they’ll attend virtual workshops and receive coaching throughout the year.

Teresa Whited, DNP, APRN, associate professor and associate dean for academic programs in the College of Nursing, was selected to attend the 2022-23 AACN-Wharton Executive Leadership Program. Whited previously completed the ELAN program. The AACN-Wharton program is designed to hone participants’ skills in negotiation, leadership and influencing others.

https://news.uams.edu/2022/07/05/uams-college-of-nursings-renteria-whited-chosen-for-national-associations-leadership-programs/

Fermin Renteria and Teresa Whited have been selected for leadership programs through the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.