Rockefeller Institute CEO: Arkansas’ low voter turnout part of bigger picture

by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)

Arkansas’ worst-in-the-nation voter registration and turnout rankings are part of a larger challenge of civic engagement that the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute and its partners are working to address.

The Institute has launched the Civic Arkansas initiative to get Arkansans involved not only in the election process but also in their communities.

Janet Harris, executive director and CEO, described what that meant during a speech Tuesday (May 21) before Rotary Club 99 in Little Rock.

“Civic engagement, when we hear that word, we often think about voting, and civic engagement is about voting, but it’s about so much more than that,” she said. “It is about the fabric of our community. It is about how we choose to show up for each other, how we choose to connect with another, how we choose to care about what is happening in the world around us and do something to create the change that we want to see.”

Rockefeller Institute CEO: Arkansas’ low voter turnout part of bigger picture

Division of Ag’s Fields to moderate March 17 panel discussion for water lecture

By the U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — Deacue Fields, vice president-agriculture for the University of Arkansas System, will serve as moderator March 17 for a Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series event focused on water.

Fields will moderate a panel discussion for “Securing Water & Food in a Changing World,” a lecture to be delivered by Peter G. McCornick, executive director of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska. The lecture will be held at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute’s Petit Jean Mountain campus near Morrilton and begins at 9 a.m.

Fields will discuss innovative solutions for water use in the state. Lunch, provided by the institute, will be available following the program. Registration is required; sign up at rockefellerinstitute.org/water.

Division of Agriculture head Deacue Fields will moderate a discussion that's part of a Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series talk on water. File photo taken Feb. 23, 2023.(U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Mary Hightower)

“With drought and declining aquifers, we cannot take water for granted,” Fields said. “Our researchers and educators have worked hard to find ways to help farmers and others preserve Arkansas’ water quality and quantity.”

The series also includes a March 13, event at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Award-winning journalist Kim Zetter will speak on “Stuxnet and Beyond: The Age of Digital Warfare and the Future of our Cities.” The lecture is set for 4:30 p.m.

Both Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series events are free and open to the public. The Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lectures Series is a program established in 1972 and endowed by friends of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller with the purpose of stimulating public discussion, intellectual debate, and cultural advancement.

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.

Harris named next CEO of Winthrop Rockefeller Institute

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

After a nationwide search, the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Board of Directors decided to keep it local and have named Janet Harris as Institute executive director/CEO. Harris, now the Institute’s chief strategy officer, will begin in the new role on April 1.

Harris has worked at the Institute since 2016, first as director of programs, followed by a promotion to chief programs and marketing officer in 2018, before being promoted again to chief strategy officer. She succeeds Dr. Marta Loyd who retires March 31.

https://talkbusiness.net/2022/03/harris-named-next-ceo-of-winthrop-rockefeller-institute/