Dr. Bernadette Fincher, Chair of the SAU Department of Nursing, said the expansion comes at a good time as there is a growing need for registered nurses, particularly in rural communities.

“The expansion of SAU’s Wharton Nursing Building is an important element toward increasing the number of professional nurses available in south Arkansas to provide the surrounding health care facilities with qualified nurses to meet current and future workforce demands,” said Fincher.

The new addition and renovations were completed in two phases. Phase 1 was conducted January through March of 2007 and included connecting the building to the University’s district cooling loop, renovations to the mechanical room and design work necessary for Phase II. All work connected to Phase I was made possible through a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant of $334,000 sponsored by Congressman Ross.

Phase II included renovation of three existing classroom/laboratories and the addition of 10,287 square feet in new classrooms/laboratories, offices, support facilities and parking. This phase was conducted February through November 2008, cost approximately $1.9 million and raised total square footage to 25,114. The building addition was designed by CADM architects of El Dorado, Arkansas and constructed by general contractor Coker Building Company Inc. of Arkansas.

Dr. Tim Wise, SAU’s 2008-2009 Honor Professor, will provide the commencement address. Wise has been at SAU since 1993 as an instructor of marketing and completed his doctoral work in 1995. Dr. Wise has taught both management and marketing courses at SAU. In 2007, he became the chair of the Department of Marketing, Management, and MIS and, in spring 2008, was promoted to full professor and awarded the title of honor professor.

In addition to teaching, his research, and his service on the Faculty Senate and a number of committees, Dr. Wise has written four science fiction and fantasy novels and is pursuing an additional degree from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He also owns a small publishing company and design firm.

Dr. Wise earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Louisiana Tech University and taught for two years in the public school system before returning to Louisiana Tech for an MBA and DBA in business administration.

The Nursing department is holding a separate ceremony for their graduates at 4 p.m. in Harton Theatre.

Graduates, family and SAU faculty and staff are invited to an SAU Alumni Association sponsored reception from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Donald W. Reynolds Campus and Community Center Blue and Gold Room.

The new name will be announced in Magnolia at a 2 p.m. news conference, Thursday, October 30 in the Donald W. Reynolds Campus and Community Center on the Southern Arkansas University campus. The conference will be hosted by the Arkansas Small Business Development Center at Southern Arkansas University. SAU Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Brian Canfield, College of Business Dean Dr. Lisa Toms and a Representative from U.S. Congressman Mike Ross’ Office will join Center Director Paul Considine and other ASBDC officials in making the announcement.

“Changing our name illustrates an extension of our mission to serve Arkansas’ entrepreneurial community,” said Janet Roderick, Arkansas Small Business Development Center state director. “We began a decade ago to develop services for innovation and technology-based businesses when it became apparent that a key to economic growth in Arkansas would be our own innovation. Arkansas must be on the leading edge of technology to compete with other states and internationally in this economy.”

The center earned special technology accreditation from the national Association of Small Business Development Centers late last year. Of 63 SBDC’s across the country, Arkansas was just the fifth to receive the technology designation. ASBDC had to demonstrate the ability to assist clients in areas such as technology transfer, commercialization, research and development funding, intellectual property and equity financing.

Arkansas Small Business Development Center assists innovation-based businesses through its network of offices across the state. Established in 1980, the program is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Business.
In addition to the lead center at UALR and office at SAU, other regional offices are located at Arkansas State University, Henderson State University, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, University of Arkansas – Fort Smith and University of Arkansas at Monticello College of Technology in McGehee. All services, which include consulting, research and training, are available at low or no cost through the center’s partnership with the SBA and higher education institutions across Arkansas.

About the SBDC Network
Uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local non-profit economic development organizations, the Small Business Development Center national network is the SBA’s largest partnership program, providing management and technical assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their own businesses. With approximately 1,000 offices across the nation, the SBDC network assists approximately 725,000 small businesses every year.

For more information, call Felicia Bozeman, fabozeman@saumag.edu, (870)235-4007 or Gwen Green, gagreen@ualr.edu, (501)683-7700.

The groundbreaking will include brief comments from SAU President, Dr. David Rankin, Jasper Lewis, associate vice president for facilities, Dr. James Rasmussen, chair of the biology department and Kara J. Way, a senior pre-med biology student. Refreshments and light hors d’oeuvres will be served.

The University Science Center is planned to be completed within the next year, a timeframe that will coincide with the University’s Centennial Celebration.

“This is going to be a tremendous facility with state-of-the-art technology that will serve students who are beginning our next centennial of success at Southern Arkansas University,” said SAU President Dr. David Rankin.

The cost of the 64,000-square-foot project is estimated to be $16,747, 986, which includes the main building, district cooling system upgrade, parking, landscaping, furniture, audiovisual equipment and design fees. The general contractor for the project is CDI Contractors of Little Rock and the architects are WER and Associates of Little Rock.

The new facility will house the departments of biology, chemistry, and physics within the College of Science and Technology. Planning for the Center began in 2003 when the Arkansas General Assembly appropriated $240,000 to SAU to prepare a proposal for a science and technology building. During the next two bienniums, the University received additional funding, and in 2006, Governor Mike Huckabee awarded $601,747 to the project. Governor Mike Beebe followed with a $1 million award in 2007.
As a result of a special election and the passage of the Higher Education Technology and Facility Improvement Act, SAU will receive $1,432,980 for the project. The University has also issued bonds in the amount of $14 million.

“The Southern Arkansas University Science Center will be the type of facility that will ensure that students who use the facility will be exceptionally well prepared for work or further education when they receive their degrees,” Rankin said. “Classes are currently held in five different buildings, and this center will help centralize many of the programs.”

The SAU Foundation is continuing to seek gifts for the completion of this project. Naming opportunities are available for many of the classrooms and offices. Please contact the SAU Foundation at 870-235-4078 for more information.

Southern Arkansas University officials announce plans for the new University Science Center to be completed within the next year, a timeframe that will coincide with the University’s Centennial Celebration.

“This is going to be a tremendous facility with state-of-the-art technology that will serve students who are beginning our next centennial of success at Southern Arkansas University,” said SAU President Dr. David Rankin.

According to Jasper Lewis, associate vice president for facilities, the cost of the 64,000-square-foot project is estimated to be $16,747,986, which includes the main building, district cooling system upgrades, parking, landscaping, furniture, audiovisual equipment and design fees. The general contractor for the project is CDI Contractors of Little Rock and the architects are WER and Associates of Little Rock.

The new facility will house the departments of biology, chemistry, and physics within the College of Science and Technology. Planning for the Center began in 2003 when the Arkansas General Assembly appropriated $240,000 to SAU to prepare a proposal for a science building. During the next two bienniums, the University received additional funding, and in 2006, Governor Mike Huckabee awarded $601,747 to the project. Governor Mike Beebe followed with a $1 million award in 2007.

As a result of a special election and the passage of the Higher Education Technology and Facility Improvement Act, SAU will receive $1,432,980 for the project. The University has also issued bonds in the amount of $14 million.

“The Southern Arkansas University Science Center will be the type of facility that will ensure that students who use the facility will be exceptionally well prepared for work or further education when they receive their degrees,” Rankin said. “Classes are currently held in five different buildings, and this center will help centralize many of the programs.”

The SAU Foundation is continuing to seek gifts for the completion of this project. Naming opportunities are available for many of the classrooms and offices. Please contact the SAU Foundation at 870-235-4078 for more information. The date for a planned ground breaking ceremony will be announced in the near future.

The observance of Hispanic Heritage Month was initiated by Congresss in 1968 with the purpose of celebrating the diverse culture, tradition, and invaluable contributions of Hispanic and Latino people in the United States.

Movies, arts, food, round-table discussions, literary readings, and music are some of the activities planned at Southern Arkansas University through October 15 to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month.

“We are very excited to continue to celebrate the Hispanic Heritage month on our campus,” said Dr. Elba D. Birmingham-Pokorny, professor of Spanish and organizer and coordinator of the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations at SAU. “We have a lot of wonderful activities planned throughout the month that we think the students and community will enjoy. We are hoping that this program will give people from the community as well as high school students the opportunity to come to the SAU campus and be introduced to the Hispanic culture.”

The celebration kicked-off on Thursday, September 25, with a panel discussion. The topic of the dicussion was “The Hispanic Presence in Arkansas: Challenges and Benefits.” The program was held at Wilson 327 and Dr. Birmingham-Pokorny served as the moderator. Panelists included: Dr. Val Cantú, Vicepresident of Academic Affairs and Student Services at South Arkansas Community College; Janet Derrickson, Spanish teacher at Emerson and Taylor High Schools; Dr. Roger Guevara, Director of Urban Renewal Zone at SAU; Cynthia Reyna, Executive Director, Foundation at South Arkansas Community College; Susana Peláez, retired nurse and Sandra Cotton, Preacher in Camden.

Other events include a Literary Reading from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 9 in Wilson 327 in which students from various levels: elementary, intermediate, and advanced Spanish will participate. A “Sampling of Spanish, Latin American, and Caribbean Cuisines” will be held for Spanish majors only from noon to 2 p.m. on Friday, October 3 in Wilson 327. Students will be introduced to the diversity of the Spanish culture vis-à-vis the tasting of a variety of dishes from Spain, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Ecuador, and Panamá.

On Sunday, October 12, a group of students will be attending a field trip to Centennary College’s Musuem, to view Emilio Amero’s Exhibit and attend a lecture given by Ariel Zuñiga over “The Works of Emilio Amero”.

For more information about Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations at SAU, contact Dr. Birmingham-Pokorny at (870) 235-4206.

Elcia Olivo provided this report.

Representatives from various health organizations will be available to speak with students about current and future career opportunities in health-related fields. Current SAU students and alumni with a nursing major or any other health-related major are encouraged to bring multiple copies of resumes and register for door prizes at the event.

For more information or to view information sheets on participating agencies, contact the Employment Resource Center at Reynolds 217 or call 870-235-4097.

The rodeo is brought to fans by the rodeo team at Southern Arkansas University and is approved by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s Ozark Region rodeo. The Ozark Region of the NIRA consists of colleges and universities in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, Michigan, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois and parts of Louisiana.

“We have about 15 schools in the region and about 220 participants total,” said SAU Rodeo Coach Rusty Hayes.

Hayes said he expects the SAU men’s team to dominate the calf roping and team roping while the SAU women’s team to be strong in the barrel racing, goat tying and break-away roping. Hayes said the women’s team recently won the title in their first rodeo of the season in Marshall, Missouri.

As true with other sports, sometimes athletes performing on familiar turf have a home field advantage, Hayes said, adding his athletes will have the benefit of being able to rest before the events.

“Because all of us and the horses haven’t ridden in a truck for 10 hours, we should be fresher,” he said.

Hayes said proceeds from the rodeo and the concession stand at the event pays for the Agriculture Formal each December, as well as some of the supplies for the animals.

A special aspect of Friday and Saturday evenings rodeos will be a calf scramble will be held for children 10 and under. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded to the children who can grab a ribbon of a calf’s tail the fastest.

Also, the collegiate cowboy and cowgirl with the highest totals for the rodeo will each be given a saddle donated by the Magnolia Advertising and Promotion Board.

For more information on the rodeo, call the SAU Agriculture Department at 870-235-4340.

The fundamental importance of the grants, according to their author, Dr. Roger Guevara, director of the Southwest-B Educational Renewal Zone at SAU, is that they provide an opportunity for collaboration between the University and regional kindergarten through 12th grade partner school districts. Two SAU biology professors, Tim Daniels and Dr. Thomas Smith, helped area teachers learn new ways to teach science which will help students prepare for the Arkansas frameworks tests.
Similarly, Dr. Debe Kincaid, an SAU math professor, and Lynne Nielson, the math specialist for the Center of Teaching Excellence, facilitated the math institute.

On the science side, 24 teachers from school districts in southwest Arkansas are participating in the project and make a three-year commitment to attend a two-week summer institute dedicated to improving their skills in science. The math institute had 43 teachers participating in the training sessions which focused on developing academic math coaches.

“Out of the literally hundreds of math and science partnership grants awarded., ours was only one of three in Arkansas selected to give a presentation as a model program for the U.S. Department of Education’s Math/Science Partnership Conference in Chicago last spring,” Guevara said.
The two grants fall under the umbrella of “No Child Left Behind,” and are being offered in conjunction with the South Central Service Cooperative. The total for the math grant was $436,000 and the total for the science grant was $326,627.

The teachers who were chosen to participate in the either project received a $1,250 stipend or earned six-hours of graduate credit at SAU for rigorous and highly relevant academic coursework completed through the institute throughout the school year.

“These summer institutes are an incredible resource for the teachers plus they are in perfect alignment with SAU’s future high tech science buildings as we focus on building partnerships with our regional school district partners in Arkansas,” Guevara said.

The married couple, who both teach school in the Stephens School District, both received a master’s in elementary education with a specialization in gifted and talented.

“It was really challenging for us to both be in school at first, but the professors were understanding, and a lot of the projects they assigned us were things that helped us in the classroom,” Veronica Davis said.

The couple was part of the 55 students who received graduate degrees, the largest number to ever receive graduate degrees at SAU.

“I think that the record number of graduates can be attributed to the graduate faculty who have listened to graduate students and created course delivery methods based on student needs,” Dr. Kim Bloss dean of graduate studies. “Innovative programs such as the on-line degree in curriculum and instruction and summer intensive programs in library media, special education and gifted and talented were largely responsible for this increase.”

The Davis’ also received their undergraduate degrees at SAU. Veronica Davis finished her bachelors of science in education, with an emphasis in middle school education, in December 2005. Husband Tyrone Davis completed his bachelors of science degree in education, with an emphasis in early childhood, in December 2006.

Veronica Davis, who now teaches seventh through 10th grade English, said she will begin pursuing her doctorate degree in February, but is undecided about what school she will select at this time. Ultimately, she would like to be a college professor and teach an English course, perhaps a course in English literature or American novels. She said she hopes her son, Keyonte, 13, will want to attend school wherever she is a professor.

Tyrone Davis, who now teaches fourth grade, is eventually interested in taking an administrative position at a small school district.