Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas

More than 2,700 students were named to the Spring 2024 Dean's List in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. To qualify for the Dean's List, students must achieve at least a 3.75 grade-point average for the semester while completing at least 12 credit hours. "We are delighted to honor our outstanding students who have achieved placement on the Dean's List this semester," said Kathryn Sloan, interim dean of Fulbright College at the University of Arkansas. "Their academic excellence and dedication to our mission of advancing peace through education are truly commendable." "We also extend heartfelt appreciation to the families, friends, and Fulbright College faculty and staff whose steadfast support makes higher education a reality for our students," added Sloan. "Their encouragement is instrumental in our students' success, and we are grateful for their contributions to our community." More than 7,000 students call Fulbright College home with areas of study and research across the fine arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. Learn more about Fulbright College at fulbright.uark.edu.

Ten U of A undergraduate and graduate students have been chosen as semi-finalists for the Fulbright U.S. Student Scholarship Program at the United States level. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers two primary awards: the English Teaching Assistantship, which allows students to work as assistants to English teachers across the globe, and the Study/Research Award, which allows students to pursue graduate study or independent research at international institutions.

Main Hill Media, the student-run advertising agency, won eight awards from the Associated Collegiate Press, and Hill Magazine, the student-published feature magazine, was second nationally in best of show.

Breannah Small, a student of African and African American studies and journalism/political science in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, has been accepted into the American Political Science Association's Ralph Bunche Summer Institute at Duke University and a summer research program at the University of Pittsburgh.

The Service Learning Initiative highlighted the success of University of Arkansas faculty and students at the 2023-24 Outstanding Contributions to Service Learning Award Ceremony on March 11 at the Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence.

University of Arkansas students, all of whom are students in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, scored big in the Next Gen(eration) Humanities Conference poster competition in Little Rock earlier this month, winning first and second place along with honorable mention. Every U of A student who attended the conference received recognition.

More than 300 undergraduate students earned bachelor's degrees during the fall 2023 term in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. These graduates were celebrated on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, at commencement ceremonies in Bud Walton Arena. These undergraduate students earned their degrees in areas of study that span across one of four academic disciplines in Fulbright College: fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. "On behalf of our faculty, staff, and the entire U of A community, we offer you a big congratulations - you did it," said Kathryn Sloan, interim dean of Fulbright College. "You survived the late-night study sessions, the group projects, the times of uncertainty, and so much more to reach this milestone." Videos of the live-streamed commencement ceremonies are also available on the U of A's YouTube channel. Printed program books were handed out to graduates and are available online.

U of A student Sherjeel Naeem was recently named a finalist for the 2024 Luce Scholarship. Naeem, a senior and native of Greenwood, is an honors anthropology and biology major in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. The Luce Scholarship Program, a nationally competitive program of the Henry Luce Foundation, provides recent graduates with funded, immersive professional experiences in an Asian country. After years of limiting applicants to those from select member universities, the Henry Luce Foundation recently opened the application to students and alumni from all U.S. colleges and universities.

Debaters Hadley Adkison, Carter Stainton, Daisy Rehbock, Hannah Morris, Jaci Sabatini, Jonas Lansford, Matthew Cook and Megan Dial brought home four awards from a virtual tournament in late February.

The U of A Speech and Debate Society was victorious again at the University of Central Arkansas' End of Hi-Bear-Nation Debate Tournament the weekend of Feb. 2-4. The team will next travel to Dallas Baptist University the weekend of Feb. 23-25. After that, they'll compete at the online Union University tournament March 1-3, before ultimately attending the IPDA National Tournament and Convention April 12-15.

The Mid-America Arts Alliance announced the 2023 Artist 360 Awards last fall, and the School of Art in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences celebrates the art graduate students and an alumna undergraduate student as grant recipients, as well as all local artists awarded project and student grants. School of Art graduate student recipients include Ana Buitrago, Melissa Loney, Larissa Ramey, Jocelyn Reid and recent alumna Augusta Zuerker, who graduated with art history and studio art degrees.

More than 2,500 students were named to the Fall 2023 Dean's and Chancellor's Lists in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. To qualify for the Dean's List, students must achieve at least a 3.75 grade-point average for the semester while completing at least 12 credit hours. To qualify for the Chancellor's List, students must also achieve at least a 4.00 grade-point average for the semester while completing at least 12 credit hours. "It's such a pleasure to be able to recognize our impressive students this semester who made the Dean's and Chancellor's Lists and who make Fulbright College, the University of Arkansas, and their hometowns incredibly proud," said Kathryn Sloan, the college's interim dean. "This achievement demonstrates their academic excellence and commitment to our mission of peace through education." "I'd be remiss not to also recognize the family, friends and Fulbright College faculty and staff who support these students - and all of our students - in their education journey," Sloan added. "It's the support of these individuals who make the dream of higher education a reality for our students, and we're grateful for their influence and support." More than 8,000 students call Fulbright College home with areas of study and research across the fine arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. Learn more about Fulbright College at fulbright.uark.edu.

In November 2023, 14 students from the U of A competed at the International Model United Nations conference held in Erfurt, Germany, and left with five top honors. The students, mainly from the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, are majoring in economics, international studies, political science and biochemistry. At the conference, the Arkansas teams represented the United Kingdom and Bolivia delegations and competed with 40 other colleges and universities with some 450 students from around the world.

The Speech and Debate Team finished in the top 10 nationally, and members Hadley Adkison, Megan Dial, Austin Keefe, Colten Nichols and Jaci Sabatini also placed in the top 10 in various divisions of competition. The team, which was originally founded in 1896, has grown significantly since reinstalling in spring of 2021, jumping from nine active members in spring of 2022 to 32 at the end of this fall semester.

With family and friends witnessing, the Razorback Battalion - the U of A Army ROTC - commissioned eight second lieutenants into the United States Army on Dec. 15, 2023. These second lieutenants went through at least four years of training here on campus and at various military installations throughout the country. The ceremony was held at Giffels Auditorium. The cadre at the Razorback Battalion are very proud of our newest lieutenants. They will be a great contribution to the U.S. Army.

Lambda Pi Eta (LPH), the honor society for communication majors in the Department of Communication in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas, held their fall 2023 Induction Ceremony on Dec. 5. LPH welcomed 43 new members in the fall 2023 cohort. Students must be invited by Jake Dionne, assistant professor of communication and LPH advisor, to become members of the honor society after meeting the academic requirements. To be invited to be a member of Lambda Pi Eta, students must have completed 60 semester credit hours with a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA and completed 12 semester credit hours in communication studies with a minimum 3.25 GPA. Students in LPH are in the top 35% of their class and are encouraged to develop their studies through undergraduate research.

Over several weeks during the fall 2023 semester, Andrew Ruegsegger spent much of his free time exploring a small, undeveloped area on the south end of campus in search of plants. Ruegsegger, a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in anthropology and minoring in philosophy, biology and natural resources management at the U of A, was interested in learning more about botany, diverse native plant communities of the area and the process botanists use to document plants by collecting and preserving specimens in a herbarium.

The U of A Speech and Debate Society competed in the final tournament of the fall semester this past weekend, entering competitors at the University of Jamestown's "Jimmie Jingle Virtual Tournament." Competing against 18 schools across 12 states, the U of A Speech and Debate Society saw Hadley Adkison, Matthew Cook, Megan Dial, Maddie Fritz, Max Green, Austin Keefe, Jaci Sabatini, Benjamin Shoptaw and Aubree Watkins positively represent campus and bring home plenty of accolades.

Ten U of A graduate students competed at the annual 3 Minute Thesis competition earlier this month, a competition challenging graduate students to present a simple and compelling speech about their research and its significance in just three minutes. Mostafa Mahmoudi, a doctoral student in chemistry, placed first; Christina Barnes, a doctoral student psychology, placed second; and Kindler Norman, a doctoral student in physics, won the People Choice Award.

Ani-ya Beasley, a senior majoring in African and African American studies and history, has been awarded a Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant of $4,000 from the Black History Commission of Arkansas. Beasley competed alongside professional researchers and large community organizations to win this grant, her first, to support research in the Arkansas State Archives. Beasley's research focuses on the Black community in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in the 19th and early 20th century.

Two legal communication students from the Department of Communication in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences won an award at the most recent meeting of the National Communication Association. Alondra Gilbrech and Reaves Robinson were named as the runners-up for the James L. Golden Outstanding Student Essay in Rhetoric Award. This highly competitive award honors the best student essay on the history, theory, or criticism of rhetoric.

Nine U of A students - all of whom are native Arkansans - were recently awarded scholarships thanks to the generosity of the Charles Thomas and Mary Alice Pearson Educational Foundation. The organization, founded by local attorney and businessman Thomas Pearson and his wife, Mary Alice, annually supports students in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media and the School of Law. In 2022, their support also expanded to the Department of Philosophy. "I want to congratulate the recipients of these scholarships for their academic excellence and drive for success," said Kathryn Sloan, interim dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. "These students are leaders on our campus, and we're incredibly proud of their accomplishments. Thanks to the generosity of supporters like the Pearson Foundation, we can continue to financially reward outstanding student success in our college and make a high-quality public education a reality for all in our state."

On Saturday, Nov. 4, nine music students from the University of Arkansas' Department of Music, which is part of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, competed at the statewide Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition hosted at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. The Young Artist competition is open to students ages 19-26 who are currently enrolled in collegiate programs. The winners will have the opportunity to compete at the national level against winners from other states. "The MTNA National Competitions are the most successful and prestigious student competitions in the country," according to the organization's website. "Each year, thousands of students compete for top prizes and national recognition. The purpose of the Music Teachers National Association Performance competitions is to provide educational experiences for students and teachers and to recognize exceptionally talented young artists and their teachers in their pursuit of musical excellence."

This past weekend, the UARK Speech and Debate team traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana, to compete in the 47th annual Red River Classic hosted by Louisiana State University, Shreveport. The team broke numerous records they had set previously, sending the largest number of competitors (15) and breaking nine out of those 15, the highest since the team's reactivation in spring of 2021. This marked a level of success for the team that they had not seen at a given regular-season tournament, bringing home a total of 16 awards across the group.

Senior Grant Viscardis has been selected as the Student Leader of the Month for October 2023. Originally from Hot Springs, Viscardis came to the U of A to study biology. He is the president for EMPOWER RSO, leads the Global Brigades to Panama as the medical chairman, volunteers at the Full Circle Food Pantry, a Patient Care Technician at CHI St. Vincent Hospital in Hot Springs and is a research assistant in assistant professor Joisah Leong's FullStackNeuro Lab addressing the causation of substance use and early life stress on the mesolimbic pathway in the brain. Viscardis is also a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity. Viscardis said he got involved in these organizations mainly to learn how to network and communicate with others while expressing his deepest passions.

Six undergraduate students from the Department of Sociology and Criminology - Chase Freeman, Brooke Poe, Miya Fillmore, Mia Hadzidelimovic, Abby Hudson and McKenzie Taylor - attended the Southwestern Association of Criminal Justice annual conference Oct. 11-13 in Little Rock with their faculty adviser, professor Lauren Copley Sabon. The students were able to network with faculty and students from universities around the Southwest and learn about the research being done in the region. In addition, they participated in the regional crime scene investigation competition and Quiz Bowl. They were very successful in their endeavors and showed off their knowledge and critical thinking skills.

This weekend, the University of Arkansas' Mock Trial teams showcased their legal prowess at two separate tournaments. Teams Sandy and Patrick traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, for the WashU's Arch Invitational, while Teams Plankton and Squidward ventured to Oxford, Mississippi, to compete in the Chucky Mullins Invitational at Ole Miss. The U of A Mock Trial team is a trial simulation-based RSO that competes in tournaments across the nation.

The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas recently named their 2023-24 Fulbright College Student Ambassadors, which is part of the college's Inclusive Excellence initiatives. The Fulbright College Student Ambassador Program, which began in 2021, selects high-achieving undergraduate students to aid the college in its recruitment efforts, student outreach programs, community engagement and professional development opportunities. The program has grown to include 15 qualified undergraduate student ambassadors for the 2023-24 academic year.

The University of Arkansas Speech and Debate Society continued their overwhelming successes recently at the University of Central Missouri's Missouri Mule Tournament in Warrensburg, Missouri. Twenty-one U of A students attended the tournament and strongly represented the university with an overall win percentage of 63 percent, in which all students won at least one round. The society primarily competes in the International Public Debate Association, as well as in individual speaking events as offered, and their mission is to "allow students at the University of Arkansas to grow their skills in communication through competition and practice in competitive speech and debate." The team sets its sights next on the Red River Classic hosted by friends at LSU - Shreveport from November 3-5.

More than $1.6 million in scholarships was awarded to 960 undergraduate and graduate students in Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas this fall. These scholarships are made possible by the support of donors, who include alumni, faculty, staff and friends of Fulbright College, and aid students across the college's four academic disciplines: arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. "All of us in Fulbright College strive to champion our students' academic excellence, emotional well-being, mental fortitude and financial support," said Kathryn Sloan, interim dean of Fulbright College. "Thanks to the contributions of the many friends of Fulbright College, we are able to provide our students the tools and resources needed to thrive, and for that, we are immensely thankful."