UAFS finalist for McAuliffe award; deans report to board of visitors

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith is one of five universities to enter the final round for the Christa McAuliffe Award from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Dr. John Jones, dean of the UAFS College of Education, made the announcement during the quarterly meeting (Sept. 22) of the Fort Smith Board of Visitors.

The Christa McAuliffe Award honors innovative and distinctive teacher education programs that can document the success of their graduates in improving preschool to 12th grade student learning outcomes. McAuliffe was one of the seven astronauts who perished on Jan. 28, 1986 when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff. McAuliffe, then an American history teacher in Concord, N.H., was selected from more than 11,000 applicants to be NASA’s first teacher in space.

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities selects a winner from its more than 400 member institutions, Jones said. The UAFS program under review includes UAFS students and staff working with about 300 “underachieving” students in the Fort Smith Public School system. The program, according to Jones, is having a measurable positive impact on the public school students.

Tuesday’s meeting was the first for new board member Doug Babb, CEO of Cooper Clinic, who fills the position left vacant when Dr. Jerry Stewart resigned. Babb and the other the board of visitors also heard reports from the college deans within the university. Following are highlights of the various reports.

• The College of Business is in the process to receive national accreditation by the spring of 2012. Students of the college recently scored in the top 20% on tests taken nationwide by college business students.

• Enrollment in the College of Applied Science and Technology is up 8% for the fall 2009 semester (Overall enrollment at UAFS is up 10%). Also, the college is considering adding a bachelor’s degree in animation technology.

• The College of Language and Communications is working with students to create an online student newspaper. “Currently, there is no student voice on campus,” said Dr, Joe Hardin, dean of the college.

• The College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics reported a 7% increase in the number of students declaring majors in field covered by the college. Dr. Mark Arant, dean of the college, said interest in computer security and forensics is driving growth in the department. “Our information technology (program) is about to explode,” Arant told the board.

• The College of Humanities and Social Sciences reported an 11% fall enrollment increase. Criminal justice programs saw a 36% increase (210 students in fall 2009 compared to 154 in fall 2008), and drama saw a 57% increase (33 students in fall 2009 compared to 21 in fall 2008).

• The College of Health Science reported that one if its dental hygiene students recently posted the highest score on a state certification.

• Diana Rowdin, the UAFS dean of student success, said a pilot program of an “early academic alert” is in place to help catch students who begin to falter. UAFS instructors place a note in the system about a student and the reason for concern — Rowdin said the top concern has been class absenteeism. The student then receives an e-mail about the concern. Rowdin said student response has been “overwhelmingly positive.”

Sam T. Sicard, chair of the board of visitors and a vice president at the First National Bank of Fort Smith, was pleased with the reports.

“In my line of business, I don’t get a lot of positive reports right now, so this is very uplifting,” Sicard said.