Campus Talk: Conway Corporation Pledges $3 Million Gift To UCA

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CONWAY CORPORATION PLEDGES $3 MILLION GIFT TO UCA
Conway Corporation, operator of Conway’s city-owned utility system, has pledged $3 million to the University of Central Arkansas, for the construction and renovation of the Lewis Science Center on campus. The gift will be paid out at approximately $600,000 per year over five years, beginning in 2016.

“This gift from Conway Corporation is one of the most significant developments in the history of the University,” said UCA President Tom Courtway. “These funds will enhance Lewis Science Center and will help provide state-of-the-art laboratories and scientific facilities for our students.”

The Lewis Science Center expansion, a key initiative of the University’s Framework for the Future, includes a 50,000 square foot addition for teaching and laboratory space to accommodate current and future teaching methods.

ASU, MSCC TO MEET NEXT MONTH ON MERGER
Arkansas State University System President Dr. Charles L. Welch and Mid‐South Community College President Dr. Glen Fenter said progress continues toward a merger agreement between the two entities. Both the ASU Board of Trustees and the MSCC Board of Trustees have scheduled meetings on Jan. 9 to consider the plan. Details about location and times have not been finalized. Read more on developments at this link.

SHANE BROADWAY TO JOIN ASU IN GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS POST
Arkansas Department of Higher Education director Shane Broadway has been appointed vice president for governmental relations for the Arkansas State University System.

Broadway, a former Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives and State Senator, has served as director of ADHE and a member of Gov. Mike Beebe’s cabinet since February 2011. Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson had offered Broadway the opportunity to remain in his role with ADHE.

LEGISLATORS CONSIDER INSURANCE SUBSIDY FOR NEW TEACHERS
Paying health insurance premiums for new public school employees during their first two years of employment and then gradually decreasing the subsidy over the next three years could shore up a system that has lost too many young and healthy participants in recent years. The idea, advanced by Rep. Bill Gossage, R-Ozark, could benefit the public school employee health fund by more than $10 million by 2021, according to a study by Cheiron, a financial analyst and actuarial consulting firm. Read more here.

JERRY JONES: ARKANSAS LAWMAKERS, HELP OUR STUDENTS GET AHEAD
Guest opinion writer Jerry Jones, EVP of Acxiom Corp. and chairman of FASTER, a coalition of business leaders, educators and advocates supporting high-speed Internet in schools statewide, argues for changing state law to allow schools to tap into the state’s ARE-ON network, but he’s a bigger advocate for doing something this school year.

“Let’s get our students and teachers the Internet2 capabilities they presently need now. Even if it costs us taxpayers more if ARE-ON is not allowed to compete, let’s get it done,” Jones says. Read his full take here.

ARE-ON BACKBONE NOT NECESSARY, LEGISLATORS TOLD
Arkansas public schools can have necessary broadband internet at no extra cost to the state and without connecting to a “backbone” such as ARE-ON, the House and Senate Education Committees were told last Wednesday.

Jody Craft, lead project manager for CT&T, an engineering and consulting firm hired to examine public school broadband needs, told legislators that connecting to a backbone such as ARE-ON isn’t cost-effective at this time. ARE ON is the Arkansas Research Education Optical Network, a private network used by universities and hospitals but prohibited by Act 1050 of 2011 from being used by public schools. Read more here.