Campus Talk: Scott Ford Center To Open At Arkansas Baptist College
Editor’s note: Each Tuesday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Campus Talk,” a recap and deep-dive into education topics in our email newsletter, which you can sign up to receive daily for free here.
SCOTT FORD CENTER TO OPEN AT ARKANSAS BAPTIST COLLEGE
Arkansas Baptist College will host a grand opening for the Scott Ford Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development and the First Security Community Union at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
The Scott Ford Center, named for donor and former Alltel CEO Scott Ford, will teach entrepreneurial skills. The First Security Community Union includes a food court, coffee shop and bookstore.
When Ford announced his commitment to the Arkansas Baptist entrepreneurial center in 2011, the school said the Scott Ford Center would house a micro-lending program to provide small business loans to individuals who might not qualify for traditional financing.
The loans are expected to be in the $50 to $5,000 range. The school and center also set as a goal an aim to launch up to 10 new businesses annually.
JASON TOLBERT HIRED AS OBU CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Congrats to Talk Business & Politics longtime contributor Jason Tolbert, who has been hired as the chief financial officer for his alma mater, Ouachita Baptist University. Tolbert has been controller for the Arkansas Baptist Foundation since 2004.
At OBU, he’ll succeed Dr. Brett Powell who was recently named director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. Tolbert will continue to write for Talk Business & Politics.
Tolbert, a 1998 Ouachita graduate, holds a Master of Business Administration degree in accounting from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He also holds an Arkansas license as a certified public accountant.
ARKANSAS STATE DESIGNATED ‘TOP SCHOOL’ IN MILITARY ADVANCED EDUCATION
Military Advanced Education (MAE) has awarded Arkansas State University the designation of a “Top School” in its 2015 Guide to Colleges & Universities, measuring best practices in military and veteran education.
The guide presents results of a survey of military-supportive policies enacted at more than 600 institutions including private, public, for-profit, not-for-profit, four-year, and two-year colleges. It provides information about institutions that go out of their way to give back to men and women in uniform.
This is Arkansas State’s fifth consecutive year to be listed in the MAE guide. This year, institutions were evaluated on their military culture, financial aid, flexibility, on-campus support and online support services. The guide is available online at www.mae-kmi.com.
HENDRIX COLLEGE, LULAC ESTABLISH LATINO SCHOLARSHIPS
Hendrix College and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) have joined together to establish three new scholarships for Latino and Latina students to attend Hendrix.
“This scholarship is a meaningful opportunity for Latino and Latina students and a meaningful opportunity for the Hendrix community to demonstrate our commitment to diversity on our campus,” said Hendrix College President Bill Tsutsui. “We’re very grateful to LULAC for their partnership in this important program.”
In addition to maintaining good academic standing at Hendrix, scholarship recipients will also complete 35 hours of service in the Latino community. Scholarship applications must be submitted to LULAC by March 31 and recipients will be selected by April 15.
‘100 GIRLS OF CODE’ OPENS ARKANSAS CHAPTER WITH INNOVATION HUB
“100 Girls of Code” officially is opening a local chapter in Arkansas. The initiative offers free workshops to females ages 12 to 18 to generate interest in computer science among girls. Each participant of the workshop learns computer-programming basics by building websites and video games.
The Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub has partnered with the organization to oversee the North Little Rock chapter. Dates haven’t been set for a start yet, but officials expect it will be by summer, if not sooner. Read more on the subject at this link.