Campus Talk: Arkansas Tech To Host Inauguration For Bowen On Friday

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ARKANSAS TECH TO HOST INAUGURATION FOR DR. ROBIN BOWEN ON FRIDAY
Arkansas Tech University’s Dr. Robin E. Bowen will be inaugurated as the 12th president of ATU during a ceremony on Friday, April 17. The inauguration is scheduled for 2 p.m. on the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center South Lawn at the Arkansas Tech campus in Russellville. A reception will follow in the Chambers Cafeteria West Dining Room.

The public is invited to attend the inauguration. Should inclement weather intervene, the event will be moved to Tucker Coliseum. Bowen took office as president of Arkansas Tech on July 1, 2014. She is the first female president of a public, four-year university in Arkansas.

Eric Burnett, chairman of the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees, will serve as master of ceremonies. He will present Bowen with the Arkansas Tech chain of office, after which Bowen will offer her inaugural address.

WALDRIP, THOMAS HONORED BY BUMPERS COLLEGE AS DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
Mark Waldrip and Allison Thomas will speak at the University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences commencement on May 9.

Waldrip is being honored as the Outstanding Alumnus and will present the commencement address to Bumpers graduates in Barnhill Arena. Thomas is being recognized by the Bumpers College Alumni Society as the Outstanding Young Alumna and will also address graduates at commencement.

Waldrip is owner of Armor Seed LLC and East Arkansas Seeds Inc. He is a member of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees, where he serves as chair of the Audit and Fiscal Responsibility Committee. He earned his bachelor’s degree from UA in 1977 in agricultural economics and agribusiness.

Waldrip lives in Moro while serving as president of his two companies, which develop and sell soybeans, wheat, rice and corn to a dealer network in 12 states. He also owns and manages Waldrip Farms Inc., a several thousand-acre family farm; East Arkansas Equipment Co.; and Waldrip Lands LLC, a diversified agricultural real estate company.

In addition to his service as a member of the Board of Trustees, which runs through 2020, he is on the Arkansas State Plant Board, the Arkansas Agriculture Board, Farm Credit Mid-South Board and the Arkansas Seed Dealers Association’s Legislative Committee. He is also a member of the Arkansas Executive Forum for the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

Thomas is chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service in Washington, D.C., where she coordinates program and policy issues regarding U.S. agricultural exports and market access. She earned her master’s degree in agricultural economics from UA in 1999.

Thomas began her career with the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service as an international trade specialist in 2001, serving as the technical expert and analyst for the Russian Federation, Ukraine, European Union and East Africa. She worked as special assistant to the deputy administrator in the service’s Office of Global Analysis from 2008 to 2010, has served as acting deputy coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, and as senior adviser for the U.S. Agency for International Development at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

In addition to her role as chief of staff, she is also director of Mission Support Operations for the FAS Office of Foreign Service Operations. Thomas oversees the USDA’s reconstruction and stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and formerly Iraq; and works with USDA personnel in Kabul (and formerly Baghdad) on medical evacuations, promotions, extensions, evaluations and re-assignments.

COMCAST NAMES 11 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
On Monday, Comcast announced 11 Leaders and Achievers Scholarship recipients, awarding $11,000 to Central Arkansas area high school seniors. Gov. Asa Hutchinson joined Comcast executives and school officials to recognize local honorees at the State Capitol in the Governor’s Conference Room.

Comcast and the Governor presented awards to the following honorees:

• Rebecca Aguilera, Maumelle High School, attending Berkeley College, majoring in Marketing
• Rachel Basham, Central Arkansas Christian Schools, attending Harding University, majoring in Nursing
• Deasia Canada, Parkview Arts/Science Magnet High School, attending Texas Southern University, majoring in Dentistry
• Katherine Divino, Mount Saint Mary Academy, attending Saint Louis University, majoring in Biology
• Aysha Dixon, Hall High School, attending Arkansas Tech University, majoring in Biology
• Nimit Gandhi, Little Rock Central High School, attending Duke University, majoring in Mathematics
• Briyana Isaac, North Pulaski High School, attending University of Arkansas at Little Rock, majoring in Dance
• Daphne Jackson, McClellan Magnet High School, attending University of Arkansas at Little Rock, majoring in Psychology
• Willie Johnson, Joe T. Robinson High School, attending Southern Arkansas University, majoring in Music Performance and Management
• Glynnis Pleasant, J.A. Fair High School, attending Jackson State University, majoring in Communications
• Jonah Rodgers, Jacksonville Sr. High School, attending Duke University, majoring in Nursing

“It is an honor to recognize these students who have earned significant achievements, both inside and outside the classroom,” said Andy Macke, vice president of government affairs at Comcast. “The Comcast Leaders and Achievers program demonstrates the importance Comcast places on civic involvement and giving back to others in the communities in which we live and work.”

The Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program provides $1,000 scholarships to students who strive to achieve their potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students. The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to prepare for the future and to engage them in their communities.

To date, Comcast has awarded more than $23.8 million to nearly 23,000 Leaders and Achievers Scholarship winners throughout the country.