NEA Business Notes: A-State awards 3 for contributions

Arkansas State University honored two individuals and one organization for their contributions to the university and greater Jonesboro community during the annual Excellence Awards, recently held at Fowler Center.

The three awards celebrate people on campus who make a real difference every day. These awards honor team members who show strong dedication to access, belonging and service.

Stacy Goodwin Lightfoot, vice chancellor for access and engagement at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, served as the guest speaker. Following are the Excellence Award honorees.

Dr. Kristen Johnson, recipient of the Excellence in Campus Impact Award. She is the executive director of the RESTORE Hub and an associate professor at Arkansas State University.

Shunqetta Cunningham is the recipient of the Community Leadership in Excellence Award. She is CEO and chief strategist of KHARIS Group Consulting, a community strategy and social impact firm that helps nonprofits, institutions, and mission-driven leaders build sustainable organizations that increase income, impact, and long-term influence.

Howlers Pep Band is the recipient of the Student Excellence in Access & Belonging Award. Howlers is spearheaded by Dr. Allegra Fisher, associate director of bands and director of athletic bands.

Six Selected For Freshman To Physician Program
Arkansas State University and New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) have announced the first six students in the newly established Freshman to Physician (F2P) pathway for students to secure early admission to medical school in the first year of college.

The first cohort of six students includes Thomas McMellon of Jonesboro, Haydyn Friend of Salem, Blaine Bryant of Jonesboro, Lynnlee Presley of Heber Springs, Andrea Pillow of Paragould, and Ty Duncan of Marion. To be part of this cohort, students applied last fall to be part of the F2P program.

Students selected for this cohort must have a combined SAT score of at least 1100 or an ACT composite score of at least 26, a high school grade point average in the top 10% of their class, and have a successful interview with the admissions committee for the program.

Students must also be Arkansas residents to qualify. Students who complete the Freshman to Physician pathway and meet all of the required prerequisites are eligible for direct admission into NYITCOM. The next cohort of the Freshman to Physician program will be selected in spring 2027.

Lyon College School of Dental Medicine Holds First White Coat Ceremony
The inaugural class of the Lyon College School of Dental Medicine participated in the program’s first-ever white coat ceremony recently held at the Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock.

According to Lyon College, 80 first-year students at Arkansas’ first dental school received their white coats, symbolizing their transition into clinical training and their commitment to patient-centered care, ethics and professional integrity.

The Lyon College School of Dental Medicine will open its patient care clinics later this spring. The presentation of white coats was led by Dr. Jennifer Daniels, assistant dean of student affairs and admissions, and Dr. Mark Anderson, associate dean of academic affairs.

St. Bernards To Participate In ‘Billion Pill Pledge’
St. Bernards Medical Center has announced its participation in Goldfinch Health’s “Billion Pill Pledge” the first hospital in Arkansas to launch a targeted pain management and opioid reduction program that supports patients throughout surgery.

This program, made possible by Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership Settlement Funding from the opioid abatement partnership between the Arkansas Municipal League (AML) and the Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC), helps patients facing surgery by implementing advanced, opioid-minimizing practices.

The mission of the pledge is to reduce leftover opioids after surgery by one billion pills each year, preventing those pills from diverting to unauthorized use. This initiative addresses the critical issue of prescription opioids continuing to fuel rates of new addiction. A recent study found that 75% of illegal opioid use started with prescription pills. Historically, surgery has offered a gateway to initial use and leftover medication, with 6% to 10% of previously opioid-naive patients becoming persistent users following a procedure.

St. Bernards uses multi-modal pain management strategies that reduce opioid exposure. St. Bernards general surgeon Jessica Hobby said the hospital’s goal is to minimize the number of prescribed opioids while actively enhancing each patient’s recovery.

NYITCOM Hosts Match Day
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University NYITCOM at A-State) enjoyed a 95% match rate and a 97%  placement rate through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP), the Jonesboro-based medical school recently announced.

Medical schools across the country celebrated Match Day in March, an annual event through which soon-to-be medical school graduates learn where they’ll perform their post-graduate specialty training, known as residency.

The Class of 2026 is the seventh class for NYITCOM’s Arkansas campus, which opened in 2016 through a private-public partnership with Arkansas State University. In total, 96 NYITCOM at A-State student doctors participated in Match, with an initial Match rate of 95% and a total placement rate of 97%.

NYITCOM at A-State was established to train medical students to help address a growing physician shortage in Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta region. As has been the case with each of its first six classes, more than half of NYITCOM at A-State’s 2026 match participants were placed into programs that will keep them in Arkansas, a targeted-Delta state, or a state contiguous to Arkansas.