UA Board to consider tuition, fees at Friday meeting

Ben Beaumont | University of Arkansas System

LITTLE ROCK – The Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas will meet Thursday and Friday to consider a number of items including proposed 2012-13 tuition and fee schedules (Chart Attached) for UA System colleges and universities. A formal notice with the meeting schedule is attached.

As the state implements plans to base a portion of higher education funding on performance measures such as retention and graduation, revenue generated from moderate tuition increases will be used to target improving these and other areas at UA System institutions.

“As we move into performance funding and focus our efforts on doubling the number of college-educated Arkansans by 2025, we must use our limited resources to improve retention and graduation on our campuses,” said Dr. Donald R. Bobbitt, president of the University of Arkansas System. “This is an important effort both for the vitality of our university system and for improving the economic well-being of our state.”

Effort seeks to diversify cyber-security field

From news.mst.edu

In an effort to increase the number of women and minorities in the field of cyber-security, Missouri University of Science and Technology is working with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff to develop a new program for undergraduate students.

The partnership builds on Missouri S&T’s leadership role in information assurance education, says Dr. Bruce McMillin, professor of computer science at Missouri S&T.

Information assurance is a niche of computer science, engineering, and information technology that addresses ways to improve security of computer and electronic networks. In 2007, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security designated Missouri S&T as Missouri’s first National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. The designation means Missouri S&T meets the federal government’s criteria for providing educational and research opportunities in cyber-security, says McMillin, who is also the center’s director.

Funded through a $115,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, the NSA’s home department, McMillin and his colleagues at Missouri S&T and UAPB have developed a three-semester program for UAPB computer science undergraduates interested in the information assurance field. Students completing the coursework – known as SAIA, for Southern Arkansas Information Assurance – will be eligible for a minor in information assurance.

Weed and Seed features UAPB in National Online Magazine

[Pine Bluff, Arkansas] – The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is featured in the fall edition of the Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO) online national publication called In-Sites.

“Weed and Seed Communities (WSC) from around the nation are asked to share news about their successes, advice, awards, plans and new partnerships with other WSCs across the country. The University Park and ICVR Central Park Weed and Seed programs are extremely pleased to collaborate with UAPB’s Theatre Department. We hope other communities can build from the ideas we are using in Pine Bluff.” -Rev. Jesse C. Turner, program coordinator.

You can read the fall 2010 issue of In-Sites which is now available on CCDO’s website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ccdo/insites/prevention.html .

Water, weeds, climate change studied at UAPB farm

John Czarnecki and Aaron Pugh of the United States Geological Survey explain how groundwater levels are monitored at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Small Farm Outreach in Lonoke County. The well provides real-time information on the status of the alluvial aquifer in the area, but the news is not good, Pugh said. Trends show a continuous drop in water levels. The demonstration was part of the biannual Field Day hosted by the UAPB farm. (Ed Galucki)

By Ed Galucki / Staff Writer / news@lonokedemocrat.com
Friday, September 3, 2010 2:07 PM CDT

On Aug. 26, the Pearlie S. Reed/Robert L. Cole Small Farm Outreach Wetlands and Water Management Center opened its gates for the biannual University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Lonoke Farm Field Day.

Tours and demonstrations taught about the work under way at the center; subjects included hearing protection, honeybees, alternative crops, native grass development, groundwater and weed control.

The 871-acre UAPB Small Farm Outreach is about five miles north of Lonoke on Arkansas Highway 31.

Speakers included Sen. Mark Pryor, U.S. Rep. Marion Berry, UAPB Chancellor Lawrence A. Davis Jr. and County Judge Charlie Troutman.

Berry, who decided earlier this year to retire, recalled the events and politics that led to the creation of the Water Management Center at the UAPB farm.

Lincoln, Pryor, Snyder, Ross Announce $231K for Computer Research Infrastructure at UA Pine Bluff, Philander Smith College

Washington - U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Vic Snyder (AR-02) and Mike Ross (AR-04) today announced that the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will receive a $231,743 National Science Foundation grant to make improvements to computer systems that will enhance research at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Philander Smith College in Little Rock.

Funds will be used to form the Arkansas Cyberinfrastructure Minority Training, Education Consortium to create new research opportunities for students and faculty at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Philander Smith College. The program will provide high-tech computer access that will assist research in science and engineering. The funds will also support workshops for students and faculty on how best to utilize technology for research and education.

The program aims to support research opportunities for students and faculty at colleges and universities with a significant population of minority students who are underrepresented in the scientific research community.

“I am pleased to announce this investment that will expand opportunities for students and researchers at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Philander Smith College, providing them access to advanced computer systems that are critical to innovative research,” Lincoln said. “It is crucial that we invest in our colleges and universities to attract students and conduct important research that will keep Arkansas competitive.”

“Scientific research often requires high-tech tools, and Arkansas students need up-to-date equipment to succeed in their fields.  These funds for computer infrastructure will allow students at UA Pine Bluff and Philander Smith College to conduct advanced research in science and engineering and compete on the global stage,” Pryor said.

“I applaud Philander Smith College and UAPB for increasing science research on their campuses,” Snyder said. “Investments in young people and investments in scientific research helps both the student and Arkansas.”

“This investment in computer research infrastructure for UAPB will help provide the tools and resources needed to ensure our students receive a world class education,” Ross said. “I am committed to fighting for critical federal investments to support our colleges and universities because when we help our children get the best education they deserve, we work to put them on a path to healthy, successful and prosperous lives.”

“The Arkansas Cyberinfrastructure Minority Training, Education Consortium project is designed to engage and motivate historically underrepresented communities to participate in the Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network (ARE-ON) infrastructure, and provide national resources to conduct scholarly cyberinfrastructure-oriented research and education,” said Dr. Jessie J. Walker, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff assistant professor of computer science.