Submitted by: Kristen Oitker, koitker1@uca.edu on 09/05/2026
Join us out at the Bill Stephens Complex for a Thursday night matchup with Nevada. Kickoff is at 7 PM. Admission is free!
Archives for September 2026
Help Us Tell UCA’s Story: HLC Criterion 1 – Mission
This fall, 51¥ is preparing for our March 2027 reaffirmation visit from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Over the next several weeks, we’ll spotlight each of HLC’s four Criteria for Accreditation and release the corresponding section of UCA’s draft Assurance Argument for campus review.
We begin with Criterion 1: Mission. The Criterion 1 draft is now available, and we invite the campus community to help us make sure it accurately and completely reflects UCA.
Mission in Action: Criterion 1 Feedback Forum
Thursday, September 10 @ x-period
College of Business, Room 315
Open to all faculty, staff, and students
No advance preparation is needed. We’ll share highlights from the draft and invite your perspective on what rings true, what may be missing, and what HLC reviewers should understand about UCA.
Review Criterion 1: /accreditation/criteria/mission/
Share feedback online: /accreditation/feedback/
September 2026 Issue of Grants Gazette
Submitted by: Jennifer Deering, jdeering@uca.edu on 09/03/2026
Greetings!
Volume III, Issue 1 of the “Grants Gazette” is now live. The contents of this special edition “What We Did on Our Summer Vacation” include the following items:
Introducing the Office of Grants and Sponsored Research
*Congratulations to Angela Adams, Winner of the AEGISS Award
*Faculty and Staff Turn Ideas into Grants at May Retreat
*Ashley-Pauley Attends NCURA Region III Conference
*Still SURF’ing
*Professional Development: Using the New GrantSearch™ from the Grants Resource Center
You can subscribe to our newsletter if you’d like to learn more and have a chance at winning our September newsletter challenge: .
Arkansas Coding Academy – New Events
Submitted by: Leslie Coger, lcoger1@uca.edu on 09/03/2026
Use the link below to register for upcoming ArCA Events!
Challenge Week 2026: Rural Communities – Local & Global
Submitted by: Ellen Hostetter, ehostetter@uca.edu on 09/03/2026
The goal of this year’s Challenge Week is to explore a diverse range of rural issues from a diverse range of perspectives, hearing from people who are working in our own backyard, our region, across the United States, and internationally. We’ll explore economic and community development, literacy, environmental justice, and sustainable local food systems in Conway and Latin America, spotlighting individuals working to make a positive change.
Of special note is the keynote speaker: Catherine Coleman Flowers, founder and CEO of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ) and one of the nation’s most influential voices on environmental justice and rural poverty. Ms. Flowers talk starts at 5pm, Wednesday, September 23 in the College of Business Auditorium. Refreshments starting at 4:30pm.
Challenge Week runs from September 21 – 24th. Please visit the website for full details.
Bears Connect With OSAC Fair
Submitted by: Lyn Gayfield, egayfield@uca.edu on 09/02/2026
Food | Activities | Resources | Community
Food & giveaways while supplies last
Tuesday, September 22
12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
RWSC Lawn – RWSC Ballroom Rain Location
UCA Foundation Faculty Grants
Submitted by: Chad Hearne, chearne@uca.edu on 09/02/2026
Each fall and spring semester, the Foundation awards grants to faculty to support events or activities that enhance learning opportunities at UCA. These grants are intended to encourage creative endeavors that may serve as “seeds” for future programs or support innovative activities that enhance the reputation of UCA. The request for proposals will be valid through academic year 2027-2028. Completed applications must be submitted no later than October 16, 2026. Award decisions will be made no later than October 31, 2026 by a committee appointed by the UCA Foundation, which includes faculty and community members. Completed applications, as well as letters of support from the applicant’s Dean and Department Chair, should be submitted through the online application.
Community Care Clinic in Network with Blue Cross / Blue Shield
Submitted by: Chad Lairamore, chadl@uca.edu on 09/01/2026
If CHI St. Vincent’s exit from Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield impacts your coverage, you don’t have to navigate it alone.
The UCA Community Care Clinic remains in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, offering convenient, affordable care right here on campus.
From primary care with our Family Nurse Practitioners to Mental Health, Nutrition, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy services, we’ve got your health covered. We are accepting new patients!
Give us a call at 501-470-7457 or visit us today!
Dr. Nechele McClinton-Gates receives Award!
Submitted by: Craig Seager, cseager@uca.edu on 09/01/2026
Dr. Nechele McClinton-Gates received a Top Program Award for the Southwest Association of College and University Housing Officers’ Arkansas Drive-In Conference hosted by UCA in July. Dr. McClinton-Gates presented a session titled “Lifting As We Climb: Evolving Avenues for Advocacy and Professional Growth of Black Women in Residence Life.”
Help Students Beat the Clock – Faculty for Successful Students
Submitted by: Jennifer Brewer, jbrewer1@uca.edu on 08/31/2026
Faculty for Successful Students – Weeks 2 & 3!
Help Students Beat the Clock ⏰
We made it through Week 1! The syllabi have been distributed, the rosters are beginning to settle, and everyone has definitely read every word of every course policy.
Right?
Moving along…
This Week’s Faculty for Successful Students Focus: Encourage Time Management
College students have a lot of competition for their time—and first-year students are often still figuring out just how much outside-of-class time college coursework requires.
A few ways you can Reinforce Success:
- Help students estimate how much time they should plan to spend on coursework outside of class. A typical three-credit-hour course may require around six additional hours each week for reading, studying, assignments, and preparation.
- Give students a few minutes to look ahead at upcoming assignments and deadlines—especially when a larger project is approaching.
- Break major assignments into smaller milestones when appropriate so students can practice planning rather than discovering the entire project 36 hours before it is due.
- Talk explicitly about how you would approach planning for an assignment. What should students do first? How long might each step take? When should they begin?
- Remind students that time management is a skill—not something everyone magically arrives at college already knowing how to do.
Small conversations about planning can help students move from “I have plenty of time” to “Maybe I shouldn’t start this at 11:47 p.m.”
💡 Brightspace Byte: Put the Calendar to Work
Brightspace can help students see what’s coming before “coming” becomes “due in 37 minutes.”
- Encourage students to make the Brightspace Calendar part of their regular routine. Due dates entered in Brightspace are automatically added to the calendar, giving students one place to see deadlines across their courses.
- Students can also add their own events, so they can use the Calendar to plan study sessions, project work, appointments, or other reminders alongside their course deadlines.
- One quick thing you can do this week: Show students where the Calendar is and ask them to look at what’s coming up. Even better, give them a minute in class to open it.
That tiny investment of class time may save everyone some deadline-related drama later.
🍽️ Bear Bites: Beat the Clock – Helping Students Plan for Success
Tuesday, September 1 | 12:15–1:30 p.m.
Christian Cafeteria Executive Dining Room
Facilitator: Amy Baldwin
“I didn’t have enough time.”
If you teach, chances are good you’ve heard that sentence once. Or twice. Or 847 times.
Join us for lunch and conversation about practical ways to help students plan their time, manage priorities, estimate how long coursework will take, and make more realistic decisions about their schedules.
Bring your own ideas, hear what colleagues are doing, and pick up a few strategies you might want to try with your students.
Lunch is provided!
🔗 Keep These Handy
Faculty for Successful Students Webpage
The Weeks 2 & 3 slide is ready to project as students arrive—or to include with your weekly messaging in an online course. And yes, we continue to believe students are reading it. We have chosen optimism.
Thank you for helping students develop habits that can make the semester a little more manageable—and their learning a lot more successful.