Events – UCA Magazine

Alumni Awards Dinner

UCA Magazine Staff — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 17:04:59 +0000

The 2025 UCA Alumni Awards Dinner brought a garden-party atmosphere to the President’s Home as alumni, friends and campus leaders gathered to celebrate this year’s honorees. Debbye Jo Smith ’73 received the Karen Sullards Alumni Service Award, Dr. M. Nicholas Farr ’12, ’14, ’19 was recognized with the Young Alumni Award and Maria Kramer Wile ’14, ’21 was named Alumni Volunteer of the Year.

Scholarship Reception

UCA Magazine Staff — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 16:59:44 +0000

The 2025 UCA Foundation Scholarship Reception celebrated the theme “Bear Tracks: The Full Circle Journey,” highlighting the lifelong impact of scholarship support. President Houston Davis led a conversation with freshman Emma Kesterson, senior Jesus Hernandez-Meza and alumnus Brad Lacy ’94, illustrating how scholarships shape students at every stage of their UCA experience. The annual event brings scholarship donors and recipients together to meet, share their stories and see the power of philanthropy in real time.

Half-Century Club Induction

UCA Magazine Staff — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 16:57:42 +0000

The Class of 1975 took center stage this year as the newest members of the UCA Half-Century Club. Classmates returned to campus to mark their 50-year milestone, reconnect with lifelong friends and revisit the memories that shaped their time at UCA.

Established in 1980 to honor alumni celebrating 50 years since graduation, the Half-Century Club has become one of the university’s most distinguished traditions. Each induction welcomes a class with its own stories and shared history, and the Class of 1975 proved no exception.

Former inductees also joined the celebration, adding to the warmth and camaraderie that make this gathering a treasured moment on the alumni calendar.