Michael Norvell ’07, the current head football coach at the University of Memphis, is a former record-setting wide receiver at UCA in the early 2000s. He and his wife, Maria ’03, are both graduates of UCA and made a significant contribution to the UCA Purple Circle that funded the program’s first-ever nutrition center.

“Mike Norvell knows what being a student-athlete is all about,” said Dr. Brad Teague, UCA’s director of athletics. “He recognizes the challenges we face in Division I FCS. We appreciate Mike and Maria Norvell for their significant contribution to our program and for providing a very important resource for the health and well-being of our student-athletes. Coach Norvell is proud of his experience at UCA and has given back in a significant way. We thank Mike and Maria for their support.”

Norvell, a former walk-on receiver who was inducted into the UCA Sports Hall of Fame in August 2016, is the school record holder for career receptions (213) and is fifth in career receiving yards (2,611). He played on teams that won 33 games in his four seasons, including UCA’s best team in the NCAA Division II era. The 2005 Bears finished 11-3 and lost in the Division II quarterfinals.

Norvell served as an assistant coach at UCA, Tulsa, Pittsburgh and Arizona State before taking the reins at Memphis in 2016. He led the Tigers to an 8-5 overall record and a spot in the Boca Raton Bowl this season.

“Maria and I are honored to be able to support the UCA Athletic Program,” said Norvell. “UCA was a wonderful place for the both of us, and we are grateful we have the opportunity to give back. As a student-athlete, there are already many challenges and demands, especially in getting good nutrition for competition and for recovery, so we choose to support UCA with a gift to the nutrition center. This gift will help support those student-athletes in an area that is critical to their health and success.”

The center features healthy meals, snacks and drinks available to UCA’s 400 student-athletes from all 18 varsity teams. The center is located in UCA’s state-of-the-art weight training facility adjacent to the indoor practice center and is under the supervision of UCA strength and conditioning director Alex Fotioo ’10, ’12 and his staff. Fotioo graduated from UCA with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science in 2010 and a Master of Science in exercise physiology in 2012.

The announcement was made in November 2016.

The Conductor will focus on delivering mentoring, counseling, training, capital readiness and technical assistance to startups, small businesses and emerging investors in central Arkansas.

“UCA has always been a leader in central Arkansas. Launching this initiative will serve our students, our faculty and our community for years to come. In fact, I’m confident we will look back in a few years and see this as a pivotal moment in our evolution as an institution,” said former UCA President Tom Courtway.

The Conductor is powered by the Central Arkansas Venture Team, a group of executive consultants, coaches, local leaders and experts. In addition to providing world-class programming and consulting for startups and small businesses, the Conductor will provide innovation and commercialization support for UCA and all of its academic programs.

In addition, the University has also engaged the Innovation Hub at Winrock International to help create an on-campus makerspace that offers advanced tools, technology and equipment for educational and entrepreneurial use. Students, faculty and community members will have access to the space, which will be modeled after the Innovation Hub’s original location in North Little Rock. The Innovation Hub will also provide expertise and programs to facilitate rapid prototyping and other services.

AR Conductor Q&A

Dr. Angela Webster, associate vice president for Institutional Diversity, said the recognition is a celebration of campus-wide diversity efforts. She accepted the award on behalf of the University.

The National Role Models Conference is sponsored and hosted by Minority Access, Inc. The conference was initiated in 2000 and is one of the most prestigious conferences of its kind addressing issues of diversity and disparities. This conference assembles high achieving innovators, recruiters, researchers, faculty, administrators, students, mentors and alumni, as well as institutions that have demonstrated a commitment to diversity.

UCA’s application packet included information about the work of the Office of Institutional Diversity, diverse student and faculty recruitment, the work of the Diversity Advisory Committee, diversity in the curriculum, the diversity website, employment practices, gender neutral restrooms, International Engagement, lactation suites, minority vendor partnerships and student life, as well as the expanded services of the Office of Diversity and Community and enhanced offerings of the Office of University Training.

The Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame was held on October 27, 2016 in the Farris Center at the 51��¥. The Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame was created to recognize leaders of the insurance industry in Arkansas. Proceeds from the Hall’s banquet benefit the Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame fund, which was established to provide financial support to students in UCA’s insurance and risk management program. The Hall is housed at UCA, the only institution that offers a major in insurance and risk management in the state of Arkansas. Approved in 2000, the program serves as a valuable resource for the insurance and financial services industry through the region and community.

The University achieved a ranking of 24, which is higher than the 2016 ranking of 29 in the category of “Top Public Schools” among regional universities in the South.

“I am very pleased that the UCA continues to be ranked as one of the top 25 public universities in the South. Our improvement in this ranking is evidence that our efforts are paying off for our students,” said Dr. Steven Runge, executive vice president and provost. “We strive for excellence in all that we do, and our ranking is an indication of that fact. As we continue to strengthen our programs and operations, we anticipate that our already strong ranking will continue to improve.”

Additionally, UCA’s physical therapy doctoral program was ranked in the top three best physical therapy doctoral programs in the nation by graduateprograms.com. The school counseling graduate program was ranked among the top 25 accredited online master’s in school counseling from bestcolleges.com, and UCA’s online master’s programs were ranked third in the nation by affordablecollegesonline.org.

Bunny and Carol Adcock have established a $1 million endowment for study abroad opportunities at the 51��¥.

The Adcock Study Abroad Fund will provide financial support for students to live and study abroad. A check presentation and a plaque honoring the Adcock family was held in November 2016 in the Wingo Hall Board of Trustees Conference Room.

“By providing an endowment for our students to travel and study abroad, it will provide opportunities for generations of UCA students to travel the world, learn other cultures and languages, interact with others and really change UCA and Arkansas. What these students will learn and experience, and then bring back to UCA and our state, will pay enormous dividends for our state and institution down the road,” said former UCA President Tom Courtway. “We all express our most sincere thanks and appreciation to Bunny and Carol for their unwavering commitment to our students and the mission of this University.”

This marks the second endowment from the Adcocks for study abroad opportunities. The first was allocated for students majoring in a foreign language who also planned to become educators.

Carol noticed the need for additional study abroad opportunities for foreign language teachers while working as a foreign language instructor at UCA in the 1970s. During this time, she was also serving as an adviser for foreign language student teachers and recognized the need for more study abroad opportunities like the one she experienced as a college student living in France and Mexico.

“I was going to all the schools where they were student teaching, and I saw what a difference it made to go into a classroom where the teacher had never been abroad,” she said. “I thought it would be better to go abroad and actually know the culture.”

That endowment has supported more than 80 students with a total of nearly $45,000 since 2000. The couple said this recent endowment is much broader. It will allow full-time students of all majors and career paths to apply for the study abroad funds, with preference given to students majoring in a foreign language. The scholarships will fund up to 75 percent of program costs including travel, food, lodging and tuition and fees.

“That’s all a part of growing and expanding your horizons, and that’s what will happen to these students. They will grow and develop and be more educated because they left McGehee, Arkansas and saw there’s a lot more to this world than just McGehee,” Bunny said referring to his own hometown. “It’s just like studying history. It is part of an education.”

Kale Gober, vice president for University Advancement, said, “UCA’s success is credited to supporters like Bunny and Carol who give their support for the sole purpose to impact the lives of our students, and I have no doubt their generosity will make an immeasurable difference for countless students.”

The Adcocks have supported UCA for at least four decades. In addition to Carol Adcock’s time as a foreign language instructor, Bunny Adcock currently serves on the Board of Trustees. In 1974, he served on the University Status Committee for the University, which was then the State College of Arkansas. He is a founding member of UCA Purple Circle and Friends of the UCA Library. Bunny was also appointed interim vice president for Financial Services in 2008 and served until June 2009. Prior to that, he had served as vice president for Alumni Services and Development as well as head golf coach from 1998 to 2003.

Bear Tales – Adcock Study Abroad Fund Donation

The Hardings announced a $500,000 gift to the the Norbert O. Schedler Honors College in September 2016. The gift will be unrestricted, but much of it will support opportunities for Travel Abroad Grants (TAG). The grants support students interested in participating in trips organized by UCA’s Study Abroad office. TAG is available for junior- and senior-level students, typically funding 60 to 75 percent of a student’s global travel. Other Honors College programs, such as Undergraduate Research Grants for Education and Experiential Learning Funds are likely to benefit from the gift as well.

In November 2016, the Hardings announced the endowment of the Melissa A. Courtway Scholarship Fund with a $50,000 gift and the establishment of the Tom Courtway Endowed Scholarship Fund with a $100,000 gift.

Former UCA President Tom Courtway established the Melissa A. Courtway Scholarship Fund in 2013 with the intent of supporting single parents who wish to continue their education at UCA. With the Harding family gift, the scholarship is now endowed and available for awarding.

The Harding’s $100,000 gift to establish the Tom Courtway Endowed Scholarship Fund came with a challenge to the community to match their donation with an additional $100,000. At a Community Reception for Courtway in December 2016, Kale Gober, vice president for University Advancement, announced that the University had raised more than $100,000 to meet the Harding family challenge.

Gober then announced that the Harding family gifted an additional $100,000 to fund the scholarship, which now totals more than $327,000.

To support these and other funds at the University, visit uca.edu/giving

Everette Cornell “E.C.” Maltbia was appointed to the 51��¥ Board of Trustees in January 2017 by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

“I am both excited and grateful to be given the opportunity to serve UCA in this capacity,” Maltbia said. “I am looking forward to working along with the students, faculty and staff to continue to promote the academic vitality, integrity and diversity of our flagship institution.”

Hutchinson said he is confident that Maltbia will bring an important perspective to the Board of Trustees. “For years, he has been a pillar of service and leadership in the central Arkansas community. His engagement and personal involvement with the staff and students at UCA will make him a great asset to the 51��¥ Board of Trustees,” said Hutchinson.

Maltbia is the founder and senior pastor of True Holiness Saints Center in Conway, where he has served for more than two decades.

He currently serves as a member of the Conway Civil Service Commission and Conway Regional Health System Board of Directors. He has previously served on the board of directors for the United Way of Faulkner County, Salvation Army of Faulkner County, Faulkner County Leadership Institute, Conway Regional Health System Community Advisory Board and the Community Foundation of Faulkner County.

Southwestern Energy Company gave the 51��¥ a $300,000 gift in December 2016 to support undergraduate and graduate student research.

The Southwestern Energy Endowed Fund for Student Research will be granted to students conducting research in the fields of environmental science, geography and physics.

“Through our $300,000 gift and the creation of this endowment, we have the opportunity to carry on our advocacy of science, technology, engineering and math education to secondary education in order to expand students’ opportunities and employability, whatever careers they pursue,” said George Sheffer, former Southwestern Energy Company vice president of Operations-Fayetteville Shale.

A selection committee made up of UCA professors will recommend an annual awardee
who will receive at least $1,500 for his or her research. Graduate student Christopher Robinson was announced as the first Southwestern Energy Research Fellow.

“I know this is a really competitive grant, and I’m proud of myself and of my research and of my advisor for our hard work of what we’ve committed to this project,” Robinson said.

Robinson, a Texas native, specifically came to UCA to earn a master’s degree and study the prairie lizard with Dr. Matt Gifford, assistant professor in biology.

Charles D. Morgan, Acxiom founder and former CEO, made a $300,000 gift to the 51��¥ to create the Charles D. Morgan Endowed Chair of Computer Science Fund that will support and recruit faculty in the computer science and technology fields.

“UCA has made major contributions to the business community through their graduates, and I wanted to show my appreciation and help ensure that this contribution continues,” said Morgan.
The announcement was made Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016 at Blue Sail Coffee in Donaghey Hall.

“We are grateful for Charles Morgan’s generous gift in support of our efforts in computer science,” said Dr. Stephen Addison, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “The support of our local partners in the IT industry is vital to the ongoing development of our programs in computer science and is mutually beneficial to our partners.”

Addison said the gift will also expand the University’s offerings in the area of computer science, as well as respond to new industry challenges. UCA students can earn a Bachelor of Science in computer science and a Master of Science in applied computing.