Mike Norvell ’05, ’07 was hired as Florida State University’s 11th head football coach in December 2019.

“I’m humbled and honored for the opportunity to be the head coach at Florida State University, one of the iconic brands in college football,” Norvell said. “I’m so very excited for the future and the opportunity to return Florida State football to one of the nation’s elite. I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running, putting together a great signing class, a tremendous coaching staff, and joining arms with our current and former players to help elevate our football program each and every day.”

Norvell was a four-year letter winner at the 51��¥ and still holds the university record of career receptions (213) and ranks fifth in career receiving yards (2,611). He was inducted into the UCA Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

Norvell earned a Bachelor of Science in Education in 2005 and a Master of Science in 2007 at UCA. His wife, Maria, earned a Bachelor of Science in 2003 at UCA. The couple has a daughter, Mila.

Norvell began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the UCA football team in 2006. Since then, he has served as an assistant coach for the University of Tulsa, University of Pittsburgh and Arizona State University. In his first head coaching position, Norvell spent four seasons with the Memphis Tigers. His .717 winning percentage is the highest in Memphis history and ranks 10th among active coaches with at least four years of experience in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. He led Memphis to be the first university to compete in three consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship Games, making him one of 12 head coaches to ever do so. He is also one of only seven head coaches to achieve these feats in the first four years of being head coach.

“I am so pleased that Coach Norvell will be leading our football program,” Florida State President John Thrasher said. “Everyone we spoke with regarding Coach Norvell agreed that he is one of the top coaches in the country. That fact is clear just based on the opportunities he already has on the table. It became clear to us during the interviews that Coach Norvell is the right person to lead our program back to a championship.”

Current UCA student-athletes reap the benefits from a generous donation the Norvell family made to UCA Athletics. Established in 2016, the Mike and Maria Norvell Nutrition Center features healthy meals, snacks and drinks available to UCA student-athletes from all varsity teams. The center is located in UCA’s Strength and Conditioning/Indoor Facility.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson appointed Curtis Barnett ’86 to the 51��¥ Board of Trustees.

A native of Sherwood, Barnett serves as president and chief executive officer for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Barnett received a Bachelor of Science in public administration from UCA, a master’s in public administration from the University of Arkansas and is a graduate of the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management Advanced Executive Program. He also has earned several professional designations, including certified employee benefits specialist and the professional designation in the Academy of Healthcare Management.

In 2018, Barnett was named a UCA Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and was honored during the Night of Distinction ceremony for his service and dedication to the university.
As a UCA student, Barnett served in the Student Government Association as a senator in 1982-83 and as president in 1983-84.

“We are pleased to welcome Mr. Barnett to the 51��¥ Board of Trustees,” said President Houston Davis. “His background as a UCA alum, his expertise as a respected Arkansas businessman and his steadfast commitment to this university and its students will certainly benefit our entire campus community.”

As CEO of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Barnett is a member of the national Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Board of Directors, where he serves as chairman of the Association’s Board of Managers for the Federal Employee Program and as chairman of the Board of Managers for Blue Health Intelligence, a health care data analytics and solutions company.

His current civic involvement includes serving on the boards of the Baptist Health Foundation, Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, Healthy Active Arkansas and as a member of Fifty for the Future.

Barnett actively supports a number of charitable organizations, including the Arkansas chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which named him its Breath of Life honoree in 2015.

He is married to Karen, and the couple has a son, Collin.

This important classification is awarded following a process of self-study by each institution, which is then assessed by a national review committee led by the Swearer Center for Public Engagement at Brown University, the administrative and research home for the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.

“We are proud to have earned the prestigious Carnegie Community Engagement Classification,” said UCA President Houston Davis. “From our dedicated faculty and staff to our civic-minded students, members of the UCA campus community are committed to teaching, engaging and serving our local community and beyond.”

Of the 119 institutions classified in the 2020 cycle, 44 are receiving the classification for the first time, while 75 are now reclassified after being classified originally in 2010 or 2015. These 119 institutions join the 240 institutions that earned the classification during the 2015 selection process, for a total of 359 campuses that are currently active holders of this important designation. Among the 2020 recipients of the classification, UCA joins 66 other public institutions and 52 private that represent campuses in 37 states and U.S. territories.

The Carnegie Community Engagement Classification has been the leading framework for institutional assessment and recognition of community engagement in U.S. higher education for the past 14 years, with multiple classification cycles in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015 and 2020.

Acxiom said the Diversity Scholarship is awarded to U.S.-based students from diverse backgrounds who are enrolled in a full-time, post-secondary degree program such as computer science, computer information systems, management information systems, information quality, information systems, engineering, mathematics and statistics, or related areas of study.
Nguyen and Silue are two of only 10 students nationwide to earn the scholarship.

Nguyen, a senior from Vietnam, is double majoring in computer science and math, with an emphasis in data science. She has also been admitted into the UCA Graduate School, where she plans to continue studying computer science.

“I am truly honored to be one of the recipients of the Acxiom Diversity Scholarship,” she said. “I would like to express my gratitude to the scholarship review committee and Acxiom as a whole for placing me in such distinguished ranks with the other recipients and past honorees. The scholarship will help me greatly as I continue to work on my master’s in computer science at the 51��¥, pursuing my passion for data science and software engineering.”

Silue, a senior from Korhogo, Ivory Coast, is majoring in information systems and said she, too, is honored and grateful to have been selected as an Acxiom scholarship recipient.

“This scholarship will relieve me from the financial pressure I usually face and allow me to focus on my studies,” she said. “This is my last semester, and I couldn’t ask for a better gift!”

Diversity scholarship students are selected based on their ability to demonstrate a combination of academic achievement, field of study aimed at information technology and professional interest as it relates to Acxiom’s business needs.

Of the more than 1,000 chapters nationwide, the UCA chapter was one of 59 selected for the Outstanding Award. This is the sixth recognition in seven years.

The Department of Chemistry was notified of the award by Bonnie Charpentier, ACS president.
“We extend our warmest congratulations to the students and [professors] for setting such a fine example for other chapters and being exemplary chemistry ambassadors,” Charpentier said in a letter to the department.

Gregory Naumiec, assistant professor, and Faith Yarberry, lecturer II, are faculty advisors for the group.

The 51��¥ received a $149,991 grant from the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas during a special presentation on the UCA campus in February.

The grant is for the purchase of specialized training simulation equipment for the Nabholz Center for Healthcare Simulation. The state-of-the-art simulation lab provides students with lifelike scenarios that prepare them for the health care work environment.

“We are grateful for the support of the Blue & You Foundation. As a leader in health care education in Arkansas, this grant further enhances our ability to provide exceptional training for our students,” said UCA President Houston Davis. “With more than 90% of our College of Health and Behavioral Sciences graduates remaining in Arkansas, this grant will help us make a significant impact on the quality of health care in the state.”

“Helping to build and expand the medical workforce in Arkansas is important to the health of all of our citizens, and the UCA nursing program plays an important role in training nurses for the future,” said Patrick O’Sullivan, executive director of the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas. “Our grant to UCA for the purchase of medical simulation equipment was one of only 39 awarded throughout Arkansas from among a record-high 261 applications, which is an indication of the significance of the work that 51��¥ is doing to provide high-quality nursing training that will help many Arkansans live healthier lives.”

The purchase includes the BD Pyxis Medstation 4000, an automated medication dispensing unit used by hospitals, and three high-fidelity simulation manikins: the Nursing Anne Simulation for development of core nursing skills; SimMom, an advanced full-body birthing simulator; and Nursing Baby, an infant manikin that simulates a 6-month-old patient. The simulation center is primarily utilized by nursing students but is also used by other departments within the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences. More than 300 students receive training in the center each semester.

“The high-fidelity simulators provide our students with opportunities to practice critical thinking in health care situations that they may not be exposed to until they are working as licensed registered nurses,” said Susan Gatto ’90, director of the School of Nursing. “These nonthreatening realistic simulations build their confidence and prepare them to enter the workforce as competent health care practitioners.”

The center’s usage will continue to increase with its planned expansion into UCA’s new Integrated Health Sciences Building, which is currently under construction. In addition to the expanded Nabholz Center for Healthcare Simulation, the 80,000-square-foot facility will be home to the School of Nursing, the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and an Interprofessional Teaching Center to be utilized by the entire College of Health and Behavioral Sciences. The facility is scheduled for completion in fall 2021.

INTEGRATED HEALTH SCIENCES BUILDING
80,000 square feet
Estimated completion: March 2021

WINDGATE CENTER FOR FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS
99,000 square feet
Estimated completion: Fall 2022

LEWIS SCIENCE CENTER ANNEX
6,600 square feet
Estimated completion: Fall 2020

GREEK VILLAGE PHASE II
Four fraternity houses 6,800 square feet each
National Pan-Hellenic Council Complex 4,665 square feet
Estimated move in: Fall 2020