Wendy Holbrook (right), 51��¥ assistant vice president for student affairs, has been recognized by the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance as their 2025 Star Collaborator Award recipient. Laken Ross, nutrition programs coordinator for the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, presented the award.

Wendy Holbrook, 51��¥ assistant vice president for student affairs, has been recognized by the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance as their 2025 Star Collaborator Award recipient.

This award honors an individual who exemplifies partnership, compassion and leadership in addressing food insecurity across Arkansas. Holbrook has been a consistent champion for ensuring students’ basic needs are met, fostering cross-campus collaboration and helping shape supportive, welcoming food pantry environments.

“Wendy’s commitment to student well-being and her collaborative spirit have strengthened the statewide network of college pantries and advanced the shared vision of a hunger-free Arkansas,” UCA Vice President of Student Affairs Robin Williamson said.

Holbrook gained oversight responsibility for the Bear Essentials Food Pantry in 2020 and has led its growth during a period of rapidly increasing need. Under her leadership, the pantry now serves more than 500 students each month. Holbrook is responsible for securing financial support for the pantry, which operates entirely through donations. She has been instrumental in obtaining grant funding and significant contributions from the Conway community.

Holbrook has participated in panels and presentations at the College Hunger Summit for the past two years, and UCA’s Bear Essentials Food Pantry has participated in the Nutrition Pantry Program, working toward goals that center around neighbors, trauma-informed care and healthy food prioritization.

“Wendy’s work serves as an example of what it looks like when student support is rooted in dignity, empathy and collaboration,” Laken Ross, nutrition programs coordinator for the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, said. “Thank you, Wendy!”

Holbrook is especially proud of the strong support from the UCA community. Food drives sponsored by academic departments, student organizations and Staff Senate play a critical role in keeping the shelves stocked, while the monthly payroll deduction campaign consistently generates several hundred dollars each month to support ongoing operations.

More information about the Bear Essential Food Pantry can be found at .

UCA Associate Vice President of Campaign and Development Joan Shofner has been recognized as a 2025 Conway Area Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Outstanding Woman in Nonprofit.

Joan Shofner, associate vice president of campaign and development, has been recognized as a 2025 Conway Area Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Outstanding Woman in Nonprofit.

Shofner is a proven leader in nonprofit and higher education advancement whose vision and drive have transformed UCA’s fundraising success. Since joining the university in 2010 as the first director of advancement research, she has steadily built a career defined by innovation, leadership and results. Today she leads UCA’s Development Office and a team of eight professionals, cultivating a culture of collaboration and excellence that is recognized across campus and in the advancement field.

“Joan leads with both vision and heart,” Vice President of University Advancement Mary Bane Lackie said. “She sets a clear standard for excellence, delivers results, and never loses sight of the people doing the work.

“By investing in her team’s growth and professional development, she creates an environment where fundraisers feel supported, challenged and empowered – making UCA’s Development Office not only a high-performing unit, but also a place where people want to work. Just as importantly, she is deeply committed to developing the next generation of fundraisers, ensuring the profession remains strong, ethical and impactful well into the future.”

Shofner brings data and strategy together to achieve extraordinary results. Her leadership in adopting AI-driven platforms for donor engagement positioned UCA as a national example in leveraging technology to strengthen philanthropy. That initiative alone produced 225 new or increased gifts – 76 of which exceeded $1,000 – and Shofner was invited to share UCA’s success story at the 2024 Fundraising AI Global Summit: Generate Good conference, where more than 9,000 registrants from 141 countries learned from her expertise. She co-presented with Gravyty and Susan G. Komen in a session titled Revolutionizing Donor Engagement: How AI Empowers Nonprofits to Scale Mid-Level and Major Gifts.

The annual Women in Business Awards event honors individuals in the Conway area who have demonstrated excellence in leadership and community service, inspiring others on both personal and professional levels.

The Outstanding Woman in Nonprofit Award is presented to individuals working in nonprofit, education or government sectors. Honorees reflect a strong commitment to leadership, service and professional excellence within their fields.

“I am deeply grateful for Lesley’s willingness to take on this important leadership role, and I am excited about the fresh perspective and innovative vision she will bring to Outreach,” UCA Provost Michael Hargis said.

OCE works to meet the diverse needs of university and community partners through comprehensive learning and civic engagement opportunities, including continuing education, customized and non-traditional training, and event planning services.

Graybeal previously led UCA’s community-engaged learning and volunteer engagement initiatives. Her work has included advising leaders of service- and civic engagement-related student organizations, providing training and facilitation for faculty and community partners, and championing constructive dialogue initiatives.

Graybeal holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English and a doctorate in social foundations of education from the University of Georgia. Before joining UCA, she taught first-year writing and coordinated the service-learning program at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina.

51��¥ Associate Professor of History Vaughn Scribner’s book “Under Alien Skies: Environment, Suffering, and the Defeat of the British Military in Revolutionary America” (UNC Press, 2024) has recently garnered national praise.

The book received the Society of the Cincinnati Prize, a major award given annually for an outstanding book that advances the understanding of the American Revolution and its legacy. Other recipients of the award include three Pulitzer Prize winners, two Bancroft prize winners and one Guggenheim Fellow.

Scribner will receive the award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., at the Society’s headquarters on Oct. 8.

“Under Alien Skies” is also one of three finalists for the Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize, which recognizes the best English-language book published on American military history, distinguished by its scholarship, its contribution to the literature, and its appeal to the broadest possible general reading public. The three finalists were chosen from a pool of 95 worth candidates by a three-member jury. The winner will be announced in early October, with a ceremony for the winner and finalists to be held at the Yale Club of New York City on Dec. 2.

The Revolutionary War is often celebrated as marking the birth of American republicanism and representative democracy. In his original research, Scribner illustrates how this could not have been further from the truth for tens of thousands of European troops who ventured across the Atlantic. Collecting first-person accounts and researching foreign soldiers’ negative perceptions of the American environment, Scribner reveals harsh wartime realities and the considerable physical and psychological anguish of British and German soldiers.

“Under Alien Skies” is both an account of the American environment and a study of how new realities met foreign soldiers’ expectations. Those who fought in America under the British flag came to see themselves as strangers in an unfamiliar land. Revolutionary America bore little resemblance to the idyllic vision championed by republican propagandists. Instead, the War of Independence unraveled into a mire of anxiety, devastation and hardships wrought as much by the land itself as by combat. As a work of environmental history, Under Alien Skies is a step toward understanding how the American Revolution was shaped by the environment, both the climate and geography, of North America.

About the Society of Cincinnati Prize

The Society of the Cincinnati Prize recognizes the author of an outstanding book that advances understanding of the American Revolution and its legacy. Established in 1989 as a triennial award, the prize is now presented annually. Honorees have included leading historians as well as rising scholars in the field. The prize was created with a generous endowment gift from the family of Dr. H. Bartholomew Cox.

About the Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize

The purpose of the Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize is to draw public attention to American military history not only as an important staple of education in the areas of international relations, diplomacy, and conflict studies, but also as a subject in which any educated citizen should be interested. The study of the steps to war, conduct of military campaigns, and diplomatic responses to war can play an essential role in the quest for a more peaceable future.

Dr. Mary Bane Lackie, vice president of University Advancement at the 51��¥

Dr. Mary Bane Lackie, vice president of University Advancement at the 51��¥ and president of the UCA Foundation Inc., has been named the 2025 Outstanding Fundraising Professional by the Arkansas Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). She will be recognized Nov. 6 at the 43rd annual National Philanthropy Day Awards Luncheon.

With 39 years of experience in higher education, Lackie began her advancement career in 1996 in alumni affairs and has since built more than 16 years of expertise in fundraising. Her career includes leadership roles at two other Arkansas universities as well as eight and a half years abroad before returning to UCA in 2018 as assistant vice president for Development. She had previously served at UCA in the 1990s in Student Affairs. In 2020, she was named vice president for Advancement and president of the UCA Foundation, which today manages a $66 million endowment and oversees more than $96 million in net assets.

Under her leadership, UCA launched the public phase of its first $100 million campaign in 2021. The campaign concluded 10 months early in 2023, raising more than $109 million. Its impact includes 114 new endowed scholarships and 15 new faculty and programmatic endowments. Today, an average of 900 students receive $1.5 million in assistance from the UCA Foundation each year.

Lackie has strengthened UCA’s fundraising infrastructure by updating policies, implementing best practices and creating the Office of Legacy Planning in 2022. This office educates donors, collaborates with development officers and has already tripled annual planned gifts.

To expand alumni outreach in Northwest Arkansas – which is home to nearly 4,000 UCA graduates – Lackie established a director of Northwest Arkansas Engagement position in 2024. Earlier this year, a four-day alumni and community blitz in the region drew nearly 800 participants. This effort has already yielded an increase in alumni engagement in these counties by 38 percent.

Additional accomplishments under her leadership include modernizing the Foundation’s scholarship application and awarding process, dedicating staff to donor relations, and launching UCA’s first comprehensive donor stewardship plan, which provides individualized endowment reports with student thank-you notes.

Lackie’s professional influence extends globally. She has presented at higher education conferences in Pakistan and has contributed her expertise through pro bono consulting with the Pakistan Higher Education Commission and one of the country’s leading universities. This international engagement not only reflects her personal commitment to advancing higher education worldwide, but also enhances UCA’s reputation as a university with global reach and impact.

Beyond UCA, Lackie is active in Rotary Club 99 of Little Rock, the Kiwanis Club of Conway, PEO International, the Arkansas Women’s Leadership Network, and is a founding board member of the Vilonia Community Development Corporation and the Arkansas Hats & Gloves Society. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the National Cold War Center and engages with AFP, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Association of Governing Boards, and the Education Advisory Board. She is a graduate of Leadership Arkansas Class XII and was named the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 Outstanding Woman in Nonprofit.

Lackie is also personally generous, having established a UCA nursing scholarship in memory of her sister, Vicky Bane Malone, a 1975 graduate of the university’s nursing program. She and her husband Bill reside in Conway and have four grown children and three grandchildren.

About the UCA Foundation

The 51��¥ Foundation Inc. is a nonprofit organization existing solely to benefit the University. Its mission is to fund the margin of excellence at UCA by securing and stewarding private gifts. This includes providing support for things not funded by the state of Arkansas or any other resource, but which make a difference in the quality and impact of UCA.

The entering Schedler Honors College and Schedler Honors Program classes of 2025 have an average high school GPA above 4.1. The Honors College class includes 117 students from Arkansas and 7 students from out of state. All members of the incoming honors class were selected using a holistic admissions process that factors in the applicant’s academic performance, writing ability, and service and leadership potential. The process, which requires written essays, letters of recommendation, and participation in a daylong orientation and interview, has been held up within the national collegiate honors community as one of the most in-depth admissions processes in the nation.The students selected represent an exceptional group of students.

Acceptance into either honors pathway comes with access to supplemental scholarship funding for every student, access to a living-learning community in Jefferson W. Farris Honors Hall, and participation in a unique interdisciplinary curriculum. Students in both programs take part in the high-impact practices of service learning, project-based education, collaborative work, and undergraduate research. Honors students also receive exclusive grant funding support for study abroad, undergraduate research, and internships. Established in 1982 by Norbert O. Schedler under the leadership of then-President Jefferson Farris Jr., the Schedler Honors College at UCA has become one of the most full-featured honors colleges in the nation and is a leader in providing enhanced educational opportunities in a living learning environment designed to develop students as citizen-scholars.

Established in 2018, the Schedler Honors Program, formerly known as the University Scholars Program, is a four-year honors program that operates alongside the Norbert O. Schedler Honors College. The program was started under the leadership of Honors College Dean Patricia Smith and UCA President Houston Davis to increase honors opportunities for a growing number of highly motivated students.

These are the Honors Scholars for fall 2025.

Students using new outdoor solar-powered table.

The 51��¥ has added one outdoor solar-powered table to its campus inventory.��

The table allows individuals sitting at or near the table to charge phones, laptops, tablets, or other devices. It was installed recently by personnel in the Physical Plant.

“We had talked about possibly adding some solar-powered tables to campus for some time, but we had an opportunity to work with our beverage service provider, Pepsi, to have one,” said Kevin Carter, associate vice president for facilities. “We look forward to seeing students’ reactions and usage behaviors, but we think it will be a great addition to campus.”

Branded with the Pepsi and UCA logos, the table was placed in front of the physical therapy building on Bruce Street. This location is heavily used by students in physical therapy and other health care-related classes during fall and spring semesters. With its proximity to Estes Stadium, the table is expected to be regularly used.��

UCA hopes to add more tables like these in the future.

Meghan Cowan

The Institute for Public Procurement has awarded Meghan Cowan, assistant director of Procurement, 51��¥, with the NIGP-CPP certification—the fastest growing globally recognized public procurement certification available.

Achieving the NIGP-CPP affirms that the entity, the supplier community, and the public are working with a procurement professional who has achieved the competencies needed to be a successful leader and has demonstrated mastery in business principles and public procurement strategy.

“Earning my Certified Procurement Professional (CPP) certification is more than an achievement—it’s a powerful step forward in my commitment to strategic leadership, innovative sourcing, and creating lasting impact in the evolving world of procurement,” Cowan said.

The NIGP-CPP has achieved accreditation from the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), the most prestigious personnel certification accreditation program worldwide. This achievement validates that the NIGP-CPP certification, attained by more than 1,500 procurement leaders, meets the rigorous standards of ANAB through the ANSI ISO 17024 standards. These standards are critically important to the public procurement community which frequently incorporates ANSI and ISO requirements in bid specifications and assessments.

NIGP-CPP is the only certification anchored in the Public Procurement Competency Framework. The Framework is rooted in research produced by the Volcker Alliance which seeks effective public service through workforce competencies. NIGP-CPP is a key component of the NIGP Pathways program which integrates learning with credentialing. As the profession evolves through new research, standards, and best practices, the NIGP-CPP will continually adapt, ensuring that the certification remains relevant.

NIGP-CPP represents the future of public procurement certification.

Cowan holds a bachelor’s in psychology and sociology and a master’s in family and consumer Sciences at UCA. She has worked at UCA for over 15 years.

About : The Institute for Public Procurement
With over 17,000 professionals from more than 2,600 local, state, provincial and federal government contracting agencies across the United States and Canada, NIGP has been developing, supporting, and promoting the public procurement profession through premier educational and research programs, professional development, technical services, and advocacy initiatives that benefit members and other important stakeholders.��

UCA student Honey Norfolk

51��¥ student Honey Norfolk has been accepted to the Oregon State University “Robots in the Real World” program.

Norfolk, a Little Rock native, is a junior double majoring in engineering physics and sociology with minors in computer science and interdisciplinary studies.�� 

The 10-week summer initiative is part of the university’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates Site (REU) program, which has run for 11 years. During the program, Norfolk will participate in research and get hands-on learning on social robotics. This will involve designing, implementing, and evaluating social interactions between a Quori robot and people.�� 

Her long-term goal is to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree in robotics to study robotics and artificial intelligence’s ethical and social implications.�� In looking towards her future, Norfolk explored several robotics research opportunities throughout the United States. She received word of her acceptance in March.��

“I was so overwhelmed with joy, I could barely breathe. I had just been accepted to my top choice and couldn’t have been happier. As soon as I calmed down just a little, I called my mom to tell her the news,” she said.��

She credits her successful admission, in part, to William Slaton, UCA professor and engineering physics coordinator,  and Patrick Casey, UCA assistant professor of sociology.�� 

“Both Dr. Slaton and Dr. Casey wrote my recommendation letters, and if there’s anyone I should thank for where I am today, it’s definitely them,” Norfolk said.��

The REU “Robots in the Real World” program runs from June 23 to Aug. 29. More information about the program can be found .��

The 51��¥ has announced the Presidential Scholars and Dean’s List for spring 2025.

Recognition as a Presidential Scholar or Dean’s List scholar is based on grades earned during each semester of the regular academic year. Eligibility on the Dean’s List requires at least a 3.5 GPA with a minimum course load of 12 credit hours. Students must achieve a 4.0 GPA with a minimum course load of 12 credit hours to qualify as a Presidential Scholar.

More than 1,200 students qualified to be Presidential Scholars. More than 1,400 students qualified as Dean’s List scholars. They are listed below: