March 17, 2008

1. GSD Honors Faculty Members

2. Pat Fenn Tree Dedication Today, 4 p.m.

3. High School Students Delve into Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

4. Students Continue Monday Dinners at Ella's
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1. GSD Honors Faculty Members

The Arkansas chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta has announced the winners of its three faculty awards. The awards are presented to GSD faculty who have made outstanding contributions to their respective fields of teaching, research or extension programs in the previous five years. The winners for 2008 are:

Teaching Award -- Kristofor Brye, associate professor of crop, soil, and environmental sciences (applied soil physics);

Research Award -- James McD. (Mac) Stewart, University professor of crop, soil, and environmental sciences (biotechnology/cotton); and

Extension Award - Michael French, associate director-programs, Cooperative Extension Service.

The recipients will be recognized during the spring awards and initiate recognition ceremony at 3:30 p.m. March 25 at the Hembree Auditorium of the AFLS Building, which will be open to the campus community. The afternoon ceremony replaces the evening banquet that the chapter has sponsored in recent years. The goal is to encourage an atmosphere of academic excellence and leadership in a professional atmosphere. Chapter Vice President Bruce Dixon is planning the event with assistance from the chapter officers and membership.
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2. Pat Fenn Tree Dedication Today, 4 p.m.

A St. Patrick's Day dedication ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Monday (today) for a memorial tree planted in Patrick Fenn's honor east of the Plant Sciences Building. Fenn, a professor of plant pathology, died Jan. 28, 2007.
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3. High School Students Delve into Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Entomology graduate student Robin Verble discusses "Amazing Insects" with high school juniors and seniors from northwest Arkansas schools during the Bumpers College Science Day at the educational cooperative at Farmington.		George Wardlow, professor of agricultural and extension education, leads a professional development class for northwest Arkansas teachers whose students attended the Bumpers College Science Day at Farmington March 10.		Tom Yazwinski, professor of animal science, shows a "small" tapeworm to northwest Arkansas high school students during a session on parasitology in livestock and pets.

More than 100 high school and junior high school students probed the structure of DNA, built batteries from potatoes and tested the chemical foundations of foods during two Bumpers College Science Day programs.

The Prospective Student Relations Committee sponsored the programs, "Exploring Your World Through Science," Feb. 25 at North Arkansas College in Harrison and March 10 at the Northwest Arkansas Educational Cooperative in Farmington. It was the second such program at Harrison, where 74 students from seven north-central junior high schools attended. It was the first at Farmington with 46 students from six northwest Arkansas high schools.

Diana Bisbee, coordinator of off-campus education, said the program at Farmington introduced high school juniors and seniors to science careers through Bumpers College majors. The outreach program at Harrison was aimed at broadening understanding of science and building interest in Bumpers College majors for ninth grade students.

In both events, Bumpers College faculty, students and staff and Washington County Extension Service staff introduced the students to various areas of science important to agricultural, food and life sciences.

The students experienced hands-on activities that delved into such diverse topics as Kirchoff's voltage laws, the structure of DNA, the genetic activity of diseases in plants, water quality issues in a watershed, measuring fruit quality in apples and other sciences.

George Wardlow, professor and interim department head of agricultural and extension education also led a professional development workshop for eight teachers during the Science Day program at Farmington.
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4. Students Continue Monday Dinners at Ella's

Students in the hospitality and restaurant management program who prepare and serve dinner every Monday at Ella's Restaurant in the Inn at Carnall Hall are taking a break for Spring Break, but will continue on March 24. For reservations call Nola at 575-3245 or email her at nmagee@uark.edu.

For Monday, March 24, the theme will be En "Thai" Ching. The dinner will include a ginger Thai salad of iceberg lettuce and julienne carrots drizzled with a Thai-style ginger dressing; chicken and pasta with peanut sauce, served with fettuccine, fresh pineapple, pea pods, and creamy peanut sauce to top it off; and Thai fried bananas, topped with shredded, browned coconut, served with a thick and creamy yogurt and garnished with lime slice.
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