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| Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences Weekly Vision is e-mailed weekly to faculty and staff of Bumpers College and the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Division of Agriculture. This service is primarily for timely announcement of news and events for the AAES and Bumpers College. Submit items to hmedders@uark.edu. You may also wish to submit items to headline@uark.edu for posting on "UA Daily Headlines" for campus-wide distribution. |
| Sept. 14, 2009 |
1. Bumpers College enrollment increases 5.8 percent
2. Board of Trustees rename Fruit Station for Cole Westbrook, first director
3. Plant Pathology Centennial Seminar Series continues - Friday
4. Entomology honors distinguished alumnus
5. College hosts reception at Butterfield Trail Village
6. Meisch, Brown and Savin recognized for teaching awards
7. CSES students, faculty celebrate new year
8. Ambassadors host 'Cookie Break'
9. Bumpers College launches Twitter page
10. Save the Dates for faculty reception and scholarship luncheon
11. Save the Date for Division of Agriculture Awards Luncheon, Jan. 8
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1. Bumpers College enrollment increases 5.8 percent
Bumpers College enrollment increased for the 13th straight year to a new record total of 1,772 students, an increase of 5.8 percent over fall 2008. Undergraduate enrollment totaled 1,429 this fall compared to 1,388 last fall. Graduate student enrollment increased from 284 to 312.
Campus enrollment of 19,849 students is also a record and is a 3.4 percent increase over last fall, which is one of the largest increases in recent years.
The state of Arkansas requires institutions of higher education to report enrollment figures for students who are registered on the 11th day of classes. The enrollment numbers are not officially reported to the state until later, and there are often differences between the 11th day "snapshot" and the final enrollment numbers.
Total undergraduate enrollment for the campus is up 2.7 percent to 15,835 students, and total graduate enrollment is up 7.3 percent to 3,616 students. Enrollment at the School of Law is unchanged at 398 students.
Approximately 4.3 percent more students chose to stay enrolled in the university this year than in 2008. There also was a small increase this year in the number of students transferring from other institutions.
In-state students make up 69.5 percent of the student body. Enrollment of out-of-state students increased 9.7 percent from last year, and international student enrollment is up 11.5 percent.
Minority enrollment now makes up 14.3 percent of the student population at the university. The 1,040 African American students make up the largest minority group, comprising 5.2 percent of the student population. There are 699 Hispanic students (3.5 percent of total enrollment); 486 Asian American students (2.4 percent); 331 American Indian students (1.7 percent); 13 Hawaiian students (less than 0.1 percent); 272 students of two or more races (1.4 percent); and 1,156 students who identify themselves as citizens of a foreign country (5.8 percent). A total of 180 students (0.9 percent) did not provide information.
Men make up 51.4 percent of the student body, 48.6 percent of the students are women. This split is on par with 2008, when men comprised 51 percent of the student body, and women 49 percent.
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2. Board of Trustees rename Fruit Station for Cole Westbrook, first director
The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees at its Sept. 5 meeting renamed the Fruit Research Station at Clarksville in honor of the first station resident director, the late Cole Westbrook.
Westbrook served as resident director from the start of the station in 1948 to 1976. First known as the Peach Substation, it was started in response to an initiative of the Johnson County Peach Growers Association and Farm Bureau, which leased 40 acres of land near Lamar for peach research.
In the spring of 1959, when it became apparent that I-40 would require part of the property, the Johnson County Peach Growers Association and local businessmen purchased 50 acres on Red Lick Mountain seven miles north of Clarksville, which is the present location. About 210 acres at two locations are currently used for research and extension programs.
Renamed the Fruit Substation and then the Fruit Research Station, programs now coordinated by Station Director Dan Chapman were expanded to include blackberries, grapes, blueberries, apples and other Arkansas adapted stone fruits and berries.
The blackberry breeding program started by University Professor Emeritus James N. Moore in the 1960s, and now conducted by Professor John R. Clark, has become he most successful in the world in terms of the number and impact of improved varieties released by the Division of Agriculture. Thornless varieties with improved traits for withstanding shipping and storage led to development of a market for blackberries as a fruit that can be shipped, stored and sold in grocery stores.
The Board of Trustees praised Westbrook's contributions in a resolution presented to his son, Dr. Kent Westbrook, distinguished professor of surgery at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The resolution said Cole Westbrook:
-- helped foster the modern commercial fruit industry in Arkansas by transforming the Fruit Research Station into an internationally recognized center conducting breeding, cultivar evaluations, and cultural and other research on peaches, apples, pears, plums, nectarines, apricots, cherries, grapes, blueberries, and blackberries;
-- was a leader who did more with less and often bragged that 90% of what he and his staff earned was the opportunity to work at a beautiful place;
-- created an indelible folklore of instruction, amusement and common sense, and was known for an ability to mention the Fouke Monster and quote Shakespeare in the same sentence, to nurture green graduate students or veteran researchers, and most of all, for setting standards of excellence on how to treat people, resources, and responsibilities; and
-- family, friends, colleagues, and beneficiaries of his work cherish Cole's lasting legacy of service to an industry he loved, concern for the welfare of his fellow man, and commitment to discovery and learning.
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3. Plant Pathology Centennial Seminar Series continues - Friday
The Plant Pathology Centennial Seminar Series will continue with alumnus J.W. Moore as the speaker on Friday, Sept. 18, at 1:30 p.m. in Plant Science 09. Moore received a doctorate in plant science in 2007 at the University of Arkansas and is currently Senior Station Superintendent, Cimarron Valley Research Station, Oklahoma State University at Perkins, and he is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at OSU.
Moore's presentation is titled, "Professional Life After the Degree: The Beginning of My Journey."
The UA Department of Plant Pathology was established in 1909 and is the oldest standing department of plant pathology in a university in the United States, according to University Professor David TeBeest, who is coordinating the centennial activities with Department Head Rick Bennett and Assistant Professor Y. Tzanetakis.
Centennial seminars will be held throughout the fall featuring emeritus faculty and alumni who represent different research areas within the discipline of plant pathology over several decades. The speakers hold a diverse range of positions with responsibilities in research, extension and administration in academia and industry.
Future speakers will include Jeff Hoy, professor, Louisiana State University; William Dolezal, research fellow, Pioneer Hi-Bred International; Paula Argudelo, assistant professor, Clemson University; and Steven Slack, associate vice president for agriculture and director of the Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center. Possible additional speakers and schedules will be announced.
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4. Entomology honors distinguished alumnus
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| Richard Brown, BSA '70, MS '73, was named the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus in entomology. Brown, third from left, with his siblings, Stanley Brown, BSA '63; Joyce Bequette, BS '63; and Elvin Brown, BSA '63, MS '69. |
Richard Brown, professor of entomology and plant pathology at Mississippi State University, was presented the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Award for the department of entomology during a reception Sept. 11. Brown is also a faculty member of the Mississippi State Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine.
Brown, an Arkansas native, earned a bachelor of science degree in zoology at the University of Arkansas in 1970 and a master's degree in entomology in 1973. He has three siblings who also are U of A alumni: Stanley Brown, BSA '63; Joyce Bequette, BS '63; and Elvin Brown, BSA '63, MS '69.
Earlier in the day, Dr. Brown gave a lecture, "The search for moths and incongruous paradigms - a 40 year retrospective."
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5. College hosts reception at Butterfield Trail Village
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| Butterfield Trail Village residents with ties to Bumpers College, students, faculty and staff pose for a photo during a reception Sept. 10 to honor them for their service to the college and support for student scholarships. |
Interim Dean Lalit Verma and other faculty and staff hosted a reception for alumni and emeritus faculty and staff living at Butterfield Trail Village in Fayetteville and students who have received scholarships sponsored by many of the residents there.
Verma said at least 30 residents have ties to the college, and that they have contributed more than $1.5 million to scholarships and other development programs.
Brooke Jackson, an agricultural business major speaking on behalf of the students, said the scholarships make it possible for some to stay in college and they allow others to devote more time to their studies rather than jobs to help meet expenses.
"Personally, this scholarship means the world to me," said Jackson, who was able to study abroad this summer in Byron Bay, Australia.
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6. Meisch, Brown and Savin recognized for teaching awards
Max Meisch, University Professor emeritus of entomology; A. Hayden Brown, professor of animal science; and Mary Savin, associate professor of crop, soil, and environmental sciences, were honored at a Sept. 10 Teaching Awards Reception co-sponsored by the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center and the Teaching Academy.
The reception was to honor those who have received awards that had been previously announced.
Meisch had received the Arkansas Teaching Academy's John and Lois Imhoff Award for Outstanding Teaching and Student Mentorship.
Division of Agriculture and Bumpers College awards presented to Brown and Savin, respectively, were the Jack G. Justus Award for Teaching Excellence and the John W. White Outstanding Teaching Award.
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7. CSES students, faculty celebrate new year
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| Robert Bacon, head of the crop, soil and environmental sciences department, visits with Brazilian exchange students, from left, Mateus Varriano, Giovanni Tamiozzo and Julio Büll during the department's welcome party for new and returning students Sept. 1. | CSES student Sara Potter makes a dirt shirt during the department's welcome party for new and returning students Sept. 1. |
Students, faculty and staff in the department of crop, soil and environmental sciences celebrated the start of a new academic year with a departmental picnic Sept. 1 in the garden area north of the Agriculture Building. Activities including making "dirt shirts," which are dyed with a red clay.
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8. Ambassadors host 'Cookie Break'
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| Bumpers College Ambassadors hosted a “Cookie Break” for students, faculty and staff Sept. 11 in the Home Economics Building. The Ambassadors host the Cookie Break each Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in a different Bumpers College building. The Cookie Break will be in the Poultry Science Building Sept. 18 and in the Plant Science Building Sept. 25. |
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9. Bumpers College launches Twitter page
Bumpers College is starting to tweet to the world. The college now has a Twitter page at http://twitter.com/bumperscollege. Twitter is a social media outlet known for limiting its posts to no more than 140 characters.
It's not necessary to have a Twitter account to see what the college posts there, but anyone who does have an account is encouraged to become a "follower" of Bumpers College to receive all the college's posts announcements on their own Twitter home page. Anyone with an account needs only to go to the college's Twitter page and hit the "follow" button.
The college will post links to its news releases, announcements of events and other information from personnel who want to get the word out quickly to the college's friends.
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10. Save the Dates for faculty reception and scholarship luncheon
The annual Fall Faculty Reception is scheduled for Sept. 24 and the Bumpers College Scholarship Luncheon will be October 9.
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11. Save the Date for Division of Agriculture Awards Luncheon, Jan. 8
Faculty and staff awards will be presented at the Division of Agriculture Awards Luncheon Jan. 8, 2010, in Little Rock.
AAES and Bumpers College Web sites:
http://aaes.uark.edu/
http://bumperscollege.uark.edu/