University of Arkansas - Fort Smith - Lion Lines, Back-to-School '09

>Stuff to Do this Fall
{Don't just sit there. Seriously.}

Keep on Learning

obert Hawkins knew he was close to the firebase, but he couldn't see the ground. It was a spring night in 1970 -- monsoon season in Vietnam-- and he was returning to base after escorting a medevac chopper into enemy territory. Lightning lit the tropical sky, but the real problem was the rain -- a lashing, torrential downpour that beat against the Cobra's canopy and obscured the ground, leaving Hawkins in what amounted to total blackness. Eventually, he was able to radio men below, who powered-up four massive spotlights that cut through the storm, and he followed the beams to safety.

The story is just one of many from Hawkins's lifetime of flying helicopters and fixed-wing planes all over the world, often in extreme weather conditions. The retired Army aviator will show slides and talk about his experiences and about local weather phenomena Oct. 19 as part of the Center for Lifelong Learning's Ask the Expert series. For a full listing off all CLL offerings -- which range from computer workshops to art surveys to educational tours to business outreach and professional development programs -- check the CLL website.

Catch a Show

The high-energy UA Fort Smith Jazz Band plays the downtown convention center with the University's award-winning Jazz Catz vocal ensemble Nov. 20. You can bet the concert will, as usual, sell out. Andthat's just one of nearly 20 great shows on the 29th Season of Entertainment calendar.

Hit the Road…

…with the men’s basketball team when the Lions travel to Lincoln, Nebraska Nov. 6 for an exhibition game against the Cornhuskers. UA Fort Smith Head Coach Josh Newman and his Lions were invited to Lincoln by Huskers coach Doc Sadler, a Greenwood native, who coached at UA Fort Smith from 1998 to 2003, leading his teams to four consecutive conference championships.

For $150 a head, double occupancy, you ride in style on a chartered bus (with satellite TV for Razorback football fans), watch the game at Nebraska’s Bob Devaney Sports Center, enjoy a post-game reception and stay at the Lincoln Quality Inn. The bus returns Nov. 7. Of course, you can arrange your own transportation, too. Contact Beth Presley for details: (479)788-7575 or bpresley@uafortsmith.edu.

Meet Judge Parker

Fort Smith's best-known historical figure, Judge Isaac C. Parker, was a much more complicated figure than the "Hanging Judge" he has been portrayed as in film and fiction, says local historian Jacqulyn West.In fact, he was an early advocate of victims' rights and of the rights of Indian nations, as well as a civic leader who helped establish Fort Smith's public schools and what is today Sparks Hospital.

"It's possible," says West, "that another person in the same position could have achieved similar results, but it was Parker who did. He was driven, determined and felt a huge sense of personal responsibility."

Join West Sept. 28 for a historic tour of Fort Smith to learn more about Parker, his prosecuting attorney William Clayton and how Fort Smith's fascinating history informs our region today. Sign up at the Center for Lifelong Learning.

>'They did a lot of loving over there'
{UA Fort Smith Nursing students travel to a pediatric hospital in Uganda.}

In May of 2009, four UA Fort Smith Nursing students and three faculty members traveled to Mbale, Uganda, in the heart of East Africa, to work side by side

Most patients at the hospital have neurological disorders
like hydrocephalus. more photos

with nurses and doctors at a world-renowned pediatric neurological hospital. They monitored the ICU, dressed wounds, observed surgeries and immersed themselves in the culture. Above all, though, says trip leader Pam Blesch, "They did a lot of loving over there."

The two-week trip was part of UA Fort Smith's new Maymester program. Next year, Blesch will lead a group to an acute care facility in Vancouver, Canada and then possibly South America the following year.

People talk so much these days about "life-changing experiences" that we can almost forget they really happen. But they do. more photos

>If You Build It...
{Scratch that. They're already here -- and waiting in line.}

In response to a steady increase in "traditional freshmen" (first-year students enrolling full-time the fall after they graduate from high school) and students from outside the Fort Smith area, UA Fort Smith broke ground this summer on its first classic dorm-style residence halls. High time, too; the waiting list for fall 2009 on-campus housing grew to more than 100 at one point in mid-summer

Unlike Sebastian Commons -- where students live in 1-, 2- and 4-bedroom apartments -- the new complex will feature traditional dorm rooms arranged in suites with shared living areas and bathrooms. Residents of the new, freshman-focused dorms will be required to sign up for a full meal plan. We're talking the real "freshman experience"here -- dining hall and all.

Fortunately, it's a pretty nice dining hall -- an airy, modern, 9,500-square foot facility complete with shaded, cafe-style outdoor seating. The exterior of the four-story dorms will be mostly -- you guessed it -- “Westark Red” brick, but the complex will share the sharp, contemporary looks of the nearby Pendergraft Health Sciences Center.

dorm digest
feet² in residence halls 110,000
feet² in dining hall 9,500
student beds 446
residential floors 4 per building
projected completion date 0710
ext. color Westark red, baby

*Interesting factoid: although the Pendergraft Health Sciences Center is only three stories, the four-story residence hall complex won’t be quite as tall. That was a deliberate choice. Pendergraft was named to recognize a $5 million gift from longtime UA Fort Smith benefactor Donnie Pendergraft. It remains the largest single gift UA Fort Smith has ever received from an individual, and university officials want to ensure that Pendergraft remains a signature facility of the campus.

The four-story complex will share the same look as the Pendergraft Health Sciences Center.The dining hall is at right.See-through students for demonstration purposes only.

>What's Your Story?
{Hey, we don't want to write this whole thing ourselves.}

The funny thing about life -- well, one of lots of funny things about it --is that you don't always end up doing quite what you started out to.Studio art majors become CFOs. Chemistry majors start daycares.Accounting majors run boutiques.

How about you? We'd love to hear from UA Fort Smith alumni working miles outside their majors. What did you study? What do you do now? How did you end up there? Does your "off-topic" degree give you a little edge somehow? Would you go back and study something more closely related to your job, or are you happy with the way you did things?

Email us your story! We'll run the ones we get in the next issue.

>Numbers Game {UA Fort Smith's remarkable volleyball program}
400	Total wins in Head Coach Jane Sargent's 11-year career at UA Fort Smith. Losses: 85.
91.6	Win percentage for the 2008 season, the team's best ever. That's 44-4, by the way.
7	Consecutive seasons finishing atop the volleyball schools of the Bi-State Conference.
6	Total Regional Tournament championships, including the last four seasons.
6	NJCAA National Tournament berths in the last 7 years (capped by a runner-up title in 2008).
100	Percentage of 2009 starters using risky, aggressive jump-serves.
2	Times the Lady Lions have scored the most aces of any team at the National Tournament.
11	Returning players on the team's 14-player roster, including 2 All-Americans.
28	Hours of pre-season practice per week. That's 5 per day M-F and 3 more on Sunday.
48"	Vertical jump of 5'11" middle hitter Heidi Luks, who came to Fort Smith from Tallin, Estonia.
$6	Price of a ticket to watch these incredible athletes in action. Check the full schedule!

>Kat's Eye
{UA Fort Smith as seen by campus photographer Kat Wilson}

more night and evening glamor shots

GET CONNECTED! {with UA Fort Smith's Alumni Online Community}

FANS WANTED {For the UA Fort Smith Alumni Facebook page.}

WHAT'S NEW WITH WHO
{Class Notes}

GET CONNECTED! {with UA Fort Smith's Alumni Online Community}

FANS WANTED {For the UA Fort Smith Alumni Facebook page.}

WHAT'S NEW WITH WHO {Class Notes}

WHAT'S NEW WITH WHO
{Class Notes}