>Stuff to Do this Spring
{Besides just being thankful that miserable winter is finally over.}
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UA FORT SMITH’S new bronze lion sculpture—nicknamed Numa after the lion in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan stories—is 14 feet long and weighs some 4,000 pounds. Unlike some previous incarnations of the University's mascot, there's nothing cuddly or cartoonish about Numa, whose imposing dental work is pictured at left.
Created by internationally recognized artist Jon Hair, the sculpture is supported only at its back feet. The massive body is extended forward, counter-balanced in mid-lunge by eight tons of concrete. MAHG Architecture of Fort Smith and Myers-Beatty Engineering of Van Buren cooperated on the pedestal.
Numa was paid for with private gifts from the estates of Sally McSpadden Boreham and Pearl D. Raney.
Join us for the unveiling April 28 at 2 p.m. at Lion Plaza in front of the Stubblefield Center and the intersection of Waldron Road and Kinkead Avenue. |
Spend an Afternoon
with Garrison Keillor
Each week, Garrison Keillor shares his steady thoughtfulness, old- fashioned values, traditional songs, and dry humor through his critically acclaimed radio show A Prairie Home Companion. He'll appear live in Fort Smith May 2 as part of the University's Season of Entertainment. Call (479) 788-7300 or visit www.uafortsmith.edu/Season for tickets and info.
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Read Our Brand-new Magazine
That's right--the inaugural issue of Bell Tower, the alumni magazine of UA Fort Smith, will hit mailboxes the first  week of May! It's mailed free of charge to graduates of UA Fort Smith, Westark, and Fort Smith Junior College and registered members of the alumni online community (click the link at upper right to register now). Watch for feature stories on the UA Fort Smith Arboretum and Anna Kasten Nelson '52, class notes, an interview with Dr. Keith Fudge, Lions athletic coverage, a history of our student newspapers and much more.
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Catch UA Fort Smith's Symphonic Band in Concert
UA Fort Smith's Symphonic Band, one of the most dynamic in the region, performs April 22 at the Arkansas Best Performing Arts Center downtown. Director of Bands Dr. Alexandra Zacharella says the concert "will take the audience through a journey of music with international flare, from the sounds of Korea and Russia to the isles of Great Britain and into the mist of Scottish folklore." Call (479) 788-7300 or visit www.uafortsmith.edu/Season for tickets (just $6).
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>Regional Receptions Bring Alumni Together
{Alumni Association 'road show' stops in Tulsa, Dallas and Northwest Arkansas.}
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The UA Fort Smith Alumni Association hosted Regional Receptions earlier this spring in Tulsa, Dallas-Fort Worth and Northwest Arkansas. Guests got a kick out of flipping through the Association's yearbook collection (above). Alumni at the receptions also reconnected with old friends, visited with the Chancellor, listened to live music, enjoyed dinner and refreshments, and left loaded down with T-shirts and other goodies. Check out the slideshows from Tulsa, Dallas, and NWA.
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>New Student Alumni Association Forms
{Contradiction in terms? Nope, just a unique liaison group.}
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"Student Alumni Association" might sound like a contradiction in terms, but Student and Young Alumni Coordinator Katie Schluterman says it's not. The Association's mission is to increase awareness of the UA Fort Smith Alumni Association among current students while instilling in them ideas of tradition, leadership and volunteerism. "The goal is to reach out to the entire student body and create a link between students and alumni," Schluterman says. That will be achieved in large part through on-campus events. The 10-member SAA board of directors (above), led by President Sarah Davis (far left), was chosen through an application and interview process. Learn more at the SAA homepage.
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Young Alumni Launch Blog
{Catch up with another recent grad every Friday.} |  | Every Friday, the
brand-new UA Fort Smith Young Alumni Blog will feature a different
recent graduate. Our alumni are doing great things and
have great stories to tell. From the blog site you can subscribe to
RSS feeds, become a follower of the blog, and post comments about the
featured alumni. Click HERE to check it out!
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| Rachel Solley '06
(right) led off the blog March 26. Solley, who graduated with a
Bachelor's in Business Administration, relocated to Chicago, where she
works as Branch Manager of ABF Freight's La Salle, Illinois terminal. "I have fully adapted to the city life" writes Solley. "During my free time I go to the
Chicago Theater district to attend the Broadway shows. Then I have to
make the tough decision of which Chicago deep dish pizza or a famous
Chicago hot dog I should have for dinner!" |
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>What's Your Story?
{Leave Fort Smith behind for the bright lights of the city? Tell us about it.}
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Rachel Solley moved to Chicago. Jazz drummer Aaron Ewing '06 moved to Manhattan. And Deborah Lafferty '05, profiled below, went to London. Have you got a good story about leaving Fort Smith for the big city? Email it to us! We love getting photos, too!
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>And Now for Something Completely Different
{Deborah Lafferty '05 on higher ed in the UK, English food, and study abroad}
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Dr. Deborah Lafferty '05 in Trafalgar Square,
UA Fort Smith shirt and all.
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After earning her bachelor’s in English, Deborah Lafferty ’05 went straight into a doctorate program at King’s College London. She had put both her children through school and found herself with the opportunity to do, as she puts it, whatever she wanted, wherever she wanted.
At King’s, she studied British and American social history including Anglo-American girlhood and building Transnational/Transatlantic identities during the late Victorian/Edwardian periods. She taught US History, Culture of the American South and Research Methodology for the History department.
We asked her via email about her time at UA Fort Smith, higher
education in the UK, English food, and what’s next. Here’s some of what she had
to say:
Diversity of experience:
I was interested in an educational experience that was a polar opposite
to UA Fort Smith, thinking the more diverse my experience, the better candidate
I would be for a teaching position in the future. I had hoped to return to UA
Fort Smith to teach one day, so I wanted somewhere really different, remarkable.
The United Kingdom was at the top of my list in the English-speaking world. I had
acceptances there from University of Kent, Exeter and King's.
 London in 25 words or less: Diverse! Exotic. Historic. Beautiful. Inspiring. Fast-paced,
not always very friendly, driven, competitive. It values the arts, is full of
secret passages, hidden history, discrete treasures.
Better food than you’ve heard: Food here is fresher with fewer preservatives and less sugar
so it tastes really good. Each region has special foods: Cornish pasties, a
whole meal in a pie; fish and chips, a seaside delight; lamb and Scottish beef
are yummy. But desserts ... be still my heart! The variety is amazing.
Now, having said that...some of their flavors are just weird. Beef and
prawn flavored potato chips? Dandelion and burdock (thistle) soda? Marmite (yeast
extract spread) on toast? Deep fried Mars bars? Just gross! But they feel the
same way about our iced tea, pumpkin pie and biscuits and gravy... more
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>Celebrate the Season
{Help us honor UA Fort Smith's student-athletes at the Athletic Banquet}
| Celebrate UA Fort Smith’s first year of NCAA competition
and the successes of our student-athletes at the April 29 Athletic
Banquet. Coaches will present special awards, student-athletes will
tell  their
stories, the pep band and spirit squad will be recognized and the Lions
Athletic Club Member of the Year will be named. Dinner is beef burgundy
or grilled chicken with salad, green beans, corn, potatoes, rolls and
lemon or chocolate cake. Tickets are $25 per person or $200 for a table
of eight. Want to attend? Call Assistant Athletic Director Beth Presley
at (479) 788-7575 or email bpresley@uafortsmith.edu. |
>Kat's Eye
{Music students and faculty in concert as seen by campus photographer Kat Wilson}
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GET CONNECTED! Not yet registered? Haven't visited in a while? What are you waiting for? Reconnect with old friends and make new connections with fellow alumni. If you're new to the community, just go to www.uafortsmithalumni.com and click "First time login" at the top of the page.
Updated Members
Allspach, Kathryn
Arbaugh, Jerry
Atchley, Jacob
Baxter, Stephanie
Beshears, Lisa
Biggs, Jared
Bowers, Rosalie
Cade, Jamaal
Carter, Zachary
Chanthaseny, Alayne
Clayton, John
Cowell, Tiffany
Cullefer, Audra
Dally, Mark
Dally, Toni
Dedmon, Crystal
Donaldson, Melissa
Ellison, Eugenie
Engster, Devan
Eubanks, Ashley
Fields, Jennifer
Fiori, V.
Flynn, Claire
Foster, Stephen
Franks, Angel
Frost, Roy
Garner, Kristine
Geisbauer, Joseph
Gentry, Tanya
Gilstrap, Beverly
Grady, James
Gregory, Julie
Halladay, Alma
Hampel, Amanda
Harmon, Rebecca
Hart, Amanda
Hendershot, Jacob
Hobson, Rachel
Holland, Linda
Holt, Julie
Hominick, Margaret
Howerton, Lisa
Johnson, Deborah
Jones, Brandy
Jones, Lisa
Keen, Alicia
Kelly, Shelly
Kendall, Heather
Khamphouvong, Songka
Kirby, Tiffaney
Kispert, Daniel
Lane, Lisa
Laxson, Shannon
Ledford, Tracy
Lee, Cara
Leins, Mark
Lindsey, Megan
Longoria, Monica
McDaniel, Christine
McDaniel, Lydia
McGehee, Tawny
Mehrbakhsh, Jessica
Meyers, Sherrie
Mobley, Brian
Montgomery, Jan
Morris, Lindsey
Nevels, Brian
Patton, Lisa
Payne, R. David
Pelt-Henry, Alicia
Perkins, Angela
Pierce, Jenna
Povah, Amy
Rainwater, Cynthia
Rainwater, Erika
Ratcliffe, Zachary
Reynolds, Don
Rhodes, Richard
Rice, Shawna
Rogers, Amy
Shackelford, Bobby
Shores, Melissa
Short, Jane
Smith, Melissa
Smith, Nicole
Southerland, Deborah
Spears, Kristen
Stinson, Nathaniel
Swaim, Randall
Sweet, Gary
Thaler, Adam
Thompson, Christy
Tigner, Kenneth
Watson, Philip
Wertheimer, Lisa
Wewers, Randy
Williams, Brian
Wilson, Chad
Wisner, Marsha
Witcher, Lacey
Show Your
PRIDE!
Did you know you can order UA Fort Smith gear--hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts, clothes for kids and toddlers, drinkware, license plate frames and lots more--online through the Lions Bookstore? Gear up and show your pride!
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FANS WANTED
{For the UA Fort Smith Alumni Facebook page.}
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