Honors Student Receive Travel Funds

Today Southern Arkansas University and the Southern Arkansas University Foundation disbursed nearly $10,000 in travel funds to students who had applied for those monies. The funds had been donated by an anonymous benefactor and specifically designated to fund student travel.

Thirty two students submitted individual applications along with a half dozen student groups, representing over 60 students, requesting a total of over $31,000. Faced by such overwhelming demand the committee decided to limit grants to those students making presentations or otherwise benefiting educationally from travel. Students who only wished to attend meetings could not be funded, the committee decided. In addition, the committee attempted to fund as many students as possible and to be sure that students from all colleges were represented.

Many of those funded were honors students. In all cases involving honors students the Honors College funded 50% of their requests. Those funds came from monies donated earlier to the Honors College. No funds came from Honors College state appropriated monies. Honors College students funded included members of the English honor society Sigma Tau Delta: Morgan Johnson, Kody Kasper, Majesta Miles, James Schlag, and Clinton Winters. Those students will travel to Portland and will present their prose and poetry at the national meeting of Sigma Tau Delta.

Honors biology majors Samson King and Subir Shakya were funded so they could each present their botanical research on the genus Passiflora at the Southern Regional Honors Council meeting in Louisville.

Engineering physics major Zachary Pinson received funds so that he could attend the Idea Network for Biomedical Research Excellence held in Fayetteville, AR. There he will present data from his NASA funded research on male and female undergraduate engineering students.

Wildlife Management major Deana Hughes was granted funds to attend the meeting of the Arkansas Academy of Science meeting in Little Rock. She will present data collected while at the Grand Canyon Honors semester she attended during the Fall of 2012 at Northern Arizona University.

Michelle Beavers was awarded funds so that she could attend the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Summer Program. There she will work alongside full time professional researchers. 

The SAU Honors College provided $2,650 of its own funds, collected previously from donors, to the students listed above. The SAU Foundation also provided them with $2,650. One of the goals of the Honors College is to have as many of its students as possible take advantage of extramural opportunities. Combining funds in this manner makes it possible to fund more students.

In addition to the honors students, 43 regular students also received funds for trips to Little Rock.

Serving on the committee were: Abdel Bachri, Alec Testa, Jason Martisek, Jeanie Bismark, Josh Kee, Penny McGlawn, Sheryl Edwards, Svetlana Paulson, and Edward Kardas.

The SAU Foundation is hopeful that the donor will find her contribution well spent and will continue to fund similar travel requests in the future.

Honors College Donors Give Suraj an iPad Mini

David Wingfield presents Suraj Manandhar, Honors College graduate assistant, with a 32 mb, white, iPad Mini as a graduation present.

Honors College graduate assistant Suraj Manandhar recently received an engraved iPad Mini to commemorate his graduation. He will receive a MS in Computer and Information Sciences on Friday, December 14, 2012.

The inscription of the back of his iPad reads:

Suraj Manandhar, MS, 2012, SAU
Computer and Information Science

In addition, a thank you note enclosed in the box read as follows:

The Honors College thanks you for your time and efforts!

During his time with the Honors College Suraj was the indispensable person in charge of the college's servers. He also contributed many software innovations including the SAU Map iOS app. He will be sorely missed.

No public funds were used to provide Suraj with the iPad Mini. Donors were David Rankin, Donna Allen, Jasper Lewis, Trey Berry, Paul McLendon, Jan Duke, John Hawkins, Deborah Wilson, and David Wingfield. The Honors College thanks them for their generosity.

Students Win NASA Grant

Two students recently won a grant from NASA via the Arkansas Space Science Consortium in the amount of $27,300. The two students, Courtney Phillips and Zachary Pinson, (pictured below) will conduct research titled:

Prospective job satisfaction: Female ENGR Students

Here is a brief description of their planned research:

Inspired by recent research on differential attrition of engineering graduates by gender (Fouad & Singh, 2011) this project will survey female and male undergraduate engineering from public universities in Arkansas. The main variable to be assessed will be prospective job satisfaction. Other variables will include GPA and the "Big Five" personality factors: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism along with GPA and math proficiency. We will create a questionnaire and administer it face-to-face to groups at the various colleges offering undergraduate engineering programs.

 Courtney Phillips

Zachary Pinson

Magnolia/Columbia County Literacy Council Needs Help

Magnolia/Columbia Literacy Council’s Teen Tutoring Program is in dire need of additional funding. This program was formed in 2001 when the literacy council tested 60 teens (16-17 year olds) to see if they qualified for the GED program and only 3 made the scores necessary to enroll according to state law. The literacy council recognized that something needed to be done about this problem and initiated the teen tutoring program to tutor these teens until they could score the required 8.5 (eighth grade, fifth month). Since that time approximately 70 teens have graduated. These teens would never have graduated without the teen tutoring program.


This vital program exists on grants and donations only. THE LITERACY COUNCIL NEEDS HELP. No federal or state money goes toward its support. THEY are $15,000.00 short of what it will take to run a morning and an afternoon class this year.


Peoples Bank Community Enrichment Endowment through the Arkansas Community Foundation has chosen to match dollar for dollar every contribution UP TO $5,000 made to this program before February 28, 2012. Thanks to the generous donations of $1,500.00 from the Rotary Club of Magnolia and another anonymous donor giving $1,500.00 our funds for matching are NOW up to $3,600.00. YOU MAY HELP BY DONATING AND spreadING the word TO OTHERS about THE NEEDS OF THIS very worthy cause.


Checks (tax deductible) mail to: Magnolia/Columbia County Literacy Council, P.O. Box 1440 Magnolia, AR 71754-1440. For more information call 870-901-6028.

Let's Go to Cuba

 

Morro Castle across the entrance to Havana harbor.

The SAU Honors College is planning a trip to Cuba tentatively set for May 2012. Watch this space for announcements. Cost will be around $2000 per person although we expect to subsidize at least half of that cost through fund raising.

In the meantime, begin the process of getting your passport, if you don't already have one, so that you will be ready to go.

SAU course credit is a requirement for travel to Cuba at this time as only educational tour visitors are allowed into the country. Vamanos hermanos y hermanas.

Relay for Life Carwash Nets $210

Majesta Miles, Hayden Kopplin, Kody Kasper, Stephanie Dawson, James Schlag, and Amanda Cannon take a few seconds to pose for the camera during today's carwash for Relay for Life

The SAU Honors College Relay for Life team raised $210 today for next month's Relay for Life campaign. Special thanks to Magnolia's Oil and Lube for providing the H2O and the space. 

New TV, PC, and DVD arrive

Our new LG 42" Internet-connected TV arrived last week as did a DVD player. Next to it is our new Opteron 380 Dell PC with one of the old flatscreen monitors from the old lab PCs. We will use the new equipment starting Monday, October 18 as we register students. David or I will display your schedules to you on the new TV as we complete your Spring 2010 registration in real time.

Soon the TV will be wall mounted. Next year, prospective students and their parents will be able to sit comfortably and watch our new promotional video. Yay.

Meet Me at the Carwash

Car washers (L to R) Majesta Miles, C. J. Heaton, Augustus West, Amanda Cannon, Hayden Kopplin, James Schlag, and Ashley Faulkner pose after a long Sunday's worth of carwashing at the Magnolia BurgerKing. They washed cars in order to raise money for the SAU Honors College.

Their goal was to raise $100. They succeeded, they raised $105.

Click HERE to link to a YouTube video of the song "Meet Me at the Carwash."

New Lab Computers Installed

New Computers Installed Today

The 12 new virtualized PCs installed September 14, 2010.

Our new computers were installed today. They are virtualized PCs (four stations for each PC) and sport large flat screen monitors. Pass your thanks along to Chris Harris, he got this ball rolling. Also, tip your hat to the SAU Administration; they footed the bill.

These puppies are fast too:

For comparison's sake, here is a picture of the old lab PCs:

Walmart $1000 Grant

Above is a picture of the (symbolic) check the Honors College received today as a grant from the local Walmart Store. The real check has been deposited with the SAU Foundation and will be available for use soon. The Honors College will use the money to purchase A/V equipment for the Honors Office for recruitment and for student use.

Our special thanks go out to Christy Melton, Personnel Director and to Drew Schaeffer, Store Manager for their generosity.

Be sure and check out the renovated Walmart. One way to measure how well any small town is prospering is to count the old Walmarts. Magnolia is on its third Walmart and now that one has been renovated, so that should also count for something.

Recent Donations and Grants

Here are some recent contributions to the SAU Honors College. Be sure to patronize these business or to thank the contributors.

Recent Donations and Grants

Coupons for Free Meal for incoming honors students at Quiznos: ARAMARK
Drinks and Snacks for Honors College: Dale Dunn Farmers’ Insurance
Flatscreen Television and A/V equipment for Honors Office: Walmart
New computers for Honors Hall: SAU
Furniture for Honors Office: Ivan Smith
Refrigerator for Honors Office: Ms. Deborah Wilson
Microwave for Honors Office: Dr. Chrisanne Christensen

Thanks! Ivan Smith

Here is a picture of one of the two chairs Ivan Smith Furniture of Magnolia recently donated to the SAU Honors College. The chairs and a cocktail table will go into the Honors College office. Thanks Marty.

eBay Auction to Benefit SAU Honors College Opens

The Southern Arkansas University Honors College is holding an online auction on eBay of items donated to it for that purpose. Five items are for sale, all of them donated by local businesses and individuals. Jane Alexander of Miller's Pharmacy donated a colorful, neoprene, lady's insulated lunch tote. Jennifer's on the Square donated a Brighton and Tony Lama 36 inch lady's western style belt with Texas crystals. Dr. Chrisanne Christensen of SAU donated a Waterford crystal ice bucket and tongs. Prescott artist El Spotro (AKA Virgil "Spot" Daniel) donated two small (~6 x 7 inches) primitive paintings of the Arkansas razorback. (Painting 1 and Painting 2) Special thanks go to Deborah Wilson, also of SAU, for arranging that donation. Or you may view all 5 items at this LINK.

The items went on sale Wednesday, April 14 at 6:15 p.m and will end one week later. That way, the auction will conclude during the annual Honors College banquet. A computer will be set up at the banquet so that bidders may bid and watch the last minute action as the sales conclude during the banquet. All proceeds from the sale will go to support the work of the SAU Honors College.

Logging onto eBay and searching for "Southern Arkansas University" after clicking on eBay's "Include title and description" button should take buyers to the items. Please support the Honors College by looking at and bidding on these items.