Education Commons^™

From The "Ouachitonian": Allyson Oliver, Gracen Goudy, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

With the unknowns that carried into the summer, junior political science and psychology major Allyson Oliver from Conway wondered if the internship she had in place would carry through. She had the privilege to intern in the public affairs office of Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. Fortunately, Oliver’s experience was only delayed a month due to the pandemic and was virtual only a portion of the time.

From The "Ouachitonian": Hannah Pilcher, Madi Darr, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Hannah Pilcher, the resident director of Frances Crawford Hall, found a unique opportunity for ministry within her job in the freshman girls’ dorm. Pilcher is originally from Little Rock and has spent the past eight years pouring into the lives of freshmen girls and resident assistants, as a student and as an RD. Her time at Ouachita inspired Pilcher to build relationships with others that directly parallels her experience as a student.

From The "Ouachitonian": Eric Phillips, Mallory Wallace, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Emily Watson’s family owns Joyhouse Coffee Company, a premium Haitian coffee company dedicated to providing joy with every cup of coffee. Being a part of such a special exchange represents everything Watson loves.

From The "Ouachitonian": Emily Watson, Emily Barton, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

One family’s dream to help a country that they do not even live in has encouraged their daughter to lead a life in the same servant-hearted way. Emily Watson’s family owns Joyhouse Coffee Company, a premium Haitian coffee company dedicated to providing joy with every cup of coffee. Being a part of such a special exchange represents everything Watson loves.

From The "Ouachitonian": Dr. Wesley Kluck, Madison Cresswell, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

After moving back to Arkadelphia, his hometown and town of his alma mater, following his time in medical school and residency, Dr. Wesley Kluck was asked what his dream job was while playing a newlywed game at church. “My answer was always to work at Ouachita Baptist University,” said Kluck.

From The "Ouachitonian": Elizabeth And Madeline Steely, Julia Shands, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Most Ouachita students have several different roommates for four years during their time in Arkadelphia, but for twin sisters Elizabeth and Madeline Steely, having a roommate is all they have ever known. The Steely twins have shared a room together for as long as they can remember, and that tradition continued throughout their years at Ouachita.

From The "Ouachitonian": Kirsten Swanson, Mackenzie Hall, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

As high school graduation grew near for Kirsten Swanson, a dietetics and nutrition major from Canyon Lake, Texas, she struggled to make a college decision. After realizing she was unsure of what she wanted to do career-wise, Swanson decided to take the year off and started her journey for what would become a seven-year gap period.

From The "Ouachitonian": Saboot Esho, Mackenzie Hall, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Sabaoot Esho, an international student from Erbil, Iraq, made a 6,841-mile trip to small-town Arkadelphia to attend college at Ouachita Baptist University at the mere age of 17. Before moving to America, Esho had only seen Ouachita’s campus through a computer screen. From her first steps on campus, Esho immediately felt welcomed and seemed at home.

From The "Ouachitonian": Lindsey Crowder, Julia Shands, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Learning how to overcome challenges is a skill that some acquire throughout a lifetime. However, for Lindsey Crowder, a senior psychology major from Bentonville, understanding how to face adversity became a way of life at the age of two.

From The "Ouachitonian": Sam Conine, Sophia Talley, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Many students spent quarantine with their eyes glued to the screen, but Sam Conine, a freshman business entrepreneurship major from Little Rock, was on the other side of the camera. Over the summer, Conine wrote, produced, directed and starred in “AEGIS,” the film of his dreams.

From The "Ouachitonian": Tyreese Allen, Emily Barton, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Freshman year of high school included moving from Kansas to Savannah, Georgia, for Tyrese Allen, a senior biology major and student body president. His family packed up their rental car, and all Allen cared about were his clothes and fishing poles. While living in Savannah, in the 10th grade, Allen created a mass college application to hundreds of schools.

Umaine Digital Communications, December 2021, Division Of Marketing And Communications

General University of Maine Publications

Winter break is upon us, and the team here at Digital Communications wish everyone well this holiday season. We will be taking time off ourselves, but will always have someone available to support your website needs. Please email us at our department address um.weboffice@maine.edu (or use our website services request form) to ensure your request is received by whomever is available while others are taking time off.

Ouachita's Dr. Nathan Reyna Receives National Innovation In Education Award, Julie Shands, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Dr. Nathan Reyna, associate professor of biology at Ouachita Baptist University, has won the first Innovation in Education Award from the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).

The Cell Bio Virtual 2021 conference was held online Dec. 1-10. Cell Bio is a joint international annual meeting of the ASCB and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). Reyna spoke and was presented with his award on the first day of the virtual meeting.

Turning From Fear To Hope, Brooke Zimny, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

I had a front-row seat to Ouachita’s approach to pandemic planning as a member of several administrative groups on campus. I remember feeling fear, anxiety and discouragement starting in March 2020 at the challenge ahead of and all around us. Perseverance, optimism and grit were displayed in abundance, but still a strange cloud hung over the year for me, knowing how it compared to typical years not only on campus but also personally. We were adapting as well as we could, but everything was different about how we were experiencing the world.

One of my roles this academic year was …

Feed Arkadelphia Seeks To Address Hunger, Reduce Waste, Reach Hearts, Mandy Halbert, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

As a senior in high school, Reanna Johnson first realized her passion for ending hunger through her volunteer work with a local food pantry. After getting plugged in to Ouachita’s Elrod Center for Family and Community freshman year and gaining support across campus, she knew she wanted to build a way to make a tangible impact in Arkadelphia.

Now a rising senior at Ouachita, she has created Feed Arkadelphia, a program similar to Meals on Wheels that partners with Ouachita’s food service provider, Sodexo, to redistribute Ouachita’s unused cafeteria food to families in need in the Arkadelphia community.

Equipping Leaders (Worship Arts Program Combines Hands-On Music Experience With Theological Training), Rachel Gaddis, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

With its strong history of producing worship leaders who serve in well-known churches in Arkansas, Texas and beyond, Ouachita’s School of Fine Arts has been on the radar of local churches for decades. And as the ministry of worship continues to change, the preparation Ouachita offers also is shifting to equip rising worship leaders.

“Being proficient in music is not enough,” said Larry Grayson, chair of the Department of Worship Arts and instructor of music. “You have to be good at it, but it’s not enough. Students have to be willing to be equipped for ministry. It is crucial for …

The Johnson Family (A Ouachita Legacy From A Parent's Perspective), Jon Merryman, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

When you think of Tigers for Life, the Johnson family may have set a record – six Ouachita graduates in eight years, and one more headed for the stage in 2023. The Johnson family legacy began with Sally (Sullivan) Johnson, a 1954 graduate, and the Ouachita connections continued in the next generation. Sally’s son, Jerry G. Johnson, didn’t attend Ouachita but came to know the institution through his work and friendship with Ouachita alumnus and benefactor Frank Hickingbotham. Neither Sally nor Jerry could have guessed that all seven of Jerry’s children would one day call Ouachita home.

Jerry and his …

Hope By Way Of Lament, Doug Nykolaishen

Press Releases

“Back to normal.” Since the middle of last March, those words have felt like an impossible dream. As illness disrupted life for many and restrictions disrupted life for all, we longed for things to just be the way they used to be.

Now the widespread distribution of effective vaccines has encouraged many to hope that life may indeed be on its way back to something much closer to what we previously knew. Our natural desire is to get on with what’s good as quickly as we can. But in our haste to get to “a better world,” it’s worthwhile noticing …

Rachel (Waggener) Pool ('07) (Associate Professor Of Education), Jon Merryman, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

When Dr. Rachel Pool stepped onto Ouachita’s campus for Super Summer in high school, she fell in love. Not with a boy from another Arkansas town – she was in love with Ouachita.

“I was looking for a small, Christ-centered university where I could make quality Christian friendships, and I found that at Ouachita,” Pool said.

After graduation, Pool moved back to her hometown of West Memphis to teach high school algebra and later taught at McNair Middle School in Fayetteville, Ark., and Benton Junior High School in Benton, Ark. Since graduating from Ouachita, she earned her National Board Certification, …

Leading And Learning In A Pandemic Year--And Beyond, Anna Roussel

Press Releases

Navigating college always has its unique challenges, but doing so in the midst of a global pandemic is a feat that seemed nearly impossible a year ago. When we left campus suddenly in March of 2020, the uncertainty surrounding my college career was enough to literally move me to tears. I had spent my entire life hearing family members and friends tell stories of their time at Ouachita and longing for the day I was on campus, and I did not want to come to terms with my time being cut short. However, in the middle of the chaos, I …

Rickey Rogers ('02), Dean Of Students And Director Of Residence Life (Lydia (Gutierrez) Rogers ('02), Senior Woman Administrator And Director Of Athletic Compliance), Jon Merryman

Press Releases

Rickey and Lydia Rogers have developed more than 20 years of history at Ouachita, in part due to simple geography. With Rickey recruited to play football from six hours away in Mississippi and Lydia coming from six hours away in Texas, Ouachita and Arkadelphia were right in the middle – which made attending college and settling after graduation here between their families a perfect fit.

They’ve made their mark on campus in a variety of ways over the years, but always making a direct impact on students. Lydia previously taught Spanish and served as a resident director and now is …

Ouachita Launches Graduate Dietetic Internship During Pandemic, Rachel Gaddis, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

To say you started anything new in 2020 would, well, raise eyebrows – especially launching something as involved and hands-on as an academic program including clinical healthcare. But that’s exactly what Ouachita did during the 2020-2021 academic year, launching its first graduate programs in more than 20 years. The new programs are producing quick fruit, with seven students earning Ouachita’s first-ever post-baccalaureate certificate for dietetic internships in May 2021. (The first cohort of applied behavior analysis master’s degree students will graduate in August 2021.)

“Ten years ago, the placement rate for nutrition & dietetics students in a post-graduate internship was …

Skills For Navigating A Complex World By Angela M. Kohnen And E. Wendy Saul, Oluwakorede Ajibona

Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints

No abstract provided.

Engaged Social Media In Higher Education While Avoiding The Label Of "Striving", Jessica Nerren

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Striving has become a word laden with problematic meanings in the world of higher education. For instance, if a university is too aligned with business, or becomes overly selective, or deviates from original purpose or mission, then, at times, those actions are seen as striving (O’Meara, 2007). O’Meara (2007) defines striving as participation in efforts to improve status and prestige in line with the hierarchy. Allen (2021) echoes the problematic nature of this practice witnessed abroad, equating striving educational practices with neoliberalism, potentially overshadowing primary purposes of the institution, such as learning and teaching, or drowning out important parts of …

A Case Of Shifting Focus Friction: Extension Directors And State 4-H Program Leaders’ Perspectives On 4-H Lgbtq+ Inclusion, Jeremy Elliott-Engel, Donna Westfall-Rudd, Eric Kaufman, Megan Seibel, Rama Radhakrishna

The Journal of Extension

Contemporary Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) youth are identifying and communicating their identities earlier in childhood than generations before as a result of more awareness and more acceptance of gender identity and sexual minorities by society. A qualitative study of U.S. 4-H program leaders and Extension directors generated an emergent theme around the importance of serving LGBT youth and the resulting implementation challenges. The administrators of 4-H, the largest youth serving organization in the country, recognize the presence of LGBTQ+ youth in 4-H and believe the organization must be inclusive. But challenges remain in ensuring youth experience inclusion at …

Ouachita's Department Of Nursing Receives Grant From Blue & You Foundation, Felley Lawson, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Ouachita Baptist University’s Department of Nursing is among 41 recipients of a grant from the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas. Totaling $3,360,327, the grant will fund health initiatives in 71 of Arkansas’ 75 counties.

Ouachita’s nursing program received $131,000 from the Blue & You Foundation to purchase simulation equipment for its new state-of-the-art Nursing Education Center. The 6,600-square-foot simulation and teaching center will include a clinical skills lab, five simulated hospital patient rooms and a pharmacy. Use of high-fidelity simulation mannequins will replicate real-life scenarios, allowing nursing students to practice assessment, clinical and communication skills without risk …

Ouachita Department Of Theatre Arts To Host One Act Play Festival Dec. 9-10, Mackenzie Hall, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

The Ouachita Baptist University Department of Theatre Arts will present its One Act Play Festival on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 9-10, at 7:30 p.m. in Verser Theater. The bi-annual event, which is free and open to the public, features six short plays directed by students in completion of end-of-semester projects in Ouachita’s play directing course. All plays will be presented both nights of the festival.

Matthew Murry, visiting assistant professor of theatre, said, “Students direct, perform, design, crew, assist and run the shows. For directing students, this festival provides the opportunity to enjoy their work alongside an audience.”

The Disc® Personal Profiles Of Emerging Sign Language Interpreters, Kim B. Kurz, Kierstin S. Muroski, Veronika B. Talbott

Journal of Interpretation

Language interpretation is a discipline of choices governed by the unique personality and behavioral traits of individuals involved in an interpreted interaction. Interpreters are communication facilitators for people who do not share languages. Every interpreter has distinct personality and behavioral traits that influence their communication choices. There are benefits for interpreters to be keenly aware of personality styles and behaviors. This article reports the findings of the personality and behavioral styles using the DiSC® Personality Profile Instrument of 242 undergraduate American Sign Language-English Interpreting students over a nine-year period. Specifically the study explores the four DiSC® profiles, Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, …

Ouachita Concerto Competition To Be Held Dec. 10, Julie Shands, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Ouachita Baptist University’s Division of Music will host the 16th annual W. Francis and Mary McBeth Wind and Percussion Concerto Competition on Friday, Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. in Ouachita’s McBeth Recital Hall, located in Mabee Fine Arts Center. The competition is designed to identify the best instrumental soloist and is open to all wind and percussion students.

The competition is sponsored by Mary McBeth, who also provides the competition prizes for first-, second- and third-place winners. The first-place winner receives $500, second place receives $300 and third place receives $200. The first-place winner may also be granted the opportunity …

Ouachita Preparing To Launch New Engineering Program, Felley Lawson, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Ouachita Baptist University is preparing to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering as early as Fall 2022, pending approval from the university’s institutional accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The new 4-year program is being designed to meet standards set by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) and will be housed in the J.D. Patterson School of Natural Sciences at Ouachita.

A general engineering program provides solid preparation for graduates to move into any field of engineering, in addition to a wide range of related careers-–some of which require additional training or graduate study-–including robotics, renewable …