It’s wonderful coming back to campus after the winter break to start the Spring semester and new year. And this semester one can feel we have more students on campus than in the Fall, likely due to more students taking classes in-person. We are still following the same protocols of masking up, social distancing and doing all the things to keep our community safe. That includes starting vaccinations for university employees as authorized by the Arkansas Department of Health.
Partnering with a local pharmacy, we hope to hold multiple on-campus vaccination clinics for university employees who wish to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Our communications director, who was vaccinated at the first on-campus clinic, tells us a personal story about his excellent experience.
Because it’s the Spring semester, it’s time for students to apply for our numerous Student Affairs Scholarships. We award more than $150,000 in scholarship money each school year to a wide variety of deserving students. Applications are currently open and close on Feb. 15. We encourage all students to apply now. As a friend of the University, you can support these scholarships or even create one for students in need.
We always look forward to starting the new year and semester with the MLK Vigil. This year we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a virtual setting due to the pandemic. The Associated Student Government and the Black Student’s Association came together to create the virtual MLK Vigil shared with the campus community on Jan. 18. Because it was virtual, you still have the opportunity to view it in our story about this traditional event.
Our staff and student Q&As in this issue come from the Center for Multicultural & Diversity Education. We learn about Director of Leadership & Diversity Initiatives, Adrain Smith, who started in Student Affairs as a Graduate Assistant in 2002, and Junior undergraduate student, Tyrah Jackson, a peer mentor in the Academic Enrichment Program.
Also, included is an article from our friends at the Fulbright College Review that highlights a collaboration between Fulbright College, Student Success, and the University Career Development Center’s Razorback Career Link program. This Career Connections Class helps students design their own personal experience project to gain professional skills.
We hope you enjoy this February issue of the Student Affairs Bulletin. If you have ideas for stories or would like more information on anything you read here, please email Scott Flanagin, executive director of communications at sflanagi@uark.edu.