Dr. Malathi Srivatsan, principal investigator for the National Science Foundation-funded project "Bridging the Divide," and her co-PI's at UAPB and Philander Smith College have received the Award for Excellence and Innovation in Graduate Education given by the Conference of Historically Black Graduate Schools / Educational Testing Service. The goal is to boost minority participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Ph.D. programs by mentoring college students over time. Srivatsan is professor of molecular biology.

The peer-reviewed journal Politics & Policy recently published an article by Dr. Rollin F. Tusalem, associate professor of political science, "State Regulation of Religion and the Quality of Governance." Tusalem examines how state authorities' regulation of religion severely harms the quality of governance, especially dimensions involving political accountability, corruption, and the rule of law. He concluded secular states are more likely to have better governance. The article is available on the journal's website. 

Dr. Gregory Hansen, professor of English and folklore, has completed plans and developed the schedule for Delta Symposium XXI, sponsored by the Department of English and Philosophy and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. This year's theme, "The South Goes to the Movies," ties in with the concurrent inaugural Delta Flix Film Festival, sponsored by the College of Media and Communication. The Delta Symposium overview is online.

Treatment outcomes from research by Dr. Stephen Guffey, professor of physical therapy, have been reported in a clever video format on YouTube. Guffey studied the effect of adding red and infrared light therapy on plantar fasciitis patients, who also received stretching, heat, electrotherapy and soft-tissue mobilization treatments. The conclusive results showed patients in the experimental group that received the light therapy had less pain and more function improvement. Details are in the video.

Congratulations to Dr. Bill Smith, executive director, Marketing and Communications Department, who received the Media Support Award at the 15th annual Delta Awards banquet. The awards recognize tourism achievement in the 15 counties that are part of Arkansas Delta Byways, the official tourism promotion association for the region. The award was based on video, publications and public relations work by Smith and the Marketing and Communications team in support of Arkansas Heritage Sites.