Dr. Justin Castro, assistant professor of Latin American history, organized, chaired and presented on a panel at the annual conference of the Society for the History of Technology, the foremost international organization in the field. The panel, "Radios, Planes and Lighted Spectaculars: Current Research on the History of Technology in Twentieth-Century Mexico," included his presentation, "Insecurity and Authoritarianism: State Building, Insurrection and Radio Broadcasting in Revolutionary Mexico."

Faculty, staff, students and alumni teamed up during recent months to redesign, restructure and complete all symbolic features on the new academic mace, which was carried for the first time at fall commencement. The team included Dr. Lynita Cooksey, Dr. Gina Hogue, Jeff McLaughlin, Dr. Paul Mixon, Dr. Paul Sherman, several engineering students, and alumnus Dr. Scott Stubblefield. The news release and video tell the story.

Rebecca Oliver, director of the Honors College, presented at the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) conference in Chicago. "From Tourist to Traveler: Big Plans for Study Abroad" was a roundtable discussion on opportunities specific to the Honors population, highlighting the Honors WWII and Western Front trip last spring and the study abroad program in Spain.  She also was a panelist on best practices related to Honors Living-Learning Communities.

Dr. Dixie Keyes (right) and Dr. Ryan Kelly, associate professors in Teacher Education, joined with five other educators to share the collaborative inquiry project, "State Affiliate Inquiry Teams and Building Capacity on the Literacy and Learning Exchange," at the National Council for Teachers of English annual meeting in Minneapolis. Keyes, president of the Arkansas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, wrote the online "Portrait of Change" for fellow educators.

Safety officer Jon Carvell has been instrumental in making A-State the state's first higher education institution to be a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Through closer dialog with the National Weather Service, the university is helping students, faculty and staff be more aware of threatening weather. Carvell and A-State's responders will familiarize the public on preparedness, warnings and alerts.