Carol Barnhill, chief procurement officer, will retire March 31, concluding a 42-year professional career with A-State. Among her achievements, she has served as president of the National Association of Education Procurement (NAEP), and twice as president of the four-state NAEP region. Barnhill also has earned certifications as a purchasing manager and public procurement officer. A campus reception is being planned for mid-March. More details will be online.

Dr. Donald (Bud) Kennedy, professor of animal science and interim dean, Agriculture, was appointed by Chancellor Kelly Damphousse to lead a campus task force that will evaluate the feasibility of a proposal to locate a school of veterinary medicine at A-State. Members of the task force are being selected and will be announced. A-State announced the initiative to consider the veterinary school during a news conference Jan. 31.

Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch, Vaughn Professor of History and a Persian Gulf War veteran, spoke for a statewide symposium in Little Rock presented by the Black History Commission of Arkansas, of which she is a member. She presented "A Debutante, a Soldier and a War Veteran" for those interested in the history of African Americans serving in U.S. wars. The commission is an advisory board of the Arkansas State Archives.

Michael Gray, instructor in communication studies and director of debate and forensics, is the 2020 professional division debate champion for the state of Arkansas after returning to professional competition. He competed at the LSU Red River Swing, where he took "top speaker" and finished with a 4-2 record in preliminaries, and the Southern Forensics Championship, where he was first seed and remained undefeated through six preliminary rounds of debate.

Dr. Susan Whiteland, associate professor of art education, and two art students are in the second week of working with groups of fourth, fifth and sixth grade students at three Jonesboro magnet schools. The A-State students are helping the children create and decorate masks for the annual fundraising ball that will benefit the Children’s Advocacy Center. They also are sharing the history of masks and mask-making.