Dr. Melissa Jackson, director, University Advising Center, recently presented two concurrent sessions at the 2022 National Advising Conference (NACADA) in Portland, Ore., “A Collaborative Advising Model for Exploratory Students,” and “College Choices for Students on Academic Probation.” The second of the two also received recognition by Jackson’s peers as a sponsored session. NACADA promotes and supports quality academic advising to enhance students’ educational development.

Tracy Farmer (left) and Eric Dry (right), Dean B. Ellis Library, have started the first (ISC)² chapter in Arkansas. With statewide membership and support, the chapter application was officially approved. Farmer is serving as the chapter’s first president, with Dry serving as secretary. Both have held Certified Information Systems Security Professionals certification from (ISC)² since 2015, with Farmer also earning Certified Cloud Security Professional in 2017.

Dr. Colleen McNickle, assistant professor of music and associate director, choral activities, was recently featured on “The Choir Fam Podcast.” She discussed experiences in her collegiate singing career and her time teaching middle school and high school choir, which led her to develop a passion for comprehensive musicianship. McNickle also discussed her blog, “Inspired Choir,” in which she writes each week about a new choral music piece.

Dr. Angelo Brown, assistant professor of criminology, recently made two presentations related to his research. He presented “The Impact of Cannabis Laws on Indigenous Peoples” to the American Society of Criminology annual meeting in Atlanta, and discussed “Decriminalization of Indigenous Medicinal Plants” for the virtual conference of the Criminology Consortium. Brown also was interviewed by KUAF radio about how to better understand crime data.

Dr. Shanon Brantley, assistant professor of communication disorders, made a presentation recently at the International Leadership Association Global Conference in Washington. Her topic, “The Value of Health Literacy in Speech-Language Pathology Programs,” was one of only seven proposals accepted for presentation in the healthcare leadership category. She also was interviewed by the Australian Speech Pathology Association’s Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology.