Welcome to the August 2024 Round Up of the Fulbright REVIEW Blog
Hello Fulbright College friends, supporters, families, faculty, staff, alumni, and students,
Welcome to our annual “Back to School” edition of the Fulbright REVIEW and to another amazing academic year on the Hill!
We’re so excited to head back to campus, to greet the newest members of our Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and family, and to share all of the college’s amazing news and activities with you.
In particular, we’ve got some excellent tips for a successful fall, a handy list of resources to help make navigating all our beautiful campus has to offer a breeze, and so many more stories of student success, big research discoveries, and new creative endeavors that are listed in the highlights, below.
August also marks a full month since I officially started as Dean of Fulbright College, and what an amazing and busy month it has been.
I’ve spent it meeting and learning about the college from as many of you as possible, including campus and college leaders, researchers, faculty, and staff, and some of our wonderful alumni, donors and community partners, too.
Once our students return, I’m looking forward to getting to know them as well, and to being part of the ebb and flow of the academic year at my new institution.
That being said, I also know that I’ve barely scratched the surface of learning about all our college has to offer and what we can collectively achieve.
To help further this discovery and connection, I’ve now embarked on a college-wide listening tour and will also be spending a lot of time on the road with our development team. I hope this will help me be able to engage with as many of you, our friends and alumni, as possible.
In the meantime, I look forward to catching up with you again soon and to continue working together on behalf of Fulbright College to support the land grant mission of the U of A!
On a personal note, my family and I are also getting settled into our new home and we couldn’t be happier with the transition back to Arkansas. The weather is delightful. We love this city and have spent a lot of time at the farmer’s market, the library, and out at parks and on the Razorback Greenway. I’m hoping to get us out to Beaver Lake in the coming weeks.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me and my team via fulbright@uark.edu.
Sincerely,
Brian E. Raines
Dean, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
HIGHLIGHTS:
In addition to our tips for fall semester success, in the August 2024 Fulbright REVIEW we’re introducing our latest class of exceptional Sturgis Fellows, as well as the amazing 2024-25 Razorback Marching Band drum majors.
You can also meet the Razorback athletes who earned medals during the Paris Summer Olympics, and learn how we’re working with a group of universities to help students from rural and small-town America graduate from college.
We’ve also got some truly phenomenal faculty for you to meet, including an internationally-renown vocalist named a U.S. Fulbright Scholar, a historian who published a magnum opus on John Quincy Adams, and the first-ever U of A member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Then, check out this screening of a short film created by an interdisciplinary group of our faculty and alumni, and save the date for fall’s 79th Arkansas Alumni Association Awards Celebration honoring outstanding faculty and alumni including two of our college’s own.
Next, get to know the winners of our scholarships for online degree seekers, an alumna determined to create a world where all people have equitable healthcare, and a scholar exploring what makes good literature.
Speaking of scholars, you can also meet the two sets of winners of a scholarship that provides funds to women pursuing graduate degrees, and two up-and-coming scientists – one who won a research travel grant to Rwanda and one in an NIH Clinical and Translational Research Summer Course.
On the scientific research front, we also had a group make a significant breakthrough in understanding species abundance, and another team discover that saltwater intrusion barriers may actually worsen inland flooding.
After that, you can also discover the importance of “frog saunas,” meet the newest member of our global engagement team, and congratulate a finance team member recognized for bold, creative problem solving.
Finally, help us commemorate the life and legacy of an American Sign Language teacher gone too soon.
And, if you’d like to learn more about the extraordinary people, initiatives, projects and activities that make up Fulbright College, please visit our Facebook, Twitter / X, Instagram or LinkedIn social media channels. Our handle is @uarkfulbright on all.
As always, we’ll keep providing you with more new stories at fulbrightreview.uark.edu. We hope you’ll stay tuned.