The father-son duo of Kyle Helms and Quintin Helms shot a 13-under 59 to capture the University of the Ozarks’ Alumni Golf Tournament, held Oct. 18.
Kyle Helms, a 1986 U of O graduate, and his son topped 14 other teams to win the annual two-person scramble, held at the par-72 Clarksville Country Club course.
The team of Bo Funderburk ’00 and Daniel Nichols took second with a score of 61, winning a tiebreaker over the third-place team of Greg Thompson ’91 and Tom Wolf, who also shot a 61.
A total of 30 golfers took part in the annual Homecoming tournament.
Clarksville Mayor David Rieder and Johnson County Judge Herman Houston joined University President Richard Dunsworth and alumna Lisa Gruben-Inness in a proclamation signing event declaring October 14-20 as University of the Ozarks 2019 Homecoming Week throughout the city and county.
The proclamation signing took place on Oct. 14 in front of the Johnson County Courthouse and was part of a pep rally that included more than 100 students from the University. Following the pep rally, many of the students decorated downtown businesses with University signs and decals in a Paint the Town Purple event.
Houston is a 1973 graduate of U of O and Gruben-Inness is a 1993 graduate of the University.
Homecoming 2019 will include a variety of events and reunions. For a complete schedule, please visit www.ozarks.edu/homecoming.
Arkansauce, a genre-hopping, four piece string band from Northwest Arkansas, will perform as the featured act during the final First Friday of the fall semester on Nov. 1.
The event in downtown Clarksville begins at 5 p.m. with the music starting at 5:30 p.m.
There is no charge for admission and the public is invited to attend and encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. In case of inclement weather, the event will be held in the Marvin Vinson Community Center.
Presented by the Clarksville Advertising & Promotion Commission, University of the Ozarks and the Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce, First Friday is an outdoor community event on the green space that is located at the corner of Main Street and the Spadra Trail. Held every month the University is in session, the family-friendly event features live music, a variety of food trucks and vendors as well as lawn games.
Arkansauce blends a mix of bluegrass, newgrass, folk, americana, country, blues and funk music. With a loyal following growing every day in the Natural State and along their tour routes, the band is proud to be stepping into a hard-driving sound unique to the Arkansas quartet.
The band’s third album, “If I Were You,” was released in April 2017. The album consists of all original material and, according to the band’s website, “finds the palate expanded with more complex melodies, intriguing rhythms, and hard-hitting hooks that leave the songs whirling around your head long after the listening experience.”
The band’s roots go back to 2011 when founding members Ethan Bush, Zac Archuleta, and Stephen Jolly began writing together after becoming acquainted through mutual connections in the close-knit Fayetteville music scene. After a couple of years building a repertoire of original music and releasing their first album, “Hambone,” as a trio, they were joined by Tom Andersen on the upright bass and Adams Collins on the five-string banjo. The road-tested chops Andersen and Collins brought to the table helped to cultivate the mature, well-rounded sound needed to accommodate their sophomore release, “All Day Long.”
According to the band’s website, “An Arkansauce show is riddled with improvisational guitar, banjo, and mandolin leads, paired with powerful harmonies and heart-felt songwriting, all held together by deep foot-stompin' bass grooves. There’s an undeniably intimate connection between the band and their fans that's contagious and leaves everyone in front of, and on the stage wanting more. Arkansauce holds their head high, as they look forward to enjoying everything life and music has in store for them and their fans.”
Arkansauce has performed throughout the state as well as Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Colorado, New Mexico and Missouri.
Following the Nov. 1 event, First Friday will begin again in the spring.
The University of the Ozarks Theatre will open the 2019-20 season with three performances of William Shakespeare’s early comedy, Love’s Labour’s Lost, on Oct. 18-20.
The performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18, and Saturday, Oct. 19, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20 in the Seay Theatre. Tickets are $8 each and can be purchased at the box office prior to the performance.
Believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I, Love’s Labour’s Lost follows the King of Navarre and his three companions, Berowne, Longaville and Dumaine, as they attempt to swear off the company of women for three years in order to focus on study and fasting. They are confounded, on signing the vow, when Berowne remembers that the Princess of France and her three ladies, Rosaline, Maria, and Katharine, attended by Boyet, are on an embassy to Navarre’s court. Fun and hilarity ensue.
The cast includes, Petron Brown as King of Navarre, Mason Clough as Berowne, Gracie Bormann as Dumaine, Jimmy Reinier as Longaville, Tiffany Quinton as Princess, Sydney Ward as Rosaline, Jesse Cave as Maria, Nichole Finch as Katherine/Jacquetta, Klara McElroy as Boyet, Haley Wheeler as Holfernes, Lacye Day as Don Armado, Ethan Lubera as Mote, McKenzie Lewis as Costard, Ben Howard as Nathaniel and Ariel McKinney as Forester/Monsieur/Dull.
Rebecca Bailey, assistant professor of theatre, is the director and Lucas Hoiland, theatre technical director and media production assistant, will serve as the play’s technical director, lightning designer and scenic designer.
The student crew includes, Geoshan Lee as sound designer, sound board operator and set carpenter; Fion Chen as graphic designer, props designer and set carpenter; Melissa Rooney as costume designer; Kevin Nawa as light board operator, electrician and set carpenter; Haley Grace Clark as stage manager, set carpenter and scenic artist; Mason Clough as master electrician; Nichole Finch as electrician and set carpenter; Ben Howard as electrician and set carpenter; Paula Jurado Gurdian as follow spot operator; Jake Holland as fly crew; Lacye Day as scenic charge artist and set carpenter; Lillian Olmstead as follow spot operator and set carpenter; Tiffany Quinton as costume crew, set carpenter and scenic artist; Klara McElroy as costume crew and set carpenter; Kenzie Lewis as scenic artist and set carpenter; Jimmy Reinier as set carpenter; Haley Wheeler as set carpenter; Gracie Bormann as set carpenter; Petron Brown as set carpenter; Karie Miller as set carpenter; Ethan Lubera as set carpenter and Sydney Ward as scenic artist and set carpenter.
Clarksville Connected Utilities (CCU) will be the recipient of the University of the Ozarks’ first Community Champion Award, which will be presented during Homecoming 2019. The award will be given at the Ozarks Awards Ceremony at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18, in the Rogers Conference Center. Tickets for the ceremony can be purchased at www.ozarks.edu/homecoming. The Community Champion Award was established this year by the University’s Office of Advancement and Alumni Engagement to honor “extraordinary individuals, organizations or businesses that have demonstrated exceptional generosity in support of the University’s mission and who have inspired others to give similarly.” It will be an annual award presented each October during Homecoming activities. Formerly known as Clarksville Light & Water, CCU has collaborated with the University on numerous projects over the past couple of years, including saving the University more than $100,000 in labor and equipment services during the construction of the new Alexander-Boreham Tennis Facility. CCU has also assisted the University in the installation of new HVAC loads on top of campus buildings, underground boring services and the implementation of a dedicated ultra-high speed fiber optic network on campus. “We wanted to create an award to recognize those who are true champions of University of the Ozarks and whose works and actions help advance the University,” said Lori McBee, vice president for advancement and alumni engagement. “Clarksville Connected Utilities is the ideal first recipient because of its help and partnership on numerous projects that have benefited both the University and the community.” Homecoming 2019 runs from Oct. 14-20 and includes a variety of events and reunions for both alumni and the public. A full list of events can be found at www.ozarks.edu/homecoming.The Institute of Jugglology, featuring a former world champion juggler, will perform at University of the Ozarks on Thursday, Oct. 17, as part of the University’s 2019-20 Walton Arts & Ideas Series. The event begins at 7 p.m. in the Rowntree Recital Hall, located in the Walton Fine Arts Center. There is no cost for admission and the public is invited to this family-friendly event. Based in Northwest Arkansas, the Institute of Jugglology’s performances create giant sand paintings using innovative juggling props filled with sand. The sand slowly spills out, creating an ethereal environment where every throw becomes a line, and every catch is a splash of color.
The performance will feature Galen Harp, co-founder of the institute and a former international juggling champion. Harp grew up in a small town in Northwest Arkansas. After graduating from high school, he moved to Fayetteville, AR, to attend college at the University of Arkansas where he learned how to juggle. He has spent the last 15 years creating new ways for juggling to be perceived and has won multiple international awards, including the world championship of juggling awarded by the International Jugglers Association in 2014. The Institute of Jugglology has been creating unbelievable juggling tricks and amazing audiences all over the United States for over a decade. Using their innovative juggling props, the throws and catches of the juggling patterns trace vibrant lines through the air. Slowly, a fragile work of art appears on the ground constantly in danger of being destroyed by the very juggling props that create it. The institute’s jugglers have appeared all over North America in many venues, including Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, El Paso Museum of Art and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute. They have opened for Cake, Peter Frampton and Blues Traveler. The institute has been awarded the Northwest Arkansas Entertainer of the Year award for three years in a row.The Johnson County trio band Shiner's Dream will perform at First Friday on Friday, Oct. 4, in downtown Clarksville. The event begins at 5 p.m. with the music starting at 5:30 p.m.
Presented by University of the Ozarks and the Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce, First Friday is an outdoor community event on the green space that is located at the corner of Main Street and the Spadra Trail. Held every month the University is in session, the family-friendly event features live music, a variety of food trucks and vendors as well as lawn games.
There is no charge for admission and the public is invited to attend and encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. This month’s music is sponsored by Mid-South Roller Company.
Shiner's Dream features Nathan Harderson, Lane Davis and Bronson Rofkahr. Their music derives from and is inspired by such artists as Merle Haggard, Tony Rice, Johnny Cash and Tyler Childers,
University of the Ozarks will hold a rededication ceremony for the newly renovated MacLean Residence Hall at 5 p.m., Friday Oct. 4.
The ceremony will include remarks by University officials as well as guided tours of the building. The public is invited to attend.
MacLean Hall recently underwent a $10 million renovation, the most extensive refurbishment project in its 92-year history.
Construction began in December on the stately “H” shaped, three-story student residence hall that was built in 1927 and sits on the east side of College Avenue. The project was completed in August.
The renovation included a fire sprinkler system, new central heat and air systems, an elevator, and all new mechanical, electrical and plumbing components. The student housing capacity increased from 170 to 220 and additional common areas and laundry facilities were created.
MacLean Hall was constructed in 1926-27 at a cost of $150,000. It was named in honor of Marie MacLean of Atlantic City, N.J., who was inspired to donate $60,000 for the project after hearing then-Ozarks President Dr. Wiley Lin Hurie speak at her church. Much of the original design and construction was completed by Ozarks’ faculty and students.
The University of the Ozarks’ Stephens Gallery will host the Women to Watch exhibit, “Heavy Metal,” from Sept. 9 through Oct. 4 as part of the University’s Artist of the Month Series.
There will be a reception to meet the exhibit artists from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, in the gallery, which is located inside the Walton Fine Arts Center.
The Women to Watch exhibit series is part of a statewide tour and follows the international biennial competitive of the same name, “Heavy Metal,” initiated by the National Museum of Women in the Arts to increase the visibility of and critical response to promising women artists.
The 2018 national exhibit focused on the use of metal as an artistic medium. Long considered to be the work of men, metalsmithing was historically seen by many to be too physically grueling for women. But in modern and contemporary eras, women artists have used metal to create a broad range of objects ranging from functional furniture to minimalist jewelry to purely aesthetic abstractions and large sculptural works.
Holly Laws’ mixed media installations, “Three Eastern Bluebirds and Placeholder,” were selected for exhibit at the national museum during the summer of 2018. Laws is an associate professor of art at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. A third Laws installation joins the 2019 Arkansas state tour, to be exhibited with works by artists Michele Cottler-Fox, Amanda Heinbockel and Robyn Horn of Little Rock. Matthew Smith served as guest curator for the exhibit.
The gallery is open to the public Monday through Friday each week from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, please contact the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts at 479-979-1349.
Thirteen University of the Ozarks students from six different countries and representing a variety of majors from around campus are coming together this semester as part of a global fellowship program. Their goal is to help improve food security on campus.
The students were selected as 2019 Millennium Fellows. The fellowship is a semester-long leadership development program developed as a partnership between the Millennium Campus Network and the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) initiative. Fellows are leading projects that advance the United Nations’ sustainable development goals and the UNAI’s principles in the students’ communities and beyond.
The Class of 2019 includes 1,092 Millennium Fellows from 69 campuses across 16 nations. Ozarks was among only 6% of the world’s higher education institutions selected to host Fellows this year.
The U of O Fellows include, Jarret Bain, a junior psychology major from The Bahamas; Yailin Blackman, a senior business administration major from Panama; Ohany Roman Blandon, a senior accounting and management major from Nicaragua; Melissa Brenes, a senior business administration major from Nicaragua; Petron Brown, a sophomore environmental studies and theatre major from The Bahamas; Ralph Jean-Pierre, a business administration major from Haiti; Misael Perez-Medina, a sophomore mathematics major from Clarksville; Hendrick Octavius, a sophomore business administration major from Haiti; Rebecca Peterson, a junior environmental studies major from Coweta, OK; Kenia Roa, a sophomore business administration major from Costa Rica; Richard Rodriguez, a junior business administration and political science major from Nicaragua; Kengor Thermozier, a sophomore biology major from Haiti; and Christina Waddle, a junior environmental studies major from Pleasant Hill, MO.
Blandon and Rodriguez are serving as co-directors for the group and took the lead on writing the proposal and organizing the team. The group’s faculty advisors are Dr. Kim Van Scoy, professor of environmental studies and sustainable agriculture, and Dr. Allison Freed, assistant professor of education.
The U of O group’s project is called, “Student Initiative on Food Security,” and is aimed at improving food security for vulnerable students at the University. They will meet regularly throughout the semester with their campus cohorts to network, learn from each other and develop a range of leadership and professional skills such as grant writing and strategic planning.
Blandon cited a 2019 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office that reported that between 9 and 50 percent of college students have faced food insecurity.
“At this University, there is a significant population of students who are at risk of food insecurity, especially during the holidays and breaks when the cafeteria closes,” said Blandon. “This was a project that we felt like we had the resources to take on and one that we felt could be impactful. We feel like we can come up with effective strategies where students can work hand-in-hand with other members of the campus community to help alleviate this problem and make a difference for many students.”
The diversity of the group is one of its strengths, according to Rodriguez.
“We wanted to find students who were already working on, or at least aware of, the problem and could bring different perspectives to the team,” Rodriguez said. “Some of the students work in food banks, some work with the campus garden and some have been personally affected by food insecurity. We really didn’t go into it planning to have such a diverse group, but that’s kind of how it turned out. I definitely think it’s a plus.”
While the fellowship technically just runs through the fall semester, Blandon hopes to continue the project through the academic year and beyond. One of the ways he plans to do that is to create a permanent campus working group.
“We believe this is something that shouldn’t just be a short-term project,” Blandon said, “We want to develop something that is going to be sustainable and that will make a difference for many years to come, so we don’t just want to work on it this semester and then stop. We’re looking at this is an ongoing project.”