Arts and Sciences | Business and Industry | Featured | Health Education and Human SciencesDecember 18, 2023

2023: A Year of Achievement

Much of what happened at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith in 2023 is informed by the values and goals in the university’s new 5-year strategic plan, approved by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees this May.

The plan is built around a new mission statement: UAFS empowers the social mobility of its students and the economic growth of the River Valley through exceptional educational opportunities and robust community partnerships. We are proud to live that mission every day in the work we do in classrooms and laboratories, in the ways we support local businesses and embolden entrepreneurs, and in the impact made by tens of thousands of UAFS alumni.

In our new strategic plan, we commit to providing a supportive and inclusive learning environment for students; to strengthen the entire River and address our region’s needs; to uphold honest, transparent, and ethical behavior; to foster creativity; and to prioritize excellence, efficiency, and continuous improvement in providing exceptional and accessible education.

Every unit on campus is building out their own plans for the future, built around our four strategic pillars:

1. Student Access, Engagement, and Success: We are dedicated to empowering our students to grow, lead, and succeed.
2. Teaching and Learning: We strive to cultivate exceptional learning experiences and promote excellence within our community.
3. Economic Development, Community Engagement, and Industry Partnerships: We drive transformational change by forging strong, innovative regional partnerships.
4. Institutional Sustainable and Resource Stewardship: We are committed to securing our institution’s long-term stability through responsible practices and policies.

Below are 10 events and achievements from 2023, demonstrating how the mission and pillars play out in everything we do on campus:

Babb Family Endowment Increases Paid Internships

When UAFS hosted the November meeting of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees, Dr. Terisa Riley, Chancellor, announced that long-time university supporters Doug and Kathy Babb committed $1 million to increase paid internships for students.

The Doug and Kathy Babb Premier Internship Endowment will match employer contributions to offer paid internships to students. Previously, many internships – which were not just unpaid but actually cost students for credit hours – were out of the reach of students already facing financial and logistical hurdles to attend school.

Signature internships will support students who intern with “strategic partners and key employers,” leveraging the “robust community partners” from the Mission Statement. A portion of the endowment also will support students who participate in project-based, short-term microinternships with no cost to the hiring partner. In either case, students will have the hands-on experience that bolsters their resume at graduation.

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ABB Invests $1 Million in Advanced Manufacturing

In May, UAFS announced a $1 million investment from ABB to launch a Center of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing at the university. UAFS and ABB are longstanding partners in education and workforce development that create pathways for students and early career professionals to develop skills across advanced manufacturing as well as training for existing workers. The initiative will focus primarily on postsecondary education with a curriculum designed by UAFS for roles in advanced manufacturing, engineering, automation, design process, and technology for manufacturing.

“In order to compete on a global scale, U.S. manufacturers must invest in a continuous pipeline of technically skilled talent,” said Jesse Henson, President of ABB NEMA Motors Division.

Dr. Terisa Riley, UAFS Chancellor, referred to the university’s commitment to educating students while supporting regional economic development.

“Our goal is to create a talented, knowledgeable workforce that has the advanced skill sets required for the jobs of today and, more importantly, the jobs of tomorrow,” she said. “Achieving our goals naturally sets the stage for western Arkansas to become the hub for economic development in our region.”

Creating the Center of Excellence in Advanced addresses the university’s commitment to forge strong partnerships to address regional needs with transformational change.

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Enrollment, On-Campus Living Increase

Following record attendance at Cub Camp, the three-day, student-led orientation for first-year students, headcounts in September also increased. A spike of 6.8 percent in first-year entering students brought 889 first-year students to campus, compared to 832 in the 2022-23 academic year. Transfer student enrollment showed a 1.6 percent increase. Chancellor Riley said she could feel the difference, citing the enthusiasm of students at Cub Camp, moving into the dorms, and participating in various activities on campus. She also noted an increase in on-campus housing.

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Child Development Center Invests in Families

Although they are not included in the headcount of first-year students, some very little Lions had a chance to start on campus this year. The UAFS Little Lions Child Development Center opened just before the fall 2023 semester began. The center, the product of a partnership with the Arkansas Department of Human Services, provides care for up to 42 students in age groups of infants (6 weeks to 18 months), toddlers (18-36 months), and pre-K3 (36-48 months).

The CDC strives to provide exemplary care and education and support families with high-quality childcare. It also provides a living laboratory for UAFS early childhood education majors as well as other students in the College of Health, Education, and Human Sciences. The center is in a remodeled section of the Echols building, and enrollment is open to students, other members of the UAFS campus, and the community. The center supports the university’s commitment to developing the River Valley and responding to regional needs.

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UAFS Ranked Among Best Colleges

UAFS’s commitment to excellence and impact on students has earned prominent placements in multiple categories in the U.S. News & World Reports 2024 Best Colleges lists. The highest overall ranking ranked UAFS in the top 10 regional colleges in the South. At No. 7 overall, UAFS is Arkansas’s top-ranked public regional college.

The university was named among the top performers nationally in social mobility, a key concept in the new mission statement. U.S. News explains that economically disadvantaged students are less likely to complete degrees and achieve the benefits of graduation, but some colleges are better at helping students advance. The U.S. News list considers Pell Grant factors, borrower debt, and college graduates’ increased earnings in ranking colleges’ effects on social mobility. UAFS was ranked fourth in social mobility in Arkansas and 48^th overall.

In 2023, UAFS again garnered a Military Friendly School ranking, earning Silver Status, an increase over last year’s Bronze ranking. The new status “reflects the university’s commitment to providing the best education and service to student veterans and their dependents,” according to Heather Chance, UAFS advisor and VA certifying official. At UAFS, veterans and their dependents have priority registration, and student veterans are offered a payment grace period if benefits are paid after the start of the semester. The Veterans Resource Center is a hub for student veterans to study and connect with other student veterans and dependents.

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Digital Lions ‘Bring Everything from Nothing’

After more than a year of planning and building, the UAFS eSports team, the Digital Lions, celebrated some satisfying accomplishments in 2023, the first year the team, comprising 40 students and five smaller teams, has been at the competition level. Coaches Dr. Nicki Stancil and Cody Holt were proud of the newest athletes on the UAFS campus.

“I’m amazed at what actually has been accomplished in the year and a half we’ve been working on this,” Holt said. “It’s almost breathtaking and almost gets me worked up just to think about how far we’ve been able to bring everything from nothing.”

In October, the UAFS Valorant Blue team competed in the Huntsville, Alabama, Red Bull Campus Clutch Delta Region tournament. The tournament brought together students from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee to compete at the first-person shooter game Valorant. The Digital Lions’ Valorant Blue team progressed steadily through their bracket, taking second place.

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Research Symposium Shows Academic Diversity

The 16^th edition of the annual Student Research Symposium in April provided a platform for students to share their research findings. Some students opted to make 30-minute oral presentations of their individual or group projects. Others offered performances or demonstrations or presented a visual poster of their projects.

Dr. Shadow Robinson, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, explained how symposium day relates to the university’s mission.

“These presentations represent the academic diversity of UAFS’s programs and the intellectual excellence of our students and their faculty members,” Robinson said. “Our faculty and staff are committed to fostering an environment that promotes learning and discovery.”

Seven students, five with oral presentations and two with posters, were judged best in their subject areas. For many students, making a symposium presentation is highly encouraged or required by their majors.

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Day of Giving Fundraising Surpasses Goal

UAFS closed its 2023 Day of Giving with a record-breaking 1,207 gifts totaling $94,339, surpassing the announced goal of $78,000. Day of Giving focuses on fundraising for special, student-facing projects.

This year’s highest-grossing projects were the UAFS Area of Greatest Need, which raised $20,400, UAFS Golf with $18,855, the UAFS Athletics Weight Room with $10,532, the Alumni Legacy Scholarship with $7,960, and IDEAL Women with $5,500.

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Lions Commit to MIAA Athletics Conference

The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced in June that UAFS will join the association with full-time membership in the 2024-2025 academic year. The university will be the association’s first full-time member in the state. MIAA teams are in Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska.

UAFS became a Division II athletic institution in 2010 and has been a member of the Lone Star Conference since July 2019.

UAFS Athletic Director Curtis Janz noted that the conference will make travel easier for teams and fans, and that the conference supports the university's values.

“An athletic conference should bring together like-minded institutions in a geographical area to compete and allow their student-athletes to excel academically and develop life skills, and the MIAA does that for UAFS,” Janz said. “The geographical footprint of the MIAA allows for our student-athletes to participate academically and enhance their experience as collegiate student-athletes. Our fans can travel and support our teams on the road, just as we can welcome more fans from MIAA opponents.”

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UAFS Students Are Ready Day One

The 2023 edition of The Bell Tower examined the many ways UAFS and its programs, faculty, and staff work to prepare students for success after graduation, whether they enter the job market or graduate study.

Features in the magazine include a look at an educational community project by electrical engineering technology students and a road trip undertaken by students in the Myles Friedman Honors Program. A photo essay shows alumni in the careers they studied for and a look at what the deans of the university’s three colleges see as essential elements in their programs to prepare graduates for their next step.