Higher education notebook

UALR wrestling site named after donor

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s new wrestling facility will be named for Greg Hatcher, who donated the funds to construct it.

The facility will be named the Greg L. Hatcher Wrestling Center after a University of Arkansas System board of trustees committee vote Friday morning. During the summer, committee decisions are final and do not need a full board vote. The Buildings and Ground committee approved the naming.

The UALR wrestling team’s inaugural season will be this fall, with the team competing on the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 athletic conference. It’s the university’s 15th sport.

Hatcher, an insurance executive, donated $1.4 million in early 2018 for the facility, which will open next to the Donaghey Athletic Center.

Professor to help NOAA survey coast

A University of Arkansas at Fort Smith professor is one of 19 teachers from 13 states who will participate in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Teacher at Sea program.

Ragupathy Kannan, a biology and ecology professor, will go on a 16-day journey starting Aug. 14, according to a news release from the school.

The trip is the Summer Ecosystem Monitoring Survey that travels along the U.S.’ East Coast. The work will contribute to a “massive data set that will set indicators for future generations of scientists,” the news release said. They will survey plankton, sea birds and sea mammals and “monitor physical indicators of oceanic health, such as temperature, salinity, depth and conductivity.”

Kannan hopes to eventually establish a marine biology course at the university, the release said.

Teachers at Sea accepts full-time teachers at the college level, as well as pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, at museums or aquariums or at adult education centers. Nearly 700 teachers have participated since the program began in 1990, according to NOAA’s website.