Pulaski Tech to hold panel talk on mental health

LR Nine’s Eckford, others to usher in Black History Month

A free public panel discussion entitled “Inequality in Mental Health” will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College’s Charts Theater in North Little Rock.

The event will feature Elizabeth Eckford, a member of the Little Rock Nine who desegregated Central High in 1957, as well as clinical psychologist Patricia Griffen and campus sociology and anthroplogy instructor Mary Kate Terrell.

Mayo Johnson, a campus assistant professor of computer science, will moderate the discussion and the following question-and-answer session.

The event, which will usher in Black History Month and honor the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., is co-presented by the UA-Pulaski Technical College Cultural Diversity and Community Involvement Committee and the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.

Eckford is a civil rights advocate whose experience in 1957 as one of the Little Rock Nine placed her at the center of a national crisis. In 1999, President Bill Clinton presented the nation’s highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal, to the members of the Little Rock Nine.

Eckford is also a recipient of the prestigious Spingarn Medal awarded by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1958.

Griffen is a practicing clinical psychologist. She is a past president of the Arkansas Psychological Association, former chair of the Arkansas Psychological Association’s Diversity Committee, past president and founding member of the Arkansas Association of Black Psychology Professionals, and a member of the Association of Black Psychologists. She was appointed and served a five-year term on the Arkansas Board of Examiners in Psychology. Griffen has also been involved in social advocacy work in the field of mental health at the state and federal levels.

Terrell teaches anthropology, sociology, geography and gender studies with a focus on socio-cultural anthropogeography concentrating on the intersectionality of gender, religion, and social status in the South. She has credentials in Effective College Teaching and Teaching for Equitable Learning from the Association for College and University Educators.

Johnson is a native of Little Rock. He teaches information security and has worked as a faculty member since 2001.

He previously worked at Acxiom Corporation as a system analyst/administrator and worked as a technology consultant in London, United Kingdom, where he also studied international information management at Regents University.

The UA-Pulaski Technical College’s main campus is at 3000 West Scenic Drive in North Little Rock.