Arkansas Achievers
⏹ Hunter Yurachek, vice chancellor and director of athletics at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has been appointed to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Yurachek will serve on the 13-person selection committee for the next three football seasons.
⏹ Four people associated with the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Department of Theatre have been recognized by the Mid-America Arts Alliance 2023 Artists 360 Award. They are alumni Adrienne Dawes, an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and teaching artist; Sarah Loucks, a playwright and theater maker; and Lacy Post, a director, performer and teaching artist; and faculty member and dance lecturer Heidee Lyn Alsdorf, who received the Community Activator Grant Award. The Mid America Arts Alliance Artist 360 program, funded by the Walton Family Foundation, aims to highlight the talents in Northwest Arkansas by providing grant funding and professional development opportunities in all artistic disciplines in the counties of Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Sebastian and Washington.
⏹ Six Arkansas State University students have received Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship grants in the annual competition administered through the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. This year’s recipients, their major, project title, grant amount, and A-State faculty mentor are: Cade Bennett of Cabot, a senior civil engineering major, “Road Safety Analysis of Jonesboro, AR,” $2,750, Dr. Zahid Hossain, professor of civil engineering; Isabella Davis of McRae, a junior biology major with an emphasis in evolution, ecology and organismal biology, “Effects of Lead Exposure to the Immune System of Turtles,” $4,000, Dr. Lori Neuman-Lee, associate professor of physiology; Morgan Diamond of Jonesboro, a senior mechanical engineering major, “Mechanical Characterization of NiCr Coatings Using Nanoindentation,” $2,750, Dr. Drew Fleming, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Luke Keen of Salem, a junior civil engineering major, “Efficacy of a Super Air Meter in Evaluating Quality of Air in Concrete,” $4,000, Dr. Zahid Hossain, professor of civil engineering; John Lindner of Cabot, a senior mechanical engineering major, “Design and Construction of a Motion Sickness Stabilization Platform,” $4,000, Dr. Shivan Haran, associate professor of mechanical engineering; and Jeannette Strano of Cherokee Village, a senior mechanical engineering major, “Development of a Vision-Based System for a Pick and Place Robot for Autonomous Sort- ing,” $2,750, Dr. Shivan Haran, associate professor of mechanical engineering. The grants will allow the recipients to conduct faculty-mentored undergraduate research projects across a variety of fields of study.
⏹ Natan Gomez of Irapuato, Mexico, and Arkansas State University student, is a finalist for the McCall MacBain Scholarships, Canada’s largest leadership-based scholarships for master’s and professional studies. The scholarships are the result of a landmark $200 million gift in 2019 by John and Marcy McCall MacBain, then the largest single donation in Canadian history. Gomez is among 37 international finalists, one of only five finalists from U.S. insitutions.
⏹ Rebecca Glazier, a professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has been recognized for the impact of her faith-based civic and community engagement work through the Little Rock Congregations Study. The American Political Science Association honored Glazier with its Distinguished Award for Civic and Community Engagement. The award honors a political scientist for their significant civic and community engagement work, which merges knowledge and practice and has an impact outside of the profession or academy.
⏹ The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District has announced the Black Engineer of the Year Award STEM Conference has selected Operations Division Chief Andrea L. Williams to receive a 2024 Career Achievement Award in recognition of her significant achievements as an engineer for a U.S. Government organization. Williams is the first woman in district history to serve in the operations division chief role. Her oversight of sever- al district assets, including the Dredge Hurley, the Motor Vessel Mississippi, three pumping plants, and several revetment units, demonstrates her exceptional leadership and dedication to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission.
Arkansas Achievers is an opportunity to give recognition to Arkansans for their achievements. Civilian and military achievements are accepted.
Please follow these guide- lines: Achiever(s):
1) Must be an Arkansan or have graduated from a school in Arkansas.
2) Received an award, scholarship, medal or promotion.
Pageants, deans’ lists, graduations or military enlistments are not accepted.
No photographs please.
To submit an Achiever email us at news@arkansasonline.com with the words “Arkansas Achievers” in the subject line.