Tag Archives: Clinton School of Public Service

New theater in Arcade Building to be named for Ron Robinson

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Ron Robinson TheaterLast week the Central Arkansas Library System announced that the new theater in the Arcade Building would be named in honor of Ron Robinson.

If Arkansas was included in a piece of music or a film, Ron Robinson wanted it represented in his collection. The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) will house and begin to catalog Robinson’s vast collection of sheet music, film posters, and other memorabilia connecting those industries with Arkansas’s history and culture.

The Ron Robinson Theater in the Arcade Building on the Main Library campus, the newest performance space in the River Market district will bear Robinson’s name. Programming in the 325-seat multi-purpose event venue will be designed for all ages and will include films, music performances, plays, readings, lectures, speakers, and children’s activities. Equipped with a state-of-the-art projection system for films and a separate sound system for spoken word and music, the theater will receive the highest rating from the Digital Cinema Institute.

The Ron Robinson Collection includes a large number of pieces of sheet music of songs about Arkansas or with the state’s name in the song’s title, containing everything from Tin Pan Alley tunes describing the state to hits by Arkansas musicians such as Patsy Montana and the Browns to would-be state songs. The collection also includes a number of vintage recordings-including Edison disks of the “Arkansas Traveler”-and other materials depicting the state’s music. It will include Robinson’s huge collection of Arkansas-related movie posters, from which the Butler Center co-produced with him an exhibition last year called “Ark in the Dark,” as well as a vast number of pieces of Arkansas political memorabilia.

A native of Little Rock, Robinson has been an avid collector of all things Arkansas for the past fifty years. He is past chairman and chief executive officer of Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, a full-service advertising, marketing, and public relations firm. He has served on numerous boards and committees including the Friends of Central Arkansas Libraries (FOCAL), Arthritis Foundation, United Way,American Red Cross Public Information Committee, Arkansas Arts Center, and Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Other organizations using the theater space include the Clinton School for Public Service and the Little Rock Film Festival. As with other CALS meeting space, the theater may be used by the public, based on availability.

Little Rock voters approved a bond issue in 2012 that provided funding for the Arcade Building. Through a public-private partnership between CALS, Clinton-Commerce LLC (which includes Moses Tucker Real Estate), and Monroe Cache, retail stores, offices, and a restaurant will fill the Arcade Building, a three-story, 60,000 square foot structure.

Former Congressman discusses state of Congress tonight at Clinton School

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220px-Tom_Allen_110th_Congressional_portraitWith government shutdown, debt ceiling limit, continuing resolutions and other congressional contentions becoming hot topics for the general public, the Clinton School is featuring a speaker tonight at 6pm who has been in the halls of Congress.  This evening Congressman Tom Allen speaks about his book Dangerous Convictions: What’s Really Wrong with the U.S. Congress.

In his book “Dangerous Convictions,” former Congressman Tom Allen argues that what’s really wrong with the U.S. Congress is the widening, hardening gap in world-views that leaves the two parties unable to understand how the other thinks about what people should do on their own and what they are able to do together.

Allen represented Maine’s 1st congressional district from 1997 to 2009.  He was first elected by defeating incumbent James Longley Jr.  In 2008, he challenged incumbent Senator Susan Collins and was defeated.  Since then he has served as president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers.

Prior to serving in congress he had been a member of the Portland City Council, served as Mayor of Portland and ran for Governor of Maine.

The program will take place at Sturgis Hall.

*Reserve your seats for both programs by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or calling 501-683-5239.

Little Rock Look Forward: LR 9 Foundation establishes Clinton School Scholarship

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clinton-school-logoThough normally there are “Little Rock Look Back” posts, this one is truly more a look to the future.

Today the Little Rock Nine Foundation, which has awarded scholarships to deserving young people for the past 16 years, has set up a scholarship fund at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service to continue the foundation’s legacy. The Foundation was established in 1997 and since that time has awarded 60 college scholarships to high school students all over the United States.

“Because of our great appreciation for President Clinton, and in recognition of the extraordinary public service work performed by Clinton School students, we have now decided to make the Clinton School our educational philanthropic focus,” said Carlotta Walls Lanier, the foundation’s spokesperson. “The Clinton School prepares its students in the global arena and what better way to keep our story alive than through those we assist.”

Nine African American students–Lanier, Melba Pattillo Beals, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Terrence Roberts, Minnijean Brown Trickey, Thelma Mothershed Wair and the late Jefferson Thomas became known as the Little Rock Nine when they integrated  Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The resistance of Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus and protests by large groups of segregations forced the intervention of President Dwight Eisenhower who the sent the military’s finest, the 102 Airborne Division, to protect the students.

It was an historical moment and was the first the time the President of the United States sent the military to enforce a United States Supreme Court order, in this case the historic Brown v. The Board of Education decision.

“We are honored and are most grateful to the Little Rock Nine for the establishment of this scholarship fund,” said Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford. “Over the years the Little Rock Nine–as a group and individually–have participated in Clinton School programs and met with our students. Spirit Trickey, the daughter of Minnijean Brown Trickey, is one of our graduates.”

The Clinton School is the nation’s first to offer a Master of Public Service (MPS) degree. It is located on the campus of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in downtown Little Rock.

Ark Rep’s PAL JOEY at Clinton School today

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PalJoeyThe Arkansas Repertory Theatre works in partnership with the Clinton School of Public Service to participate in the UACS’s Distinguished Speaker Series, hosting educational panel discussions on various Rep productions. The latest in these takes place today, Thursday, September 5 at 12 noon at Sturgis Hall in Clinton Presidential Park.

The panel will feature the cast of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s production of Pal Joey.  This reimagined production of the Rodgers and Hart classic musical was conceived and directed by Tony Award winner Peter Schneider.  It features a new book by Patrick Pacheco, based on the original “Pal Joey” stories by John O’Hara.  Tony nominee Dan Knechtges is the choreographer.

Pal Joey opens tomorrow night (with previews last night and tonight). It runs through Sunday, September 29. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evening performances are at 7 p.m., Friday, Saturday evening performances are at 8 p.m. Sunday Matinees performances are at 2 p.m.

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Clinton School features two programs this week

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Clinton-School-of-Public-Service-LogoJust as the school year is underway, the Clinton School’s speaker series is getting back into full swing.  This week there are two different lunchtime programs.

Tuesday, August 27 – 12 noon “Feet, Forks and the Fate of our Families: Fighting Childhood Obesity,” Dr. David Katz

The epidemic of childhood obesity is having a significant impact on the future health status and workforce productivity of the people of Arkansas. Join us for a lecture about fighting the tide of childhood obesity in Arkansas and beyond by Dr. David Katz, founding director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center. Katz is the editor-in-chief of the journal Childhood Obesity, the only journal that provides a central forum for exploring effective, actionable strategies for weight management and obesity prevention in children and adolescents.

He is also president-elect of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, founder and president of the nonprofit Turn the Tide Foundation, which was created to help combat obesity by developing, evaluating and disseminating creative, yet practical programs that can be used in the real world for free. In 2009, he was a widely supported nominee for the position U.S. Surgeon General. He was named one of the 25 most influential people in the lives of children by Children’s Health Magazine.

The program will take place at 12 noon today, Tuesday, August 27 at Sturgis Hall in Clinton Presidential Park.

 

Wednesday, August 28 – 12 noon “Immigration Reform in Arkansas,” a panel discussion

Immigration reform advocates are making a push in Washington, DC, and across the nation to rally support for an effort to overhaul our country’s broken immigration system. The US Senate has passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration overhaul, and members of the US House of Representatives are at home during August Recess hearing from constituents about immigration reform among many other issues.

Immigrants have a tremendous impact in Arkansas. The immigrant population is the fourth fastest growing nationally, with a net economic impact of $3.4 billion in 2010 according to a study by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. Join us for a panel about immigration reform in Arkansas with a diverse group of speakers including:

– Jeffery Hall, Associate Director of National Affairs for the Arkansas Farm Bureau
– Dr. Zulma Toro, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
– Dr. Sherece West-Scantlebury, President and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
– Randy Zook, President and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce / Associated Industries of Arkansas

The program will take place at 12 noon, Wednesday, August 28 at Sturgis Hall in Clinton Presidential Park.

*Reserve your seats for both programs by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or calling 501-683-5239.

Tonight: “Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration,” Dr. Buzz Aldrin and Leonard David

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Buzz AldrinLegendary astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin and Leonard David, veteran space journalist and co-author of Dr. Aldrin’s new book, “Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration” will be in conversation this evening at 6:00pm at Robinson Center Music Hall.

Selected into the NASA in 1963, Dr. Aldrin developed docking and rendezvous techniques for spacecraft in Earth and lunar orbit, which was critical to the success of the Gemini and Apollo programs, and are still used today. He pioneered underwater training techniques, as a substitute for zero gravity flights, to simulate spacewalking and during the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, he preformed the first successful spacewalk. On July 20, 1969, Dr. Aldrin, along with Neil Armstrong made their historic Apollo 11 moonwalk, becoming the first two humans to set foot on another world.

Leonard David has been reporting on space exploration for nearly five decades. Mr. David is the 2010 winner of the prestigious National Space Club Press Award, presented this honor during the Club’s annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner in April 2011 that was held in Washington, D.C. Currently, Leonard is SPACE.com’s Space Insider Columnist, as well as a correspondent for Space News newspaper and a contributing writer for several magazines, specifically Aerospace America, the membership publication of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). This program is sponsored by the Clinton Foundation and Clinton School of Public Service.

*This lecture has limited seating available. Invitation is non-transferrable. Reservations are required. Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or calling 501.683.5239.

Following the lecture, Dr. Aldrin and Leonard David will be available for a book signing of their new book, “Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration.” To reserve a copy, please contact Michelle Ross at the Clinton Museum Store at mross@clintonfoundation.org or 501-748-0401.

TONY AWARDS tonight — Some Arkansas connections

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TonyAwards-328x253.328.254The American Theatre Wing and Broadway League present the 67th Antoinette Perry Awards – also known as the Tony Awards – tonight. They will be aired on CBS (THV11 in Central Arkansas) at 7pm CDT.

There are a few Arkansas connections to this year’s nominees of the best of Broadway.

Arkansas natives and previous Tony winners Will Trice and Remmel T. Dickinson are each nominated again this year for producing. Trice is one of the producers of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, nominated for Best Revival of a Play. Dickinson is a producer of Best Musical nominee Matilda. Both of those productions received multiple Tony nominations.

Tony winner Roger Horchow of Texas was married for nearly 50 years to Little Rock native Carolyn Pfeifer, until her 2009 death. Horchow and his daughter Sally are both nominated for producing the revival of Annie which is currently pleasing crowds on Broadway.

Chet Walker is nominated for his choreography for the revival of Pippin. Walker’s parents live in Maumelle. He has been a guest instructor for the Arkansas Dance Network. (Thanks to Christen Burke Pitts–herself an outstanding choreographer–for pointing out this Arkansas connection.)

Japhy Weideman is nominated for Best Lighting Design of a Play for his work on the new play The Nance. This is his first Tony nomination and his first season to be lighting plays on Broadway. He has previously received acclaim for his work Off Broadway. Weideman has been a lighting designer at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in the past.

One final nominee with an Arkansas connection. A couple of years ago, the Clinton School of Public Service brought actor Holland Taylor to Little Rock to discuss her play Ann about Texas Gov. Ann Richards. At that point in time, Ms. Taylor was performing the play throughout the country, but she did not know if it would be performed in New York. It made it to Broadway this season, and she received a Tony nomination for Actress in a Play for her work.

Whether these nominees win or lose tonight, it is a testament to Little Rock’s cultural richness that there are several nominees this year with connections to The Rock.