Tag Archives: Deborah Baldwin

UALR Historian Dr. Deborah Baldwin to serve as interim provost

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baldwin-cropped-700x709Dr. Deborah Baldwin, associate provost of collections and archives and director of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture, has been named the interim provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Baldwin will serve as the interim provost for the spring 2017 semester, following the departure of UALR Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs and Provost Dr. Zulma Toro, who will begin her tenure as president of Central Connecticut State University on Jan. 3. The university will conduct a search for a permanent provost with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2017.

Baldwin has served the university in a number of positions, including six years as the chair of the Department of History and nearly 20 years as the dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

Throughout her years of administrative service, Baldwin has continued to teach in the public history program and has overseen graduate student work with community organizations. Baldwin holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago.

Through her public history teaching, Baldwin and her students have helped to document the history of various Little Rock businesses and institutions. Among those are the Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Museum of Discovery and Little Rock Zoo.

“Where We Learn Matters” is topic of tonight’s Architecture & Design Network talk given by former LR resident Anisa Baldwin Metzger

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anisaLittle Rock native Anisa Baldwin Metzger will headline an Architecture and Design Network discussion tonight entitled “Where We Learn Matters.”  The program starts at 6pm in the lecture hall at the Arkansas Arts Center. A reception will precede it starting at 5:30.

As School District Sustainability Manager for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), headquartered in Washington, D.C., Anisa Baldwin Metzger, oversees a  national effort that  provides guidance and support for the Council’s state subsidiaries and their sustainability efforts. Here in Arkansas, the state USGBC hosts the Arkansas Green Challenge (AGC), a program that pairs mentors – architects and engineers among them – with students and staff to find ways of greening their schools. Now in its fourth year, the Arkansas AGC has reached  eighty schools and more than forty thousand students, helping them understand the influence of school facilities design on matters relating to learning, health and the environment. 

Ms. Baldwin Metzger, who grew up in Little Rock, received a B.S degree in architecture from Washington University, St Louis and earned an M.Arch from the University of Washington, Seattle. Following the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, she worked in New Orleans, helping schools rebuild in ways that reflected their commitment to USGBC’s  principles of greening.   Drawing on her own experience, she asserts that “the pursuit of environmental sustainability requires that we utilize design thinking to deal with many complex problems our world faces.” In her talk, she will share strategies for working with schools and school districts throughout the country to develop ways of insuring sustainability.
Growing up in Little Rock, Anisa rode to kindergarten on the back of her dad’s bike. She was raised by parents (Jim Metzger and Deborah Baldwin) who made it second nature to try to waste less, and so she understands the importance of raising sustainability natives—children and adults who act to benefit the earth without needing to be asked.
 
The Arkansas chapter of the USGBC is the co-sponsor of Ms. Baldwin Metzger’s talk.  Supporters of Architecture and Design Network (ADN) include the Arkansas Arts Center, the UA Fay Jones School of Architecture, the Central Arkansas Section of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture and friends in the community. 
 
All ADN lectures are free and open to the public

LR Cultural Touchstone: Deborah Baldwin

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9 Deborah BaldwinAs a historian, arts patron, and administrator, Deborah Baldwin has had a hand in shaping Little Rock’s cultural scene for nearly thirty years.   As Chair of the UALR History Department from 1986 to 1992, she lead the department as it created the History Institute which sponsors the “Evenings with History” lecture series.  At the time it was started, it was one of the few lecture series in Little Rock (if not the only one).

A member of the UALR faculty since 1980, Baldwin is a specialist in modern Mexican history with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She has published a book on the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and a variety of articles, primarily on Mexican social history topic.

As a History Department faculty member, she has lead the Public History seminar. This program has documented the history of several Little Rock cultural institutions over the years including the Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Museum of Discovery.  The Public History program has trained many of the museum professionals working in Little Rock today.  The Central High Museum, a private forerunner of the National Park Service Central High National Historic Site Visitor Center, was lead in a large part by persons associated with the UALR Public History Program.

Starting in the mid-1990s, Baldwin led the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.  In that capacity, she oversaw the visual and performing arts programming at UALR.  Under her leadership, the Departments of Art, Music, and Theatre & Dance were all revitalized.  As a part of this, she ensured that cutting-edge technology was being integrated to arts curriculum.  She also led efforts to upgrade the performance facilities.  During her tenure as Dean, the College also played leading roles in the commemoration of the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the integration of Central High School, the centennial of the Mexican Revolution, and the “Life Interrupted” exhibit which highlighted the Japanese-American internment experience in Arkansas.  She also oversaw the creation of Finale!, an event each spring which celebrates the arts in Little Rock and honors arts patrons.

With the creation of the Arkansas Studies Institute (a collaboration between UALR and Central Arkansas Library System), Baldwin took on additional duties as UALR’s supervisor on the project.

In 2014, UALR underwent a campus-wide administrative and academic reorganization.  In conjunction with that, Baldwin became Associate Provost for UALR Collections and Archives.  In that capacity she oversees the campus library system, Center for Arkansas History and Culture and the Sequoyah National Research Center.  She continues to teach in the Department of History.

She is a past member of the board of the Arkansas Humanities Council and the MacArthur Military History Museum Commission.

 

UALR to Honor Sotomoras at FINALE

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UALR will honor Eileen and Dr. Ricardo Sotomora at the seventh annual Finale at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, April 28 at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the UALR Fine Arts Building.

Reservations to the black-tie optional event are $150 with $110 being deductible.

Finale celebrates the arts in Central Arkansas and is the premier fundraising event for UALR’s fine arts programs. The dinner gala features performances and artwork by students.

Dr. Sotomora is the only pediatric cardiologist in private practice in Arkansas. He is the exclusive provider of cardiology services for children at Baptist Health Medical Center and St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center, in Little Rock, and Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock. His cardiology practice is managed by Eileen.

The Sotomoras were instrumental in founding the American Heart Association’s annual “Heart Ball,” in Arkansas, a debutante ball that not only raises proceeds for the organization but strives to teach girls about volunteerism and health. In 2006, Dr. Sotomora received the “Worthen Cornett Award,” the highest honor given to a person for work on behalf of the American Heart Association in Central Arkansas.

In 2008, they chaired the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Opus XXIV. Currently, Dr. Sotomora is a trustee of the Arkansas Arts Center Board and a member of the development committee. Both of the Sotomoras are members of the Director’s Circle.  The Sotomoras are supporters of the Venezuelan “El Sistemia,” a government-funded program that currently assists nearly one million Venezuelan children in learning classical music.

“Eileen and Ricardo are amazing leaders in the Central Arkansas community,” said Deborah Baldwin, dean of the UALR College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. “We are honored that they would assist us in raising awareness about how arts programs enrich the communities in which we live.”

Finale 2012’s performance will feature UALR music students performing scenes from the Broadway musical, “Into the Woods,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. Craig O’Neill of Today’s THV will serve as master of ceremonies. This is his fourth year to host the event.

In the live auction, Finale will feature a designer jewelry piece created by Sissy’s Log Cabin.

Presenting sponsors of the 2012 event are Glazer’s Distributors of Arkansas and Sissy’s Log Cabin. Premier sponsors include Pediatrix, Terri and Chuck Erwin, and Chip and Cindy Murphy. Sustaining sponsors are Simmons First National Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield, East-Harding, Inc., Entergy, US Bank, and HBO/Time Warner.

Arts organizations from around the region lend their support to Finale each year. This year’s participating arts partners are Accademia dell’Arte, Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
Reservations to Finale are $150 each. Call Rivka Kuperman at (501) 765-9636 or at rekuperman@ualr.edu for more information.