Tag Archives: UA Little Rock

10 Years of UA Little Rock and CALS Collaborating on Arkansas History

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UA Little Rock and the Central Arkansas Library System partnered 10 years ago to make accessible an extensive collection of Arkansas historical documents through a joint catalogue and a well-equipped research room in the CALS Roberts Library.

The UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture and the CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies have worked together over the decade to provide more historical collections and expanded services to better serve Arkansans.

Celebrate with them at a reception in the Galleries at Library Square on March 8, 2019 from 5 pm until 8 pm.

Live music will entertain and celebratory cupcakes will be served.

“Religion and Community Engagement” is focus of tonight’s UA Little Rock Downtown lecture

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The UA Little Rock Downtown Campus continues its Wednesday evening lectures tonight. This evening’s topic is “Religion and Community Engagement”

This talk is given by Rebecca Glazier, associate professor in the School of Public Affairs. In the talk, she addresses religion, politics, and community engagement.

Using data from more than 2,000 congregants and 200 clergy in Little Rock, Dr. Glazer will share information about the benefits of faith-based community engagement and take suggestions for questions and topics for the 2020 Little Rock Congregations Study survey of congregants.

The program will begin at 6pm at the UA Little Rock Downtown Campus.

Nonprofit Capacity Building Strategies is topic of UA Little Rock Downtown talk this evening

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The UA Little Rock Downtown Campus continues its Wednesday evening lectures tonight. This evening’s topic is “Nonprofit Capacity Building Strategies”

This talk is given by Kirk Leach, assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs. Dr. Leach will be discussing collaboration and social entrepreneurship in the context of nonprofit capacity building. The goal for the discussion is to engage nonprofits in a shared learning environment, to learn with, and from each other.

Dr. Kirk Leach, Assistant Professor in the School of Public Affairs, joined UA Little Rock in 2017 and specializes in community development.  “My research focuses on non-profit management, collaborative governance, and nonprofits that are engaging with the private and public sector,” Dr. Leach said.

The program will begin at 6pm at the UA Little Rock Downtown Campus.

 

DETROIT ’67 is next play for UA Little Rock Theatre and Dance Department

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UA Little Rock theater students, from left, Taylor Green, Tre Whitley, Keith Harper and Char Dupins, rehearse scenes from the upcoming production of Detroit 67, which opens Feb. 27, 2019. Photo by Benjamin Krain.The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Theatre Arts and Dance will present a production of “Detroit ’67” Feb. 27 to March 3. The play is winner of the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History

“Detroit ‘67” is a powerful play, written by Dominique Morisseau, that unfolds an explosive moment in American history – the race riots that ravaged the city of Detroit in 1967, all set to a vibrant soundtrack of the day’s Motown music.

In 1967 Detroit, Motown music is getting the party started, and Chelle and her brother Lank are making ends meet by turning their basement into an after-hours joint. But when a mysterious woman finds her way into their lives, the siblings clash over much more than the family business. As their pent-up feelings erupt, so does their city, and they find themselves caught in the middle of the ’67 riots.

Lawrence Smith, assistant professor of theatre history, directs the play featuring Taylor Green, Char Kendall Dupins, Tre’ Vaughn Whitley, Keith Harper, and Abby Jo Windsor. Additional crew members include Stage Manager Crystal Briner, Scenic and Lighting Director William Marshall, and Costume Designer Yslan Hicks.

The play will be held in the Haislip Theatre in the UA Little Rock Center for Performing Arts on the following days and times:

  •      Wednesday, Feb. 27: 7:30 p.m.
  •      Thursday, Feb. 28: 7:30 p.m.
  •      Friday, March 1: 7:30 p.m.
  •      Saturday, March 2: 7:30 p.m.
  •      Sunday, March 3: 2:30 p.m.

General admission tickets are $10 each, while tickets for UA Little Rock employees, students, seniors, and members of the military are $5. Tickets can be purchased online.

2017 documentary DREAM LAND about Little Rock’s West 9th Street in its heyday as African American center and its legacy tonight

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Tonight at 6pm at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall the UA Little Rock School of Mass Communication, Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, and Multicultural Center present the 2017 documentary DREAM LAND.

Little Rock’s West 9th Street was once a vibrant, African-American business and entertainment district. Taborian Hall is the only remaining historic structure on West 9th Street and stands as a living witness of the street’s former glory days. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Taborian Hall housed varied and important black businesses, including professional offices, a USO, the Gem Pharmacy and the Dreamland Ballroom. By the 1930s, Dreamland was firmly established as a stop on the “Chitlin Circuit,” which showcased regional and national African-American bands and stage shows. It was also host to local musicians, dances, socials, concerts and sporting events.

This documentary seeks to recognize, memorialize and share this history. The spirit and hard work of the people and the implications of federal programs such as Urban Renewal, school desegregation, the Housing Act of 1949 and the Eisenhower Interstate Program are explored. West 9th Street and the Dreamland Ballroom have patiently waited for their story to unfold so new audiences can connect to their historical past and unknown future.

Following the screening, director Gabe Mayan and producer Tanisha Joe-Conway will participate in a discussion.

UA Little Rock Downtown’s Inaugural Lecture features Chancellor Andrew Rogerson

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The UA Little Rock Downtown Campus will have evening lectures. The inaugural one will be tonight and features Chancellor Andrew Rogerson discussing “Tales of a Wandering Microbiologist.”

Before becoming chancellor of UA Little Rock, Andrew Rogerson spent 30 years as a researcher and professor in eight universities and two government laboratories.

Fascinated by the hidden, and continually engaged in the possibilities of the invisible, Dr. Rogerson has worked on a diverse range of research projects all united by the fact they have involved microbes. Rogerson’s research was funded by various federal agencies including the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

This fun lecture requires no prior knowledge of science.

Enjoy a rare opportunity to discover the enthralling life of microbes through the life’s work of UA Little Rock’s chancellor.

The program will begin at 6pm at the UA Little Rock Downtown Campus.

Super Bowl Sunday look at the Copper Bowl

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Today is Super Bowl Sunday, so it seems to be a good time to remember the five year series of football games in Little Rock known as the Copper Bowl.

A Little Rock police officer tackles a NLR player in one of the Copper Bowls.

A Little Rock police officer tackles a NLR player in one of the Copper Bowls.

From December 1959 through December 1963, the Little Rock Police Department played the North Little Rock Police Department in a series of football games.  The Copper Bowl games were fundraisers to help the LRPD provide food and presents for needy families during the Christmas season.

The agreement was that the teams would play for five years. The team with the most wins would permanently receive the Copper Bowl trophy.  The LRPD was outfitted with uniforms from Little Rock University and Louisiana State University (thanks to the efforts of Sgt. Harold Zook).  The games were played at Quigley Stadium.

Before the final game on December 1, 1963, the series was tied at 2-2.  The LRPD team won the game and permanently captured the trophy.  Over the five year period several thousand dollars were raised.