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As a parent,I am begginning to have concerns about the credibility my son's degree will carry upon graduation from UCA. I swear,since we have been involved with this university there has been a steady stream of embarrassing incidents that I find myself trying to minimize to my friends and associates. WILL IT EVER END?

Don't feel alone pappy. I've had to completely give up talking to outsiders about Bear athletics. It always just turns into a full blown embarrasing fiasco. Pretty damn sad is what it is.

UCA's academic reputation is not a question in this. Employer's in Arkansas think highly of UCA students and in some fields ours are clearly top of the class. Our students going to med school and grad schools get very welcomed receptions. Our accounting grads are in very high demand as are PT and others. We generally have exceptional and dedicated faculty who spend lots of time with students.

We need about five years of Tom Courtway's time at the helm to clear the other issues.

It would be incredibly nice to pick up a newspapersomewhere,sometime and see an article reflecting this. I can't remember the last positive thing I saw in the media in my part of the state regarding UCA.

There are also many, many alumni out there who have said they are withholding their donations to UCA until these messes are cleaned up. Many have been doing this since the Hardin incident waiting to see if the listing ship was going to be righted - and now this ordeal. Until the right personnel is chosen to lead this university no doubt they will continue to do so. This tells me that it could be 3-4 years before we could possibly hope for these people to continue their donations to the school.

I see their point.

Ida, what you have seen going on since your involvement here at UCA is really shameful to the good people who work at this university. The 99.95% of the faculty and staff, the students, and the workers here at UCA are having their image tarnished by the other .05% that are calling the shots. Egos are a bitch, huh?

Keep up the faith. The "offspring" of the Silas Snow and Jeff Farris years are not going to accept anything other than excellence from BOT, admin or faculty. Sometimes we are limited in what we can do but giving up is not something we will do.

As to wihtholding funds, please be careful who you punish. I can sympathize with being unwilling to give unrestricted money to any orgainzatrion in which you have questions on how it will be spent. However, you can restrict the funds to very specific purposes that the Foundation will handle per the restricted purpose. The Foundation is a separate entity from the school and has separate governance, oversight by an independent board and accountability via an outisde audit. Brad has done a great job in athletics. Honors always can use additonal funds for student travel/study abroad grants. There are numerous schorlarhip funds that go diirectly to benefit students. Torreyson Library can always use funds for "extras" that normal funding will never cover. The list goes on and on.

It is extremely important to remember the University is not the athletic programs, the administration or the Board. It is 11,000 plus students and tens of thousands of alums. Most of us don't give to a person but to the University. Look at all the great things going on at UCA. To many people just read what adg's wantabe echo reporter writes. Athletes make mistakes, people make mistakes but the University is here to prepare our sons and daughters for the rest of their lives. And as has been pointed out here, it is doing an outstanding job. So lets focus on the important things. Oh, and lets beat ASU while we're at it.

These rankings are all subject to criticism and none are perfect. Top 3 "regional" public universities in the South are:
1. James Madison
2. Appalachian State
3. UNC-Wiilmington

Note that combining public and private schools introduces comparison problems as they have such different missions.

UCA Among "Top Public Schools" in the South
Posted in: Campus News, Press Room, University Relations on September 14, 2011

The University of Central Arkansas continues to rank among the best institutions in the South, according to the 2012 Best Colleges rankings by U.S. News & World Report released Tuesday.

UCA ranks 23rd in the category of "Top Public Schools" among regional universities in the South. The university remains the highest ranked Arkansas public university in the region.

"The University of Central Arkansas is delighted to learn of its recognition by U.S. News & World Report.This year's rankings once again confirm our commitment to providing an exceptional educational experience founded upon a vast array of superior academic programs," said Dr. Robert Parrent, vice president for enrollment management.

"UCA has transformed its mission of simply teaching students to one that engages students in research, service and global learning," he continued. "We use teaching as a means to a greater end - improving economic opportunity and quality of life for the communities we serve. It is this commitment to scholarship, student success and service that sets UCA apart as a leader in American higher education."
Overall, UCA is 54th out of 89 private and public institutions that ranked in the category of “Best Regional Universities” in the South. A regional university is defined as an institution that provides a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s programs, according to the U.S. News & World Report. Universities in the “Best Regional Universities” category were ranked against their peer groups in one of four geographic regions.

The U.S. News & World Report 2012 Best Colleges guidebook includes rankings of 1,600 institutions nationwide. The rankings are based on peer assessment; retention and graduation rate of UCA’s student body; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; and alumni giving.

The University of Central Arkansas is committed to excellence through the delivery of outstanding undergraduate and graduate education that remains current and responsive to the diverse needs of those it serves. UCA offers more than 100 undergraduate courses of study, 33 master's degree programs, and four doctoral programs for students to explore. More than 11,000 students from 66 different countries and 39 states are part of UCA’s community.

I have been out of town since Thursday. I have been asked a couple of direct questions which I would like to answer. Josh, when you say "when will the Gov . . . clean up this mess of BOT's", I get confused. The Chairman's role in all of this is not known at this time. I do not know, I think he has been interviewed by the Audit Committee. I have known him for 35 years, he is a really good man that cares deeply about the school. I don't know what he was thinking when this happened, he has not given, nor have I asked, for any details. I don't know what the other trustees could have done to handle this better. One poster is right, we need several years of Tom's always wise counsel and leadership. For the poster worried about the worth of her child's degree I don't think that is warranted. UCA has a great reputation academically, we are financially stronger than ever, our faculty and staff are excellent. Our administrative team is very strong. This recent thing with AM's is perplexing, I am interested in getting the facts about this mess. After the Lu Hardin mess, I offered my resignation to the Governor, he told me to go and get back to work. I have offered it to the SGA, the Staff Senate, and the Faculty Senate. With regards to those holding back gifts because of Lu's situation and this latest thing with Meadors, I don't buy that. Just make a restricted gift and it is used for whatever purpose you mandate. I warrant that those using that as an excuse to not give were never very cheerful givers in the first place. The school needs our support always, but especially now, if people care about the school they will support it.

You should. There's a lot of smaller donors out there that stretch their pocket books to support their alma mater but many have had second thoughts over the last 2-3 years. Ask around.

Big donors can't get it done, to get anywhere we must have a solid wide base of consistent smaller givers that can be depended upon. You can't hire a college President without a contract. You can't hire a coach worth keeping without a contract. You can't get rid of a contracted employee until you come to some agreement about their contract. You never know if they did something worthy of voiding the contract until after they are gone and the negotiations are done. I agree with you 100% but why doesn't a concerned giver simply make a restricted gift to be used only per their instructions? If they use the fraility of men/women as their reason not to give, they may be looking for a reason. I had never seen Lu take a drink, I have never heard him say a curse word, I have still never heard him say a mean thing about anyone, who would have ever thought he had a lurking gambling issue? I don't have the facts on the Meador's situation, but how could anyone have anticipated what happened? I can't ever remember disagreeing with you, HB, on much of anything, if you say that is happening, it is the gospel to me, but we need to do what we can to encourage those to put this behind us and support the University.

I read the article in the newspaper and it said that the vp and president shared the information from aramark with the board chair and he ask them to not say anything until he had the opportunity to visit with his committee on the president's house. Is the issue here that the vp and president should have not followed the board chair's request and called the board members anyway or should the vp have given more information in her report at the board meeting? Just trying to follow the issues and solutions here.

I do not have the exact chronology of events but it appears that the President may have been involved in the solicitation of a gift in exchange for a contract extension. I don't know when the Board Chair or the VP got in the loop. The Board was told it was a gift, there was no hint of any business arrangement. It would have to have been eventually disclosed before a vote. Apparently there are other circumstances that have come to light or the Prosecutor would not be involved. I have no idea what those "other" things are.

HB nailed it. The small donors are the ones that are reluctant to give during the times of controversy. I encounter these people on regular basis, and the negative events definitely dictate their long-term commitment to the university. These are usually fairly recent graduates who have started thinking about the future of the school and how it effects the image of their degrees and their future.

I am an employer and I place great value on a UCA degree in candidates. A friend at another university in the state says our grads are extremely sought after (his students compete for jobs with ours).