The state/region in brief
Posted: July 29, 2009 at 5:29 a.m.
LITTLE ROCK — Body identified at Springdale motel
Springdale police on Tuesday released the name of a man whose body was found in a car behind a Sunset Avenue motel, but are not closer to an explanation.
Ryan Bogart, 22, of Cave Springs, was found Monday in a dark gray 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse, that had been parked behind the Super 8 Motel at 4540 W. Sunset Ave., since Saturday night.
Bogart's body will be sent to the state Crime Laboratory to determine the cause and manner of death, which is not obvious, said Sgt. Shane Pegram.
Pegram said there were no overt signs of foul play, but nothing is being ruled out. He said Bogart's body remained unnoticed because of the vehicle's darkly tinted windows.
Bogart was discovered by an officer who was called about the abandoned vehicle.
The vehicle was parked in an area of the lot striped for large trucks, and partially obscured from view by foliage.
- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Gordon to lead
UA's Fahd Center
FAYETTEVILLE - The Middle East Studies program at the University of Arkansas welcomed a new head at the start ofthe fiscal year.
Joel Gordon, a history professor on the Fayetteville campus, became director of the King Fahd Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies on July 1, UA officials announcedTuesday.
Gordon will go from earning $88,700 annually to $93,700, UA spokesman Steve Voorhies said. He will replace Tom Paradise, a geology professor who was director for three years.
William Schwab, dean of UA's J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, appointed Gordon, saying he is widely published and will bring more national attention to the program.
Gordon came to the Fayetteville campus in fall 1999, when he started as an associate professor of history, he recalled Tuesday.
His plans include finding more outside grants for students' study abroad opportunities, both in language and general Middle East studies, he said. Gordon also wants to expand the program's language courses.
"At the moment we teach only Arabic," he said, referring to Modern Standard Arabic. Often referred to as "newspaper Arabic," it is the foundation for mastering grammar and later learning any of the language's countless dialects, he said.
Gordon wants to add Farsi (also known as Persian) and Turkish, and will propose doing so through post-doctoral hires and bringing foreign scholars to campus via such avenues as the Fulbright Scholar Program. He also would like to transform the center's office in Old Main into a destination for student and faculty brown-bag lunches, study circles and other opportunities for camaraderie.
Gordon earned his doctorate in history from the University of Michigan in 1987. He has authored three books and is under contract with Stanford University Press for a fourth, The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Bikes, blues events
going to pavilion
Organizers of Fayetteville's Bikes, Blues & BBQ festival announced plans Tuesday to partner with the Arkansas Music Pavilion for two concerts during this year's rally.
The pavilion will host Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet on Thursday, Sept. 24 in its covered, outdoor facility at the Northwest Arkansas Mall.
The Marshall Tucker Band with special guest Oreo Experience performs on Friday, Sept. 25.
The concerts begin around 7:30 p.m., and admission is $10 per night
The pavilion is hosting a free blues concert featuring 12 regional blues bands on Saturday, Sept. 26 from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The first Bikes, Blues and Hot Rods Too car show will be held at the same time with contestants competing for $5,000 in cash and prizes.
The Bikes, Blues and BBQ rally also includes concerts from Wednesday through Saturday at two stages - one in the Walton Arts Center parking lot and also the Randal Tyson Track Center parking lot. A gate fee of $1 per person will be charged nightly for admission after 6 p.m., organizers said.
- NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TIMES
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 07/29/2009
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