Higher education notebook

Site announced for ASU Mexico campus

The Association for the Advancement of Mexican Education, a private business foundation, announced last week that it has acquired about 2,000 acres for development near Queretaro, Mexico, site of Arkansas State University’s planned campus in Mexico.

The campus will include commercial, residential and recreational components, ASU officials said.

On Thursday, more than 2,000 leaders in government, education and business gathered at the Centro de Convenciones to celebrate plans to start construction of the ASU campus, which ASU said would be privately funded.

The Mexico campus, which will open for classes in fall 2015, incorporates ASU’s brand and logo, as well as its curriculum. Courses will be taught in English by credentialed faculty members approved by ASU.

The first phase of academic space is being designed to accommodate up to 5,000 students, with a goal of 1,000 students in the first year, ASU-Jonesboro Chancellor Tim Hudson said.

ASU will use private gifts for startup costs, and the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Education will underwrite any operating deficits for up to three years after courses begin. ASU ultimately will receive a percentage of revenue. The Association for the Advancement of Mexican Education will also finance and build the campus, Hudson said.

HSU energy rewards add up to $342,000

Henderson State University in Arkadelphia has received more than $342,000 in incentives from Entergy Arkansas’ CitySmart energy-efficiency program.

“Since 2012, Entergy Arkansas has given us financial incentives to upgrade our facilities, so we save money and encourage economic growth in our community,” Bobby Jones, vice president for finance and administration, said in a news release.“On top of that, these changes are good for the environment, which is very important to Henderson State and our community.”

Participation in the program led to lighting, heating and air upgrades in 2012 and a chiller installation in 2013.

Theater remodeled

at Arkansas Tech

Renovations at Arkansas Tech University’s Techionery Theater have been completed, and classes are already meeting there, a Friday news release said.

The university’s administration closed the theater in September 2011 because of safety problems, including obstructed emergency exits, wiring problems and unsafe storage.

The more than $1 million in work on the Techionery began in spring 2012, with the removal of 22 tons of debris from the 14,200-square foot space. Construction of a performance space with seating for 144 audience members, classroom space, storage areas and space for set creation began in fall 2012 and was completed in time for the spring 2014 semester.

“There is a beautifully redesigned shop, lovely lighting facilities, new instruments and new ways of hanging them. It has all of these different storage rooms, conference rooms, a green room and a make-up room,” David Eshelman, associate professor of speech and interim director of the Arkansas Tech theater program, said in the news release.

UALR to offer kids science in summer

Budding scientists and engineers are encouraged to apply for a summer science program July 6-18 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

UALR is one of 20 universities nationwide to offer the two-week, all-expenses-paid ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp program for students entering sixth, seventh or eighth grades in fall 2014.

Information regarding application requirements and camp-specific submission instructions are available at theharrisfoundation.org.

Arkansas, Pages 18 on 02/23/2014

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