Philander Smith woos Californians
Philander Smith College will begin guaranteeing admission for eligible students transferring from any community college in California.
The college will begin that admission process this fall for students who meet certain academic requirements. Philander Smith will be one of nine HBCUs, historically black colleges and universities, partnering with the 112 community college campuses in California, according to a news release. California students with transfer-level associate degrees -- or with 30 or more "transferable units" -- and with grade point averages of 2.5 or higher are eligible.
The Little Rock college's president, Roderick Smothers, said in the release that he plans to develop similar partnerships with other institutions. The move is part of a White House initiative to help historically black colleges expand higher-education opportunities.
More than half of the 567 students at the private college are from out of state, the release states.
"Our intention is to expand our reach so that we grow our student population in a healthy and sustainable way that supports our goal of becoming a top-tier HBCU in America," Smothers said in the release.
U.S. grant to fund SAU radiation study
The chairman of the engineering department at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia has received a $265,000 National Institutes of Health research grant.
AR IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence awarded the three-year grant to Abdel Bachri. The university was one of nine grant recipients in Arkansas, including Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.
Bachri will partner with radiologists from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to study the effect of space radiation in a near-zero gravity environment on human chromosomes, according to a news release.
Bachri has selected three SAU students to help with the first phase of the research. During that phase, the team will run experiments this summer at UAMS and make use of NASA's space radiation laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y.
"Exploring the interaction of high energy particles with normal cells does not only help estimate health risks during space travel, but will significantly contribute to our understanding of the side effect of charged particles radiotherapy," Bachri said in the release.
Event nets $30,755 for UCA scholarships
The University of Central Arkansas raised more than double its goal during its annual Day of Giving campaign.
UCA was hoping to raise $11,698 -- $1 for each student enrolled at the Conway university. Instead, some 736 donors gave $30,755.80, which will support emergency scholarships. Those scholarships are available to students who face financial stress that stops them from completing their degrees.
The one-day event Thursday raised $18,770.80, and the remainder came from matching gifts from the challenge donors, according to a news release.
Aviation program set for 5-year hiatus
The University of Arkansas System board of trustees has placed the aviation maintenance program at its Batesville campus on inactive status for five years.
The program -- once offered at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville -- will no longer accept new students after facing declining enrollment for seven years. A similar program is offered by Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock and Southern Arkansas University-Tech in Camden.
The Batesville program currently has five students, who have earned the general aviation and aviation maintenance technology certificates. There are two other certificates, and the college plans to "teach out" the students by Aug. 28.
The program has two teachers. One will retire and the other will return to SAU-Tech, officials have said.
Metro on 03/22/2015