Ex-coach at UALR sues over his firing
A former University of Arkansas at Little Rock assistant baseball coach has filed suit against the university and several current and former athletics department employees, claiming the athletics officials forced him to resign during the season after he reported sexual harassment and emotional and physical abuse by the former head baseball coach.
The eight-count federal lawsuit filed by Cole Gordon also was lodged against the University of Arkansas System.
Gordon acted as a whistleblower against former UALR baseball Coach Scott Norwood, who purportedly sexually harassed students on the team and engaged in a physical fight with Gordon.
Athletics department officials did nothing about the allegations against Norwood, the lawsuit said.
In the lawsuit, Gordon said the firing came in the form of "retaliation" after his whistleblower claims.
The defendants have not responded to the suit, which was filed Aug. 18.
School's enrollees break fall record
Central Baptist College broke its enrollment record with 881 students for the fall semester, including its largest number of new student athletes, according to a news release.
Of the 881 enrollees, 482 are traditional students, and, of those, 243 are student athletes, the college said. The school tallied 399 nontraditional student enrollees. The private Conway college had 858 enroll in fall 2014.
"Some of our newer programs such as Education, Worship Arts, and Kinesiology are gaining a lot of attention from students and prospective students," Central Baptist College President Terry Kimbrow said in a news release. "The word is spreading about our excellent academic programs and commitment to transforming lives."
The college also cites an expansion into the Champion Christian College in Hot Springs as a reason for the increased enrollment. The Hot Springs location offers traditional courses but will offer classes for working adults starting Nov. 2.
UA System schools gain NASA grants
Three University of Arkansas System schools have received a $750,000 grant from NASA.
The schools -- those in Little Rock, Fayetteville and Pine Bluff -- got the grant to help create the next generation of photovoltaic devices used in space missions, according to a news release. Keith Hudson, director of the UALR Arkansas Space Grant Consortium, will lead the project.
"Current devices don't provide very much electricity per amount of solar energy shining upon them," Hudson said in a news release.
The research group will develop the devices in hopes of achieving a more efficient energy yield at a lower cost. The researchers will also design and simulate the new devices.
Metro on 09/20/2015