Pulaski Tech board sets vote on merger
Pulaski Technical College's board will meet this week to vote on a possible merger with the University of Arkansas System.
UA System President Donald Bobbitt pitched a merger to Pulaski Tech trustees and the college's faculty and staff in March. At the time, the trustees said they would take the matter under advisement.
Since then, Rich Mountain Community College -- the state's smallest public two-year school with 932 students -- has taken its first steps to merge with the UA System. Trustees for the Mena college gave the go-ahead in April.
If Pulaski Tech's trustees on Wednesday approve the merger of the 7,648-student school with the UA System, UA trustees will also decide that matter when they meet May 25-26 at Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas' Nashville campus in Howard County.
Financial literacy mandated by UAFS
University of Arkansas at Fort Smith students must now demonstrate financial literacy before graduating, the result of a redesigned personal finance course.
Latisha Settlage, an associate professor of accounting at UAFS, had been teaching a personal finance course at the university, but she said she realized it wasn't addressing student-loan debt. Settlage began retooling the course last summer, placing a stronger focus on student-loan debt and practical money management, according to a news release.
The newly shaped course teaches students how to manage and pay off debt and compare different loans, along with "common sense financial knowledge," the news release states.
UAFS administrators liked the new approach to the course. Because of that, UAFS made financial literacy a graduation requirement.
"Preparing our students for post-graduate success means not just educating them in their area of study, but also ensuring they have the knowledge to responsibly manage their money once they enter the workforce," UAFS Chancellor Paul Beran said in a prepared statement.
Family's $25,000 to aid UCA students
A family with ties to the University of Central Arkansas is donating $25,000 over five years for scholarships for graduate students.
Harry Readnour, his sons Ric and Warren, and daughter-in-law Shari Barnes Readnour have started the scholarship fund through UCA's foundation. Harry Readnour was a longtime member of the Conway school's Department of History and one point chaired the department, according to a news release.
He also served as the state coordinator of the National History Day program and as faculty advisor for UCA's chapter of the National History Honor Society. Warren Readnour is the university's general counsel.
Full-time graduate students in the Department of History are eligible for the scholarships, which will start at $500 until the fund is endowed when it reaches $25,000, the university said. At that point, the scholarship awards will be based on the endowment revenue.
Metro on 05/08/2016