FAYETTEVILLE -- The more than 4,600 degrees conferred this spring at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville represent stories of hard work and grit, UA System President Donald Bobbitt said at Saturday's UA commencement.
"To me this is not really just a number, but rather it signifies over 4,600 individual stories of success representing perseverance, determination and grit," Bobbitt said at the all-university ceremony held in Bud Walton Arena.
New graduates along with their families celebrated their accomplishments while remembering the hard work that led to the beaming smiles seen across campus Saturday.
UA also conferred honorary degrees to author Charles Portis and philanthropists Wallace and Jama Fowler.
Jonathan Portis accepted the honorary Doctor of Human Letters on behalf of his brother, the author of True Grit and other novels. Charles Portis, an Arkansas native living in Little Rock, has been in poor health and is unable to travel, Jonathan Portis has said.
Wallace and Jama Fowler have given millions to UA, Arkansas State University and other causes, and each took the stage to receive honorary Doctor of Art and Humane Letters degrees.
Several public universities in Arkansas also held commencement exercises Saturday, including the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
ASU Chancellor Kelly Damphousse handed out 2,236 diplomas at First National Bank Arena on Saturday. Philanthropist and financier Neil Griffin -- a 1948 ASU graduate who donated $10 million to the university's business college in April -- received an honorary doctorate.
Twenty-three ASU students graduated summa cum laude and 132 magna cum laude. Another 159 students graduated cum laude. The university said the numbers included a record-high 185 graduating students with University Honors, Honors, and recipients of Honors Certificates.
At the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, about 1,500 UALR undergraduate and graduate students registered to participate in that university's commencement, plus about 90 graduates at the William H. Bowen School of Law.
One UALR student who received his degree this year is Doyle Rankins of Pulaski County. He started at UALR at age 19 in 1970. Rankins worked for Missouri Pacific Railroad, now Union Pacific, and served in the Arkansas Air National Guard. He had to interrupt his studies because of work and family, but he never gave up on education.
He started online classes in 2016 and this year the 67-year-old wrapped up his studies, receiving a Bachelor of Applied Science degree 48 years after he first started classes at UALR.
At UA, the state's largest campus, those receiving bachelor's degrees included Deborah Nowlin, 71, who studied online for a nursing degree.
She continued a path that led her back to school about a decade ago to earn an associate degree at Northwest Arkansas Community College and become a registered nurse.
"I was afraid. I was scared. Can I do this? Can my brain work right? Will I be up to it?" Nowlin said, describing her thoughts upon re-enrolling in college after decades spent raising six children with her husband, Robert.
As a UA online student, "I was determined I was going to do well," Nowlin said. It paid off, as she said she finished her courses with a 3.9 grade-point average. Her immediate plans are to share knowledge about fall prevention, with a presentation this week at a Springdale senior-citizen center, Nowlin said.
Other bachelor-degree recipients include 13 students in a dual-degree program with UA and Soochow University in China, said Karen Boston, an assistant dean for UA's Sam M. Walton College of Business.
The 2017-18 academic year marked the first time the Fayetteville campus hosted Chinese students enrolled in the dual-degree program, which focuses on supply-chain management.
It also marked the first time in the United States for Jiaxiang "Jason" Leng, 22, who along with others in the program earned UA bachelor's degrees.
"I feel like many areas with many cultural backgrounds live here," said Leng, adding that he appreciated the diversity.
"This year, I learned so much from my friends from different countries. This is what I think I will treasure most," Leng said, adding that he wants to earn a graduate degree in the United States.
Sherece West-Scantlebury, president and chief executive officer of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, offered words of encouragement at the all-university commencement. Various colleges within UA held separate ceremonies for their graduates on Friday and Saturday.
West-Scantlebury said future successes for the state "depend upon on you, your preparation, and your vision and your boldness."
She told graduates not to fear taking a risk.
"Remember, the greatest failure is not to try. You can fail and not be a failure. And, most important, failure is not final," West-Scantlebury said.
West-Scantlebury also asked for the new graduates to stand and wave to family members and supporters in the crowd at Bud Walton Arena.
Some family members in attendance spoke to a reporter about the hard work that goes into earning a degree.
Theadra Barnes carried her son, Oliver, who's nearly 2 years old. They were at the ceremony to celebrate Barnes' fiance and Oliver's father, Ian Reynolds, earning a master's in teaching.
"He had two internships he had to complete, as well as a ton of reading, lots of late nights, lots of grading papers since he was basically teaching the whole time while being a student," Barnes said. She said Reynolds "worked really, really hard and still made time for his family."
Diane Fuller said she traveled from New York to attend the commencement that included her sister, Quinn Montana, who earned a master's degree in geography.
After taking a photo of a large Razorbacks logo on the wall at Bud Walton Arena, Fuller described her sister's passion for food science. Montana wrote a book a few years ago titled Worship Your Food and while at UA defended a thesis about the caloric content of food products from around the world, Fuller said.
"She's always been a hard worker and she worked really hard to get here, and I'm so proud of her," Fuller said. She said her sister now plans to pursue a doctorate at UA.
NW News on 05/13/2018