The Arkansas Alumni Association will host its 71st annual Alumni Awards Celebration on Friday, Oct. 30. Honoring the accomplishments of our alumni, faculty and friends, this year’s awards will include: the Citation of Distinguished Alumni, the Andrew J. Lucas Alumni Service Award, the Community Service Award, the Young Alumni Award, the Honorary Alumni Award, the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award, and the Charles and Nadine Baum Faculty Teaching Award.
Registration for this year’s Alumni Awards Celebration is available at www.arkansasalumni.org/awards2015. Registration is $75 per person and will close on Friday, Oct. 16.
Arkansas Alumni Association Awardees
The Hon. Eddie Armstrong, B.A. ’02
Armstrong will receive the Young Alumni Award, which recognizes exceptional achievements in career, public service or volunteer activities that bring honor to the University of Arkansas. State Representative Eddie Armstrong of Little Rock is currently serving his second term in the Arkansas House of Representatives. He is a strong advocate for preventing juvenile delinquency and developing dynamic character traits in children. He served as the national spokesperson for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which was noted by Denzel Washington in his book, A Hand Guide to Me.
Dustin Beuhler
Buehler, associate professor in the School of Law, has earned this year’s Faculty Distinguished Achievement-Rising Teaching Award. Beuhler has only been a U of A faculty member for five years, but he has quickly become known as one of the most-liked and inspiring educators within the School of Law, as evidenced by his multiple selections for the Lewis E. Epley Jr. Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. For the past two years, he has served as the director and founder of the Federal Appellate Litigation Project. Under his guidance, university students have argued successfully before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Betty Bradford, B.S.H.E. ’54, M.S. ’90
Betty Bradford of Fayetteville has been recognized as the 2015 Andrew J. Lucas Alumni Service Award recipient. This award acknowledges significant contributions of time and energy on behalf of the University and the Alumni Association. During her time as a student on campus, Bradford began a lifelong interest in service. She was involved in the Association of Women Students, College Home Economics Organization, Phi Upsilon Omicron, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Student Senate. As an alumna, she has also been deeply involved with the U of A over the years, serving on the Arkansas Alumni Association Board and being actively engaged with the Bumpers Alumni Society. She is currently involved with the Women’s Giving Circle.
Marty Burlsworth
Marty Burlsworth of Harrison has been selected for this year’s Honorary Alumni Award, which honors non-alumni who have served, promoted, developed and loved the University of Arkansas in the tradition of an Arkansas graduate. Following the death of his younger brother, Brandon, Marty Burlsworth and his family formed the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation, dedicated to helping underprivileged children in Arkansas. The foundation has created a unique program called Burls’ Kids, which gives children — who would not otherwise have the opportunity — the excitement of attending a Razorback football game and meeting the players.
Margaret Clark, M.A. ’68, Ed.D. ’78
Margaret Clark or Fayetteville will receive this year’s Community Service Award, which recognizes her unselfish and extensive service to her community and to humankind. Clark was hired at the U of A in 1969, where she taught French and other foreign languages. She was instrumental in the establishment of a scholarship program for students from Bolivia, and she chartered the University chapter of Pi Delta Phi, the French Honor Society. Clark has an extensive list of local and statewide community service involvement, including the U of A division of American Association of University Women and the Iota Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, the Honorary Society of Key Women Educators.
Kay Goss, B.A. ’63, M.A. ’66
Kay Goss of Alexandria, Virginia, is one of three alumni receiving the Citation of Distinguished Alumni, which recognizes exceptional professional and personal achievement and extraordinary distinction in a chosen field. She was appointed by President Clinton to serve as the associate FEMA director in charge of national preparedness, training, and exercises from 1993 to 2001. Since then, she has served as the president of World Disaster Management, and is currently serving as the CEO of the GC Barnes Group. Because of her extraordinary work, Goss has been recognized as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. In addition to her extensive career, she has written hundreds of articles and five books on state and local government, emergency management, and homeland security.
Donna L. Graham, B.S.H.E. ’70, M.Ed. ’78
Donna Graham of Fayetteville is also receiving the Citation of Distinguished Alumni. In her career, Graham has served as associate dean of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and she is the past president of the American Association for Agricultural. She is currently a professor in the Department of Agricultural Education, Communication and Technology at the U of A. She is also an officer of the U of A Teaching Academy and serves as a mentor to other university faculty members. She has been instrumental in gaining approval and bringing an online Master of Science degree program in Agricultural and Extension Education to the university.
The Hon. Morril Hilton Harriman Jr., B.A. ’72, J.D. ’75
Morril H. Harriman Jr. of Little Rock is the final Citation of Distinguished Alumni recipient. Harriman’s career in public service has included almost 16 years as a notably effective legislator and highly respected leader in the Arkansas Senate. In the past, he has served as Gov. Mike Beebe’s chief of staff. Last year, he committed to an additional 10 years of public service when he accepted a gubernatorial appointment to the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas.
Lynn Jacobs
Lynn Jacobs, professor of art in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences will receive the Charles and Nadine Baum Faculty Teaching Award, which was established in 1997 by the Charles and Nadine Baum Foundation to recognize outstanding teaching. Jacobs began her career in 1986, as an assistant professor and the Andrew W. Mellow Fellow for Vanderbilt, before joining the U of A faculty. She is recognized as an accomplished art historian. She has authored two books, and co-authored several student success books, which have helped her provide quality educational experiences for her students.
Jin-Woo Kim
Jin-Woo Kim is a professor of biological and agricultural engineering in the College of Engineering and UA Division of Agriculture. He has been chosen for the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award in the field of research. Kim is a director of the Bio/Nano Technology Laboratory. He has authored a total of 97 publications and holds three patents, including a method of fabricating a nanochannel system for DNA sequencing and nanoparticle characterization. Since 2001, he has received more than $5 million of funding in research grants.
Jeannie Whayne
Jeannie Whayne, a professor of history in the Fulbright College, has been selected for the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award in professional service. This award is designed to honor successful and outstanding service to the state, region, or nation through the faculty member’s professional expertise. At the U of A, Whayne serves as a faculty mentor, and is a member of the disabilities services committee, the teaching academy executive committee and the chancellor’s committee on distance education. Beyond her involvement on campus, Whayne serves on the Arkansas Historical Association, the Agricultural History Society, and the Northwest Arkansas African American Heritage Association.
