February 2023

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock announces students who have made the Dean's List for the Fall 2022 semester, recognizing nearly 1,150 students whose academic performances have been superior at the end of each semester.

Scholarships are now available for eligible Arkansas students through Arkansas Community Foundation. The Community Foundation’s scholarships are for Arkansas students pursuing education at two- or fouryear colleges or universities, vocational schools or technical training programs.

We all want to stay healthy and live independently throughout our retirement years. Unfortunately, that won’t be possible for some of us, so it’s a good idea to be prepared for health-related challenges — such as the need for long-term care.

WHEREAS: On or about January 30, 2023, severe winter weather began in Arkansas and continues to cause dangers, hardships, and suffering throughout the state, which in turn, warrants this executive action; WHEREAS: Within the State of Arkansas, great hardship has fallen upon its citizens, including their businesses and their public and private property; WHEREAS: The winter weather is limiting commercial vehicles from accomplishing their designated responsibilities of hauling heavy equipment, oversized loads, transformers, necessary hardware, and other transmission and distribution equipment to line crews for the purpose of restoring power to the citizens of the State of Arkansas; WHEREAS: There is a likelihood of numerous downed power lines, and it is important to maintain a safe distance from the downed power lines and from the line crews and equipment restoring power to the citizens of the State of Arkansas; WHEREAS: The winter weather has resulted in dangerous road conditions creating a backlog of deliveries by commercial vehicles transporting essential items of commerce to customers in Arkansas; WHEREAS: The winter weather is limiting commercial vehicles from accomplishing their designated responsibilities of hauling feed and picking up poultry; and WHEREAS: Pursuant to 49 CFR §390.23, the Governor is authorized to declare a regional emergency for the duration of emergency conditions, not to exceed thirty (30) days from the date of the initial declaration of emergency, and any motor carrier or driver operating a commercial motor vehicle to provide emergency relief is temporarily exempt from the regulations found in 49 C.F.R. §390 to §399 for the duration of the declared emergency.

Collaboration is a powerful tool to address a community's economic, social, and environmental challenges. It is an equally effective approach in tackling social and global issues, critical public purposes, and sustainability challenges. In collaboration, community stakeholders join together to explore and search for solutions to address wicked problems beyond their ability to solve them independently. Furthermore, collaboration involves a more long-lasting and pervasive relationship that results in a new structure and shared mission as partners pool or jointly secure resources and share the results and rewards of their joint efforts (Candid 2016). While there are many reasons an organization may choose to collaborate, organizational efficiency receives a boost which increases organizational effectiveness, and these two factors can drive a broader social and systems change. Gray (1989) defined collaboration as a 'process through which parties who see different aspects of a problem can constructively explore their differences and search for solutions that go beyond their own limited visions of what is possible' (p. 5). Collaboration is needed today to work through the issues and problems our communities face in providing a safety net to meet people's needs and tackle wicked problems.