Author: Donnie Sewell

Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed legislation this week that will expand ex officio membership of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts Board of Visitors as well as create a growth pathway for faculty members.

Act 354 was signed by Gov. Hutchinson on March 15. The legislation was filed in the House of Representatives by state Rep. Bruce Cozart (R-District 24, Hot Springs). State Sen. Alan Clark (R-District 13, Lonsdale) served as the primary sponsor in the Senate. Co-sponsors of the legislation included Reps. Les Warren (R-District 24, Hot Springs) and Richard McGrew(R-District 22, Hot Springs) in the House and Sen. Greg Leding (D-District 4, Fayetteville) in the Senate.

“ASMSA’s community of learning appreciates the support of the Arkansas General Assembly as well as Governor Hutchinson in amending the school’s enabling legislation,” noted ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice. “The unanimous passage of these amendments is a show of support for all groups who have a role in ASMSA’s success.”

The change in legislation creates ex officio seats on the ASMSA Board of Visitors for the school’s employee Governing Council, the Association for Alumni and Friends of ASMSA, and the ASMSA Foundation Fund Board of Ambassadors. The change ensures that all campus affinity groups are engaged participants in the advisory and advocacy work of the Board of Visitors. Existing ex officio seats included the ASMSA Student Government Association, Parents Association and partnering state agencies.

The legislation also enables ASMSA to implement a growth pathway for faculty members that recognizes their excellence in teaching, mentoring student research and service over time. While not a formal system of tenure, the amendment allows campus leadership to work with the University of Arkansas System to develop a framework for professional advancement that is consistent with peer institutions in other states.

Dr. Neil Oatsvall, a history instructor who serves as the chair of the Humanities Department and current president of the Governing Council, praised the effort to give employees an opportunity to participate on the Board of Visitors.

“Governing Council is the cornerstone of shared governance at ASMSA and represents all employees — faculty and staff. I am thrilled that future Governing Council presidents will be able to advocate for all ASMSA employees. This is a great step forward for we employees who care so much about this institution,” Oatsvall said.

ASMSA alumni have previously served as members of the Board of Visitors through appointments by Hutchinson and former Gov. Mike Beebe. This legislation does not prohibit alumni to serve as a full board member, but it will provide the Association for Alumni and Friends of ASMSA a permanent ex-officio seat on the board.

Amy Stvartak, an alumna of the Class of 2011, serves as a member of the executive team of the AAFA, said members of the organization are thrilled about the opportunity to serve the institution with a seat on the Board of Visitors.

“Alumni are some of ASMSA’s most knowledgeable and devoted external stakeholders, and formally including an alumni voice on the board in the form of an ex-officio seat allows the unique experience of alumni to be part of the board’s advisory capacity. It’s also a big step for the AAFA. We appreciate this opportunity to better serve the ASMSA community,” Stvartak said.

Act 354 will go into effect July 1, the beginning of the next state fiscal year. Formal inclusion of these groups will begin with the September 2021 Board of Visitors meeting.

A team of students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts qualified for the Fifth Annual All-State Coding Competition.

The team of Tristan Goodell of Maumelle, Trey Clark of Harrison and Joshua Stallings of Little Rock will compete in the state coding competition that will be held May 1. They qualified for state in the All-Region Coding Competition that was held virtually Feb. 26.

More than 100 teams participated in the region event and were scored by the Arkansas Department of Education Office of Computer Science team using a common rubric and process. That process determined the top 16 teams to invite to the state-level event. The school that produced the first-place team at the state competition in 2020, the Don Tyson School of Innovation in Springdale, received an automatic invitation to send a team to the state competition.

Each member of the first-place team at the state competition will receive a $2,000 award that will be deposited into a 529 College Savings Plan. Each member of the second-place team will receive a $1,000 award deposited into a 529 College Savings Plan, with each member of the third-place team receiving a $500 award deposited into a 529 College Savings Plan. In addition, the schools that register/sponsor the teams placing first, second, and third will receive $10,000, $6,000, and $4,000, respectively, to support their computer science programs. The prizes and competition expenses are provided by a grant from Verizon to ARCodeKids.

“COVID changed almost everything, including this year’s regional coding competition, which was held virtually for the first time,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said according to a release from the Department of Education. “Regardless, competing off-site did not dampen the enthusiasm of the more than 100 teams that participated. All of these students are on a path to a bright future because of the work they have put into learning to code. Congratulations to the 17 teams that are advancing to the state competition in May.”

Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students earned a trip to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May at the West Central Regional Science Fair.

Aly Navarro, a senior from Hot Springs, won first place overall followed by Cameryn Berryhill, a junior from Evening Shade, in second place and Catherine Kwon, a senior from Little Rock, in third. Navarro’s project studied the source of unknown deposits found in the pipes of Libbey Fountain, one of the public jug fountains in Hot Springs National Park. Berryhill researched how a certain soil microbiome affected the growth of native and invasive plants. Kwon’s project researched whether there was a way to predict neonatal seizures. It is the second year in a row that Kwon qualified to compete in the ISEF competition.

On March 1, 1991, then-Gov. Bill Clinton signed House Bill 1387 of the 78^th Arkansas General Assembly into law as Act 305. Two days earlier, he had signed Senate Bill 236, enacting Act 259. Together, the two acts officially established the Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences.

Today, the school is known as the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts and is a campus of the University of Arkansas System. It has more than 2,600 alumni, the majority of whom reside in Arkansas. Within the past decade, the campus has celebrated the opening of two new buildings — the Student Center in 2012 and the Creativity and Innovation Complex in 2019. A full renovation of the Chapel and Convent structures is set to begin in summer 2021.

But 30 years ago, ASMSA was represented by words on paper and the drive by several passionate visionaries who thought such a school was an important step to better educate Arkansas students and better prepare the state for future economic growth.

Seventeen students at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts earned recognition at the 2021 Future Business Leaders of America District IV Spring Conference.

The competition and conference were held virtually on Feb. 15. The events were judged by using an objective subject test, a performance/presentation, or a combination of an objective test and a performance component.

Rep. Bruce Cozart has filed House Bill 1472 in the Arkansas General Assembly on behalf of ASMSA’s community of learning.  Sen. Alan Clark will serve as the primary sponsor in the Senate.  Co-sponsors include Sen. Greg Leding, Rep. Les Warren, and Rep. Richard McGrew. The bill accomplishes two goals that were discussed as part of ASMSA’s 2025 Strategic Plan.

First, the bill creates ex-officio seats on the ASMSA Board of Visitors for the following groups: the faculty and staff Governing Council; the Association for Alumni and Friends of ASMSA; and the ASMSA Foundation Fund Board of Ambassadors.  With existing seats for the Student Government Association, Parents Association, and partnering state agencies, the resulting change ensures that all campus affinity groups are engaged participants in the advisory and advocacy work of the Board of Visitors.

Second, the bill would enable ASMSA to implement a growth pathway for faculty that recognizes their excellence in teaching, mentoring student research, and service over time.  ASMSA’s enabling legislation currently notes that faculty shall not “hold rank.”  While not a formal system of tenure, which is also prohibited, this amendment will allow campus leadership, the Governing Council, and the University of Arkansas System to develop a framework for professional advancement that is consistent with our peer institutions.

As a program funded almost exclusively by state revenues, it is essential that students, parents, alumni, and friends of the school communicate with legislators and decision-makers on the critical role ASMSA plays not only in the lives of our students but also in the intellectual, economic, and social development of the state.  ASMSA is an investment in the future potential of Arkansas.  You can identify your local legislators and their contact information at the following link:

https://argis.ualr.edu/DistrictFinder/index.html

HB1472 is a commitment to shared governance and continued investment in the talented faculty who challenge and inspire ASMSA students on a daily basis.  Please do not hesitate to contact Director Corey Alderdice (alderdicec@asmsa.org) or Dr. Sara Brown (brownsa@asmsa.org) with any questions you might have about the legislation.

Several Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students recently qualified for the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association 2021 All-Region and All-State bands.

The Smithsonian Institution has awarded $500 to Mid-America Science Museum to support its work with a group of students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts (ASMSA). The participating students include: Cameryn Berryhill, a junior from Evening Shade; Chloe Kirk, a senior from Eureka Springs, Alyssandra Navarro, a senior from Hot Springs; Terrance Meinardus, a senior from Alma; and Claire Green, a junior from North Little Rock. The museum has been collaborating with Dr. Lindsey Waddell, a geoscience instructor at the School, for several months to develop a teen-designed and -led project addressing an environmental issue of concern to them.

Todd West of Fayetteville has been named the ASMSA Advocate of the Year by the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts and the ASMSA Foundation.

West is a member of the ASMSA Board of Visitors where he serves as vice chair. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, ASMSA transitioned to remote learning during the Spring 2020 semester, and students were required to attend their classes via the internet.

Five Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students were named National Merit Finalists for the 2020-21 academic year by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

The National Merit Scholarship Corp. recently announced the names of the Finalists for the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The students who are all members of the Class of 2021 will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth about $31 million that will be offered this spring.

The ASMSA seniors named Finalists are:

• Max Green of North Little Rock,
• Alex Guo of Jonesboro,
• Jacob Holmes of Rector,
• David Huang of Little Rock, and
• Catherine Kwon of Little Rock.

To be considered for the National Merit Scholarship Program, students take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test as a junior. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of anticipated graduating seniors.

Students were required to fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist standing, including a detailed scholarship application that includes information about their academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The National Merit Scholarship Corp. is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. It was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Scholarships are underwritten by the corporation with its own funds and by approximately 400 business organizations and higher education institutions.