University of Arkansas

Faculty, staff and students from the University of Arkansas Department of Horticulture were recognized for strong participation and multiple student awards at the Southern Region American Society for Horticultural Science annual meeting held in Louisville, Kentucky. Department faculty and staff contributed to the conference through research presentations, session moderation and student competition leadership.

Graduate students in the Department of Animal Science recently took the spotlight during the annual Dr. Paul Noland Graduate Student Award Competition, an event showcasing emerging research and recognizing excellence in graduate scholarships. Seven students presented their current work with projects spanning animal health, beef production, sustainability and innovative technology.

The Speech and Debate Society at the U of A, sponsored by the Diane Blair Center for Southern Politics and Society, traveled to Bossier City, Louisiana, to compete in the Eddy Shell Invitational hosted at Bossier Parish Community College.

Ruvindu Perera, a doctoral student in the Cell and Molecular Biology program, placed as one of the top 12 finalists out of more than 60 competitors in the regional 3-Minute Thesis competition in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Perera, who is also a Doctoral Academy Fellow, presented on his research project titled "Developing a Vaccine to Prevent Lameness in Broiler Chickens." He faced off against graduate students from universities across the South, as far west as Texas and as far east as Virginia, and received a $150 cash prize for placing as a finalist.

The Speech and Debate Society at the University of Arkansas, sponsored by the Diane Blair Center for Southern Politics and Society and housed in the History Department, competed at the Southern Forensics Championship Tournament, the state championship for Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. While this event typically occurs in-person and was set to be hosted by Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, the SFC board moved the event online due to winter storms. The Speech and Debate Society went on to win a whopping 58 awards, breaking their past record from the same event in 2025.

Gibson Nkhata, a doctoral student in the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas, earned a best paper award at the 24th IEEE/WIC International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology in London, United Kingdom. This international conference, organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Web Intelligence Consortium (WIC), brings together researchers, professionals and industry experts to share research and real-world applications exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) functions in a connected world. Nkhata's paper, titled "Verifying Rumors via Stance-Aware Structural Modeling," examines the importance of verifying information and rumors on social media to limit the spread of misinformation.

The Speech & Debate Society at the U of A is celebrating a standout mid-season performance as national rankings from the International Public Debate Association (IPDA) place the team among the top programs in the country. With half the competitive season remaining, the team is positioned for one of its strongest finishes in recent history.

The speech and debate society traveled to its final in-person tournament of the semester this past weekend, held at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville earning 18 awards at the tournament and closing out the fall semester with a combined total of 77 - well on track to break their record from the previous season. Together, the team earned four combined total awards, which includes all members' contributions to the tournament.

A student team seeking to raise awareness about whole health care captured one of the top prizes at Demo Day, a bi-annual event showcasing a semester of learnings in the McMillon Innovation Studio, the University of Arkansas' campus innovation hub. The team partnered with Community Clinic to create Wellness on Wheels, a mobile education and resource van. The program, unveiled Dec. 3 at the U of A's Institute for Integrative & Innovative Research, helps raise awareness in the community by attending local events to teach whole health principles and distribute preventative tools.

University of Arkansas students are showcasing their career readiness through award-winning professional ePortfolios. Top student work included those by Emma Grace Beard, Kalyx Aikin, Lucy Schram and Marshall Deree. The bi-annual ePortfolio contest recognizes students who effectively articulate their skills, experiences, and professional identities through thoughtfully designed digital portfolios.

Student media leaders and journalism faculty traveled to Washington, D.C., for MediaFest25, bringing home national awards and valuable connections with alumni working in the nation's capital.

University of Arkansas student Austin Keefe is ranked first place in the country in the Varsity speaking division. Keefe is also ranked in the top 10 as a varsity debater, coming in at ninth. The Speech and Debate Society at the University of Arkansas is represented by top-performing students and is currently ranked in the top five in the country.

The University of Arkansas Speech and Debate Society traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana, to compete in the 50th Annual "Red River Classic" hosted by Louisiana State University in Shreveport earning a total of 28 awards, bringing their season-long total to date up to 58. The Speech and debate Society is represented by top-performing students in early reports of national overall rankings, and is proud to announce their placements for the fall semester as of November, including a student currently ranked first place in the country.

Three teams of students in Mock Hogs, which compete in mock trial tournaments nationwide, filled the fall season with growth, achievement and memorable moments for all of their teams.

Altaris MedTech, comprised of University of Arkansas students Joseph Hobbs and Lance Lockwood, won first place at the 2025 Southeastern Conference Student Pitch Competition hosted by Vanderbilt University. Their novel approach to simplifying and improving diagnostic testing with a pain-free, spray-based strep test that eliminates the need for traditional swabs, stood out among student entrepreneurs from across the SEC and earned them a grand prize of $10,000.

Members of the University of Arkansas Speech and Debate Society competed at Mississippi State University's "StarkVegas Debate Invitational," earning 18 awards, including 3rd place in Team IPDA Sweepstakes, 3rd in Overall Sweepstakes, and the "Legendary Silver Cowbell of Victory" for the highest win percentage-a 7% lead over the nearest competitor.

Two graduate students from the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Arkansas won national research awards from the American Society of Criminology-Division on Terrorism and Bias Crimes. Both students will present their research next month at the American Society of Criminology Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

Deborah Olubanjo, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas, earned first place in the Foodborne Pathogens & Contaminants in Animal-Based Products category at the 17th Annual Arkansas Association for Food Protection (AAFP) meeting in Fayetteville.

University of Arkansas students, all of whom are students in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, scored big in the Next Gen(eration) Humanities Conference poster competition in Little Rock earlier this month, winning first and second place along with honorable mention. Every U of A student who attended the conference received recognition.

The University of Arkansas Speech and Debate Society was victorious again at the University of Central Arkansas' End of Hi-Bear-Nation Debate Tournament the weekend of Feb. 2-4. The team will next travel to Dallas Baptist University the weekend of Feb. 23-25. After that, they'll compete at the online Union University tournament March 1-3, before ultimately attending the IPDA National Tournament and Convention April 12-15.

Eleven University of Arkansas students from the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences achieved remarkable success at the National Model United Nations Conference, held in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

The University of Arkansas Speech and Debate Team finished in the top 10 nationally, and members Hadley Adkison, Megan Dial, Austin Keefe, Colten Nichols and Jaci Sabatini also placed in the top 10 in various divisions of competition. The team, which was originally founded in 1896, has grown significantly since reinstalling in spring of 2021, jumping from nine active members in spring of 2022 to 32 at the end of this fall semester.

The University of Arkansas Speech and Debate Society competed in the final tournament of the fall semester this past weekend, entering competitors at the University of Jamestown's "Jimmie Jingle Virtual Tournament." Competing against 18 schools across 12 states, the U of A Speech and Debate Society saw Hadley Adkison, Matthew Cook, Megan Dial, Maddie Fritz, Max Green, Austin Keefe, Jaci Sabatini, Benjamin Shoptaw and Aubree Watkins positively represent campus and bring home plenty of accolades.

This past weekend, the University of Arkansas Speech and Debate team traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana, to compete in the 47th annual Red River Classic hosted by Louisiana State University, Shreveport. The team broke numerous records they had set previously, sending the largest number of competitors (15) and breaking nine out of those 15, the highest since the team's reactivation in spring of 2021. This marked a level of success for the team that they had not seen at a given regular-season tournament, bringing home a total of 16 awards across the group.

Six undergraduate students from the Department of Sociology and Criminology - Chase Freeman, Brooke Poe, Miya Fillmore, Mia Hadzidelimovic, Abby Hudson and McKenzie Taylor - attended the Southwestern Association of Criminal Justice annual conference Oct. 11-13 in Little Rock with their faculty adviser, professor Lauren Copley Sabon. The students were able to network with faculty and students from universities around the Southwest and learn about the research being done in the region. In addition, they participated in the regional crime scene investigation competition and Quiz Bowl. They were very successful in their endeavors and showed off their knowledge and critical thinking skills.

This weekend, the University of Arkansas' Mock Trial teams showcased their legal prowess at two separate tournaments. Teams Sandy and Patrick traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, for the WashU's Arch Invitational, while Teams Plankton and Squidward ventured to Oxford, Mississippi, to compete in the Chucky Mullins Invitational at Ole Miss. The U of A Mock Trial team is a trial simulation-based RSO that competes in tournaments across the nation.

The University of Arkansas Speech and Debate Society continued their overwhelming successes recently at the University of Central Missouri's Missouri Mule Tournament in Warrensburg, Missouri. Twenty-one U of A students attended the tournament and strongly represented the university with an overall win percentage of 63 percent, in which all students won at least one round.