University of Arkansas

Lovelace Amos, a higher education doctoral student at the University of Arkansas, was recently invited to attend the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum 2026, an opportunity inviting youth from around the world to engage with member states and contribute to the global dialogue on key issues with international impacts. The forum was held in the U.N. headquarters in New York City under the theme "Innovate, Unite and Transform: Youth Shaping the Road to 2030."

More than 95 senior Capstone Design projects filled the floor of Bud Walton Arena, as the U of A's College of Engineering opened its annual Engineering Expo to the public for two hours of head-to-head judging. The event is the culmination of the senior design sequence, in which student teams across five engineering disciplines spend their final year solving problems posed by industry, healthcare and research partners.

Two U of A students in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) were awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, supporting their continued study and research in STEM fields. Abhinav Komanduri and Aidan Donoho were selected for the fellowship, which provides funding for graduate education, including up to three years of support within a five-year period.

This May, Holli Jenkins will walk across the stage at the University of Arkansas with a biological engineering degree and her dream job already secured. The path there was built on community, shaped by a supportive department, a student club meeting and the confidence to follow up with an email. Jenkins didn't arrive at the U of A planning to study biological engineering. She initially set her sights on mechanical engineering, but an info session for the First-Year Engineering Biological Engineering program changed everything.

From the smallest towns in the Louisiana Delta to cross-country van treks, a passion for design can begin in vastly different places. That was the case for two Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design students at the U of A who were recognized by Metropolis magazine, affirming them among the top emerging designers in North America. Emmalyn Burns and Dakota Kalkstein, both interior architecture and design majors, were named to this year's Future100 list due to their exceptional academic records and compelling portfolios, proving their creativity and commitment.

For fifth-year architecture student Joseph Hill, his approach to design is shaped by more than just the classroom. Growing up in Unterschleissheim, a small town near Munich, Germany, Hill was exposed to a different way of experiencing space, one that continues to influence his work today.

Forty-five supply chain management majors from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the U of A were inducted this spring into the Sigma Chi Mu Tau Honor Society. Sigma Chi Mu Tau is an honor society dedicated to recognizing outstanding juniors, seniors and graduate students in supply chain management, as well as educators and professionals who have demonstrated dedication and meaningful contributions to the profession. Membership is open to students who maintain an overall cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 on a 4.00 scale and meet the following criteria:

The Gender Studies Program in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce its second cohort of Maxine Miller Scholars. Named after luminary business owner of Maxine's Tap Room, Maxine Miller, scholars are selected based on the strength and innovation of their research projects, which must examine gender issues in a humanities field.

The Program in Creative Writing and Translation is pleased to announce that Jane Tucker has been awarded the undergraduate Felix Christopher McKean Memorial Award. The award was founded in 1945 to honor the memory of McKean, an Arkansas native of Lockesburg who, while studying foreign languages, business and mathematics at the U of A, discovered a passion for writing poetry.

The University of Arkansas continues its tradition of national recognition for student excellence in public service, leadership and research as juniors Amie Donathan has been named a Goldwater Scholar, Muskan Taori a Truman Scholar and Claire Walker a Udall Scholar. These highly competitive national awards recognize students who demonstrate exceptional commitment to serving others, leading change and discovering solutions to challenging problems.

Sam Vinson is graduating this May from the U of A with two majors - biological engineering and Spanish - three minors, a Walmart internship and something most engineers don't accomplish before they receive their diploma: a first-author publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design recently announced that 109 students received scholarships and other awards through its 2026 Honors and Awards Recognition program. This year, nearly $400,000 was handed out through scholarships and awards that recognized various aspects of achievement among architecture, landscape architecture, and interior architecture and design students.

The University of Arkansas School of Law Board of Advocates has announced its executive board and membership for the 2026-27 academic year. Students become eligible for the board during their third year of law school by participating in a minimum number of intraschool and interschool Board of Advocates competitions during their first and second years. The outgoing BOA Executive Board interviews applicants, who rank the leadership positions they are interested in obtaining on their applications. Once interviews conclude, the board selects students to fill each role for the next year. The Board of Advocates sponsors three internal competitions that select students for moot court, trial and advocacy teams that compete at regional and national levels. These programs provide valuable opportunities for students to develop and refine their lawyering skills.

A team of six University of Arkansas mechanical engineering seniors proved that grit is just as important as gears, returning from their inaugural appearance at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' e-Human Powered Vehicle Competition (e-HPVC) with two national trophies. The e-HPVC challenges students to design, build and race electrically assisted human-powered vehicles. For the U of A team, the vehicle served as their senior capstone project, led by faculty adviser David Jensen.

Kathryn Totty, a third-year student at the University of Arkansas School of Law, earned first place at the 2026 Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference hosted by The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law. The prestigious national event brings together top law students from across the country to refine their legal writing skills under the guidance of distinguished members of the judiciary.

Angela Comeaux, a third-year student at the University of Arkansas School of Law, won the Law Student Legal Writing Competition hosted by the American Bar Association's Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development. The forum, a premier network of legal professionals, seeks to advance the future of community development law and affordable housing while serving as a center for information about programs related to these topics.

Nicole McKellar, a junior from Rogers studying biological engineering and German in the College of Engineering and the Honors College, has been selected for a DAAD RISE fellowship to research sustainable agriculture at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, this summer. The program, funded by the German government, places undergraduates at top German universities and is highly selective. McKellar's project will test whether combinations of mineral fertilizers and bio-stimulants can strengthen wheat and soybean crops while reducing chemical dependence. She plans to bring the research back to Arkansas for her honors thesis.

The University of Arkansas Speech and Debate Society traveled to Dallas, Texas, to compete in their final tournament of the normal season. The team's individual success amounted to a second place sweepstakes in Team IPDA, a second place sweepstakes in IPDA and a second place overall tournament sweepstakes. The team will attend their final tournament of the year in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where Middle Tennessee State University is hosting the IPDA National Tournament and Convention.

Fort Smith native Isabella McCoy has always been curious about how things work. Fortunately, her choice to major in data science was a good fit. "Going into data science gives me the opportunity to do work across a wide variety of fields," she says, "and the ability to analyze these fields and learn about why they are the way that they are. Now a junior, Isabella is on track to graduate in 2027 with a bachelor's in data science, with concentrations in business data analytics and social data analytics, as well as a minor in mathematics.

A total 85 Arkansas student-athletes earned their way onto the 2025 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll as part of the league's total of 1,514 student-athletes. The 2025 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll includes the sports of cross country, football, soccer and volleyball. It is based on grades from the 2025 Spring, Summer and Fall terms.

As summer approaches and the days get hotter, many people prefer to stay indoors to escape the heat. But what if you enjoy exercising or gardening outdoors? Or your job requires you to spend more time in the heat, like firefighters and construction workers? This month on Short Talks from the Hill, Rosie Perez, a Ph.D. student in the Heat and Hydration Optimization Lab at the U of A, discusses her research on tactical athletes like firefighters and police and shares what she knows about beating the heat. Perez, herself an EMT, is also conducting a study of cardiac disease in firefighters.

The U of A continues its rise among the nation's elite institutions for student success, as physics and mathematics major John Samuel Sooter has been named the university's first-ever Churchill Scholar, and alumna Anna Mathis was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Marshall Scholarship. Together, the honors highlight U of A students' growing national and international impact in science, public service and leadership.

A devised theatre project that began with visits to a local bookshop has led to national-level recognition for U of A graduate students. Twelve M.F.A. theatre candidates earned Certificates of Training from the internationally acclaimed Tectonic Theater Project after presenting their original, company-devised play, Bookends.

Rosa Aldana, a student in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSDI) at the U of A, has been selected to serve as the Arkansas Student State Officer for the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA).

Ten University of Arkansas students and recent graduates have been selected as semi-finalists for the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program, one of the nation's most competitive and highly regarded international academic exchange programs. Both undergraduate and graduate students from a wide array of colleges and programs across the university are represented in this year's exceptional cohort of semi-finalists.

The U of A Speech and Debate Society competed at the University of Central Arkansas' End of Hi-Bear Nation Debate Tournament. The team brought home numerous accolades, which included first place sweepstakes in all individual debate, team debate and the tournament's overall sweepstakes champion. This marks the organization's first tournament win, as well as first time sweeping every category.

Student Media leaders traveled to San Francisco, California for the Associated Collegiate Press Spring National College Media Conference, learning from industry professionals and bringing home awards across categories that recognized students' creativity and innovation. Conference sessions gave students the opportunity to learn more about reporting on key issues such as immigration, mental health and homelessness. Industry professionals provided essential insight on the post-graduate job search and how students can use social media and data visualization to improve their work.

Department of Music students Avery Longing and Jack Lockhart have won 2026 International Trumpet Guild Conference scholarships as part of the Ryan Anthony Memorial Trumpet Competition. This prestigious competition required them to submit recordings that were judged by an anonymous panel. Longing performed Sonata for Trumpet and Piano by Kent Kennan, and Lockhart performed Concerto for Trumpet by Oscar Bohme.

The Journal of Food Law & Policy is proud to announce second-year U of A School of Law student Brock Conklin as its new editor-in-chief for the 2026-27 academic year. "Since the beginning of this school year, while serving as a staff editor, it has been one of my goals to be selected as the next editor-in-chief," Conklin said. "For that to come to fruition is a special honor and a surreal experience. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to lead the Journal and hope to continue bolstering its legacy."

All musical artists need access to a marketplace, and Hill Records at the U of A is providing that connection for Arkansans. The record label, which is completely student-run, creates promotional campaigns for Arkansas artists while providing hands-on learning for students interested in the music business. In "Short Takes: On the Record," Hill Records president Abbie Petersen, director of operations Natalie Jenz and Malibu Moon singer/songwriter Blake Diaz give a behind-the-scenes look at what makes their experience with the label so unique.