Bumpers College announces student awards

April 7, 2005

Contact Information:

Fred Miller, 479-575-5647 / fmiller@uark.edu

NOTE: Recipients are from Royal (Hot Springs); Clarksville; Little Rock; Paragould; Alpena; Fayetteville; Prairie Grove; Harrison; Cabot; Mountainburg; Winslow; Tumbling Shoals (Heber Springs); Charleston; Maumelle; Danville; Quitman; and Forrest City. Also Athens, Texas; Bartlesville, Okla.; Stevensville, Mich.; and Fulton, Kan.; Denman Island, B.C.; and Quito, Ecuador.
FAYETTEVILLE --- Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences Dean Greg Weidemann will present student awards Thursday, April 21, at the Honors Convocation for the College and the University of Arkansas System's statewide Division of Agriculture in the Arkansas Union Theater.

Honors Program Distinguished Graduates completed the requirements of the Bumpers College Honors Program, which includes a thesis supervised by a faculty mentor. The graduates, faculty mentors and thesis titles are as follows.

Hallie Gale Dodson, daughter of Tommy and Bonnie Dodson of Forrest City. Mentor: Dr. Teddy Morelock. Thesis: Identifying Amounts and Types of Anthocyanins in Cultivars and Breeding Lines of Cowpeas.

Robert Scott Fry, son of Eldon and Anne Fry of Quitman. Mentor: Dr. Beth Kegley. Thesis: Level and Source of Supplemental Selenium in Beef Calves.

Crystal Garner, daughter of Stan and Betty Garner of Danville. Mentor: Dr. Charles Rosenkrans, Jr. Thesis: Effects of Dexamethasone, and Selenium and Vitamin E on Steers consuming Tall Fescue Baleage.

Blanca Cecilia González, daughter of Marcelo and María González of Quito, Ecuador. Mentor: Dr. Ya-Jane Wang. Thesis: Physiochemical Properties and Leaching Characteristics of Four Long-Grain Canning Rice Cultivars.

DeAnna I. Mitchell, daughter of Jim & Marlies Mitchell of Maumelle. Mentor: Dr. Edgar Garcia-Rill and Dr. David Kreider. Thesis: Effects of Passive Exercise in Spinally Transected Rats.

Nadine Obal, daughter of Curtis and Bobbi Obal of Cabot. Mentor: Dr. Nancy Jack. Thesis: The Inheritability of Cryptorchidism in Stallions.

Robert Scott Walnofer, son of Terry and Debbie Walnofer of Charleston. Mentor: Navam Hettiarachchy. Thesis: Effect of heating on hydrophobicity, viscosity, and gelling properties of soy meal, soy protein concentrate, and soy protein isolate.

Senior Scholars are graduating seniors with the highest grade point average. Seven students this year achieved a 4.0 grade point average. First Rank Senior Scholars (took all courses at the U of A) are:
Megan Hardy, apparel studies major and agribusiness minor, daughter of Scott and Kathy Hardy of Tumbling Shoals and the granddaughter of Dr. Glenn Hardy, former dean of Bumpers College;

Peggy Jane Hirschey of Fayetteville, daughter of Peggy Hirschey, a horticulture major with a business minor; and

Abel Tomlinson of Mountainburg, a horticulture major and son of Melody Tomlinson of Winslow and Craig Tomlinson of Denman Island, British Columbia.
Senior Scholars are:

John Kauffman, turf and landscape horticulture major and son of John and Pat Kauffman of Stevensville, Mich.;

Anita Sarathi, animal science major and daughter of Partha and Della Sarathi, Bartlesville, Okla.;

Daniel Skipper, agricultural business major and son of Roger and Connie Skipper of Cabot; and

Maurice "Aldon" Taylor Jr., agricultural education, communication and technology major, son of Maurice and Ernestine Taylor of Harrison.

The John W. White Outstanding Student Award for 2005 is presented to Lindsay Marie West, daughter of Randy and Cheryl West of Prairie Grove. West is an agricultural education, communication and technology major and served as the 2004-2005 Bumpers College Senior Ambassador.

Dale Bumpers Distinguished Scholar awards are for an outstanding transfer student and outstanding master's and doctoral students.
  • Outstanding Transfer Student is Jeremy Don Huff, son of Jerry and Brenda Huff of Mena. Huff is a junior with a double major in animal science and poultry science. He was Outstanding Graduate in the agriculture department at Eastern Oklahoma State University.
  • Outstanding Master's Student is Courtney Wimmer, daughter of Gary and Sheila Wimmer of Fulton, Kan. She is a candidate for an M.S. degree in agricultural and extension education with an emphasis in communications. As a graduate assistant, she has helped teach courses in communications and computer applications. Ms. Wimmer is a summa cum laude graduate of Kansas State University. Her thesis topic is "Selected Arkansas Consumers' Perceptions of Genetically Modified Food Labels Designed through the Elaboration Likelihood Method."
  • Outstanding Doctoral Student is James Austin of Athens, Texas, son of Judith Austin of Athens and Dr. James S. Austin, Jr. of Gilbert, Ariz. He received his B.S. degree from Texas A&M University in 1991 in urban entomology and worked in the pest control industry for 5 years. He received a master's degree in entomology from the University of Nebraska in 1999. As a 2000 J. William Fulbright Fellow he studied termites of the Middle East in Turkey at Middle East Technical University. His research is on the genetic variation and molecular systematics of economically important termite species of the south central United States.
The Spitze Public Policy Legislative Internship award goes to Emerson Conner McNair, son of Malcolm and Martha McNair of Fayetteville. He will work as a summer intern in the Washington office of Sen. Mark Pryor. McNair is an agricultural business major with plans to attend law school. He has served in several student leadership positions including president of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, student government senator and Bumpers College Ambassador.

Presidential Scholar, the junior with the highest grade point average, is Tory B. Hodges, daughter of John and Cheryl Hodges of Alpena. An agricultural business major with a minor in political science, she is a Bumpers College Ambassador, a member of the Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity, a National FFA American Farmer Degree recipient and an Honors Program student.

Bumpers College Alumni Society president Darrin Malone of Paragould will present a scholarship and two ring scholar awards (a UA class ring).

Alumni Senior Scholarship recipient is animal science major Marlow E. Ball, daughter of Wayne Ball and Dee Davenport of Little Rock. She is a Pre-Vet Club officer and represented Block and Bridle at the national convention the past three years.

Alumni Ring Scholars are Creenna L. Sheely and Matt Fryar.

Sheely, daughter of David and Cindi Sheely of Clarksville, is an agricultural education, communication and technology major with a minor in equine science. She has been active in Collegiate 4-H and FFA at the campus, regional and national levels and has been employed as a teaching assistant in the UA Equine Program.

Fryar, an agricultural education, communication and technology major, is the son of Jim and Sandy Fryar of Royal. He was a Spitze Legislative Intern in 2004. He has been a Pomfret Honors Quarters resident assistant, a National FFA American Farmer Degree recipient and served as a state FFA officer.