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| DONALD
R. BOBBITT
Dean |
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An alumnus once asked me what I thought set
Fulbright College apart from other liberal arts institutions.
The first thing I thought of was people and programs. I know
of no other liberal arts college in the country that can boast
such a depth and variety of programs.
We have nationally
rated programs such as creative writing and psychology. The Center
for Protein Structure and Function, which has received nearly
$20 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health,
brings researchers together from departments across the college
to conduct intensive, collaborative research. The $10.2 million
the center received in 2006 represented the largest competitive
research grant ever received by the University of Arkansas.
The
college is a leader in establishing study abroad programs for the
campus, such as the international service learning project in Belize,
the summer trip to South Africa, and the Rome Program. In Belize,
students from nearly every college and school at the university
work with faculty to improve education, public health, and social
services.
Many of our faculty are nationally recognized. When Petra was declared
one of the seven new wonders of the world, media around the globe
sought the reaction of Dr. Tom Paradise, director of the Center for
Middle East and Islamic Studies. He has been working to preserve
the cultural richness of Petra since the mid-1980s. The work of scientists
in physics consistently appears in the top journals. For example,
the research of Jak Chakhalian and some of his colleagues appeared
just recently in the journal Science.
Faculty such as Kevin Fitzpatrick and David Jolliffe are reaching
out to help communities across Arkansas. Kevin is seeking ways
to help the homeless in northwest Arkansas, while David is helping
schoolteachers find new approaches for fighting illiteracy. Some
scholars and researchers are simply among the best in their fields.
Elliott West is considered the preeminent scholar today of the
West, while Peter Pulay is widely regarded by his colleagues as
one of the top theoretical chemists in the world. Randall Woods
has written nationally acclaimed books on LBJ and Senator Fulbright.
Equally amazing are our students, who consistently compete with
students from Yale, Harvard, and Princeton to win Barry Goldwater,
Truman, and Marshall Felllowships. Now that the university has
a well-endowed Honors College, we can expect even more such awards
in the future.
I am always amazed at how prolific and productive
our alumni are. Some, like Everett Ortner, lead cultural renovation
efforts. Since 1965, he has been a missionary for the brownstone-revival
movement in New York City, and for urban revival nationally. Others
such as Kay Goss are dedicated public servants. From 1994 to 2001,
she served as associate director of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, overseeing a staff of 500 and a budget of more than $300
million. She led initiatives in technology transfer and emergency
preparedness, and oversaw the creation of a global disaster information
network. Others like Louis Daniel Bowen are building a stronger
international economy through their leadership. He is chairman
and managing director of Asia Capital Management Limited, a Hong
Kong-based venture capital and private equity company that he established
in 1994. He is also adventurous. In 1992, he became the first native
Arkansan to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
What sets Fulbright
College apart are these wonderfully diverse, talented, and dedicated
individuals. Every day, often unheralded, our students, faculty,
and alumni are changing the world for the better. It is truly the
greatest pleasure of my job to meet and admire these outstanding
men and women.
Donald R. Bobbitt
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