UAM - University of Arkansas at Monticello

09/03/2026

On Friday, October 2, the University of Arkansas at Monticello will hold a public ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the Arkansas Forest Health Research Center on UAM’s Monticello campus.

In February 2024, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration received approval to allocate $16.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to UAM for the construction of the center. At the groundbreaking ceremony in October 2024, Attorney General Tim Griffin announced an additional $1 million from state settlement funds for the project. The family of John W. Spivey also contributed $400,000 to support the addition of the John W. Spivey Conference Center.

The research center, poised to be among the top facilities of its kind in the Southeast United States, is designed to address a critical gap in Arkansas’ forest research capacity. Prior to the Arkansas Forest Health Research Center, the state lacked in-state facilities to test for forest diseases, invasive insects and climate threats that increasingly threaten its $16 billion annual forestry economy. Estimates indicate the center will generate a $157 million annual economic benefit to Arkansas by protecting against lost values of trees and forest products and increasing the workforce for forestry, allied health, agriculture, wildlife and related fields.

In addition to the research wing and the conference center, the building includes a wing of biology and chemistry labs to benefit all UAM students, including those in natural sciences, allied health, agriculture, natural resources and other highly demanded career fields.

For additional information on the Arkansas Forest Health Research Center and the ribbon-cutting ceremony to be held at 132 Science Center Drive, Monticello, Arkansas, on October 2, contact Dr. Michael Blazier at [email protected] or 870-460-1152.

https://www.uamont.edu/news/uam-to-hold-ribbon-cutting-ceremony-for-arkansas-forest-health-research-center.html

09/01/2026

On Thursday, September 17, the UAM Division of Music, in collaboration with the SEARK Concert Association, National Federation of Music Club (NFMC) and Pine Bluff Musical Coterie, will host a concert featuring mezzo-soprano Claire McCahan, the 2026 NFMC Young Artist Winner, accompanied by pianist Mary Scott Smith. The concert will begin at 7 p.m. in the Harris Recital Hall in the Music Building at UAM and will last approximately one hour. The event is free and open to the public.

Claire McCahan is regarded as a musician of sincerity and versatility, delivering compelling and honest performances across Baroque, recital, opera and contemporary repertoire. Winner of the 2022 Joy in Singing International Art Song Competition, the 2022 National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards, the 2025 NFMC Young Artist Competition and the 2025 Federation of the Art Song Fellowship, McCahan is an accomplished recitalist, devising programs revealing thematic connection across time and language. Along with collaborative pianist Barbara Noyes, she co-founded Horizon Duo, dedicated to creative programming of contemporary and classic repertoire. The duo made their New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall in 2023. Praised for her interpretations of J.S. Bach, she is the winner of the 2025 American National Oratorio Competition, an alumna of the American Bach Soloists Academy and a featured soloist on the Boulder Bach Festival’s first commercial album.

She performed in concert with the COmpass REsonance Ensemble, the New England Conservatory Baroque Orchestra, the New Hampshire Music Festival, the Colorado Bach Ensemble and the Silesian Philharmonic. Recent stage credits include Yvonne/Betty in “Sunday in the Park with George” at the Glimmerglass Festival; “Arias Aloft” with Boston Lyric Opera and Opera on Tap Boston; the American premiere of “Lessons in Love and Violence” at the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music; Sibella in “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” with Opera Saratoga; and covering Cherubino in Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” with the Handel and Haydn Society and Orfeo in an adaptation of Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” with Renegade Opera. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and the University of Colorado Boulder. She is represented by Gloria Parker at Insignia Artists.

McCahan will perform a five-city tour throughout the state of Arkansas in September. She will be accompanied by Mary Scott Smith, a pianist who recently retired as professor of music at Texarkana College (TC) but remains on staff as the piano teacher and accompanist for the Texarkana Regional Chorale. Smith was a founder and principal keyboard player with the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra and has been a featured concerto soloist. She is a frequent Texas Two-Year College All-State Choir accompanist and has also accompanied ACDA choirs and various All-State and All-Region choirs.

For more information about the concert, contact Alexia Meeks at [email protected] or 870-460-1060.

https://www.uamont.edu/news/uam-division-of-music-to-host-mezzo-soprano-concert-featuring-national-young-artist-winner.html

09/01/2026

The exhibition “into the current: eroding and evolving” by brooke cassady will be on display from August 19 through October 21 in the Glassblock Gallery in the Fred J. Taylor Library and Technology Center at UAM. There will be a closing reception and activation of the gallery space on Wednesday, October 21, from 6 to 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

“Working across ceramics, fibers and metals, I build objects and installations holding the tension between lack and excess, between the solitary self and the collective unconscious, weaving through all living matter,” said cassady. “I engage the alchemy of air, fire and water, transmuting raw material into form to give shape to what has no shape.”

The exhibition, which spans both floors of the Glassblock Gallery, is based on the concept that “everything alive is in the process of becoming and dissolving,” explained cassady. “What do we keep and what do we release? Shells and nests outlive the creatures that built it. Seed hold plants that have yet to emerge. This altar begins with what can still be touched: clay, sand, bone, the record of a hand’s touch pressed into earth. Small pinches of clay dissolve slowly in a jar of water over the course of the show, an invitation to let go of something. Upstairs, the waters of the unconscious unravel. Between the two floors, suspended in the open air, eight porous vessels escape from their nets, dredging what is buried into the light.”

A native of Athens, Georgia, cassady holds a Bachelor of Arts in art history degree from Boston University and a Master of Fine Arts in ceramics degree from Louisiana State University. Her practice has been furthered through scholarships at craft schools like Penland, Shakerag, Haystack and Anderson Ranch. She has completed residencies across the U.S. and in México and is an assistant professor in the Clarece Harp Lyles Endowed Professorship of Studio Art in Ceramic Arts and 3D Design and the director of the School of Design Gallery at Louisiana Tech University. She exhibits nationally and has been featured by the Surface Design Association.

The Glassblock Gallery’s hours are Mondays from 1 to 4 p.m.; Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesdays from 1 to 4 p.m.; and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

https://www.uamont.edu/news/uam-displays-exhibition-by-visiting-artist-brooke-cassady.html

08/31/2026

📣 UAM CHEER FALL RECRUITMENT CLINIC 📣

Come hang out with us Sunday, October 25th at the UC Gym! This is a chance to meet the team, learn some UAM cheer, and see what we’re all about 💚

📍 UC Gym — UAM Campus
🗓️ Sunday, October 25
⏰ 1–4 PM

If you’ve ever thought about cheering in college, come check it out!! We’d love to see you there 🫶🏼

08/31/2026

The 2026 graduates of the Practical Nursing program at the UAM College of Technology-Crossett recently achieved a 100% first-attempt pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN).

This achievement marks the 17th time since 1998 that all students who completed the PN program sat for the NCLEX-PN and passed it on their first attempt. It is also the second consecutive year that the program has achieved a 100% first-attempt pass rate.

The NCLEX-PN is a standardized licensure exam required by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing that evaluates whether nursing graduates have the knowledge and skills to practice safely and effectively. The perfect pass rate reflects the program’s commitment to excellence and demonstrates that UAM-CTC graduates are well prepared to provide quality care in today’s health care environments.

Dr. Tracy Tucker, vice chancellor of UAM-CTC, stated, “We are exceptionally proud of our recent PN graduates. These students have completed a strong program that does an exceptional job of preparing students to be nurses with an abundance of knowledge, excellent communication and personal skills and a desire to serve others through this career. They showed dedication to complete this rigorous program in just 10 1/2 months, but their greatest accomplishment is that every single one of them passed the NCLEX-PN on the first attempt!”

The graduating cohort includes Shirlann Allison, from Hamburg; Alysa Brucks, from Hamburg; Crystal Carter, from Hamburg; Railey Greenwood, from Jersey; Reemonda Ingram, from Crossett; Addison McDougald, from Warren; Hannah Pennington, from Crossett; Mileigh Tillman, from Warren; Allison Vargas, from Montrose; and Jordyn Whisler, from Crossett.

The Practical Nursing program at UAM-CTC is a 10 1/2-month course of study requiring 42 credit hours to graduate, in addition to prerequisites. Students complete over 800 hours of clinical work in various health care settings. Nursing clinicals are supervised sessions in which students apply their classroom knowledge in real-world environments.

“This class of PN graduates at UAM-CTC also includes three high school students who completed the program through start-up grant funding provided by the state of Arkansas, the Department of Commerce and the Office of Skills Development, with blessings from the Arkansas State Board of Nursing,” said Dr. Tucker. “These students graduated high school in May and earned their technical certificate in practical nursing in June. They completed the same program, including all courses and clinical hours, that our college students complete. We are proud of the dedication that these students showed in learning the content and skills required and excelling in their efforts.”

High school students include Greenwood, from Hermitage High School, and McDougald and Tillman, from Warren High School.

This is the first time UAM-CTC has awarded Technical Certificates in Practical Nursing to high school students.

“I’m proud of the students for working so hard. We're also pleased that three of the graduates were the first high school students to complete the UAM-CTC PN program,” said Shela Upshaw, practical nursing instructor at UAM-CTC.

At the 2026 UAM-CTC commencement ceremony in June, Carter, Greenwood, McDougald, Tillman and Vargas were recognized as members of the National Technical Honor Society, the highest honor achieved at Career and Technical Education institutions.

For more information about the Practical Nursing program at UAM-CTC, contact 870-460-2016.

https://www.uamont.edu/news/2026-uam-ctc-practical-nursing-graduates-achieve-100percent-first-attempt-pass-rate-on-national-exam.html

08/27/2026

Last week, hundreds of UAM students packed Timberlodge Lanes for a night of cosmic bowling!

08/27/2026

The University of Arkansas at Monticello Sustainable Trades Alliance (UAM-STA) will host free forklift training on Thursday, September 10 starting at 8:00 AM. Registration is required and participants must be 18 or older. Questions? Contact Austin Hammons at 870-460-2031 or [email protected]
REGISTER HERE: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/iVUABxRh4e

08/27/2026

08/21/2026

A partial power outage is projected on UAM’s Monticello campus through tomorrow due to a critical weather event.

Classes will be canceled on UAM’s Monticello campus on Friday, August 21. All offices will be open.

Classes will resume on Monday, August 24.

08/20/2026

Emily Davis, a college and career coach at the University of Arkansas at Monticello College of Technology-Crossett, was recently recognized as the Top Performing Career Coach of Region 5 at the 2026 Arkansas Career and Technical Education Summer Conference. The conference was held from July 20 to 24 at the Saline County Career and Technical Campus in Benton, Arkansas.

Davis, a Monticello native, joined UAM-CTC in September 2024 to serve in Region 5, which includes several institutions participating in the program throughout eastern and southeastern Arkansas. Davis currently works with the Crossett and Drew Central School Districts.

Working alongside school counselors, Davis guides students from 7th to 12th grade as they explore opportunities after high school. She introduces them to workforce and military pathways and connects them with potential employers and opportunities at institutions of higher education. “My goal is for every student to have a plan when they graduate high school,” Davis said.

To read the full story, visit UAM News: https://www.uamont.edu/news/uam-ctc-career-coach-recognized-as-top-performer.html