UA names officialfor diversity work
FAYETTEVILLE -- Ro Di Brezzo has been appointed for one year as the top diversity officer at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Di Brezzo joined UA's faculty in 1983. Her appointment as interim vice provost for diversity and inclusion took effect July 1, and she continues as UA's vice provost for faculty development and enhancement.
UA announced a search that will begin this fall to fill the position on a permanent basis, with a hire to be made following the university's ongoing provost search. The university's previous top diversity officer, Charles Robinson, became UA's vice chancellor for student affairs in May.
Di Brezzo's position will work to build a more inclusive campus community while also fostering the academic study of diversity, according to UA. She earns a salary of $195,000, according to spokesman Steve Voorhies. Previously, she earned $180,829, according to data compiled by the Democrat-Gazette.
3-year mite study gets federal funds
FAYETTEVILLE -- A $775,765 grant from the National Science Foundation will help University of Arkansas researchers study the evolution of mites, small creatures of various types that can be barely visible to the human eye.
"How chiggers became chiggers, how water mites became water mites," Ashley Dowling, a UA associate professor of entomology, said in a statement to describe the project. A third type of mite, the velvet mite, is also part of the three-year study led by entomologists from the UA System Division of Agriculture.
Outreach will involve citizen photographers asked to provide information and species samples. Plans include an educational component for public schools in Arkansas.
Food initiative aid will support tribes
FAYETTEVILLE -- A $902,400 W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant will bolster a University of Arkansas School of Law indigenous food initiative.
UA's law school in 2013 created the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative. The latest grant will help the initiative continue working on a project to help tribal governments regulate and protect food systems via a model legal framework.
"The project will support all tribal governments, their communities and families and ultimately lead to greater control over tribal health, well-being and economic sustainability," Janie Simms Hipp, the initiative's director, said in a statement.
UA, Austria school announce accord
FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas has signed a cooperation agreement with a university in Austria that will allow for an exchange of students and travel abroad opportunities.
The university finalized on June 22 its agreement with Graz University of Technology. The agreement, according to UA, was an effort led by its agriculture college.
"This will provide unique opportunities for our students to participate in high-quality research experiences and discover the Austrian food industry, which is recognized for processing high-quality and innovative food products," Jean-Francois Meullenet, head of UA's food science department, said in a statement.
Metro on 07/17/2016