Ex-dean inducted into hall of fame
FAYETTEVILLE -- Doyle Z. Williams, formerly business dean at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has been selected for induction to the Accounting Hall of Fame.
A five-member, 2020 inductee class will join 101 others chosen for the Accounting Hall of Fame since it was established in 1950 at Ohio State University.
The honor goes to accountants who have made significant contributions to advancing the profession and discipline of accounting, according to the Accounting Hall of Fame's website. The American Accounting Association, a membership organization, gives out the honors.
Williams led UA's Sam M. Walton College of Business from 1993 until his retirement in 2005. Williams established the university's first diversity office and helped secure a $50 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, according to the university.
Before joining UA, Williams was the founding dean of the University of Southern California School of Accounting, according to a biography of Williams published with the hall of fame announcement.
Williams is described in the announcement as having served as chairman of the Accounting Education Change Commission from 1989-93. The group is described as having influenced "many curriculum advances."
In 2002, Williams received the Gold Medal for Distinguished Service from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
The inductees will be honored in August in Atlanta at the annual meeting of the American Accounting Association.
Campus still faces Title IX inquiries
FAYETTEVILLE -- Federal civil rights investigations remain open into the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville handling of Title IX misconduct reports, a UA spokesman said.
Student reports of sexual harassment and sexual violence generally require a campus response under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funds.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights in April 2016 opened Title IX investigations into UA, according to a list on the department's website, which states that appearing on the list "does not mean that the institution violated a federal anti-discrimination statute."
UA spokesman Mark Rushing said Thursday that two Office for Civil Rights cases involving UA's Title IX response remain pending. He declined to provide further comment "due to student privacy concerns."
On Monday, a former student and the university agreed to a $100,000 settlement, plus legal fees, in a Title IX lawsuit that alleged "deliberate indifference" in the UA response to her 2014 report of rape.
In April 2016, UA was among 181 postsecondary institutions under U.S. Education Department investigation for issues related to campus sexual violence. The department's most recent update lists 227 pending Title IX sexual violence investigations at postsecondary institutions, according to a Democrat-Gazette analysis.
Some colleges have more than one such investigation pending.
Barnes & Noble arm over UA bookstore
FAYETTEVILLE -- Barnes & Noble College is now managing the University of Arkansas Bookstore, ending a run of nearly 18 years in which the university managed the store's operations.
The university in December announced that negotiations were beginning with Barnes & Noble College after having solicited management proposals for running the main campus bookstore and the Razorback Shop in Rogers.
Financial data provided by UA to the Democrat-Gazette last year showed that bookstore income exceeded expenses in 2018-19, with $13.62 million in income and $13.16 million in operating expenses.
But UA spokesman Mark Rushing last year said the university has "an aggressive debt service schedule to pay" for the Garland Center, the building that opened in 2010 and houses the bookstore and other shops. Debt payments totaled about $1 million in fiscal 2019, according to UA.
Rushing said the university expected bookstore income in "the near future" to be greater than expenses, including debt payments.
The university announced Friday that the campus store's main operation and the store in Rogers will be closed through March 1 for training.
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