Alexandria Brown

Campus Police Beat: Week of November 3

November 16, 2019 by Alexandria Brown Leave a Comment

This week, the UA Little Rock Police Department had reports of vehicle accidents and a car on fire.

Vehicle Accident:

Officer Boyd was called over at the University Village in regards to vehicle property damage on Nov. 3 at 3:52 p.m. Boyd made contact with the student and she explained that when she was trying to park into a spot, she saw a car coming to her left trying to pull out. The student stated she honked the horn to let the other vehicle know she was parking in a spot close by. Before she knew it, the other vehicle bumped into the back rear driver’s side of her vehicle. She explained to Boyd that this happened around 1:45 p.m., but she decided to go ahead and make a report to have it on file after talking to her father about the incident. The student did not obtain the other victim’s information due to the individual having to work at a certain time when this incident took place. She stated that the individual who hit her told her, “It’s okay, I have to be at work.” The student never exchanged any vehicle information, insurance or name of the individual that hit her. There is an estimated $500 worth in damages.

Officer McGee responded to a call at Lot 5 in reference to a motor vehicle accident involving two vehicles, without any reported injuries on Nov. 4 at 1:29 p.m. An eStem student attempted to enter into Lot 5; however, since she is not a UA Little Rock student, she did not have a campus ID to enter the parking lot. The student then backed her vehicle out in an attempt to leave the lot and struck another vehicle. The other victim opened the gate of Lot 5 so both parties could be there when the University Police arrived. After assessing the damages on both vehicles, Officer McGee observed minor damages to the vehicle that got hit near the bumper alignment on the driver’s side. No paint or scuff marks were present at the time of the incident. The student’s vehicle did not have any damages or marks in regards to this accident. Both parties exchanged insurance information and gave a UA Little Rock report number.

Car on Fire:

Officer Thompson received a call from Little Rock Police Department Communications about a vehicle on fire in front of East Hall on Fair Park Nov. 6 at 10:33 p.m. Thompson and Officer Horace arrived at the scene at 10:11 p.m. They blocked off 30th and Fair Park to 32nd and Fair Park. They secured the scene until Little Rock Fire Department arrived while keeping approaching vehicles away. They observed a vehicle engulfed in flames. The driver and the passenger were able to escape out of the vehicle after they observed smoke and fire coming from under the vehicle. Before the fire department arrived on the scene, the vehicle exploded. The fire department arrived on the scene around 10:15 p.m. and successfully extinguished the fire. No one was injured and there was no other property damage.

Dr. Bain appointed Vice Chancellor and Provost

November 13, 2019 by Alexandria Brown Leave a Comment

Photo by BENJAMIN KRAIN

Dr. Ann Bain has been named the new UA Little Rock Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost after Dr. Christina Drale got promoted to the new UA Little Rock Chancellor following Dr. Andrew Rogerson’s resignation.

Connectivity is the change that Dr. Ann Bain is willing to bring to UA Little Rock. For 32 years Bain has been committed to serving this university. Before her appointment, she was the dean of the College of Education and Health Professions. With her new position, she continues to think of ways to improve UA Little Rock so that this university can reach its full potential.

“This position is responsible for the academic side of the institution,” Dr. Bain said. “It’s all things academic so it is the research component, teaching competent and all of the academic partners that we have.”

Bain grew up and attended school in Little Rock. After graduating in 1972 from Mount St. Mary Academy, Bain obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing from the University of Central Arkansas. From there, she began her career in nursing at different hospitals in Little Rock. During her career journey in nursing, Bain grew passionate about education.

“I was in the middle of a management position in clinical practice and I worked a lot with nursing students who came on to our unit to take care of patients,” she said. “I really enjoyed the interaction with those students and watching them take care of patients and learn things. I was approached by someone years ago to consider going into education. My first teaching position was in Baptist Hospital where I kind of found my place.”

Opportunity presented itself when Bain came to UA Little Rock in 1987 to be the assistant professor of nursing. In 1988, she obtained a doctorate in higher education administration from this university. Bain contributed to the advancement of this institution’s nursing program.

“At the time I joined the faculty, nursing was in a very small building off of Fair Park,” she said. “It was in an old church and was a small program at that time.”

When she became the chair of the nursing program in 1997, Bain saw an opportunity for growth. They only admitted 60 students every fall and Bain contributed to turning their associate degree program to one that contains several nursing programs that accepts about 900 students.

Aside from her notable work accomplishments, Bain describes herself as a creative and upfront person. She’s constantly thinking of innovative ways to challenge the state of what she’s working on.

“I’ve taken fused glass classes, done pastels and watercolors,” she said. “I also like to read for enjoyment. People would tell you that I always think ‘Is there another way we could do something and is there another opportunity that we haven’t really looked at?’ Nursing is a good example. We could’ve just sat here and not grown that program.”

Bain’s appointment was effective on Oct. 16 and she is already reaching out to the Student Government Association and the Staff Senate in hopes to have more connectivity with the staff and as well as the students.

“I value this institution,” she said. “I think it makes a difference to many people’s lives. We have served our mission of education and outreach, so I believe in us. I believe that we have a positive future. When I was asked to consider this position, I did some careful thinking about it because I recognize that taking this is taking it at a time where we’re going to have some challenges in terms of budget and what we need to look like in the future.”

Bain is determined to make a difference on this campus. She would like the institution to increase its connectivity and service with the community to make this institution a “go-to” place. She values the needs of the students and wants them to be met. Dr. Bain and Dr. Drale will work as partners to have planning session for modifications to occur.

“With challenges comes great opportunity,” she said.

Though this university will embark on a journey of many changes, with leaders like Bain, great opportunities and modifications can occur for UA Little Rock.

Campus Police Beat: Week of October 18

November 7, 2019 by Alexandria Brown Leave a Comment

This week, the UA Little Rock Police Department had reports of disturbance and a hit and run vehicle accident.

Disturbance:

Officer Roy Mayo was dispatched due to there being two complaints that stated there was a fight in the Big Lot’s parking lot Oct. 18 at 11:15 a.m. The suspects were located between the speech building and motor pool. With the help of Officer Hurst, the suspect was detained and transported to the police station. Mayo received further information by talking to the victim. The victim stated that the suspect was living at the shelter on Roosevelt St.. The victim stated that her boyfriend offered the suspect a place to live and they agreed on rent. She then expressed how the suspect had been living with her and her boyfriend for about nine days and hadn’t paid his part of the rent. The victim then stated her and her boyfriend were driving down University Avenue and saw the suspect. She then yelled for the suspect to come here and the suspect started running toward the Big Lot parking lot. It was there they got into an argument about rent. The argument escalated, and the victim stated that he hit her and made her drop her child.

Mayo then interviewed the suspect for his side of the story. He stated he was living at the shelter on Roosevelt St. when he met the victim and her boyfriend. They asked him to move in with them. The suspect stated he was leaving the Big Lot’s parking lot and that’s when the victim started yelling at him and hitting him from his viewpoint. The suspect stated that the girl and her boyfriend took turns hitting him and that’s when he yelled for help.

Mayo then talked to the people who complained about the argument and were witnesses to it. They both stated that the suspect was getting punched by the victim and her boyfriend. This caused the suspect to yell for help. The witnesses both wrote statements. Based on the complaints and statements, no charges were filed on the suspect and he didn’t want any charges filed on the victim.

Hit and Run Vehicle Accident:

Officer Jerome Bailey responded to Lot 12 in regards to a hit and run accident Oct. 21 9:36 a.m. When Bailey arrived at the scene, the victim explained she made a turn westward onto W 32nd St. from Fair Park and came to a stop behind a white vehicle due to the vehicle dropping someone off. She then stated that as she began to pull around the white vehicle, the white vehicle pulled out and struck her vehicle. This caused scratch marks on the passenger side front fender. The victim stated she noticed the driver of the white vehicle was not going to stop. The victim took a picture of the vehicle from its rear and got a look at the license plate. She didn’t need any medical attention when asked by Bailey.

Officer Sharon Houlette examined the report made on Oct. 24. Because the victim had taken photos at the time of the accident, Houlette ran the license plate number and was able to identify the suspect. Houlette left a voicemail for the suspect to call her. About ten minutes later, the suspect did so. Houlette informed the suspect she received a report that he was involved in a hit and run vehicle accident and that she would need to take a look at his car. Upon looking at his car, Houlette noticed damage on both sides of his car. The suspect finally admitted that he hit the victim’s vehicle because he was in a hurry. The suspect expressed how remorseful he was and would return with an updated insurance card.

Campus Police Beat: Week of September 24

October 11, 2019 by Alexandria Brown Leave a Comment

This week, the UA Little Rock Police Department had reports of suspicious person/activity and property damage.

Suspicious person/activity:

Officer Gavin Hearst and Rommel Benjamin received a call about a man asking people for money by the D.S.C on Sep. 24 at 9:20 a.m. Benjamin observed the subject talking to different people walking by on the north side of Student Union B. He claimed he wasn’t begging for money, but waiting for his sister to get out of the science building. The subject revealed he wasn’t a student at UA Little Rock. In the report, a student stated the subject had asked him for money. Benjamin asked to gather further information about the man.

The subject said he didn’t have any identification and provided Benjamin with a false name. Benjamin then asked if he was from Arkansas, he said yes. The subject then claimed he was from Memphis. Both times, the information did not appear on the subject. Dispatch then did a cross-reference check between the ACIC and R.P.S systems and found out the subject’s identity.

It was then revealed the man had an active warrant out of L.R.P.D for a traffic violation. Benjamin placed him in handcuffs while waiting for the police. The subject was taken into custody and transported to the department of L.R.P.D to pick up. The subject is banned from the campus and will be arrested for criminal trespass if he is on campus property.

Property damage:

Officer Gavin Hearst received a call that a man’s vehicle had damages to it on Sep. 27 at 1:58 p.m. The subject was attending a business meeting and parked his car in Lot 13. When the subject was done with the meeting and returned to his car, he noticed a dent and some scratches on the back driver’s side fender. Benjamin took pictures and estimated there was $500 worth in damages.

Officer Gary Mcgee was dispatched to the “Day Parking” area near Lot 9 in reference to a woman’s car being struck. On Sep. 30 at 8:21 p.m., the subject stated her vehicle was parked from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. while she was in class. In the report, it was revealed the woman was wanted out of Brinkley, Ark for traffic violations. She was advised of this information and was given the number for Brinkley PD. Pictures were taken and attached to the report. No further actions were required by UA Little Rock Police Department.