A shooting incident at the University of Central Arkansas left two students dead on Sunday, according to a bulletin posted on the school's web site. The students were identified as Chavares Block, 19, of Dermott, Ark., and Ryan Henderson, 18, of Little Rock, Ark. A third victim, who was not a UCA student, was also injured but was eventually released from Conway Regional Medical Center. After the UCA Police Department received a call at 9:19 p.m. reporting shots being fired, the university locked-down the residence halls and student center, and police offers patrolled entrances to the campus. UCAPD Lt. Preston Grumbles, the lead investigator for the case, identified the location of two of the four suspects in the shooting and confirmed that the other two were already in custody. None of the suspects are UCA students, and Grumbles said that the incident does not appear to have been random. Classes were suspended on Monday but will resume Tuesday. A candlelight memorial and prayer vigil have been organized to mourn the two students.
More than 1,000 minority doctoral students attended the 15th annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, a four-day conference held in Tampa, Fla., which provides support for minority students completing Ph.D. studies and seeking teaching positions in higher education, according to the Chronicle on Higher Education. Compact for Faculty Diversity, a coalition of graduate support programs for under-represented students, sponsored the conference, the largest gathering of minority doctoral students in the nation. Sessions at the conference were designed to help students improve skills they will need to become faculty members, such as maximizing post-doctoral work, getting hired to an initial teaching position and eventually reaching tenure.
A new study led by Stanley Katz, a professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and James Grossman, vice president for research and education at the Newberry Library, a private research library in Chicago, have issued a report recommending reforming history major programs in order to maximize the discipline's "distinctive" contribution to a liberal arts education. The report, published by the National History Center, states that the history major has undergone substantial change since its initial form, when it emphasized "breadth over depth." History majors have since switched their focus to in-depth analysis and theme-based study, according to the report. The report suggests further changes to the major, including exploring new ways to utilize primary sources. The report also said that graduate programs in history should place greater emphasis on students' future roles as teachers.
