The Student Academic Travel Committee yesterday awarded grants totaling $10,000 to supplement other funding for upcoming student trips. Funding for the grants is provided by Southern Arkansas University Foundation, Inc. through the generosity of alumni and friends of SAU. The following University groups received grants:
- for 12 students to attend the National Athletic Trainers Association Clinical Symposia and Expo in Houston, TX, led by Jan Kiilsgaard
- for 8 students to visit Crystal Bridges Museum and participate in a community service mural project at a local nonprofit, led by Chuck Landvatter
- for 4 students to travel to Cameroon, Africa and study international agricultural production methods, markets, and trade, led by Dr. Pierre Boumtje
- for 2 students to visit the Louvre in Paris, France, led by Dr. Ed Kardas
- for up to 10 students to visit civil rights historical sites, led by Dr. Linda Tucker
- for up to 15 students to attend the 2017 National Phi Beta Lambda Leadership Conference in Anaheim, CA, led by Dr. Gerald Plumlee
In addition, two students received grants for individual travel: Delora Everett to present a poster at the Southwest Psychological Association in San Antonio, TX and Su Lynn Tan for independent French study in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Other travel grants awarded earlier this year to assist with student travel were for the National Student Nurses’ Association Convention, the EF Paris Experience, the Arkansas Academy of Science Annual Meeting, French Club trip, Mississippi Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Nursing Beyond Borders, Agriculture Future Leaders Conference, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Carnegie Hall Honors Performance Series, Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors 2017 Conference, and the 2016 Washington, D. C. Congressional Internship. This year a total of 120 students participated in trips that received Student Academic Travel grants to supplement departmental funds and student resources.
Opportunities for student academic travel at SAU are supported by individual annual contributions and by income from the following endowments: Warnock Student Travel Endowment, William C. Nolan Internship Endowment, Amfuel Founders, Louis Blanchard Accounting Student Travel, C. C. Callaway Counselor Education Student Travel, Harold Fincher and Gerald F. Scott ENACTUS Student Travel, Charlotte Maxine Jordan Miller LPA Student Travel, Don Nelson College of Education Student Travel, David Sixbey Student Travel, Todd McDonald College of Business Student Travel, and the Dr. Robert and Curtistine Walz History Student Travel.
Student Academic Travel grants support students traveling in a program approved by the University, either independently or as part of a group. The grants supplement other resources and assist students who would not otherwise be able to participate in travel opportunities. Members of the committee are Dr. Abdel Bachri, Dr. Neelie Dobbins, Sheryl Edwards, Dr. Ed Kardas, Jason Martisek, Dr. Svetlana Paulson, and Dr. Alec Testa. More information on student travel grants is available by clicking here.