ALC-Higher Education Subcommittee

I'm calling this a higher education subcommittee to order and of welcome glad to see everybody here I'm glad we have one Senator here. I hope that anyway today I think we have a very interesting session and one of things I guess you all probably know when you've heard me say a number of times is from my standpoint education is kindergarten through career so it isn't just K. through twelve and is not just higher ed it's everything we do to help people find their future yeah but today I'm really excited that we have with us folks from the of Arkansas center for business and the university of Monticello what we did in of this last session was we of the governor appropriated some money for forestry center down there in Monticello we're excited about that we have formed a forced the caucus and so we're excited about that so we have an opportunity for all this to learn a little bit more so if you all would come forward please. And we have doctor paid dass the chancellor at UAM Dr Michael blazier the dean of college of forestry agriculture natural resources and Dr Mathew healthy. Gosh Eubanks professor in George H. Clippard endowed chair of forestry and Director of the Arkansas center for forced business so if you would identify yourselves push those little buttons and identify yourselves to be recognized well good morning I'm picky Dawson on the chance or the University of Arkansas at Monticello Mr say good afternoon I think it's already past the twelve o'clock hour so thank you so very much for this opportunity to get to share information about the University of Arkansas Monticello and very specifically about the U. I am college of forestry ag and natural resources programs that are so significantly important to the economy of Arkansas. A thank you for all of you for the support that you have given us over the years that you I and and then our programs but I would like to be very specifically express our appreciation today and light up the conversations about the business center of to some individuals who really did champion this calls for us representative Ken Bragg was and representative Lane Jean were significant in this process for our getting the funding of for the business center in addition to that the support of our local legislators including representative Jeff Wardlaw a representative Howard Beatty and senator Gilmore and of course governor Hutchinson for supporting the funding for force or business center. and this Senator you'll hear about a little bit more here just a moment but if I could take just a couple of minutes to tell you a little bit about the University of Arkansas Monticello and its mission for almost eight really a Kate through sixteen type of of educational system. UAM was established of course as many as you know in nineteen oh nine by the General Assembly and it has been serving the educational needs of Southeast Arkansas it was for many many years since that time and it was established as the fourth district agricultural school at the time in nineteen thirty nine the name was actually change to the Arkansas agriculture and mechanical college and only a few years later in nineteen forty five was the year that the forestry program was established at UAM an inmate remains today as the only four year accredited forestry degree program in the state of Arkansas and of that we are very proud. Arkansas a and M. as it was became the University of Arkansas at Monticello when it joined the university of Arkansas System in nineteen seventy one and has continued to keep our focus on being an open admission institutions serving the needs of all the constituents in our area across our state. That mission means that we serve the communities with a seamless educational pathway in which students can literally began with a technical certificate at one of our colleges of technology located at Mickey and that Crossett. And if they choose continue that pathway to completion of a graduate degree. It also means that we provide points of completion with the technical certificate or degree. Along with improving of and the pathway that that would provide obviously for direct line to going into our workforce. By providing this degree pathway you I am remains true to our mission. Of improving the quality of life of the people that we serve while also generating in reaching as a steaming sustaining economic growth for our region and for our state. In short our purpose is to educate and meet the needs of our workforce in Southeast Arkansas on the state in the most efficient and the most effective way possible. So you I am currently offers a comprehensive system of education including students that we have in our high schools enrolled in our courses. By providing over one hundred options in certificates and degrees to approximately twenty six hundred students. As a matter of pride I'm pleased to announce that you I am just as announced our newest graduate degree as a master of science in nursing and public health. And so we're very that's a very unique degree in our state and again. Helps us to meet the needs of our state's healthcare system. The array of educational opportunities range from technical certificates of the two colleges I mentioning Crossett taught colleges of technology in Crossett and Iggy up to the masters degrees and I mentioned so we are truly an economic engine for our region and the largest employer in Southeast Arkansas. You I am employs over five hundred full time and part time faculty and staff on our three campuses. But as I mentioned earlier today's focus is truly about the innovative programs in the college of forestry agriculture and natural resources so at this time I would like to introduce Dr Michael blazer who is our dean of the UAM college of forestry agriculture and natural resources as well as Dr Matthew Pelkey director of the U. I. M. forestry business center and they will tell you more about that college and that business center program thank you for this opportunity. Hello I'm Dr Michael blasier the date of college forced recognized for resources and it's a great pleasure to be with you all today and like doctor doll said. Really appreciative of continuing support from the legislature and the executive of the offices of Arkansas for our program we we take it our unique position and higher education very seriously forestry in Arkansas as a six billion dollar per year industry if you look at what agriculture and forestry combined bring into the state economy that's thirteen million dollars so forestry being nearly half of the agon forestry contribution to the Arkansas economy really hammers home that we have a tremendous responsibility to deliver a good workforce for that industry specially the time when we're you know we're looking at efficiencies of higher education budgets the fact that we serve a substantially large a portion of the Arkansas economy and we're the state's sole forestry school and higher education we offer associate's bachelor's and master's degrees in forest resources we're the only accredited school at the bachelor's level through the society of American foresters in fact had a very good review in our accreditation process which happens every ten years happen this year and one of the things that our reviewers really stressed was that they were in this coming in from other regions of the southeast that within a rock's throw of our campus we have a big network of of very supportive alumni we're nestled in the heart of the forestry and economy in fact if you look at thanks to some of the work of Dr penalties group you can find County reports for the economic contribution of forestry for every county in Arkansas in fact you can find it by legislative district now and I use some of that to do some homework over the weekend a total by counties by region of the state and found that. You know we're in forestry celebrating our diamond anniversary this is our seventy fifth year this year and it's as true now as it was when they located the forestry school in Arkansas in Southeast Arkansas that if you look at where the the the biggest. Influx of forestry revenues are it's in the southeast part of the state nearly twice as much of forestry economic contribution in the southeast part of the state versus other regions of the state but the south as a whole of Arkansas supplies a lot of uh forestry revenue that's not to discount what goes on in northern Faulkner has of the state there it's all it's a fairly even distribution of a revenue per year for north eastern northwest Arkansas so we serve statewide we have students to come in from all over the state we certainly don't want to be a well kept secret you know that's a backhanded compliment when we hear it so we're we're definitely trying to be as a graph of grass it was possible at recruiting statewide and you know two things that has happened in the past couple years and and as really continue to help our evolution in the scope that we're able to to undertake in terms of our education and research as I'll we've we've now got to formally up to formal sub units we have of the five oaks AgResearch and education center some of you may be familiar with that program that serves water file management we're the first one of our kind to have that and especially in Arkansas where the accounting provides I think two million dollars per day of every day of duck season in terms of revenue to the Arkansas economy and we now have a graduate certificate program that allows students that have a bachelor's degree come and study with this per year and learned hands on at a really world class doc lodge at five oaks there through our partnership with Mr Dunklin and his large our students get to work hand in hand with their biologists in their farm managers and leave our program we really well equipped to. Work in the water fell industry in fact we just graduated our first class of four students who came from all parts of the United States and everyone on that were scooped up for jobs if in less they chose to go to graduate school we were able to keep our hopes and another one one of our students shall continue on with a master's degree all the rest are now working for ducks unlimited nationwide. And let's see and then the other big sub unit that we've been able to form is our Arkansas center for for his business and there's no better gentleman to speak to that and the the man of my left ear doctor Matt Pelkey director of that unit and the fact that this was developed is a testament to his long track record of success for help in Arkansas as a comic. Thank you doctor leisure thank you senator English other members of the committee other representatives and guests here. Arkansas has a tremendous force resource no one doubts that since the founding of the school for St UAM we have tripled the amount of standing trees in terms of volume or weight as you might have a of. In the state and currently we're growing them twice as fast as we are harvesting them so every year we're adding some twenty million tons of woody biomass above and beyond what we harvest this is an incredible opportunity but it also portends a potential danger. And that our forests are growing in the area but they continue to grow in biomass and as an ecologist first enforcer recognizes that eventually some entity be it fire insects disease or humans harvesting are gonna maintain benefit are going to detain of the benefits of those forests and our purpose is to find that balance but make sure that it's human jobs and homes and energy that's domestically produced here in Arkansas for our sustainability as well as long term sustainability for the forest. So that's the mission of the Arkansas center for force business is to improve utilization and sustainable fashion we don't want to just harvest indiscriminately we want to make sure it's done under proper biologic and economic conditions so to meet this need we've identified several areas in the work force and so referring to the graphic some of you may have or is up on the screen the first two areas I'd like to discuss our logger business training and forest products CDL training so here we are looking at Secondary education geared primarily at high school graduates we're looking and also some of them in the bill in the forest industry the logging industry we're looking at some advanced training some of them do have associate's and bachelor's degrees or looking at improving their business practices and sustainability is there a critical part of the infrastructure in the state we rely on about four thousand lawyers in the state to move close to twenty four million tons of wood every year and without them R. mills don't have the supplies that they need our landowners don't have the ability to maintain their forest health or have economic benefits from that and we do have some three hundred fifteen thousand R. Kansans the in the last year were paid about four hundred and fifty million dollars for their timber so it's a it's a large business even for the landowners but also the forest products CDL training we need to prove I don't think I'm I'm providing any news to anyone in this room but truck drivers are in short supply across the nation and in the logging industry there in particular critical because all it we are kind of at the bottom end of the employment scale someone who gets good driving a log truck gets hired away by JB hunt or Walmart they get a very good product because moving logs actually on rural roads is a difficult proposition actually much more difficult than it is on highway driving so we have the opportunity to to partner with team safe trucking the Arkansas timber produces association and because you AM has the technical college's McGee with the CDL program and a heavy equipment operator training academy we've got an opportunity to provide great education and technical upgrades in both the logging sector and in the CDL transport sector of course which will serve beyond just the forest products industry. If we look at the two boxes in green I would refer those to our polls are post baccalaureate programs so the business center is developing a fifteen hour certificate enforce business that will be one hundred percent online it will be available to individuals that have a natural resources or Forster gree and actually we've got an option in there to bring in people with with any undergraduate degree one hundred percent online they'll be able to complete the program within a year and upgrade their technical skills and areas of finance taxation accounting things particular to the forest industry in terms of its of supply chain management and also and expertise and in the biological and economic growth patterns of forests and then we'll offer a thirty hour program as a masters of force business so it'll be a nonfeasance degree again one hundred percent online and the fifteen hours from this business certificate will apply to the force business degree we will be when we start hopefully in fall of twenty twenty three the first master forestry program in the nation that is one hundred percent available online university of Georgia Virginia Tech University North Carolina State Auburn University all offer these programs as well do several others but they're programs require their students to come to campus and we recognize that and post baccalaureate setting these are people who are working and so what we're gonna do is offer the classes and hybrid at any time they want to come to campus and see our instructors face to face or spend time with them they can but there are options to do everything one hundred percent online as we will deliver these programs via the internet. Well I can't go by without talking about that the center will be doing some research and the research work is going to be focused on economic development in the state. So we will be producing some scientific articles but they will all be focused on other criteria that are critical to the southeast United States I'm particularly Arkansas in terms of finding solutions for more sustainable production and economic growth. And then currently now I and members of of the Arkansas center for force business or other staff members are working with Arkansas Economic Development Commission and some directly with private firms in terms of providing them with the information they need on work workforce timber supply transportation costs logging infrastructure and an ability transportation other transportation infrastructure as well as detailed information on the timber market so they can make decisions as we are competing with the other thirteen southern states every single one of the thirteen southern states has an excess of timber and so we are now finally with the with the business center I'm no longer working alone but I've got a team of six other PhD level experts and technicians working to provide the information as we're competing with for example the state of Mississippi has over twelve people working full time in force business related activities so we're actually able now to provide support as I have guaranteed everyone that six R. Kansans can certainly help work twelve Mississippians no no disrespect intended to the Mississippi folks here so with that I've given you some information be happy to answer any questions that you might have. Soul in the city Senate seat eighty five. Hammer okay so Mister Hammer. Thank you ma'am chair over here to the left over here. Do you have in your actions as far as the training working with the president said the inmate population to train them to get them ready to go into the workforce when they get out is there any connection between what you're offering and the prison system. So I turned it off thank you that's an excellent question. At present we're focusing on these areas but we do have a strong connection with Maxwell hardwood flooring which has long had a history of providing that opportunity to folks that are exiting the correctional system and I believe that within the logging sector and before and CDL secretary as well as a lot of jobs within the forest products industry I believe that's a fight Larry frost recruited as well so I appreciate the attention to that and that is certainly something that is on our radar screen for development in the near future okay because when I talk to the lawyers mayor the big thing they have a people out of the woods actually harvesting within the woods itself and and get it out follow up manager quicker thanks one of the things also the state been expressed to me is the difficulty of lawyers remain independent because the mills and the trucking fees that are associated with what it costs to get the timbre of the woods and to the mills and how there's a chokehold as far as what the actual truckers being reimbursed by the mill for the cost of transport are you engaged in that conversation with any if you're doing service that off your radar screen no not at all we are at present we are doing some research work while working with the Arkansas timber producers association and are in contact with every logging institution in the State we currently have a of a survey program out looking at getting specific information on how they are affected by these additional fuel prices and also basically the market power that paper mills and and sawmills have within a region as oftentimes loggers only have two or three choices whether going to deliver and then also they're also dealing with well we have three hundred fifteen thousand landowners there are. Several large real estate investment trust's warehouse or potlatch Deltic as examples of those real estate investment trusts that also have a. Shall we say a strong as you mentioned a strong grip on the logging infrastructure and it is difficult often times for them to break away to serve family forest landowners in the state so we are actually working with farm bureau and the farm credit association looking at the potential for some cooperatives that would actually provide both mill capacity and access to lumber markets would trickle all the way through to private landowners and logging operators the probe be good because what I'm told is the mills are only left allowing them maybe on some days one to maximum load set up a trucker cannot afford to hall less than three low today and be able to stay in business the Milford shut him off like it too low today so it's just contributing to the long term demise of the industry of that is not addressed so appreciated thank you Mr. Okay the representative Springer. Hello okay good afternoon thank you madam chair I know my dad is saying right now for you guys thirty years ago I'm I'm originally from Ouachita County very familiar with the saw mill in logging industry because that's what I filed the he lost his sons to some of the electrical of the engineering because there was no program such as this for them to go through and so he lost them they did not want to do that kind of work they said it was too large but with that being said I would just like to know do you have any data statistical data that all tells us about the number of students that you've had enrolled in the program and who they are by race and gender and the number of graduates that sort of thing so some more statistical data with respect to who's gone through the program the numbers and then that sort of thing about this I can give you the number of a snapshot of where we are right now let's see we have our right around seventy students and our natural resources program and natural resources we have sub sub options within that forestry wildlife the geographic information systems a couple of others I think as a degree in that bachelor's round where approaching closer to gender parity we definitely want to become more racially diverse in fact attended the meeting last week with other forestry department heads from across the southeast and has very as a topic we're all we all have in common that we want to try to overcome that force of history that it hasn't been as diverse because it hasn't been as diverse and Act next week for the next two weeks will be hosting a workshop of under under served high school students will be calling to spend two weeks with us on campus every day to learn forestry and agriculture we we have an alumni are alone Mister Terry Alexander who is a former UAM all or most of the year who is working to help recruit more diverse student Senator student body and I'm believing we're doing everything we can raise our profile of the state level in terms of social media and media releases currently are if you look at where our students are calling from there is certainly is. Log on from the southeast part of the state but we are and and this is a trend that's been continuing for the last ten years getting more students and from other parts of the state as well fact we're probably about I'd say forty percent Southeast Arkansas and the and the other sixty percent comes from a mixture from across the state and we're also picking up out of state students from Texas and Louisiana because we offer in state tuition to the states in a job that touch on Arkansas. Follows. Madam chair. So do you have any African American students in the program at all I guess that's the direct question is well if you look at our college we do have African American students in our agriculture program in our Forster program we have more Hispanic of minority representation there that comes from the kind of grew up in the industry their their sons and daughters of lawyers and and and you know I have to see you at a point about minorities landowners who want some. Yes then thank you of certainly this is an area of emphasis and as doctor blazer mentioned we're working with Mr Terry Alexander who is I'm Texarkana he he grew up working in the in the pulp wood industry with the staff and and at that point the city really no that was not really what he was wanting to do he was our first African American graduate from the of the forestry program he was our distinguished alumnus of this past may of our twenty twenty one and he has really engaged with us for the meeting the very neat that you're talking about we're cutely aware that we're not where we need to be with the representation of minorities in that program he's also shared with us and I think you alluded to that there are some hurdles that we have to cross there are some mindsets about that that we're trying to overcome and I think the forestry business center in the work that we're doing with our lives like Mr Alexander in the work but doctor blazer is going to help us move past that so we're doing a great deal including Mr Alexander is going out into the area high schools including around the mall center region but around Texarkana and across the state of speaking high school students about that career path and and really being a role model that I did that and he retired from warehouse or in the top executive positions an organ so um or Washington I believe it is and he so he's a perfect role model for us to use to help students see that is is not only working on that day to day out in the field area the forestry industry is so broad there's so many other opportunities career opportunities to work for businesses move into corporate offices so trying to get that mindset that is just not out in the field work which is extraordinarily important in Arkansas we understand that but also that is very broad so so we're doing that as well as and I do. At this Mr Alexander and Dr blazer in his area or working together to also help consult with minority landowners about making sure that when they're selling their timber and and I'm almost getting out of my wheel house here so may have to turn this back over the experts but that they I understand you know what the. The value of their property their timber is and when they're making those sales so so while I will not say that we're doing as much as we want to do our need to do we were we're headed that direction but I will say that we want to do that we're recognizing and we're making great strides in making sure that we move in that direction. Thank you. Thank you for that too we've we've also our our faculty is but can continue to get ever more diverse in terms of gender and race and I hope that that's also something that will foster greater diversity in our students and also hosted listening sessions with a long night to try to understand what has been hurdles to that some of the stories they tell about being able color and and and women in the industry or are sobering and they're not you know not even long of you know long history examples so um you know I felt good last week that that one of the comments made was that it's good to hear our conversation about difficult topics being broached and no one jerking away from that. Meeks that represented makes thank you manager I have a few questions of the law has the first question that I have is can be of concern to the majority of our our Kansans and As you all know how I'm sure about this issue or renew recent trip to lows in the lower island neighboring sticker shock right can you kind of tell us what is driving that beyond normal inflation and any idea what the near term looks like on lumber prices across the state. I suppose that's going to be me question that hi must here at least thirty or forty times a week and out the other questions from landowners is when our timber price going to rise and I'm going to make more money. So let's talk about the the lumber sorry we've been doing some research work with that Dr nana Teague and you I'm another economist and an adjunct member of the business center and I and doctor of the gym again have also published a paper on this and so what we're seeing in the lumber sector is. the initial COVID shock followed by extremely low interest rates and then of fairly substantial served L. No flood of federal money into the economy spurred a of growth cycle in demand. Which the industry was just not prepared for that shut down the other interesting part of that is is that when you go to Lowes and home depot the retail market which is typically shorter pieces of lumber the mills are not optimized to cut that they want to cut sixteen and twenty four and above for the construction market so that was a difficulty in terms of converting than what we know what we've also seen is we've we've observed about four billion board feet of additional capacity announced across the southern United States and of course in Arkansas there have been several additions most recently of course last week a potlatch Deltic on on it announced an expansion of the wall of facilities so the companies are recognizing this but also one of the difficulties we've had as where do we get our most advanced sawmilling equipment in the world we're getting it from overseas recently getting it from Europe or from Canada and again supply chain issues have held up problems I was speaking with a lawyer today and logging equipment for example is also highly automated and computerized yet one sensor go out the nearest sense so that he could find was on a machine that was in Alabama and so they spent two days driving a you know taking the sensor off that machine and bringing up actually to get back to work so the same supply chain issues have caught up with us and they will eventually work themselves out as this new capacity comes online you can't buy assault softwood sawmill in the southern United States we're all working at maximum capacity. Well that that sounds like that's a potential economic. Boone or benefit to our state going forward that that that that opportunity exists my second question kind of relates to that I guess it's been about two years or so ago I we had a laminate beam company move into other Conway which is part of the area where I represent Can you can talk about and construction for technology such as that against Walmart's can actually try to build a new headquarters out of that of those wood products where do you see that kind of industry going in developing and. So master ever construction actually in some ways Eldoret a high school for example is built entirely out of mass timber not the mass panels or cross laminated timber which structure lamb is producing by the way also in magnolia Texas CLT is also producing a laminated timber as well so we've been in the engineered wood business for a while and that's one of the advantages of it is is that through that technology we can utilize lower cost and more quickly grown southern yellow pine plantations. So we can use a lower cost material and and turn it into something more valuable several advantages with CLT not everyone it's carbon sequestering so it's going to be a it's a carbon storage our buildings will be buildings are constructed in that fashion or going to be carbon negative to begin with and then over their lifespan of operations will be closed to carbon neutral and so that's going to have a tremendous impact on global climate change the technology currently allows us to build up to eighteen stories so when we think about in appropriate places replacing concrete and steel buildings with what buildings other as strong and as safe they can take direct hit from an EF two tornado the dormitories at that bill will bill with the exact same criteria as as they would if they been built out of concrete and steel so the opportunity there as if we think about the amount of timber that's used and nonresident or amount of concrete and steel used in non residential construction across the United States we anticipate that we can replace at least a third of that with wood laminate construction all right of course if you look across most of role Arkansas you're not seeing a lot of eighteen storey buildings now even across even the Little Rock here there's a there's a few but there's a lot of sub eighteen story buildings that could be built from this material the other advantage to it is from a construction firm is that the amount of time building on site is approximately one fifth of a concrete or steel building these buildings go up very quickly so there's less interruption with traffic patterns the ones that the building is set the foundations laid the ready for move in typically very quickly has an eighteen storey dormitory and Vancouver British Columbia Brock Commons was put together by a five man crew in sixty days while we're absolutely it's a. Absolutely fantastic and we've got many programs across the state and across the country that are looking at cross laminated construction but also looking at it for a. Residential and also other types of affordable rural housing as well so we think it's got an opportunity to compete and and improve or housing opportunities as well hello very promising future there for us to capitalize on the the the last one last question I had you kind of brought this up briefly but I read an article yesterday about a jumping warm that they're having invasive species issues within Connecticut that can totally destroyed do we have any of those on on the best seller warms but do we have any invasive species or do we have anything we. That is threatening to our for our state no up in the smoky mountains Beatles were we at with that situation here in our state actually doctor blazer is more of an expert and the ecology of the cast and I am so I'd like to turn it over to him. Okay well Something that doctor recommended a quick mention of is that if you know we we're growing a lot more for us than ever I mean we have you know we specially on our our pine forests you know we've we've now done generations of breeding so if a girl with better form and they grow better than ever act one of the under some things is that. CO two concentrations increasing in the atmosphere that actually has a bit of a fertilization effects on plants grow faster from that but if we don't have the markets to capture all that extra. What a biomass something else will and it won't be pretty you know. Trees are unlike anything else you know as it if if it's getting less of a good diet terms of it being overstocked with too many trees out there there's no opportunity to Thanet partially harvested to you know. Keep the health of the force going then they become attracted to bills and that's actually the thing we watch for most closely that it's actually a native species southern pine beetle but so many older forestry consultants I interact with say they haven't seen the forest conditions resemble the nineteen seventies any closer than it does now and that was at a time when there was a soft housing market and that was that preceded or the worst outbreaks of southern pine beetle across the southeast along with a lot of forest land because there's really no fix other than just cutting them down trying to salvage and it's even harder now to salvage that it it was back in the eighties because these are prices are higher the economy of scale is higher to to be able to go in and send large equipment and to do that so we're kind of at that person yeah and we do see some morning signs of those kind of stresses there's not southern pine beetle with there's another related or similar species it's bill and Bills or a bit of an uptick have been for the last few years so those are signs of for us that are overstocked and or stressed and you know. There's it's a one two punch one you have beetle infestations like that because you get a lot of standing dead trees what you're then forced pirates. If I might add so in two thousand and one and two thousand and three. Red oak or in Northwest Arkansas in the Ozark St Francis national forcing throughout basically. Because about two billion dollars worth of damage to the hardwood forests and we are seeing the continued increase mortality from it but we have invasive species particularly emerald ash borer which in states where it has originated Michigan at least that's where it came it came in from Canada from from China into Michigan and as ninety nine percent fail to white ash species and one of which we have about three hundred million dollars worth in the state so that was where things one of my one of our colleagues Dr Mohammed pertain to is working with the Arkansas agriculture department division of forestry channel partner on the invasive species programs as as well as the University of Arkansas System cooperative extension service so we keep track of those that we work with identifying and helping loggers and landowners identify them developing management plans to replicate them and of course the feral hog program is an incredibly important program and it does have some substantial forestry impacts as well so unfortunately with with global markets and global transportation of come some of these global problems but we are the University of Arkansas at Monticello College aware of those and working hard with scientists around the country to find answers and bring some of those answers that they have your Arkansas as well thank you thank you manager. Thank you senator Chesterfield. Thank you madam chair and good evening or afternoon and thank you to the cheers for bringing these great institutions to us you ain't Monticello and you a pine bluff because we don't always get a chance to visit with you all about what it is you don't want and I just want to say thank you for it I'm looking at exhibit be and having been a part of our attending the arts and technology boot camp. And its impact on aging on the economics of this state I'm looking at your flyer here and looking at the art that you're using to tell us what a great job you're doing and then I heard you talk about the technology the new technology and we have been studying I know representative makes and I have been attending these meetings representative rye if we are not using the arts and technology to tell our story then our story is not being told so tell me something about how you have done that because we've seen growth and Agra is use of art and technology could you speak to it briefly with. Well it is nice to see the email chance to. In terms of incorporating arts and technology into our our recruiting are are the first thing that comes to my mind is recruiting we're fortunate within my call as we have a former news persons who is is very skilled at writing and are correction and you're with for for everything we do yeah we we we I really encouraged our faculty to so I'll work with our press release person our news director so that the general public it's an opportunity to see an action the kind of hands on learning that we provide for a forestry and agriculture degrees in fact I've come a point of pride that your recently our our art director went out to homes work lamps going out and doing a prescriber controlled forest fire to clear the underbrush away from the force that a join our campus we actually have nearly a thousand acres of forest land that reading our campus that we're able to use as a as a teaching lab and that prescribed burns what a press release was picked up by Katie ATV and in the in Little Rock and one of our scholarship recipients and young woman name shall we had was names Arkansas or Kansan of the day by virtue of that of the press release there and we also have a of another gentleman in our our college to is it really is what I consider an artists he does wedding photos and things on the side but he's he helps design logo's FOR US this Arkansas center for force business logo or college logo he really brings that type of creativity to us to help help us have a brands and then we have a a news director to go out and advertise that rant what will. The robot explaining in this forestry industry I think the the thing that kind of comes to my mind robotics and artificial intelligence type thing is unmanned drones you know you A. B. C. and aerial vehicles we actually have a faculty member who took me actually to faculty members that are very good at doing that kind of work the forest health monitoring that doctor Bilski made mention of a lot of that was done with unmanned drones and. different types of cameras at that see in infrared can and to help you know monitored the you know that glow of red in the infrared is a sign of stress in the forest so we're able to go out and cover a lot of ground with one person now what those aerial vehicles and you know we're going beyond that using what we call machine learning you know those those of those drones can take very precise high resolution images and that can be used to train software to identify where invasive species are so that if we need to go out and spot spray and control invasive species that's kinda where this state of the art is going with with you know forestry and agriculture you know chemical applications very precise applications and and that's minimizing the amount of chemical that's going out there which is also minimizing expect expense and potential other ecological impacts from that so that software learns what what is a good plan an advantage plan and eventually will be able to upload that and we are getting to the point where Rep leading out of the tractors and other drones that can spot spray. Thank you thank you thank you mentorship. So I guess we're talking about technology and all and thinking about this is the world of technology lots of people who talked a lot about the internet you can activity but the other side of it is is that if people don't realize how important technology is and don't use it and are familiar with that don't know how to do I guess one of the questions I was thinking about was with with as you're looking and working with high school students in high schools in your area then are you talking to them to about the technology that in. That's available and that you all using so they begin to see what this be your future might look like yes ma'am back to give you all of the snapshot of something we're doing very soon like I mentioned we're hosting a two week camp in our college next week where students come out from high schools they're they're all minority students so you know that this this grant helps guide them exposed to new to new types of careers they hadn't considered before so they'll come out and we're gonna show them how we use lasers and someone are to measure tree heights and dimensions will be able to we'll let them pilot that drone that I made mention of to get to see that you're working in the forest is is it's a high tech career now you know now more than ever and you know we want to show them that you know they may think of themselves just going out in the woods which you know there's there's no there's no getting around that but need to do that but it's also your account complex bill that takes mathematics skills of biology and and saw and in computer information systems so we give them an opportunity to understand how their biology at their learning as our at our we figured out a way to make it relevant in high school so it transfers over to to the college great and and I would assume that not all of these jobs require a four year college degree there are a number of them that do not require that but do we do require some technical certifications and some further education rather than just coming out of high school so and I think that's important I think one of the things we have a problem with sometimes is giving all of our students all of our kids who are in school. A vision of what what what is out there bill Connelly their own bubble and unless we take what you're doing and share that information out on a very broad field our kids don't know that these opportunities are out there and they're right here they don't have to leave they had a very good job right here so I appreciate that so let's see Senator English yeah I don't mind may I add just one certainly the as I mentioned earlier we do have the two colleges technology under the umbrella of my responsibilities hello and our college of forestry along with other units on our campus are working in a partnership with our two colleges technology to look at the kinds of things that may need to be developed for short term of career path short term learning like in a certificate of proficiency or certificate of technology technical certificate that you can do in a shorter term that would also fulfill some of the work force needs W. force rebate agriculture in other areas so we have made a conscious effort to have more campus on the campus more opportunities not only in the college of ag and forced her to cross the campus to bring high school students and to the campus and see what those careers are like and develop that interest and show them the skill sets into your well stated point see the relevance of what they're studying now into what would be in the future thank you for allowing me to share that is all I guess the other question I have is we we kind we think about K. through twelve and higher ed but there's all these people who maybe didn't have a decision or didn't make a decision a good decision when they're eighteen another twenty four and so are we are we do have programs set up so that adults can come back and begin to to take some of that those those courses are shorter term but let him just don't have the time for two years yes thanks that's a wonderful question and I'm I'm really happy to say that we do serve a large number of nontraditional. Students as well so um are open admissions policy I think gives us an open pathway for anyone to come by we've had students that have maybe taken a year to for some reason family reasons other reasons had to stop out of we actually reach out to the students and invite them to come back and show them how they can complete their degree and the of the fastest of a path possible in and I help them to go ahead and complete that degree and again bought two other point we have a lot of a career changers that going to a college of technology programs and those jobs are very high paying their own have their high need but they're also a great return on the investment for our students so well that's part of the mission actually of the university from its very inception was to serve the needs of the region and that's obviously the new student coming out of high school but also any population that has nontraditional of of individuals are those that are in career passing they want to move out of that and something more and not quite with the forestry area but I would like to share one program that specific to that in our school of education we have a degree this online agree that we specifically designed for the para professional in the public school to be able to complete their four year degree and be a teacher and who else would know what they want to be a teacher then the person that's working in a public school every day thank you they know and so not for street but we do those kinds of things across all the career areas and I just want to hold it up as an example of something that we've done to meet the nontraditional population a career changer thank. Skews me. US senator Clark. Thank you madam chair or was it is a doctor Pelkey only in. Okay representative sample One representative Stephen that's as questions you alluded to a question that you're asking on I'd like to ask that question as long term lumber bar I was intrigued with your answers of but you alluded to stoppage process of lumber stock of tolls for those coming on. Hi I'd be happy to it's it's a really simple question of supply and demand. In the state of Arkansas in nineteen seventy eight at about six hundred million tons of standing live timber about sixty percent of those hardwoods by the way and currently we have one point two billion tons of standing timber. And we're harvesting just about the same amount each year as we have been for over the last twenty five thirty years. But because of advanced genetics and the science of forestry we're growing trees faster than we ever had so we're growing our net growth which is growth above mortality is about forty five to forty six million tons a year and were harvesting somewhere around twenty two to twenty five million so we've got a surplus every year reading twenty million tonnes of timber. So if you think about it from a timber buyer's perspective. You've got more more choices and more more would out there. So you're going to be able to offer a lower price if you're timber seller you're competing against more and more people and so what happens is the prices go down and we are seeing prices if you adjustments for inflation of all time historic lows in the mid nineteen nineties pine side table was going for more than fifty dollars a ton on the stump standing timber today a really good price for just twenty six twenty seven dollars a ton. Pine pulpwood there are sales I'm going in the state now where the landowners receiving less than a dollar per ton for their standing timber which is about one twentieth of what it was bringing fifteen sixteen years ago and largely because this is we're growing trees much more much more quickly than we ever had the science of growing trees is outstripped. the demand and some of it I really do believe it is educating the public when the public hears about what tall wood buildings the immediately thank fire well we can't put people in tall wood buildings it's not safe and they don't realize I've I believe some of the engineered properties that we have and would buildings they don't we actually surveyed architects of the cross the state of Arkansas and they love the idea of building with wood but they question they feel guilty because it cut down trees. I totally understand that I love standing trees but I also see them as living things and the clear cut to me while it isn't pretty it's the beginning of the birth of a new forest in this state you can't stop trees from growing in the state Forster's actually speeded up quite a bit so. The issue is for me is to help raise prices is by getting more demand and getting people to use more what in this country and it is possible for example in Finland they use per capita about four times the amount of wood as Americans to. and that's a very sustainable culture and the buildings are beautiful safe strong and so we're looking at adopting some of those techniques and construction techniques that are very common in Europe and bring them here and actually instead of building so much on spreading horizontally into our forces much of the south is done through authorization but building vertically and building a green sustainable housing that everyone knows I guess I look in this room and I see a lot of what we feel comfortable there's actually scientific evidence that says when you're living and working in a place where you've got a lot of wood visible but it actually improves your mental and physical health. So we're looking at trying to talk to promote those things Senator and and I appreciate your question doctor you hit on the head of my second question. The expression when you said we feel guilty about cutting trees because no I wasn't born feeling guilty I can remember my fourth grade weekly reader and you know we were running out of trees and and and the outside of our industry that's the general thought. And but I learned that in order to in school so what are you all doing I'm asking all through now and what can we do to counter that in K. through twelve and counter that in the general population of. That what I hate clear cutting myself in you at all of the ward so long you know in any to it's always a shock when this was always woods and it's not because because this is a longer growing crop in a crop that that road once or twice a year. But the open and also what's the what is the life none of our fast growing fine but what is the life of the country because a lot of people have this idea that that we're cutting virgin of pine forest having no idea that that's impossible because of the short life of the country to begin with well I'll take that question I'm going to defer to doctor blasier and chancellor dos for some of the Kate K. through twelve things that we we are doing but allowable a pine tree will grow to be three hundred years old we'll get to be a diameter of two to three feet much of the of Arkansas free in the in the in the southern coastal plain of Arkansas pre European colonization did have substantial numbers of force that were like that. but the typical life you know we can we can grow a saw timber size tree in Arkansas now in close to twenty years twenty one twenty two years so and that's due to genetic improvements and management prudence and because of financial cost we can actually grow trees were growing more trees as a queer as a crop on plantations which is allowing us to keep more of Arkansas in a natural state with some longer rotations but also even things like several of the oak species in Northwest Arkansas for example use Black Oak as a as a as a good example only has a lifespan of about ninety to one hundred years. And so if you don't harvest those within that lifespan they're susceptible to insect and disease northern red oak white oak and go three four five six hundred years of age and so it's important to understand the ecology of different species and I understand that some or very very short lived. In terms of being relative to forest ecosystems. Without giving before the answer the question it without getting way out into the weeds. Well if they look to be three hundred years and we don't cut on them we just let them die. In fall in the woods what happens. Blake. Okay well first all that if we Lowery a group you know trees do die of old age I am I'm actually a tree physiologists and I. training and and you know one trees get too large they can no longer perform enough photosynthesis to meet how much rest restoration they're doing so but if we want to cap for those to speak to that one way if we want to capture more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere the best way to do that is with the vibrantly growing for us because as we let him get older there get more sickly and they're actually emitting more carbon dioxide than they're taking it but dear questions about what happens if we just let it go let nature take its core our walk away from it first of all it's never a guarantee that you're gonna make it three hundred years because there is a there's lightning strikes which cause fires and all that but that say it's in somewhere you know on the landscape it's protected you know there that forest will change in composition you know as that man three hundred year cohort dies there's gonna be another set of species that come in and to be a a mixture of species the forests will remain but but between when you get it to die and and you know get new individuals come in and for the most part is because they are very dense forest that doesn't have a lot of vegetation growing underneath those big trees are throwing a lot of shade and in fact that's actually one of the things we're trying to tackle ecologically with over in the eastern half of Arkansas you know through conservation reserve program through found farm programs we restored a lot of forest land across East Arkansas and retired Act lands but that means starting in the nineteen eighties the nineties we have a large cohort lot of acreage out there the trees are all planted the same time and we don't have as many opportunities to send those out you know just or Russians an emergency. It's so the wildlife habitat thresholds that we were aiming for us have a lot more deer game species out there we're we're we're getting behind by decades on that because we can't open the forests up or it's getting more difficult open the forced up to maintain brush on the ground where for the wildlife from. And if the a lot of those trees fall and die in Ark Code Ann taken out in laden does striker somebody does let I can't Fargo. It's much worse right yeah you're if if uranium was to say I'm I'm going to capture I'm going to keep the client happy happy by keeping carbon in those trees you just built it right back out you know by advertising or running away thank you know to the education question okay. So I'd like to take that question and thank you for asking and I'm a former public school teacher and principal prior to going to higher education so I relate very well to the weekly reader in the power of what you read there with young people one of the things that that I can share that we're doing across the campus and different programs and we'll be doing that also with the college of four straight after resources is having more of our public schools of children and students on the campus for the various kinds of competitions and events and but so very specifically I can mention that we've had the FF et of groups on the campus and that's a different age groups where they participate in competitions on the campus and I believe one of those is an area for St so for age groups and FFA groups and other school based groups coming into the campus experience and not on the campus life which we hope would be a good recruitment tool for us but also working with experts in the area who are very capable of communicating to the students of some of these topics that we're talking about and also want to go back to what I said earlier I think that we're we're making more of an effort to be visible out of schools I know is a teacher when I was in the public schools I look at every opportunity to bring an instructor from you I am in my classroom and talk about their area of expertise is a law I'm not tell you that we're doing as much of that as we need to and obviously with COVID and other things that has made a lot more difficult but I know that in other areas of the campus and here as well making a great effort to make that connection because it is with the early ages that we start the education to your point on I thank you so much for bringing that up. Thank you will end of I hope we can do more a whole department education as watching of because it is aggravating to me and being in the industry that at a time when we're trying to fund. More of manufacturing sector of to use the crop that we have that our kids are being told and believing we're teaching all kinds of things about climate change that of that we have a shortage of dreams of and we really the essence that is completely wrong we we really need to do something to set this right but thank you for what you all are doing wonder if if I can have one thing to that real quick one of the other hats I wear is ordinator over forestry extension of statewide and one of the things that we a program that are are extension forestry of personnel participate in and help coordinate is the project learning tree program which is a program that operates statewide to bring teachers and and how to train the trainer so to speak we know that they they get to go out on mill tours or stores throughout the state so that they can learn about how the way the the the first the fourth call G. and the forest industry and incorporate that into their curricula for their age thank you madam chair will probably run a bill to make the compulsory this next session. So go back right again just what you were just saying about the teachers and the client and the. From the classroom into where are they going and who are those those I'm all about externships okay and find a way to get our teachers into classrooms I mean into the industry and businesses so they really understand what it is or a future looks like and so they can help the students so tell me again what that what that program is yes it's it's called project learning tree it's a cooperative venture between the university Arkansas systems division agriculture cooperative extension service and the Arkansas forestry association where teachers are brought in for a multi week program where they get to go out state wide and take tours of mill facilities forest landowners getting learned testimonials about that and kinda get some training on how they can take that material and and moving into their teaching want when they get back to the classroom so it's it's a summer program they go off you know due to the state and we say we you know feel like that's one of the most impactful things we can do is teach them in a way that they can then kind of like that into the day and they're there to each so how are you recruiting those and and who's paying for that for them to be there let's see well let's say aye aye I'm not sure about the financial constructs as they are paid for that two weeks that there are there are I'm thank you I think so yes I'd be happy to learn more about that but you know I know with the the Arkansas forestry association or cooperative extension service okay with the school systems to try to you know put out advertisements and and and and plus that the programme kind of builds through good work amounts as well Yes ma'am yeah yeah Senator what I would be happy to provide you information yeah I just I just need to figure out how we do more more more more all across the state in all of our industries there are teachers in the classroom I mean it from the classroom into this is an industry okay let's see let's move on here Senator Irvin. Thank you madam chair hi I'm right here. Hi so I appreciate your presentation and and I appreciate the efforts I think this is the yeah very important program I live in north central Arkansas lots of forest in my area so I think my question is what relationship do you have with the US forestry and what is your relationship across the state for those particular forests that you know I get to call home like the Ozark National Forest I'll let you answer that question and I have a second question. I'll just I'll just use my own personal example so we have cooperated with The Washington all Ozark National Forest and the Mark Twain in. One of their programs is a collaborative forest land restoration project and so they're looking at improving wildlife habitat and water quality across those three National Forest with several different target species and the force business center has been looking at the economic contributions to local communities in terms of the numbers of jobs and the amount of value added to gross domestic product that those programs add to those communities so that we see that were benefiting the force but we're also benefiting those local communities so we do have cooperative researcher arrangements and teaching comes excuse me Senate but you were specific to Washita and to the other I'm I'm actually asking about the Ozark yes No Forest we have a yes but same program applies to all three of those now you work closely with them yes I could add to that that we actually in our college have we House their lead research scientist for the USDA Forest Service is located in our college so he's he oversees research that's being done on the washed on Ozark as as well as other National Forest south of us as well so he's kind of like a shadow faculty member to us say you're close research collaborator and certainly our students good fall over to them for for John H. as well so living in my community for as long as I have which is spent about twenty five years plus growing up in the area you know I've seen people within the US forestry come and go and I've seen you know prescribed burns and all of that it looks as if they dropped napalm in parts of the as our National Forest they killed every single tree. And I know the difference between a prescribed burn and. Yet this I mean it's it's horrible looking. And I don't understand you know why they did this there is no out reach whatsoever to our community about this they have Caplinger springs caverns Act closed which falls under US forestry and we do not have a good relationship in my point of view with the people with U. S. forestry over the Ozark National Forest. and the one that's connected to that. So I have big concerns and so I really you have value your program of value your expertise that where I live it. There are complaints all the time and all you have to do is drive from Mountain View to calico rock and you'll see what I'm talking about it is completely it looks like Vietnam and it looks like they've dropped napalm every tree is that every tree is that. And so it's disturbing it and I've tried very hard to work with my congressional delegation with congressman Westerman I've asked them to come up and to look at it we are not seeing good forestry management practices at all in in my area so I'm gonna bring that to your attention I would hope that there would be some level of engagement damage is already done two large portions of this forest. And so I'm not sure how you all can deal with that or have influence over that but it's one of the reasons I joined the forestry caucus as well because am I it it's it's disturbing because there is no habitat for wildlife left and the erosion is going to be completely an issue for landslides rockslides into the highway because there is no trees now on a cliff of a rock side mountainside. So I would just invite you to take a drive from Mountain View up highway ninety calico rock and look out for yourself just to give enterprise that is on the National Forest land in that in that region and drive right threats what what time frame did that that fire they just did it a couple months ago. But it was so hot that you could feel the heat through your window as you were driving through it and currently you're seeing Brown foliage on the is it is it more it's for pine Jett is completely dead all the pine trees are dead everything is just like a whole it's like they just clear cut it the whole area. I want to soften that but it you know you know it just sometimes there is and and that and again I haven't seen that but I I have seen plenty of times where fires will do what they call crown scorch it it can actually and I've done it personally doing prescribed fires where you'll see brown foliage if it's pine trees all the way to the top but sometimes is big bills there you see that I mean on certain areas where there are the pine trees are still there. And I see that I'm used to that you know but no this is like literally it looks like it was looked it looked like a war zone there's no trees left role in the optimist in the hopes that what you'll see in the next month or so of that new new green does it all start coming back from the trees on the committee I mean the planters are completely gone okay all there is is brush that's growing up right now but there are note all the countries are completely gone. Or thank you. Okay thank you let's see Senator flowers. Representative of all who is represented flowers sorry that's okay thank you thank you madam chair so thank you for your presentation this is super exciting and I do appreciate your answers to represent Springer's questions because I was wondering some of the same things and which would go to my first question is there any room for or is there happening some measure of sort of cross pollination pun intended between UAM and maybe you A. P. B. or other universe of Arkansas situations or two year colleges with regard to everything you know that you have going on to draw more students into the program or perhaps to draw lay people in to get some maybe certificate exposure To what your program offers going back to your point about how people might benefit from this one scene no how to better manage their own air property except for. What it on our extensions side where we have had of pretty good collaboration with the U. APP in fact I think they recently hired a of one of our graduates to help serve of minority landowners and and that region there and I think that's a that's a positive thing and I think it works well for both of us that's that's one of our graduates and and and is also working closely working for you A. B. B. and we're open that after that we can have some opportunity cross pollinate that you know we can bring of students in for forestry and wildlife through our programs together. L. asked later when they come up but I think they have to have a certificate program that a relative of mine is actually participating in for the very reasons I mean my ears perked up when you start talking about that and then just with your exchange with senator Clark and others who brought up issues about sustainability or maybe you all have that is there a part of this program that includes the state ability management to speak to Some of the I guess educational issues but also just the ecological issues that I think a lot of people are unaware about say that that's a central tenet of all our our throughout our entire curriculum the they learned that from the the of their first class and forestry all the way the last class so that you that that everything we do in forest management one done well is emulating what nature would be doing you to you know the mention the of a Clerk and I you know that's that's simulating a natural disturbance that you know that would come in and when we do or do a controlled burn it should be done in a way that would you know kind of just gently not backed the vegetation which would simulate a wintertime fire sums so but if everything you know we in fact we have what we call core competencies that we integrate into our our set sail by that you know these are certain things that the students should demonstrate that they know in completing that course and you know the of the ecological basis of everything we do in forestry is throughout every class we offer. And finally can you give a little bit of Insight as to whether and if so how bamboo figures into What you teach and maybe the market here in Arkansas. Okay frankly we don't dress Bamberg to terribly much because it's it's a non native and in and sometimes it can be problematic fact I speak this as someone who has it right in his backyard and guys continually trying to get maybe I'm the wrong person to ask for it but but yes you know it and and you know lack of maybe speak to this more than I can but you know that that market for bamboos benefit ephemeris over the years they'll be kind of flashes of interest in it but then it kinda Bills way but you know my mind I think it's more that if we have a lot of great native species in Arkansas and you know I'm kind of kind of emphasize those above of non native wherever possible. I would just mention of course when you look at them it is it is much more even on a pine plantation a biological does or it is so dense you don't find much wildlife and in any type of bamboo stand of any size but we have an opportunity will not bamboo isn't the only problem we have things like Cogan grass we have Chinese tallow trees we have several other invasive woody plants throughout the state that have been here for a long time and none of them particularly make good wood products what they do do what we can do with them is that we can burn. We can convert them into well I I said so so I understand your laugh but but let me let me play this out we convert them into pellets we can coal fired them with coal existing power plants and reduce our carbon emissions rather than just killing a lot of them have we're going to get a leg we're gonna get some usable electrons out of those out of those invasive species as we find a way to a radic eight and a friend of mine once said not every electron is created equal some electrons while I while solar and wind power are credible technological advances. Oftentimes they don't provide the jobs that would biomass can in the state hi and if we can use these invasive species create energy then we get a benefit from electricity generated. Or carbon neutral because we're just we're we're not adding covered by just chilling on the letting them rot but we're also providing jobs and fighting climate change so those electrons can help and so one of the things that that we know would be very helpful and we're working on is the economics related to would generated energy in the state because there are a lot of small diameter and and of course even poorly form trees and then what happens to damage trees in storms well we can convert those to energy and and rather than turning into it rather than a liability we turn them into an asset I I just thought you were being funny I don't know where you're going I hadn't read that I heard that I just I didn't know about it but I guess I mean I probably should so there's no market for hardwood floors because that's what I had read as far as bamboo I mean I had read that before so most of the bamboo floor flooring that you're going to see is is kinda is is imported from Asia it's it's typically not locally harvested bamboo but what's interesting is the hardwood flooring industry here in Arkansas is is actually a salvage operation it takes very low quality hardwood trees trees with lots of not some other defects because we can cut flooring up in such small sections we can actually make some of the highest quality hardwood flooring actual hardwood flooring out of Monticello some of the the rooms in the White House are floored with maximal hardwood flooring and that is made from some very low quality hardwood trees and I might add also that that Mr Tommy Maxwell he's also on. One of the individuals let's kind of pioneering using formally relieve the awful so released from ATC facilities in his work force is really pioneered that and made that somewhat of a mission of his company and they kind of stand as a very good great spotlight in Monticello for a worker loyalty and and productivity. Great you know keep up this great work thank you thank you madam chair. Senator Chesterfield thank you madam chair and thank you senator Johnson for allowing me to go ahead I would ask that the presentation from the University of Arkansas pine bluff which I'm not going to be able to hear would you please leave that with our staff so that we will be able to read and I wanted to apologize to you earlier but I have a doctor's appointment you don't get him off and that is but I am very much interested I want to thank our guests here this is so enlightening and truly appreciate your expertise and your willingness to share it with the committee so with that madam chair I will excuse myself and I apologize again to the University of Arkansas pine bluff because I have a part of that in North Little Rock and I don't want to be beaten with the lead noodle for not being here for the challenging their presentation thank you and again thank you senator Johnson for allowing me to believe it. Senator Johnson thank you madam chair and safe travels Center Chesterfield. folks thank you for this presentation very last thing I had a couple questions about one thing that kind of jumped at me was statement about reforestation in East Arkansas and a lot of people of our age and younger don't ever think of East Arkansas being this great timberland but of course at one time it was and especially hardwoods and a lot of people don't know that but is there are referred to is moved to re bring that back and is it is it to a more fine or is it trying to bring back the hardwood. Well the the that's action if this is that began back in the eighty four farm bill you know the the recognition that some of the landed of been put in a cultivation was was chronically you know kind of for farm land so created those programs like conservation reserve program and later with it with that's on the farm service agency and then later with a the one reserve program was now the wetland reserve enhancement program under the NRCS so there's a lot of good conservation programs that that will help provide cost share system to to landowners who want to take some of their idle farmland or they're suboptimal farmland implanted in mixtures of of hardwood trees the emphasis is banned in the early years that program it might just with one hardwood species that any nursery can produce the plant there but now it's become sophisticated enough though point twenty something different species together next year as of of of hard mast you know acres one of one file software stuff like persimmons there so you get a nice divers are wood forest in the course that's all I would beneficial for for on grounds and everything you may mention of you're not thinking about somebody's Arkansas B. and Forested the I think that's one of the great things about our location in Monticello we can drive a short distance route in pine trees and the other short distance were and and the bottom one hardwoods of of Eastern Arkansas and one point I've made to students as a it's interesting you're studying forestry at UAM where our mascot is a bowl weevil because a lot of the pine forests and hardwood forests in this region. Few generations ago what been copy but the reason they're back and forces because only those guys but you know got it so so there is you know is absolutely an emphasis and it's it's one of the most important things I think currying in the field of forestry us serving in Arkansas that we're we're adding hardwood forest landscape and you know we certainly benefit from that for a lot of you know there and Turkey and Bills. I did a quick follow up for good measure this has to do with your networking you were describing with other institutions of. Right now I was born Crossett so I know about the relationships down there but does Yale still have their experiment station in Crossett and do you all have a relationship with that I didn't steal representative Beatty center I know he's over there on the far side I think I can see you over there but I'm just curious about what that relationship is if it still exists. I'm I'm not aware that you'll still has a camp there but we there's the cross experimental for us there and that that scientist I made mention of whose house in our college with the USDA Forest Service he oversees that better experimental force we take our students they're pretty routinely because it's it's a unique place since since the nineteen thirties as of the old one. Your phone even age type may. So anywhere in the south. And I think that it one point was some of that deal. Four is there okay thank you so much for your presentation thank you madam chair. Senator Hammer. Thank you ma'am chair and I had to step out of your very dresses I'll talk afterwards but a lot of money spent trying to control beavers what damage they do to the timberland and one of things I think they are allowed to be hunted if they are a predator you know of a nuisance to the property owner but they don't watch the counter no in season out do you have a position as far as what do you think we ought to treat beavers the way we treat feral hogs and just go for the revocation of beavers based on what they do to timberland. Well let's see my I I'm I'm not a wildlife ecologist by by expertise of forest ecologist but you know I I think since beavers are native species my my inclination is that we would want to go towards in revocation efforts but you more of a management effort on on beavers because they actually do serve some role in the native ecology is is inconvenient as I can be is that they they flood certain areas that's actually there they they kind of live there part of that ecosystem yes in fact they are native species okay thank you. By the end of the questions I think we have all gotten a very good education here this afternoon on the forest industry and I can't tell you how much we appreciate it and I know that we'll have more questions but an opportunity for all of us to come down to visit you and see what you're doing so thank you very much for being here we invite you to come to our campus we will love to host you thank you so much for sending. Okay coming up next year so every single day I don't know about the rest of you but I take the Democrat does that online and every day I get to look at the pine bluff commercial and all the things that are going on in pine bluff and at UAPB there's always some interesting things there and I guess I never realized before how many great agriculture programs they I have there and so I have decided that what we like to do is find out a little bit more about the programs that are down there. So we have doctor Robert Carr is the provost and vice vice chancellor for academic affairs and we have students with us as well Mr Jordan again was a recent graduate. And we have Mr Leon Jones a recent graduate and then we have miss Candace Jimerson who is a current student. So do we have for here. Madam chair she did not make it today okay says or grants so very good if you will identify yourself to be recognized. Appreciate you being here. Good afternoon my name is Robert Carr I am the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the university of Arkansas at pine bluff. Of with me I have Mr Leon Jones who is a recent graduate of the university he also served as. Because of the SGA president. And to to to my right I have Mister Giordano again he is a two time graduate of the university of Arkansas at pine bluff majoring in industrial technology as undergraduate and computer science for his master's degree which he just recently finished up. All right okay so so let's get started up I want to thank this committee for having us here today we want to sort of give you a a illustration of what we do in terms of. The systems we have in place to support first generation students that attend the university we will work in some of our agricultural programs and and some of the things that we do for our students that are there. A everything that we. to at the university revolves around our strategic plan. we we have a five year strategic plan that we have to extend for two G. two additional years because of the pandemic and so we are working on at this point completing a ten year strategic plan because when we looked at our five year plan we notice stated chest of we didn't have enough time to totally complete the entire planned and so we wanted to have a longer stretch of time to do that. Before I continue let me just say that the put the pandemic has had both negative affects on the university as well as positive effects on the university and we'll get into the to that a little later in the preseason Tatian. So if if you look at where we are as a institution the inverse of Arkansas at pine bluff is eighteen ninety land grant institution it is the only public H. B. C. U. in the state of Arkansas right now we cover around twenty six hundred and approximately fifty to sixty students and we were on a great trajectory of before the pandemic to get to about three thousand students or thirty two hundred students is what we were planning on. even throughout the pandemic as you can see our six year graduation rate has continued to increase which for us is is is very good news because that means that when students that attempts to attend the university as a freshman we are trying to make sure they graduate. All right now we are probably fourth in the state as it as it pertains to the six year graduation right uh we have designs to be up with the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville which is a a fee of in I have been at the university for five years now when I came in twenty seventeen the six year graduation rate was right around twenty nine percent so I think after this summer will be right at burgeoning on forty two percent so that is sold so that means that we've been really taken advantage of our of our retention rates and making sure that we identify students that can get out and we've been provided that those opportunities for them to graduate which is very important to the institution. So if you look at this chart here what you'll see is that the university of Arkansas Fayetteville leads the state with sixty nine point six percent of of of of their graduates graduating and and within six years again we have that forty percent and within the next five to seven years we want to be at that at that marker right there and so we are meeting almost weekly with our teams to talk about what can we do to make sure that our students have a great experience at eight U. APP. So I think it it it shows up when we look at our student success and retention rates especially as it relates to the formula over the last couple years we have received a little over one point one million dollars additional to our budget because of the work that we've been doing with ensuring that our our students are graduating and and and we're retaining students in their progression towards their degrees and there's tickets that they start out with. We have also a very good run at our presentation processes since twenty seventeen I think we've had several specialized accreditation agencies come in and look at the universe of Arkansas at pine bluff and music education industrial technology are in design social work and now nursing have all been review and we've had pretty good showings in all of those with all of those accreditors also we've completed our for your review for HLC and we're gearing up for twenty six twenty seven a ten year review. One. Yeah. In order to service our our our students we know that we have to have Usable structures usable buildings a usable facilities and so on are drawing board we we we certainly have some of the the projects the the the construction projects that we have going on on campus and we we thank you for all of your support in making sure that that we we try to get the funding that we need to to make those facilities serviceable for our students on our campus we have quite a bit of of deferred maintenance and sometimes is difficult to raise money to support those those types of of structure. I say it again the University of Arkansas at pine bluff makes a difference in the lives of first generation students we give them opportunities that they might not have if they did not come to the the University. During each graduation cycle we get to see we get to see what we file our students to try to see what's happening and this graduation cycle we've we've we've had for students that graduate of law schools for recent graduates from university graduated from law school and says my chancellor is a is is has a law degree he want to be sure that this lad was in there but but they they have done well all across the country when they get into totaled Law School and professional school and I will tell you sitting here I will put our graduates up against any graduate in the state of Arkansas also up against any graduates in the country because because we know that they get a good foundation at the at our institution of. I'd like to just read off we have these these young ladies are graduated law school to meet the **** graduated UALR Boeing school of law right here in Little Rock a to me see a loss graduated from Washington University School of law in St Louis Missouri As Richardson graduated from Howard school of law in Washington DC and angel Thurman graduated from the university of Chicago school of law. This is I like to thank the legislature you you as you as a legislator for supporting UAT B. and some of our initiatives when we talk about our our programs and what helps our programs part of that helps comes from the state match that we get from our eighteen ninety land grant mission those match dollars helps us to be able to not only help limited resource farmers and ranchers here in the state of what will limit to resource farmers including the Arkansas of farmers that we help and and the limited resource are rolled prop farmers that we help here in the state but it also allows us to put some emphasis on some of the programming that we have for our students to support some of the internship opportunities that our students have within the school of agriculture fisheries and human sciences. Also I like to thank us senator Chesterfield and you as a body for your support for some scholarship dollars that we we received and and the year of twenty eighteen and twenty twenty one I think it was one point five million and some change that we use to to help support the education of of of some of our students and and you'll you'll see why that FCRA citing when you hear these two young gentlemen give their presentations. Any good university has to have partnerships and so and so we look at a partner in with with our institute with our sister institutions I think one of the questions that came before there was a question about a does you AM partner with you a PP up for some of the forestry type of programs that they have and and we are starting to to partner and and look at our resources to see how we can be efficient with what we do we know the doctor English has a program that deals directly with with the helping of small limited resource farmers that are looking at forestry. Do what they need to do with their timber on their land. But some of the partnerships that I want to highlight I will highlight all of them but we're especially excited about the three plus one poultry science partnership with that we have with the university of Arkansas Fayetteville of they go to the students in that program go through the first three years at the university of Arkansas at pine bluff they finish off in Northwest Arkansas at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and when they complete the program to get a degree from the university of Arkansas Fayetteville as well as a degree from the university of Arkansas at pine bluff so you get two for the price of one up we also have a program eight to be program with C. R. community college which is right in Jefferson County. and with that program what what we do is the students actually take some of their courses on you a P. B. campus and they take some of their courses that and see are they stay on you AT bees in the dormitories and they're able to have access to all of the of student activities that we have on campus. we have some future programs that we're looking for a. Looking to add to our current program in that we have one of them is the industrial engineering. And another one is construction management engineering and all of you are are aware that cyber security is is is a hot topic nowadays and so we're looking to branch off into cyber security as well not only cybersecurity beside for defense and so and so we we think that those are some some some programs that certainly will benefit our students. So we talked a little bit about the our current strategic plan this is what our future strategic plan is gonna look like we haven't really finished it yet but we know that we want to look at and always look at what our peer institutions are doing to measure our productivity to make sure that we're on top of our game and we want to be in that first twenty five percent of all of our peer institutions not only in the state but in the country. We we look at continued growth in enrollment as a strategy and student success of where you're looking at academic renewal which means that we're going to take a real deep dive of real critical review of our programs at the university of Arkansas at pine bluff and we may have to sunset some of our programs to make sure that we have resources to pump into some of our new innovative programs that are going to provide workers for our economy. we also again we'll look at our employees professional development because you're only as good as your employees and if we are going to be a world class institution you have to have world you have to support world class employees and you have to try. And then again we're gonna look at In the bring along some of the additional construction and renovation of our facilities. That leaves us and two of this building right here which we're about to break ground on a new student engagement center. this is an important building for a campus because it is a building that our students actually tax themselves to to to help fund the the building we put out a call to our students we accident a survey and see it in this we'll probably five six seven years ago and we sent to them what is something on the campus that you want to see and the number one thing was a new student engagement center and of course if we're going to have one somebody has to pay for it and so we said you know we can raise the the the the fees that we charge and take out a certain a portion put into an account so that we help so that you help pay for this now our students were forward looking because they knew the the students that voted for us to do this knew that they would not be on campus when we are collected enough dollars to break ground and actually build the building but they wanted to make sure that students that came after them would have access to some of the the very best facilities that in the state of Arkansas and we we really believe that this is going to be one of those facilities. My last slide before you really get to talk to some of the rock star's of of our institution and you can find some some some survey results online but we we found one particular survey that a group the it called best values in schools in the state of Arkansas and it listed the University of Arkansas at pine bluff. S. the number two best value in the state of Arkansas. Think that's important because when when our students leave Arkansas we want to be sure that they're employable we want to be sure that they go straight into the workforce when I go to professional school so that they can earn a living and come back and give back with their time and their talent in their resources to the University of Arkansas at pine bluff. At this time I'm gonna. Stop my remarks and I'm going to introduce to you two of our outstanding a recent graduates. All right we're gonna angst Mr Jordan no can to to to start off of this particular portion of the presentation with his remarks he was a of a student athlete at the university of leave he played. Baseball and football for the for the university you know I was looking at this transcript before but sought before I started this presentation and I had to to I had never seen a transcript where a student had gone through all four years with our ladies so I was looking for that B. or C. or or something but but he did not make one so I I went on to his his his graduate program still looking for it and so as I said oh my goodness I'm going to present to the Senate which is at this moment in time is the highlight of my twenty year career or the or the subcommittee and I said I need to be the person is leading this chart so then I looked at Mr Leon Jones transcript and I said. So we picked to outstanding students to present for you I think you might have one B. he will slacken one semester and he's with a three point nine and just the day to day why I think this is so impressive yes because I was a real student when I was in under grant in a barely excavate with a three point three so with that said I'm going to turn the the the the microphone over to Mister Jordan again okay thank you if you would just introduce yourself and to be recognized yes. My name is Jordan going and I'm a native of palm of Arkansas. I've graduated with my undergrad degree from you what you have to be in twenty twenty with the undergraduates and it does it's a nice Management applied engineering and I just wrapped up my master's in computer science and technology I think first of all thank. You for the wonderful introduction of like to thank you all for everything that you do one thing that has been amazing the special about my time you have to be in my experience there was many opportunities that were placed in front of me simply because I was a part of the price while in undergrad I was able to experience in indulgence several internships one of them being with the G. General Electric and they're applying starting that journey I was able to actually create a material handling process that they use to date and you know that experiences is special because first of all. That opportunity was placed in my left simply because again I was a part of the price wasn't anything that I sought after it was something that people around me the the village so to speak that I had working for me and support me saw saw saw an opportunity in that so that I could you know benefit from it so I was able to do that and that this sort of initiative you know is is sort of contagious I guess you could say so upon given there and that wasn't necessarily my task but I saw a needed not sued to us to avoid and so they actually still use them to have the process to date and in about a ten weeks time I was able to save the company the north of a quarter million dollars and so a few years later I did an internship with Lori L. and so they have the number one cosmetic company in the world as you may know they actually have about sixty five percent of the market is as far as you know because that is our concern and so the the location that I was working it is actually a responsible for about a little north of a million units day. you know I don't think you see many of their of products on sale for a dollar so you can imagine how many dollars that turns into and so that that plan is actually fully automated and so my role there was to make sure that all of those different machines and pieces of equipment were calibrated properly you know they are in calibrated probably know in the process of sort of goes defunct and now you have bad products going out and so obviously with a million units a day they can become a big issue very quickly and so I realized again there is a need to fill the void and again that's contagious because of me being a part of the price that opportunity was placed in front of me simply because I was a part of the price and so I was able to actually Institute a database where they now under understand when and how often they need to be calibrated their equipment needs to be calibrated so that these bad parts don't go out and so that in itself save them is forecasted to save a little north of a million dollars annually. And so you know those are just a few opportunities that were placed in front of me as a result of the pride of very quickly because I don't want to become long winded I like to ask that you just sort of. Take a take a joining with me if you don't mind closing your eyes just sort of imagine this imagine you have a high school several high school students no one is and a football American another is a baseball player that is professionally scouted another is a valedictorian. Another is a thirty two math ACT recipient another is a I believe he recruited academia. Now imagine all those students or one person. Now imagine the many opportunities in the many choices that may be in front of that wants to. Imagine a student chooses you APB. Why would a. Why city. Now imagine that the student. Has several internship opportunities in SA Wells Fargo Lauria G. just a few Nike. Now imagine that this student. A accepts a job opportunity with Deloitte consulting a big four firm and we're. As soon as me I am me because of UAPB I heard someone say one time greatness is where preparation meets opportunity. I don't want to think that I'm saying that I'm great by universities they prepared me they see opportunity And we the private are great because of thank you. That's quite a story quite a story would you go to high school. From the high school level high school so you just stay right there yes ma'am and so when which go which says that you can do anything you want to if you're willing to put in the work exactly and I think that that's very true plant skews me go ahead. Hello everyone I'm Leon Jones the third Dr Kerr thank you for inviting me today and thank you all for your ears today I was asked to talk to you all about the impact that you have to be hired on me getting internships and post graduate opportunities and I think the best way I can do that is by illustrating a story for you. So I recently applied to graduate school probably before I get into my story I was admitted to every school that I apply to. in applying to graduate school I was asked to write about my identity. Graduate schools now want to know more about the applicant's than just their GPA accolades and highlights they want to know how applicants see themselves and how they see themselves and their place in the world around them. And defining yourself can be sort of a hard task definitely was a hard task for me. See you have to take a good look in the mirror and assess your beliefs values and experiences that are combined to give each of us a social fingerprints are call identity. And in my essay I wrote about my experiences surrounding tokenism and how those experiences affect my self image growing up. C. H. I went to college with the expectation to be somebody. And so regardless of my experiences growing up being a race minority in overwhelmingly white community I still had amazing parents that spoke life into meaning courage me and pushed me to succeed. However I didn't know that I could always be somebody that was until I went to my H. B. C. U. the University of Arkansas pine bluff. When I initially arrived on campus I thought college was all about getting good grades and going to graduate school or professional school or into the workforce now is my goal. Graduate with the highest GPA possible and get more academic validation or go to work with my new degree. But something changed and not just the state of the world my relationship with the world. See before you if you view my relationship with the world was passive something happened I react. During my time at UAPB my relationship with the world became active. I learned I had a voice that was like a lion I learned the power possess to order my own steps and I learned my place as a citizen of the world and my duty to reinvest into my community. I don't believe that I would have done that education anywhere else. I can only book knowledge but an understanding and understanding that I can have the boldness to set out to achieve my wildest dreams. In the mission of UP being S. S. ultimately the university is dedicated to providing access to an opportunity to academically deserving students in producing graduates who are quick to excel through their contributions and leadership in the twenty first century national global community. So when it came time to write an essay for graduate school and I was asked to talk about my identity I could tell them that I know I'm an air to success I know the talents I have that would benefit their institutions. I know that I possess power determination and courage and my charge is to achieve truth wisdom and justice and all that I do. See a well rounded education is not one that merely teaches books but it's one where the student knows comes to know god the laws and purposes of his universe and to reconcile one's life with those laws. So when talking about the impact that UP me you may be made on me it's more than just text book knowledge yes I graduated with a three point nine two internships two fellowships I served as SGA president have multiple honors and awards. But the impact was in the conversations after class of my professors. The advice I had that helped mold me into the man I am today the organizations that develop the confidence in me the faculty who made sure I had the exact same opportunities and more opportunities. The nine students from around the country have. The impact made a difference in my life because it helped establish a community that I can say I'm a member of so why I can say with assurance I will be the best advocate as well as ever seen and know that I'm ready to contribute to the national global community. See sometimes we're not sure of the full potential that we can reach to somebody in courage is us to aim higher. UPB encourage me to aim higher for that I'll forever be grateful thank you so much for your time. Thank you very very much really way stories both of you. Let's see. A representative flowers. Thank you madam chair. I am so proud of the guys. I'm thankful that this presentation Is on the agenda and I'm just regretful that my colleagues who were here today starting at the beginning of the meeting or not here. To benefit from the presentation of these young men who are representing the college today and you to buy a car. I just I have a couple of points that I wanted to make and then I do have a couple of questions So I know that we were. On the agenda it talks about the impact of UAPB and as a land grant institution particularly first generation students if I'm not mistaken the two students who you just heard from our legacy students they're not first generation and have had the benefit of parents and community that has made sure as you just heard from Mr Jones said that they knew who they were going into the university but it's important to have the university there to have the support of faculty to have a you have an environment that is supportive But I want to point out that I've I didn't I didn't send you a P. B. in the summer I didn't graduate from there but I. consider myself an alumnus because I attended in because I come from a family that has long been a of a a family of alumni and supporters of my parents in particular. Graduated met their my mother was a first generation she and all of her most of her siblings I think six of them out of the eight attended and graduated from UAPB and my mother when I was growing up I tell stories about how. they were poor have the picked cotton my grandfather worked for Rock Island road my grandmother was a day worker and when she went to school even though her several I think at that point four of her sisters and brothers had gone she did not go with money in her pocket there was no financial aid to get books she did not have money for books and at the time prexy is what we call him of. He chancellor Davis number one. Made sure that she had what she needed so she went as a poor girl from loan okay she would say and my father was actually a second generation you APP graduate and Went with a level of privilege and understanding that most people not just most black people most people in the United States did not have I say all that to say. That you A. P. B. standing as a land grant institution as a four year university and as an H. B. C. U. is distinctive in Arkansas and distinctive in the country and the games that you APP has made with regard to retention recruitment and the support that they have provided their students is. Laudable incredible expressly since it was done during the pandemic. And finally I make all of these points not just because you APP is in my district as you could tell from my voice cracking I love you APB and I'm supportive of you a P. B. not just because of what it has meant to my family but what it it has and continues to mean to so many as you saw the four young women who graduated. For law school recently and and they are not alone they are not and these young men before you are not isolated sort of special examples the campus is full of young people many of whom are first generation students who need our support and who need to understand that they are not out liars they are like many young people we pass on the street who need an opportunity and who need us to support that university because of what they're doing in the lives of people who don't have the parental influence in the community influences that I got that my dad got that my mother got and that Mr o'quinn Mr Jones got when I was Working for I think you a system at the time there was a member of the legislature who was pushing really really hard for you APV to not receive resources and it doesn't matter who that person is. But I know that there are others who see you A. P. B. in a way that is not reflected today that member sat up in meetings and literally one day suggested that because of the graduation rate that you A. P. B. should instead be a two year college instead of a four year college. And that to me demonstrated that a lot of our members have no idea of the value of the history of UAPB. have no idea of the value in what you APB does for students what you APB does for you A. P. PP me for pine bluff and what you A. P. B. does for this state and the nation so I'm super moved and excited that this was on this agenda as a topic today I'm grateful that you APV brought along students. To tell that story and then I just want to brag that two of the four young women you all saw on that screen or my interns and they're not successful because they were my interns I have been some measure of successful because of them and thank you also to Dr Maria Markham she I think last month or the month before came to visit with the university and made sure to let the delegation knowing case we wanted to participate in that meeting to hear updates and she's always always responsive and so and thank you Dr Kerr my question. I saw the list of. some of the programs you are wanting to find. There is an H. B. C. U. capital loan funding program. Are we utilizing that have we utilized it thank you. representative flowers first of all thank you for those remarks one of the things and and and thank you senator in English for reading about you A. B. B. and then fighting us one of the things that we've done recently was hired director of communications because what we what we saw was that we have a lot of great things happen and and you a peeping but the only people who knew that it was happening where people on campus and if you're going to be a a really really impressive institution we have to market ourselves and get the word out so that people understand that UAV B. does have a a a place a positive place that you can send your young people get a great education and go out and be productive citizens for the state of Arkansas. To your question doctor flowers we know that that capital loan H. B. C. U. capital loans program does exist I think that are of vice chancellor for finance of does measure those things to to to see if it's something that fits the certain project that we're trying to to look at I will go back to her and make sure that she does kind of put in some applications so that we can potentially get some funding for some of the projects that were on the list. Thank you so much thank you and of if I could have a quick point of privilege senator Madam Shaikh thank you very quick I just want to recognize my in term for this summer his name is Mister Terry Thomas and he is a student a rising junior at Howard University you can stand. Thank you. In in in representative flowers we like to send you some more bills and tired so that they go through law school and become a lawyer we appreciate what the. Okay let's see representative makes. Thank you okay I just cut you off good. Dr Kerr thank you for being here and and the gentleman for your presentation you definitely make us proud to be our Kansas with the. What your accomplishments I've had the opportunity on several occasions to visit the university and hear presentations I've always been impressed by by your work down there that being said especially since we're focusing kind of our first generation students as you know unfortunately pine bluff has a reputation for being a criminal hot bed in the state and unfortunately I just read the fifteenth homicide of the year has occurred down there but I think you all are. In a position to help change that so my question is can you talk about how the university or on assuming you do how the university tries to reach out into the schools especially to at risk use to try to encourage them to take advantage of the same opportunities that these gentlemen I have had to try to change as many of their lives as we've done here because I as you know I think education is one of the ways we help to fix this problem so I I would just be interested in your feedback on that. A representative means that is a great question we certainly are aware of of our in our institutions being located in the in the city of of of pine bluff and we're we're we are certainly concerned about the safety of our of our students and faculty and staff that work at the institution and so I'm glad you brought that point up because one of the things that I'm sure you noticed when you when you visit it is that you APP isn't open access campus meaning that there is probably a hundred ways to get on and off of campus and I I think that Security measures have to be at the at the forefront of what we do because when parents send their their students to the university of Arkansas at pine bluff they they expect them to get a degree learn in a firearm it that's conducive. Of that and then go back home and and and be valuable citizens. And so we would certainly welcome any support from the legislature and and helping us secure our campus I I did want to mention that of like chancellor dos my training is in education and so you know I've trained a lot of teachers I've trained a lot of faculty members to go out into the schools to work with teachers to make a difference and so you know we just hired a a wonderful Teague permanent thing for school of education We are certainly going to equip our faculty to be able to go out into the schools and to make a difference in the lives of those K. twelve students we we to look at data and we understand that the schools that are in our area K. twelve schools can do better they must do better if we're going to attract businesses we have to have a world class education in the city of pine bluff and there's no reason that we should not have that with the instant with a four year and a two year institution in the community as a we've been working with a lot of the different groups fair to to try to figure out IMPLAN what we're going to do what I find is that we do a lot of planning. We we can plan with the best of but now is the time for action you see Mr o'quinn he came right from pine bluff high school. And there are many students at pine bluff high school just like Mr going in and so our our our responsibility as a four years to work with with our K. twelve partners to make sure that we're making a difference and providing some of the professional development that those teachers may. Thank you for the question. Representative Springer. Thank you madam chair good afternoon and first of all I just want to call up my father again I told him that I needed to go to you A. P. B. Arkansas a amending and so with that being said thank you Dr Kerr and thank you Mr Oakley and thank you Mr Jones for your parents here today I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation that you all made this afternoon. Well with that being said of other meals I agree that you a HPVs stolen great things are great individuals who attended the university of in particular I want to call out one person's name attorney John Walker he was a very proud graduate of the university of Arkansas at pine bluff in support of the institution so I'm echoing what he probably would say about of what is taking place here today so thank you all once again my question is maybe a little bit of. Controversy old I'm concerned about your campus here in North Little Rock can you just briefly you'll have to give me a whole lot of details I'm concerned because there's a need for us to continue this population going there it at UAPB and you all have a campus in North Little Rock worrying you can get students to be here part time and then finish up on the campus down there in pine bluff so what are you all doing to ensure that that campuses maintained and local rock and yet you continue or your recruitment efforts to ensure that of pine bluff has additional students from here and in Little Rock and the second question I will at you also have one of ACT program and I talked to a doctor of action about about that program he was supposed to give me some information I never heard back from him but anyway would you please speak to that program over North Little Rock I've been a supporter of that program attorney Walker has been those support of that program it is a great program so if you all want to maintain the excellence that you're maintaining to the state I think that there are some things that need to take place with respect that so you can briefly speak to that thank you so much thank you representative Springer first of all it's never too late so so we we do have some programs advanced degrees and and we'd be glad to talk to you about it in the glad to have you host you on our campus the show you some input and that some of the the things that we do up you know North Little Rock is is a is definitely a an area that we think we can growing. we we look at North Little Rock high school and we understand that a lot of those young people when they finish up North Little rock high school they are are not they're choosing not to go into higher education for whatever reason and and many of them I'm not in the work force and so that the so we know that there are some opportunities there. But one of the difficulties that we're having is that we are only authorized to to offer the. A bachelor's degree in regulatory science there. And so that's an ag related degree and I've been talking to our new agriculture Danny about going back to the board of trustees and ADHD and having them give us permission to offer More and related. Programs and economics Our animal science program some of those programs where we can the first of five the number of students that we have in and this is important for you to understand we just had a visit from the under the deputy undersecretary of of agriculture documented in one of the things she mentioned is that the pipeline of four people obtaining higher degrees and and agriculture is trying not. With the push for urban agriculture we think that North Little Rock would be a perfect place to do that and so once we bring a more the first of Fite programming there. There's a lot of scholarship dollars for students to go into agriculture now especially on the H. B. C. use sign we think that will be able to build that program up to where it was I think. Six or seven years ago when we had about two hundred students in that program filtering through that pipeline and so that's something that we're we're up definitely have to have to do up another Another thing that we we probably will be looking to do here very soon as is finding a permanent location for for our North Little Rock site. S. the location we we're in now as recently sold and so we know that this on the on the on the front burner as well. Thank you for that question all the the ACT program I too am a fan of the ACT program up but the way it was structured and I talked to doctor Hannity then she and and and see. Tell me that she agreed we were helping a lot of students improve their ACT score but we weren't seeing a lot of those students actually applying to you A. B. B. and so we tweaked it just a little bit to say you know you can go anywhere else you want to go that's fine but if we're going to help you in this program you have to at least apply to you a beeping so they will have a chance to go out and recruit and I think that's fair so thank you for that question. Okay let's see. Thank representive hack yes. Thank you madam chairman I just want to say I am very proud of you all and and congratulations on your degrees and up. I spoke last week we did boys and girls state here recently on at the capitol on all and hosted them and and so many serious young people you know with a lot of issues on their hearts and minds and so two things I wondered about madam chairman if there were a way to establish some kind of a higher ed student advisory group I would just love to hear more from students like Mr o'quinn and Mister Jones on issues that you think are important some of them we brought up here today but there may be others from your student government association or from what you're learning from your internship about real world you know application things that we need to hear as legislators that can help you and what and your next steps in and going on and I just want to say what an inspiration you are last when I shared with the girls state was something my husband and I were recently talking about and this was in terms of our marriage of forty six years but we said sometimes it's not fun to reach your potential and then we both laughed you know because we were having a discussion and trying to keep it all going and and I said you know what I'm going to use that when I speak to the girls state because that is such a true statement it's not always fun to reach your potential and sometimes You know young people are easily if we're not helping them stay on track to reach their potential I'm just really inspired that you all persevered and were self motivated to continue and the support that you have there but I think that's rare and madam chairman I would just like to see if there's ways to explore how we can help more and if not all of our students reach their full potential so congratulations all the best you. I very much like you're using gestion I am of. I felt for a very long time we really never include. Other people outside of us I make a lot of decisions on education and things like higher it Katie twelve whatever the case may be but we really don't get the people and to sit at the table and talk to us about what what did they see what what what is the what do they want their future look like and how can we help them said usually us we're making those decisions but we have not in involved the the consumer in in this state so I think you're your point is very good and I think that's something I would like to see much more of this I don't have high school students have that opportunity for them to come in and visit with us and talk to us and share some of the same things that and college students as well of this I think we just leave them out of the out of the whole discussion and I think we'll work on that we'll figure out what we can do. So okay let me say okay representative. Flowers you up again. Thank you of I just wanted to clarify and make a clarifying remarks regarding representative makes question and it I think it was an important question as to the safety of the campus and our students but he mentioned that pine bluff was a criminal hot bed and that's I'd I understand why he said that and why he thinks that but I have to say just because I've been working on these issues in pine bluff that is not true. pine bluff in between that in the last decade from twenty ten to twenty twenty actually experienced a significant decrease in every aspect of crime in every division except for homicide and while we take that very seriously because we have seen a fluctuation in an ultimate increase in homicides in the last few years it's important to note that you know auto fast violent crime rate burglary there was a significant decrease and it was a significant decrease that far outpaced RT population for the record and I think that's important number one for the for the image and reputation of pine bluff I'm one of those people I've been all over the world and talk about how wonderful time left and I don't let anybody say anything negative that's not true and certainly and I'm and that's not what represent the extent but some people call upon love crime left and that's just not what pine bluff is we have a problem with homicide and gun violence just like many many places across this country and across Arkansas I want to make that point Legislation Legislative Day Legislative Day you all used to have that can you give us the status of that and then can you be specific and if not get back to me on what the remaining cost is because I as far as the fencing in the security of the campus you will have made some strong in road because I have to go different directions in different ways now to get on campus so can you tell us about that thank you very much thank you madam chair. Thank you representative flowers for those two questions I will have to get back to you on the the the cost of the fencing we did I think chancellor Alexander has been trying to get some estimates on that. And also the legislative day is certainly something that we would like to bring back that nobody's of chancellor is looking at his calendar let's see you know when the when it fits within his schedule and your schedule as well. And and and before I terma Michael at that be remiss to say that a girl state is an absolute wonderful experience I have a daughter that participated in girl state and she still talks about that experience to this day and she's about to be a junior in college so the worked at that time with Carol state is invoice date is absolutely critical in the development of future leaders and that program is awesome and. C. representative makes thank you back back up here that just had a follow up I was thinking about was the the education and Senator English and I are both on Education Committee of fall some others and one of the things that we've been doing this state to try to try to promote better outcome is professional learning communities sounds looks like you're familiar with those do you utilize those on campus amongst the college professors and also in your college education are you promoting those within our next generation of teachers discouraged not as much as we should I know that the conversation has come up especially before CoV before the pandemic a lot of our plans that we were thinking about we have to shift them up because everything went virtual and so I know that that is a a conversation and we will be bringing back but I also wanted to hear that answer from a student's perspective if if that's okay Mr o'quinn. pertaining to the professional learners or yes from my perspective we do exercise those is as far as different people from industry being able to be on campus day I'm actually been working with the summer stem program this summer and so technically I guess I'm on the other side of that now As consultant in so just being able to be on hand hands on with students every day I told him a story today about a time that I walked into a class thinking this is my normal to the class and seven Ray next to a guy and ended up being a CEO of a company and offered three people jobs on the spot that day and so just to be able to have those type of opportunities you know at random and that personal touch type of opportunity a really quota based haven't really cultivates you know what we need and what it seems like you speak to as a desired as a as a as a one from your perspective as well. So where are you working now that you say you're working for now the local so to and what is it impossible of working on my love for you have to be someplace else Arlington Virginia is aware of all right to that that's expensive yes it is are you up there now have you started I'm not I start this fall you know we're they're they're currently in a hybrid of work model so we're hoping for remote possibilities Senate can be interesting correct New World that you're going to do well I can tell that thank you and how about you where we're what. Yeah I'm working this summer and then in the fall I'll be doing a graduate school at northeaster where are you going to graduate school northeaster northeastern okay and what are you doing in the summertime working while you're working for I'm working on a campaign here in Arkansas okay not enough said that that's good good experience good experience I can't tell you how much we all appreciate you being here and spending the time with us so I said I keep saying I've seen so many good things going on at UAPB and we just somehow don't need and don't know about them but you have to do it get your school do a better job of letting us know outside of pine bluff what's going on because there are some really good things happening in you know you have an awful lot of young people who who walked away from from air agriculture programs to the department of agriculture and some of these other things that are going on and we have a lot of great things happening in the state with some of our our students and our young people in our colleges and we need to do a better better job of spreading that worked out that the We can do it anybody can be anything they want to be. And you are you all are are a good example of that I appreciate you all being here today and thank you very much everybody for being here I think it's been a very interesting day we've all learned a lot and I say this meeting is adjourned.