����vlog���� alumnus Vernon McDaniel ’55 of Ozark, Ark., has established a scholarship endowment at his alma mater to assist students majoring in communication studies.

McDaniel (pictured, right, with University President Richard Dunsworth) graduated from then College of the Ozarks in 1955 with a degree in sociology and political science. During his senior year, he was chosen as the college’s most industrious and most school-spirited male and was selected to Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. He also received the outstanding political science student award.    

“I received scholarship help when I was a student and now I want to help someone else,” McDaniel said.  

Following graduation, McDaniel went on to earn a master’s degree in social welfare and journalism from Florida State University. He later served Ozarks as an associate professor of journalism as well as director of public relations.

He has also taught journalism at colleges in Kansas and Missouri. In 1975, the National Council of College Publications Advisors chose McDaniel as the nation’s top college yearbook advisor.  

He served as the mayor of Ozark for 12 years and was the recipient of the Ozark Area Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.  

McDaniel currently heads the Salvation Army Service Unit in Ozark, volunteers at the Ozark Museum, and works part-time at the city’s newspaper, The Spectator.  

The Vernon McDaniel Scholarship will be awarded to students who major in communication studies and who have a “recognized financial need.”  

For information on establishing an endowed scholarship for U of O students, please contact the Office of Advancement and Alumni Engagement at 479-979-1237.

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����vlog���� administrators and faculty presented the University’s top academic and division awards during the 64^th annual Honors Day ceremony, held Wednesday afternoon via Zoom.

Petron Brown, a theatre and environmental studies major from Nassau, The Bahamas, was the recipient of the 2021 Wiley Lin Hurie Memorial Award, presented to the outstanding senior in the graduating class as voted on by the faculty. The Hurie Award is named in honor of the long-time president of the University and is the highest honor given to an Ozarks student. Brown was also named the Outstanding Student in Theatre.

The award winners in the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts included, Outstanding Student in English – Braxton Leding, Outstanding Student in Art – Megan Johnson; Amanda Alders Pike Art Award – Madison Clary and Isabella Olarte; Outstanding Student in History – Patrick Walker; Outstanding Student in Music – Mario Varela-Pecino; Outstanding Student in Philosophy – Maddy Windel; Outstanding Student in Religion – Fernanda Pichardo; Outstanding Student in Spanish – Jakobe Durant; and Outstanding Student in Theatre – Petron Brown.

The awards in the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics included, Outstanding Student in Biology – Crystal Oudomvilay; Outstanding Student in Chemistry – Destinee Manning; Outstanding Student in Health Science – Chava Roberts; Outstanding Student in Physics – Twanesha Lightbourn; Outstanding Student in Psychology – Laura Gochez Sanchez; Outstanding Student in Environmental Studies of Social Sciences – Nick McDaniel; Outstanding Student in Environmental Studies of Natural Sciences – Kelsey Dixson; and Outstanding Student in Mathematics – Juan De La Cruz.

The awards in the Division of Social Sciences included, Outstanding Student in Accounting – Tanesha Collie; Outstanding Student in Business Administration – Cory Maag; Outstanding Student in Marketing – Elodie Jabouin; Outstanding Student in Political Science – Sarah Vardal; Outstanding Student in Media Production – Sade Seymour; Outstanding Student in Strategic Communication – Lily Marlow; Robert Berry Fulton Award in Communication – Kevin Nawa and Michel Brun; Outstanding Student in Education – Nick McDaniel; Outstanding Student in Elementary Education – Cristina Cuevas; and Outstanding Student in Secondary Education – Ethan Bowman.

“These students represent the fulfillment of our mission,” said University President Richard Dunsworth. “These students embody being prepared to live life fully. The students we celebrated this afternoon have not only challenged themselves and excelled in their chosen field of study, they have also challenged themselves to explore new interests, to expand their capabilities, to become campus leaders, to experience new cultures, and in doing so, they have become valuable members of this campus community. And, when they leave our campus borders they will be valuable members of the world community.”

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Iván Bustillo, Daniel Valenica and Chloe Welsh are organizing and presenting the event, TEDxUofOzarks, on campus as part of their senior capstone project in the communication program. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, March 31, in the Rogers Conference Center.

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks that run 18 minutes or less and are then posted online. TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics ? from science to business to global issues ? in more than 100 languages. The independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

The three U of O students began planning the event almost a year ago and started the arduous process of applying for a license early last fall. TEDx has previously been held in only a handful of Arkansas communities, primarily larger cities such as Little Rock, Fayetteville and Jonesboro.

“All three of us love the concept of TED talks and we thought it would be a great idea to see if we could hold one here at Ozarks,” said Valencia, a marketing and communication major from La Libertad, El Salvador. “It’s typically not held in smaller cities so we wanted to help bring the first one to this area. It turned out to be a pretty complicated process to apply for the license and to get everything organized. It’s definitely been a lot of work but it’s also been something we’ve enjoyed doing.”

The theme for TEDxUofOzarks will be “A Positive Spark,” according to the organizers.

“We want the speakers to talk about their career and life passions and how they ignited that passion,” said Bustillo, a radio-television-video (RTV) major from La Libertad, El Salvador. “We want the audience members to leave the event inspired and motivated to find and pursue their own passions.”

Welsh, a strategic communication major from Fayetteville, Ark., said TEDx is an ideal event for a college campus.

“The University brings in great speakers throughout the year but we wanted to bring in a group of speakers with diverse topics and backgrounds in an intimate setting, all in one day,” Welsh said. “There’s a lot of great energy and excitement around a TEDx event and we wanted to bring that kind of atmosphere here.”

The three organizers said the collaborative efforts to bring the event to campus has been very rewarding. Bustillo has handled most of the marketing and graphic design work, Welsh has taken care of the public relations and Valencia has worked on much of the licensing and legal areas.

“We’ve learned that each of us have strengths that we can bring to the project,” Bustillo said. “It’s been exciting to work on this project together and see how our different roles are helping to make it all work. We’re using the knowledge we’ve learned in the classroom for four years and are applying it to an event that we believe can make a difference on campus.”

The event is expected to have approximately 12 speakers, each talking for less than 18 minutes. The organizers have already lined up several speakers who are regional experts and academics in areas such as sustainable agriculture, economic justice, literature and world language.

“We’re excited about the speakers we’ve got coming in and we’re still working on several others,” Valencia said. “It’s pretty amazing how this whole thing started as an idea a year ago and now it’s almost a reality.”

The event will be limited to 100 seats. The cost is $25 for general admission and $15 for U of O students, which covers lunch and a goody bag. Interested participants are encouraged to preregister online at www.TEDxUofOzarks.wordpress.com

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