ChancellorAugust 22, 2025

Campus Update, August 22, 2025

Written By: Terisa Riley

Dear colleagues and students,

 

Congratulations on completing the first week of the fall 2025 semester. I have been so excited seeing and participating in fantastic welcome week events, and there is definitely a buzz that has come with increased enrollment.

For newcomers: I frequently send out campus messages to ensure that our employees and students are aware of important information on campus, and to give kudos where they are so amply due. If you ever have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me through this email address, my personal email address (Terisa.rileyFREEuafs), or at my office at 479-788-7007.

I want to begin by thanking all of you for your patience when dealing with so many different changes this fall. I know that our adoption and implementation of Workday Student has created some difficulties with a variety of our systems and software on campus. Please know that our team will be meeting with the Workday Student team from the UA System early next week to talk through some of these challenges in order to problem solve in ways that will ensure our success. In the meantime, if you have questions or concerns, please try to direct those to the relevant offices (e.g. Office of Financial Aid, Student Accounts/Cashier, etc.)

Campus Activities: Thanks to the Office of Campus and Community Engagement and ALL of the departments and organizations who worked overtime this week to plan and implement our university welcome week. Next week, we have several fun and informative events. Specifically, please note the Campus Picnic and Block Party which will be held on the Campus Green (south of the Bell Tower) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is a great opportunity to learn about student organizations, local non-profits, and different ways to get involved on campus and in the community. It is free to attend and lunch is provided at no cost to students and employees.

UAFS Research Den: I am excited to share a new, monthly program called UAFS Research Den. Each month, students and faculty will be featured to discuss their research interests and passions. Our first session will be on Tuesday, August 26 at The Bakery District in the UAFS 1^st floor classroom  at 6 p.m. Next week, Willow McFerran, Shelby Zink, Chris Edwards, and Emily Kelley will be presenting their unique and interest research and answer our questions. This is free and open to the public, so please plan to attend.

On Friday, August 29, we are honored to have a campus visit by University of Arkansas System President Jay Silveria. During his day-long visit, I will introduce President Silveria to a variety of community and business leaders so he can learn more about economic development and workforce needs in the River Valley. Kendall Ross will provide President Silveria with an overview of the UAFS Center for Economic Development, and I also will take him to visit the Peak Innovation Center, our collaborative educational space with Fort Smith Public Schools. I sincerely appreciate his efforts to visit every campus in the UA System each year, and I’m pleased that this will be his third visit to UAFS.

I hope all of you have a fantastic and restful weekend!

 

Terisa Riley

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