Participants in "Bridging the Divide: Program to Increase Ph.D.s in STEM Fields" will present their research projects Thursday, Aug. 7, 2-4 p.m., in Room 107 of the Arkansas Biosciences Institute.  Dr. Malathi Srivatsan, assistant director of ABI and professor of molecular biology, is principal investigator (PI) for the program, and she also is serving as a faculty mentor.  Other faculty mentors are Dr. Elizabeth Hood, Dr. Argelia Lorence, Dr. Tanja McKay, Dr. Fabricio Medina-Bolivar and Dr. Jianfeng Xu.

The Art Department, a quarterly young professionals series at Thea Foundation in North Little Rock, will feature works by painter John Harlan Norris, assistant professor of art.  The exhibition will open with a reception Friday, Aug. 8, 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the foundation, 401 Main Street, Suite 100.  Norris's paintings will be displayed through August.  His current body of work, called "Cast," features a series of portraits in which "the identities of the subjects are concealed by the signifiers of the roles they assume in their daily lives." Thea Foundation has details. 

Beth Smith, director of alumni relations, is one of 12 individuals recently elected to the board of trustees of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), headquartered in Washington, D.C.  She will represent CASE District IV, which she has served previously in several leadership roles, including chair.  District IV includes member higher education institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

An article co-authored by Dr. Erick Chang, associate professor of management in the College of Business, has been published by the International Journal of Financial Studies (IJFS).  The article, "Socio Emotional Wealth Preservation in the REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) Industry: An Exploratory Study," appears in a special IJFS issue on performance and behavior of family firms.