Dr. Thomas N. Ratliff, director of criminology and assistant professor of criminology, is recipient of a $769,906 National Institute of Justice grant. He is primary investigator (PI) for a major study, "Radicalization on the Internet: Virtual Extremism in the U.S. from 2012–2017."  Arkansas State is accompanied by two partner institutions (UC-Irvine and Virginia Tech), involving internationally renowned researchers/consultants and new A-State faculty to identify active online extremist groups, create "virtual" profiles of these groups, and discern the influences online extremist material has on individuals.

In conjunction with "State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now" at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, John Salvest, professor of art, will talk about his work and influences in the Spotlight Lecture, sponsored by the Art Now Fund, Friday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall.  The next day, he will conduct a teacher development workshop at the museum, lead a tour of "State of the Art" and facilitate a discussion on the innovative use of materials in art-making and the power of the found object to enhance meaning in art.

Dr. Rollin F. Tusalem, associate professor of political science, is the author of "Bringing the Military Back In: The Politicization of the Military and its Effect on Democratic Consolidation," which was published in the September issue of the International Political Science Review, a peer-reviewed journal of the International Political Science Association.  The article explores how the pre-transitional activism of the military in transitional democracies weakens the prospect for further democratic development in the developing world. The article is available online.

An article co-authored by Sandra L. Combs (left), assistant professor of media, and Dr. Mary Jackson Pitts, professor of multimedia journalism, was selected for publication in the peer-reviewed Race Gender & Class Journal, published by Southern University and University of New Orleans.  Combs presented the paper, "The Top Two: Their Tweets and How They Focused on Women in the 2012 Presidential Election," during the Race, Gender & Class 2013 Conference in New Orleans.

Dr. Barbara Warner, assistant professor of political science and a member of the Master in Public Administration faculty, has been reappointed to the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library Board of Trustees. Her reappointment, by Mayor Harold Perrin, is for five years, expiring in 2019.  As part of her appointment, Warner also serves on the Crowley Ridge Regional Library Board of Trustees.  The boards oversee budgetary, policy and administrative matters pertaining to the library system.