Events
DR. JAMES F. WILLIS
April 1, 2008
Early SAU Traditions
Dr. Willis discusses of the origins of SAU traditions that began during its founding era, 1909 to 1925, when the school name was Third District Agricultural School (TDAS). The traditions include familiar ones, such as the adoption of Muleriders as the school’s mascot and symbol, and less familiar ones, such as that of the Lone Pine Tree. The Lone Pine Tree tradition disappeared in the mid-1950s, but many of the earliest school traditions continue today, almost a century after they were established.
Dr. James F. Willis earned a B.A. from Southern State College (SSC) in 1967. Selected in national competition for a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, he attended
He is the author of Prologue to Nuremberg: The Politics and Diplomacy of Punishing War Criminals of the First World War (Greenwood Press, 1982) and several articles in historical journals, most recently “The Farmers’ Schools of 1909: The Origins of Arkansas’s Four Regional Universities,” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 65 (Autumn 2006): 224-249. He is currently researching a centennial history of SAU to be published in 2009.
November 27, 2007
The Red Scarf
“The Red Scarf is a humorous and touching coming-of-age story set in the rural south during WWII. Author Richard Mason weaves tales of his adventurous childhood chasing skunks, bobcats, and robbers, with the poignant friendship of an old Black man. All in his elusive quest to buy a red scarf for the prettiest girl in school.” -August House of
“Mason started school at Norphlet Elementary in the first grade and graduated from
He worked for Exxon in South Texas and later spent two years working as a geologist in the deserts of
After his return to the
Mason returned to
ELIZABETH JACOWAY
April 12, 2007
Turn Away Thy Son: Little Rock, the Crisis that Shocked the Nation
Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the Central High Integration Crisis. Learn what fears created the hysteria and forever shaped our capitol city. Memory, documented history, and oral history are combined in Jacoway’s interpretation of the trauma at Central High School.
A native of Little Rock, Elizabeth Jacoway attended Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1966. She received her Ph.D. in American History at the University of North Carolina in 1974. She is an internationally known scholar of southern history and race relations, the author or editor of six books and 17 articles. Dr. Jacoway taught history at the college level for eight years at the University of Florida, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Arkansas College. Jacoway has served several times as a review panelist for the National Endowment for the Humanities, and she has reviewed manuscripts for many academic presses and scholarly journals.
CHARLAINE HARRIS
April 2, 2007
Charlaine Harris, New York Times’ bestselling author and Anthony Award winner. Ms. Harris, who will be the guest speaker at our luncheon, is the author of over 20 books, including the Aurora Teagarden, Lily Bard, Sookie Stackhouse, and Harper Connelly series. Her Sookie Stackhouse vampire series is being developed for a series, “True Blood,” by “Six Feet Under” creator Alan Ball, and will be airing soon on HBO.
Ms. Harris’s first book, Sweet and Deadly, long out of print, is being republished and will be available for purchase, along with several other titles, at the book signing after the luncheon.
Charlaine lives in Magnolia with her husband, three children, three dogs, and a duck. She is an avid reader, a mild cinemaphile, and an occasional weightlifter. Her favorite pastime is cheering on her children in various activities. Visit her website at www.charlaineharris.com.