UACDC CELEBRATES LAUNCH OF DELTA-REGION OUTREACH INITIATIVE

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas Community Design Center (UACDC), a division of the School of Architecture, held a reception Thursday, Nov. 8 to celebrate the launch of a new Delta-region initiative and to honor the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation for providing grants to make it possible.

The UACDC received grants totaling $346,000 from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation to fund Center operations and launch an effort in the Delta region.

Of the grants, the first is an award of $250,000 is designated to provide bridge operation funding to the UACDC until the next legislative biennium when state funding is likely to resume. The second award of $96,000 is designated to establishing the Delta Research and Design Center in eastern Arkansas. The Delta Center will help towns and cities in the region to develop plans and programs for physical, economic, educational and social regeneration. Residents and businesses in communities such as Marvell, Clarendon, Marianna and Helena will benefit from the Center.

The reception was held at the Bank of Fayetteville on the Fayetteville Square. Guests were able to tour the nearby UACDC facility and learn more about the Delta Research and Design Center.

David Evan Glasser, UACDC director and holder of the Steven L. Anderson Chair in Urban Studies, said, "We are excited about the launch of the Delta Research and Design Center and are extremely grateful to the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation for the support to make it possible. We are now able to expand UACDC services to distressed and underserved communities in the Arkansas Delta region and impact the lives of residents of that region."

The UACDC provides long-term physical planning and design services to communities throughout Arkansas that have neither the resources nor staff to undertake these types of projects themselves. The Center serves as an advocate for Arkansas towns and cities by helping communities identify civic projects they can carry out with the services of design professionals — architects, landscape architects or engineers. Projects emphasize: maintaining the quality and character of historic downtown areas; promoting local efforts to counter sprawl into the surrounding countryside; and encouraging preservation of open space near towns. The UACDC often provides projects and opportunities in which UA School of Architecture students may participate.

Speakers at the reception included:

• John Lewis, president of the Bank of Fayetteville and board member of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
• Sybil Hampton, executive director of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
• Susan Thomas, director of the Delta Center
• David Evan Glasser, UACDC director and holder of the Steven L. Anderson Chair in Urban Studies
• Jeff Shannon, interim dean for the School of Architecture
• G. David Gearhart, vice chancellor for University Advancement

Glasser said that for several years the School of Architecture and UACDC have been assessing the need for a branch of the Center located in the Delta, where many communities might benefit from UACDC’s planning work. The grant of $96,000 designated toward this purpose permitted the UACDC to initiate this effort at this time. Funds in the grant will help pay for the new director, Susan Thomas, support staff, furnishing and equipping workspace and provide funding for three doctoral fellowships for candidates whose dissertations will focus on Delta economic and physical development.

"An integral component of the grant is the projected partnership between the Nature Conservancy, headquartered in Clarendon, and the new Delta Outreach office. We anticipate generating a substantial number of development initiatives in the coming years, thanks in large part to support from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation," Glasser continued.

UA School of Architecture Dean Jeff Shannon said, "The School of Architecture is extremely pleased and grateful to the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation for their most generous support of the School’s Community Design Center. Their support ensures our intentions to expand the amount of service we provide to the communities of the state. We had hoped to start the Delta Research and Design Center in Clarendon, Ark., this fall and are enthusiastic that we were able to meet that goal."

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving the economic and social well being of Arkansas and its people. Created in 1974 by an endowment from the estate of Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, the Foundation has made gifts and grants of more than $54,000,000 to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions.