With combined service of more than 100 years, Kathleen Smith, Kim Neyman and Nancy Simkins all retired from the U of A and the School of Human Environmental Sciences this fall.

The trio worked at the U of A a combined 103 years, with much of that time spent in HESC, which is housed in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Each has seen great changes to the university, Bumpers College and the School of Human Environmental Sciences while enjoying successful careers, enjoying their time on campus, and all with one or more family ties to the university.

OVER THE YEARS

Respectively, each retiree has been with the U of A for at least 20 years, and all have seen great change. Smith and Neyman both recall increased growth and technology changes within in their school and the university.

Smith reminisces on the increased growth throughout the years due to the high level of respect for the School of Human Environment Sciences and in apparel merchandising and product development.

"Growth, especially in the apparel program, that was unprecedented and sometimes a struggle to keep up with," Smith said of the biggest change. "Word of mouth from former students and a program that was well respected in the apparel industry kept the enrollments high and faculty working diligently to maintain the integrity of the program from 50 or so students to 350 students. Maintaining this integrity was more than a full-time job that was both hard work and fulfilling!"

When Neyman started working for the university almost 45 years ago, the typewriter was still a key piece of equipment. Neyman said "there were no personal computers — only the big mainframes in Computing Services."

Smith, Neyman and Simkins have many fond memories during their time at the U of A, Bumpers College and in the School of Human Environmental Sciences. Simkins said she "is also a huge Razorback fan — my family has attended Razorback athletic events for years, and I love the Hogs!"

Neyman especially enjoyed the different events that brought students and faculty together, those that included music, chicken dinners and rodeo-type events. Smith describes the U of A as a "beautiful campus with many traditions and memories that I will take with me."

KATHLEEN SMITH

Smith was born and raised on a farm in Northwestern Ohio. She completed her associate's degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Smith graduated from Ohio State University and moved to Arkansas with her husband, Flip, in 1987.

Smith started at the U of A as a graduate assistant in 1991, teaching in the apparel program. After completing her master's degree, she was hired as an instructor for two years, then moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, teaching fashion merchandising at a junior college and later in Tennessee before returning to Fayetteville.

In 1999, she came back to the U of A and in 2008 completed her doctorate in higher education and was promoted to assistant professor. In 2014, she became teaching associate professor and from 2014-19 served as the assistant director in apparel merchandising and product development.

After 22 years of consecutive service, on Aug. 15, Smith retired as a teaching associate professor.

Smith created many programs that allowed her to pursue her passion of higher education such as "a student-centered program consistent with high-impact teaching methods and experiential learning opportunities through domestic and international study tours and internships, focused on project-based student learning in the classroom and established meaningful relationships with stakeholders in the apparel industry."

Smith recalls the most enjoyable part of her time at the U of A was her interaction with students. Smith's husband, sons, daughter-in-law and niece have all attended the U of A, as well as other members of the Smith family. She has been married to Flip for 44 years. They have two sons, who are both married, and she has three granddaughters.

KIM NEYMAN

Neyman, originally from Dartford, Kent, England, started at the U of A Department of Home Economics on Oct. 4, 1976, and retired on July 31. She received her bachelor's degree in geography from the U of A in 2006. Neyman's dream job was to work for National Geographic but was content working at the U of A. Neyman said she worked with good people.

"I was fortunate to have many good people that I worked with over the years, including other accounting folks in the DBCAFLS," she said.

Neyman's husband also attended the U of A and was the reason she came to the university. Her son, Tate, attended the U of A and works for University Development. Neyman might return to campus in the future to take classes.

"Always learning new things keeps you young," Neyman said.

NANCY SIMKINS

Simkins, a Northwest Arkansas native, grew up on a Grade A dairy farm in Tuttle, Arkansas. She attended the U of A for two years before transferring to John Brown University, where she graduated with a degree in office administration.

Her career goal was to "provide the best customer service in any setting, and I feel that I was successful. I certainly used my office administration degree to the fullest."

Simkins has many ties to the U of A, starting with her father, Paul Bayley, who worked at the U of A farm. Simkin's husband, Paul, was drum major of the band from 1984-86 and graduated with a degree in accounting. Both of their sons, Austin and Quinn, and her two daughters-in-law are U of A graduates.

Simkins has served in many different capacities during her time at the U of A, including special events, human resources, the dean of students office, women's athletics, engineering and admissions.

Her last 15 years were with the School of Human Environmental Sciences. Simkins said her favorite aspect of her job was the students.

"My greatest love was the students," she said. "They were what kept me on campus. I still have former students who reach out to me to check in."

LIFE IN RETIREMENT

Was this a planned mass retirement?

"It has been a great joy for me to work with Kim and Nancy over these past years," Smith said. "They were the support team that made my job doable, and I am forever grateful to them for that. We were just lucky to be the ages that we are and able to move on together!"

Each of their retirement plans include staying involved in their communities in some capacity, whether staying involved with students or taking new classes. They would also like to devote more time to their families and side projects such as gardening. Simkins even hopes to train a therapy dog to give back to the community.

They were all honored at a reception on Nov. 2.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.