Engineering Honors Outstanding Alumni, Inducts Two to Hall of Fame

Stephen Ironside

Left to right: Hall of Fame honoree Chris Weiser, Dean Kim Needy and Hall of Fame honoree Bill Harrison

College of Engineering alumni, faculty, staff and guests gathered Saturday, April 20, to induct two new members into the college's Hall of Fame and recognize 20 graduates with Distinguished Alumni and Early Career Alumni awards.

The formal event featured dinner and an awards ceremony led by Dean Kim Needy and co-hosts Malik Sadiq and Kelsey Zenko, with remarks by Terry Martin, provost and executive vice chancellor for academics, at the Fayetteville Public Library Event Center. Sadiq is chair of the college's Dean's Advisory Council and Zenko is chair of the Early Career Advisory Council.

"We're always honored to recognize our exceptional alumni, and this outstanding group of hardworking innovators inspires me to keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible in engineering education," Needy said. "These individuals' achievements reflect positively on our institution, community, state and nation."

The two new inductees to the Hall of Fame were: Bill Harrison (B.S.I.E. '66), CEO of Harrison Energy Partners, headquartered in Little Rock, and Chris Weiser (B.S.M.E. '73), retired CEO of J.V. Manufacturing Inc./Cram-A-Lot in Springdale.

Harrison was recognized as a distinguished alumnus in 2011, while Weiser received that honor in 2013.

Harrison founded Harrison Energy Partners in 1983 after working for 17 years for a firm in Shreveport, Louisiana. The business expanded into Northwest Arkansas in 1988 and into Tulsa and Oklahoma City in 2017. The company now has 202 employees in five locations providing commercial air conditioning services.

Harrison has endowed three scholarships through the Arkansas Academy of Industrial Engineering and serves on the college's Dean's Advisory Council. He also is a member of the Towers of Old Main, an honorary group celebrating major donors to the university.

Weiser worked from 1973 to 1985 for Freeport-McMoRan in New Orleans before returning in 1985 to help manage a family business, JV Manufacturing Inc., manufacturing the Cram-A-Lot line of recycling and solid waste disposal equipment. He joined the National Waste Recycling Association, JV's primary trade association, serving on its Board of Trustees, and he was elected to its Hall of Fame in 2005.

A member of the Arkansas Academy of Mechanical Engineering, he is an emeritus member of the Dean's Advisory Council. He and his wife, Debby, award multiple renewable engineering scholarships annually.

Left to right: Distinguished Alumni Award honorees Dwayne R. Edwards, José Vega, Andrew Wheeler, Ed Tinsley, Vance Clement, Will Arensman, Latanya Taylor Robinson, Dewitt Smith III, Matt Bunch and Lt. Col. Robert Newton.

Ten graduates were honored with Distinguished Alumni awards:

• Will Arensman, B.S.C.S. '00, M.S.C.S.E. '02
• Matt Bunch, B.S.C.S.E. '02, M.I.S. '06
• Vance Clement, B.S.I.E. '92
• Dwayne R. Edwards, B.S.Ag.E '84, M.S.Ag.E. '86
• Robert Newton, M.S.O.M. '10
• Latanyua Taylor Robinson, B.S.I.E. '92
• Dewitt Smith III, B.S.C.E. '70
• Ed Tinsley, B.S.M.E. '83
• José Vega, M.S.Ch.E. '85, Ph.D. '87
• Andrew Wheeler, B.S.E.E. '93, M.S.E.E. '94

Left to right: Jeremiah Born, Tyler Bowman, Kathryn L. McCoy, Jake Wofford, Brianna D. Robinson, Jason M. Agron, Courtney Hill, Jason Hardy and Blake A. Baldwin. (Not pictured Katelyn Cherry.)

Another 10 graduates received Early Career Alumni Awards:

• Jason Agron, Ph.D.,Cmp.E. '10
• Blake A. Baldwin, B.S.M.E. '09, M.B.A. '15
• Jeremiah Born, B.S.Ch.E. '11
• Tyler Bowman, B.S.E.E. '12, M.S.E.E. '14, Ph.D. '18
• Katelin Cherry, B.S.Bm.E. '13
• Jason Hardy, B.S.C.S. '08
• Courtney Hill, B.S.C.E. '14
• Kathryn McCoy, B.S.B.E. '09, M.S.C.E. '12
• Brianna D. Robinson, M.S.O.M. '23
• Jake Wofford, B.S.I.E. '10

More information about past honorees is available on pages dedicated to the College of Engineering's Hall of Fame, Distinguished Alumni Award and Early Career Alumni Award.