Mark Babione (B.A. 1990) is a 737 captain at American Airlines.
Erin Beu (B.A. in English with Creative Writing Concentration 2016) is working as a News Reporter and Multi Media Journalist for KOCO 5 News in Oklahoma City.
Susan Campbell (B.A. in English 1978; M.A. in Communication 2008) was appointed by Mayor Lioneld Jordan as the City of Fayetteville Chief of Staff in February of 2020. Susan’s career focused on information technology management and communications/marketing prior to her appointment in this role. As Chief of Staff, Susan Campbell Norton oversees all city departments in service to the residents of Fayetteville.
Anne Crafton (B.A. in English and History 2018) is near the completion of her second year of her PhD in Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame. In wrapping up her years of coursework, Anne looks forward to her dissertation on the representation of gendered language in early medieval texts. She will hopefully be receiving the concurrent MA in May, as well as beginning the process for PhD candidacy exams.
Mark Davis (B.A. 2002), after teaching for a number of years, is now managing the social media channels, writing blogs, and taking pictures for an outdoors industry company. He has been working in this capacity for nearly four years and rubbing elbows, on occasion, with a fellow Razorback at industry events. However, he does think about getting back into the classroom, on occasion, as, says Davis, diversity of thought is on the way to extinction.
Stephanie (Brodacz) Dzur (B.A. 1987) works as the Attorney for the Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy (“CCAE”) in New Mexico. In July of 2020 CCAE achieved a big victory for the environment. New Mexico’s largest public utility proposed to replace its retiring coal plant with a natural gas plant, and some solar and storage. CCAE proposed an alternative through its team of experts: replacing coal with 100% renewable energy and battery storage. The Public Regulation Commission went with CCAE’s 100% clean energy proposal, a victory for the environment and local communities. 650 Megawatts of new solar and 300 Megawatts of storage will go into service in 2022.
Caitlin Howle (B.A. 2012, Honors thesis advisor was Dr. Karen Madison) was granted her master’s degree from Rhode Island College (RIC) in April 2020. Her thesis, titled, “Directed Self-Placement and Rhode Island College: Confusion, Clarity and (Anticipating) Change,” was the first of its kind in the department and focused on an evaluation of the freshmen placement procedure at RIC, as facilitated by her thesis advisor, Dr. Becky Caouette. Howle’s research helped contribute to an overhaul of the way students enrolled in courses. Additionally, Howle was named one of Rhode Island’s Emerging Leaders, graduating from the Rhode Island Foundation’s intensive year-long leadership program in May 2020.
Blant Hurt (B.A. in English 1983; Harvard M.B.A. 1991), last August, self-published his third book, Not the Seasons I Expected: A Fan’s Memoir. It was serialized in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which ran it in 12 weekly installments of around 3,000 words each: a total of around 36,000 words—about half of the book. The Awkward Ozarker: A Curious Tale of Self-Reinvention in a Scantily Settled Land was published in 2016, and Hurt’s novel, Healer’s Twilight, was published in 2001.
Deborah (Rephan) Manley (B.A. in English with Emphasis on Creative Writing 1993) is retired, currently a represented visual artist at Art Ventures NWA. Her art can be viewed on Instagram.
Ray Allen Parker (B.A. 1974; M.A. 1978) had his oil paintings presented in “Altarpieces & Icons,” the inaugural exhibition of the Windgate Museum of Art at Hendrix College. Following a 32-year communications and advertising career with the J.C. Penney Co., Parker returned to Fayetteville and began studying figurative and portrait painting in the U of A School of Art. His work has been included in the annual Delta Exhibition in Little Rock, the International Biennial Portrait Competition, and the Figurativas Exhibition in Barcelona, Spain.
Bourgon Reynolds (B.A. 2009) was named a member of the Rose Law Firm in 2020 and has joined the firm’s litigation practice group in the Fayetteville office.
Herb(ert) Rowland (B.A. in English and German 1968), Emeritus Professor of German at Purdue University, recently had published his book on Hans Christian Andersen and his reception in the U.S. during the nineteenth century, Hans Christian Andersen in American Literary Criticism of the Nineteenth Century.
Jennifer (Gosnell) Sammons (B.A. in English with a minor in Business 1999) utilized her writing skills in the government contracting arena to double the size of her D.C. employer every two years over a six-year period (2014-2020). As the Vice President of Business Development for METIS Solutions LLC, she grew this defense contractor from a tiny boutique firm doing about $7 M a year to a formidable mid-sized firm grossing around $90 M a year. In 2017, she moved the company’s proposal center back to her hometown of Conway, AR, and hired other local English majors graduating at the top of their class as she expanded the volume of the firm’s proposal capabilities. Her success with METIS culminated in November of 2020, when she helped orchestrate the sale of the company to a larger government contractor – PAE, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAE). Sammons is currently providing government contracting and consulting services under her own firm – Alpha InJenuity, LLC.