The North Arkansas College Board of Trustees held their monthly meeting Thursday, July 11, and acted on three items on its agenda.
The board approved the rewritten policy of the college for animals on campus. The new policy states:
“North Arkansas College prohibits animals on campus, in classrooms, cafeteria areas, sports facilities and all other places of public accommodation unless the animal is a legitimate service animal, emotional support animal (with appropriate document from the Disabilities Coordinator) or has special permission from the Vice President of Student Affairs for an educational endeavor. According to the American with Disabilities Act, a service animal is a dog that is individual trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.
The board also approved the hiring of two individuals to fill faculty vacancies.
Angie Wright was hired to be the full-time TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) Advisor, which is grant funded . The position came open in January. The college received 11 applications and a committee, chaired by TRIO SSS Director Rose Sims, chose to interview five candidates, but ended up interviewing two as three withdrew their applications before the interview process began. Eventually, the committee unanimously selected Wright for the position.
Wright holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Arkansas Tech and also received an Associates of Applied Sciences in General Studies from North Arkansas College.
Matthew Urioste was hired to become the Director of Career and Technical Education. The position came open at the end of the 2023-24 academic year. A total of 13 applications were received and the search committee interviewed five individuals virtually in the first round and then two finalists in-person. The committee unanimously selected Urioste for the position.
Urioste has previous experience as a North Arkansas College and Harrison High School Career Coach and a background in assisting students in his case work at the Arkansas Boys Ranch. He holds a Bachelor of Business Management and is a certified Carer Service Provider with the National Career Development Association and has more that 15 years of profession experience working with social service support agencies.
