Class Notes were compiled by the Arkansas Alumni Association from June 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025.
1970s
Sam Alley BSCE ’79 of Little Rock was selected for the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Class of 2025. This honor recognizes Alley’s exceptional contributions to the business industry as chairman and
co-founder of VCC, a leading general contractor in the nation.
Henry Jones, III MS ’75 recently published a thriller book titled The Hidden Empire.
Karl Schubert BSChE ’75 PhD ’83 of Springdale earned the ACUE Certification in Effective Teaching from the Association of College and University Educators and the American Counsel
on Education.
1980s
John English BSEE ’81 MSOR ’83 is the Director of the Interdisciplinary Data Science Program at the University of Arkansas.
Alan Mantooth BSEE ’85 MSEE ’86 of Fayetteville is among the top-cited scientists in the world, according to a database developed by a Stanford University professor. The database was created using citation information from Scopus, a large database of peer-reviewed sources.
Robert Saunders BSEE ’89 MSEE ’96 of St. Paul earned the ACUE Certification in Effective Teaching from the Association of College and University Educators and the American Counsel
on Education.
Scott Turley BSME ’84 of Fayetteville entered retirement at the end of 2024 after 31 years with the U of A. Turley was associate vice chancellor for facilities before his retirement.
Heather Walker BSChE ’89 MSChE ’93 PhD ’96 was awarded The National Academic Advising Association (AAC) Outstanding Faculty Adviser Award. The AAC Academic Advising Awards recognize academic advisers and faculty advisers for their outstanding work in advising practices.
Charles Zimmerman BSCE ’85 of Springdale is interim senior advisor and executive director of Facilities Management at the U of A.
1990s
Chris Oliver BSME ’94 and Ginger Oliver contributed $50,000 to the U of A Land of Opportunity Scholarship. This gift established the Chris and Ginger Oliver Land of Opportunity Scholarship Endowment. Their contribution will impact students’ access to education by addressing funding gaps that often limit those opportunities.
2000s
Guymon Hall BSCSE ’01 is one of six U of A staff members who were named Honors College Staff of the Year and presented with a $500 reward. This honor recognizes university staff who have facilitated the success of the honors mission in departments outside the Honors College.
Paul Millett MSCE ’03 PhD ’06 of Fayetteville is among the top-cited scientist in the world, according to a database developed by a Stanford University professor. The database was created using citation information from Scopus, a large database of peer-reviewed sources.
Rebecca Muenich BSBE ’09 of Prairie Grove is a U of A Provost’s Fellow for the 2024-25 academic year. Muenich’s commitment to research and teaching along with unwavering dedication to the university led to
this honor.
Benito Piuzzi Olguin BSIE ’07 of Long Island City, New York, was named a Forbes top chief operating officer for New York for 2024. The list named 25 COOs with Olguin landing at number 10; recognizing his work as COO of Lakeview Loan Servicing.
Sonia Spinks BSCSE ’02 is the director of strategic campus partnerships at the U of A.
Aaron Strobel BSBE ’08 of Little Rock is a structural/coronary interventional cardiologist at Arkansas Cardiology.
2010s
Iliana Borjes BSChE ’18 of Cave Springs is a category management strategist for the Hershey Company. In this role, Borjes examines shopping data and competitive insights to make recommendations to Walmart on the displays and options of Hershey products.
Terrance Boyd BSBA ’13 MSOM ’14 of Pine Bluff is an assistant professor at Texas Christian University.
Teni Butler BSChE’16 of Chattanooga, Tennessee, joined Grammy-nominated Dave Eggar and Phil Faconti in concert at the U of A campus to celebrate the release of her debut album, Goldenrod.
Lyndsey Dickson BSCE ’17 of Houston, Texas, is the team lead at NEI Electric Power Engineering as a transmission engineer.
Russell Locetta BSME ’16 is a regional reliability engineer and rotating equipment engineer at Cargill, a greenfield renewable diesel refinery.
Angela White BSChE ’10 of Charlotte, North Carolina, is the manufacturing continuous improvement leader at Albemarle Corporation, an American specialty chemicals manufacturing company.
Kelsey Zenko BSME ’17 of Springdale is a manufacturing engineer at Preformed Line Products.
2020s
Alexis Applequist BSBME ’21 of Fayetteville received the Graduate Entrepreneurial Fellowship from the U of A’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Applequist’s entrepreneurial focus is designing and commercializing organ-mimicking research platforms for streamlining drug testing in pharmaceutical companies to reduce animal testing and create more inclusive and accessible healthcare.
Christopher Bailey MSOM ’24 of Fayetteville represented Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Bailey won gold as a member of the men’s 4×400-meter relay team and finished sixth in the men’s 400-meter finals.
Gabrielle Bulliard BSBME ’24 was awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate research fellowship. The fellowship is highly competitive and is given to students pursuing graduate studies
in STEM.
Lance Cordes BSBME ’23 of College Station, Texas, is a 2024 recipient of the Graduate Entrepreneurial Fellowship led by the U of A’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Cordes’s entrepreneurial focus is improving disease modeling and new pharmaceutical drug efficacy by commercializing
organ-on-a-chip devices for industry.
Breanna Kilgore BSBME ’23 is a finalist for the Donald M. Payne International Development Fellowship. The fellowship provides graduate study and professional development funding for those seeking a career in the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Shafiqua Maloney BA ’21 MSOM ’22 represented St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Maloney made history as the first athlete from St. Vincent and the Grenadines to compete in the Olympic finals. She finished fourth in the 800-meter final.
Garrett Markham BSBME ’23 of Brentwood, Tennessee, completed an M.S. in biomedical engineering from Purdue University in May 2024. He is attending medical school at Indiana University School
of Medicine.
Adedolapo Ogungbire MSCE ’23 was honored with the Tau Beta Pi Graduate Fellowship for the 2024- 25 academic year. The fellowship honors outstanding engineering students for their academic excellence, leadership and dedication to the engineering profession.
Coleman Warren BA ’22 BSIE ’22 of Farmington was the featured speaker at the 2025 U of A
Spring Commencement.
Kylan Williams MSOM ’24 of Pine Bluff works for the USDA covering five Central Arkansas counties as a team leader for the Natural Resources. Williams recently completed an online masters program with the U of A in 2024.