The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton (UACCM) will officially name the Workforce Training Center the Dr. Larry D. Davis Workforce Training Center to honor Dr. Larry D. Davis, who served as UACCM’s chancellor from September 2010 to January 2019. The Dr. Larry D. Davis Workforce Training Center recognizes Davis’ personal vision and foresight for the construction of the Workforce Training Center, benefitting not only UACCM students, but the entire state of Arkansas. The facility continues to be the model for workforce training facilities in the state. The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees approved the recognition for Davis during its Jan. 25-26 meeting of the Board. The UACCM Administration and Board of Visitors had previously voted unanimously to recommend consideration of the naming to the UA Board. Morril Harriman, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said, “anyone who has visited that facility [knows] it’s a huge asset for the campus, the area, and th...

Photo cutline for group photo: (L to R): UACCM director of workforce development Dr. Jessica Rohlman, Rep. Rick Beck, UACCM chancellor Lisa Willenberg, Sen. Jane English, UACCM certified welding instructor/tester Zack Freeman, UA Board Trustee Morril Harriman, and Conway County Judge Jimmy Hart with UACCM spring 2021 welding graduating class. The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton (UACCM) formally announced the college's recent approval as Arkansas' only American Welding Society (AWS) Accredited Test Facility on Wed., May 12, in the Tyson Training Hall of the UACCM Workforce Training Center. UACCM is recognized as having the requirements for testing facilities, personnel, and equipment to test and qualify welders to the nationally-recognized American Welding Society (AWS) standards and commits to adhering to strict standards for welder testing and quality assurance. This accreditation authorizes UACCM to conduct AWS Welding qualification and certification te...

The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton will host an open house for the UACCM Career Center, the secondary career center for high school students in grades 10 through 12. The event is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, May 17. Through a unique partnership with the Office of Skills Development, a division within the Arkansas Department of Commerce, high school students may enroll in college-level skills training at UACCM free of charge. The Office of Skills Development pays tuition, fees, and supplies for 10 th through 12 th grade students enrolled in air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration; automotive service technology; collision repair and refinishing technology; construction technology; emergency medical technician; industrial mechanics and maintenance; nursing assisting; and welding technology. The open house will serve as a grand reopening of sorts, since UACCM assumed operations of the former River Valley Career Academy effective for the 2021-21 school year. D...

The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute are teaming up to host the Rural Workforce Development-Southern Region Summit, a three-day event where players in rural economies can convene and collaborate on ways to increase workforce opportunities.  The summit will convene industry and business leaders, representatives from educational institutions, the public sector, non-profits, and more. Attendees will explore a plethora of topics: Use of labor market and data to drive strategies Public-private collaboration to attract employers and define workforce requirements   Workforce readiness and training Apprenticeship and job placements Recruitment and retention Sector-based best practices related to workforce (i.e. veterans, telecommunications, water, manufacturing, health care, etc.) Succession planning, including strategies such as worker cooperatives Attend...

Workforce Training Center. Credit: Ken West Photography With the assistance of Entegrity, the Workforce Training Center at the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton was recently awarded Silver level of certification through the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building program v2009. The new Workforce Training Center is located at the southwest corner of the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton campus, in Morrilton, AR. The project is a center for students to train for a variety of careers in tech industries. It will also provide economic growth for the city of Morrilton. Being built on the existing campus grounds, the structure shares the parking lot with existing buildings. The only parking lot built within the LEED boundary of the project will be used to store test vehicles for vehicle maintenance courses, which are not for driving and will not be utilized by the students, faculty ...

John Bean V3400 3-D Aligner, UACCM Auto Technology Service Lab The automotive technology service program at the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton is receiving new equipment thanks to its partnership with Snap-on Tools.   The equipment adds to a collection inside UACCM’s Workforce Training Center, helping students learn the latest automotive technology and join a high-demand job market. UACCM received the equipment from John Bean, a subsidiary of Snap-on Tools, either from purchasing or borrowing as part of a loan program.  UACCM’s most recent acquisition is a John Bean T5745 tire and wheel service machine, the newest instrument of its kind on the market. Along with a John Bean wheel balancing machine that will arrive in the coming weeks, Snap-on will rotate these new machines in UACCM’s automotive service laboratory with new prototypes. Howard West, an auto technology instructor at UACCM, calls this equipment state-of-the-art. “The T5745...