On Wednesday, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders celebrated with University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) leadership additional funding the university will receive for the Department of Nursing and the School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences (SAFHS). Through the Arkansas Linking Industry to Grow Nurses (ALIGN) grant, UAPB is one of nineteen 2- and 4-year colleges to benefit from the grant and will receive $1,004,000 to increase and strengthen its faculty. And UAPB’s land-grant match passed by the state legislature totaled $5.8 million, a $2 million increase over the previous budget.
“I’m very proud that my first budget as governor is prioritizing and investing in UAPB, Arkansas’s only land grant HBCU,” Governor Sanders said. “Together, these extra funds will help us fulfill [Founder] Joseph Corbin’s vision from so long ago, providing a high quality education to Arkansans with a special focus on our state’s black community.”
Sanders also touted the $20 million ALIGN grant from the state’s Office of Skills Development, saying “These funds will build up UAPB’s nursing program to address Arkansas’s nursing shortage and help put more graduates on the path to a good stable career.”
“This gift will allow the Department of Nursing to flourish, retain a faculty, recruit faculty, and provide professional development for our faculty members while supporting and nurses here in southeast Arkansas,” Dr. Brenda Jacobs, Nursing Department chair, said. “We will grow great nurses who will become a part of the health care workforce. It will take the entire village to assist us in becoming all that we can be. What a great day to stand on this campus and receive funding for the nursing department.”
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Nursing students join Governor Sanders, Chancellor Alexander, Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Andrea Stewart (3rd from right), Dr. Jacobs (4th from right) and a CHI St. Vincent Representative (fourth from left) at the Wednesday press conference.
“The governor’s support… is transformative for this particular campus,” said Dr. Donald R. Bobbitt, University of Arkansas System president. “The campus is able to budget the monies for the service it provides and to do so at the beginning of the year and then carry out the land-grant mission, which it serves in this community and also in the state.”
“I would like to just take this time to certainly thank Governor Sanders for your efforts… and that shows her leadership and how she’s gonna continue to advance this state and advance the residents of Arkansas,” Dr. Bruce McGowan, SAFHS’ interim dean and director said. “Our main goal… is to certainly, enhance our research and extension efforts for the Arkansas Delta region of the state, the underserved farming community and the producers of the state.”
“Thank you, governor, for the funding that you are bringing and directing to our university,” Chancellor Alexander said. “It’s important for the university’s advancement. It’s important for the students, the faculty, and the staff and the programs of our university that we can take this university, that as you mentioned, started in 1873, for the benefit of those who didn’t have… equal access to higher education. Thank you for your remembrance of that, and thank you for honoring that on today with these contributions.”
Rex Nelson has been senior editor and columnist at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since 2017, and he has a biweekly podcast called “Southern Fried.”
After graduating from Ouachita Baptist University in 1981, he was a sportswriter for the Arkansas Democrat for a year before becoming editor of Arkadelphia’s Daily Siftings Herald. He was the youngest editor of a daily in Arkansas at age 23. Rex was then news and sports director at KVRC-KDEL from 1983-1985.
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He returned to the Democrat as assistant sports editor in 1985. From 1986-1989, he was its Washington correspondent. He left to be Jackson T. Stephens’ consultant.
Rex became the Democrat-Gazette’s first political editor in 1992, but left in 1996 to join then-Gov. Mike Huckabee’s office. He also served from 2005-09 in the administration of President George W. Bush.
From 2009-2018, he worked stints at the Communications Group, Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities, and Simmons First National Corp.
Dylan Sherman is a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He is based in Northwest Arkansas and focuses on Tyson Foods Inc. and the transportation industry. A graduate of the University of Missouri, he has been with the newspaper since 2023.
The Arkansas Court of Appeals released opinions Wednesday. The court’s ruling and the names of the cases are reprinted here. The full opinions and other court proceedings, including per curiam decisions, orders and submissions, can be found on the internet at arcourts.gov.
PROCEEDINGS OF Jan. 7, 2026
CHIEF JUDGE N. MARK KLAPPENBACH
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CR-23-821. Kenneth Steward v. State of Arkansas, from Benton County Circuit Court. Affirmed. Gladwin and Brown, JJ., agree.
JUDGE ROBERT J. GLADWIN
CR-25-24. Bryce Anderson v. State of Arkansas, from Benton County Circuit Court. Affirmed. Virden and Harrison, JJ., agree.
JUDGE CASEY R. TUCKER
CV-24-537. Flywheel Energy Production, LLC v. Van Buren County, Arkansas; and Van Buren County Judge Dale James, in His Official Capacity as Van Buren County Judge, from Van Buren County Circuit Court. Reversed and dismissed. Abramson and Harrison, JJ., agree.
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JUDGE WENDY SCHOLTENS WOOD
CV-24-209. LRS South, LLC v. Benton County Solid Waste Management District and the Benton County Solid Waste Management District Board, from Benton County Circuit Court. Reversed and remanded. Hixson and Murphy, JJ., agree.
