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University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service names associate dean | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service names associate dean | 
  Arkansas Democrat Gazette


Meagan M. Jordan — a former University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor who helped plan and develop curriculum for the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service during its formative years — has been appointed associate dean of the Clinton School.

Jordan comes from Old Dominion University, where she has worked as an associate professor in its School of Public Service in Norfolk, Va.

As graduate program director at Old Dominion, she led changes in the university’s Ph.D. program in Public Administration and Policy. Applications increased, enrollment doubled and the quality of student applicants improved, the Clinton School said.

Jordan spent 13 years at UALR, where she taught in the Institute of Government. The Clinton School said that Jordan made significant contributions to the Master of Public Administration program and was a key figure in the planning and curriculum development for the Clinton School during its early years.

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She led revisions to the Clinton School’s Capstone process for MPA students, resulting in increased graduation rates and improved student outcomes.

Jordan earned a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Kentucky, a Master of Public Administration from UALR and a B.A. in Economics from Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

She will replace Susan Hoffpauir, the Clinton School’s academic dean, who is retiring in June. Jordan’s official start date will be sometime in the late spring or early summer, said Patrick Newton, director of marketing and communications at the Clinton School.



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Arkansas

A second ex-Arkansas deputy was sentenced for a 2022 violent arrest

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A second ex-Arkansas deputy was sentenced for a 2022 violent arrest


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A second former Arkansas law enforcement officer who pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of a man he kicked during a violent arrest in 2022 that was caught on video has been sentenced to one year in prison.

U.S. District Judge Susan O. Hickey on Thursday sentenced former Crawford County sheriff’s deputy Zackary King to prison, with credit for any time served in federal custody, according to court documents. King agreed in April to plead guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law during the Aug. 21, 2022, arrest of Randal Worcester outside a convenience store.

Hickey also ordered King to serve one year of supervised release.

King and another former deputy, Levi White, were charged by federal prosecutors last year for the arrest. A bystander used a cellphone to record the arrest in the small town of Mulberry, about 140 miles (220 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock, near the border with Oklahoma. The video was shared widely online.

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“Punching a man in the head, slamming their head repeatedly on the concrete pavement, kicking them in the back and striking them in the midsection — this kind of gratuitous and unjustified violence at the hands of law enforcement runs contrary to the oath that officers take in our country to protect and serve,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “The defendants swore an oath to uphold the law, then violated that oath and abused their power as law enforcement officers by assaulting a person in their custody.”

An attorney for King did not immediately return a message late Thursday afternoon.

White, who also pleaded guilty in April, on Wednesday was sentenced to over 5 years, with credit for time served, and ordered to be held at a federal prisons medical facility in Missouri. A judge ordered White to receive mental health counseling and treatment while incarcerated.

A third officer caught in the video, Mulberry Police Officer Thell Riddle, was not charged in the federal case. King and White were fired by the Crawford County sheriff. The video depicted King and White striking Worcester as Riddle held him down. White also slammed Worcester’s head onto the pavement.

Police have said Worcester was being questioned for threatening a clerk at a convenience store in the nearby small town of Alma when he tackled one of the deputies and punched him in the head before the arrest. Worcester is set to go to trial in February on charges related to the arrest, including resisting arrest and second-degree battery.

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Worcester filed a lawsuit in 2022 against the three officers, the city of Mulberry and Crawford County over the arrest. But that case has been put on hold while the criminal cases related to the arrest are ongoing.



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Three John Calipari-themed questions for Arkansas basketball in 2024-25

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Three John Calipari-themed questions for Arkansas basketball in 2024-25


Speaking to the media last week, John Calipari insisted he still doesn’t know who will take the ball after a made basket out for Arkansas basketball this season.

With something so simple up in the air, it’s safe to assume there are plenty of other questions still unanswered for the Razorbacks.

The season is rapidly approaching. The Southeastern Conference will host its annual media day on Oct. 16, and the Razorbacks will send Adou Thiero and Johnell Davis to accompany John Calipari in Birmingham, Ala. Arkansas will open its first campaign under Calipari against Lipscomb on Nov. 6.

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Here’s a look at three Calipari-related questions for Arkansas basketball to answer this season. There are high hopes that Calipari can translate his success to Fayetteville, but he will have to alter some foundational strategies behind all his wins at Kentucky.

More: ‘Slobbering Hog’ logo set to return to mid-court for Arkansas basketball home games

More: John Calipari ready to watch DJ Wagner bounce back for Arkansas basketball

Is there a first-round pick on the roster?

Calipari has a streak of 17 consecutive drafts with a first-round pick, but that run might be in jeopardy in 2025.

ESPN released its top-100 NBA Draft Prospects on Wednesday, and Arkansas doesn’t have a player inside the top-30. Guard Boogie Fland (No. 32), forward Adou Thiero (No. 40), center Zvonimir Ivišić (No. 45), center Jonas Aidoo (No. 71) and guard Johnell Davis (No. 99) are all within the top-100.

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This will likely be a one-year issue for Arkansas, with Calipari expected to reel in top recruiting classes moving forward, but this is an opportunity for the head coach to solidify his reputation as a developer of talent.

If someone does turn into a first-round pick, it raises the ceiling of this year’s team.

Does age make a difference in March?

Calipari is embarking on a new adventure this season with an older roster that isn’t reliant on one-and-done freshman talent. He hopes it’ll lead to a revival in his NCAA tournament success after failing to make it out of the first weekend the past four years.

“We’re playing against a team and the guy is waving to his two kids in the stands,” Calipari said. “You’re just saying, ‘This got a little old now, what are we doing here?’ So, to say you’re going to do it with 18- and 19-year olds, 24- and 25-year olds, you got to make that adjustment.”

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Calipari is making such a significant shift there’s a chance none of his three freshmen are starters this season. Multiple freshmen made at least 20 starts in every season while Calipari was at Kentucky.

Do Hogs play big or small?

Calipari’s most successful teams at Kentucky typically featured plenty of length.

The 2012 squad that won the national championship featured three players in the starting five who were at least 6-foot-7. The entire starting lineup from the 2014 team that lost in the national championship didn’t have a starter under 6-6.

That trend extends throughout Calipari’s career, but he might go a different route at Arkansas. None of the freshmen are taller than 6-6, and Adou Theiro would have to start at the three-position for the Hogs to have quality length in their starting five.

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Harrison man arrested on child pornography charges | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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Harrison man arrested on child pornography charges | 
  Arkansas Democrat Gazette


Arkansas State Police agents on Tuesday arrested a Harrison man who authorities say had child sexual abuse material on his device and engaged in a sexual chat online with a teenage girl, the state police said Wednesday.

Agents and Harrison police following a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children executed a search warrant at the home of Justin Perkuhn, 38, leading to his arrest and the seizure of his devices, according to a state police news release.

Investigators determined that Perkuhn had exchanged nude photos of two minors with a 17-year-old girl during a graphic sexual chat and located 34 videos and six images of child sexual abuse materials he had uploaded to a cloud-based storage server.

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Perkuhn had more child sex abuse photos and videos on his phone, authorities said, which allowed them to identify and locate two victims who live near Perkuhn.

Authorities booked Perkuhn into the Boone County jail, where he was being held in lieu of a $750,000 bond on 50 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and one count each of computer exploitation of a child, video voyeurism of an adult and video voyeurism of a child, the release states.



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