Trajectory

Andrew J. Dowdle, professor of political science and director of legal studies received his B.A. from the University of Tennessee, an M.A. from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. from Miami University. He specializes in the institutional evolution of the presidency, the presidential nomination process; U.S. parties and elections; and American national government. He has published in the Journal of Political Marketing, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, American Politics Research, and American Politics Quarterly. He is also the co-editor of American Politics: Transformation and Change.

Louise Hancox, the Honors College's director of career innovation,  helps students create their “first professional self" by finding opportunities to expand their resumes outside of the classroom. Her position calls for collaboration throughout campus: she draws upon resources from the Career Center, the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, as well as those in the individual colleges to ensure that honors scholars are prepared for and can communicate their value in the twenty-first century workplace.

Hancox was born in England and grew up in Canada. She obtained her B.A. at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and her M.B.A. at York University in Toronto. She recently completed her Ph.D. in American history and visual culture here at the University of Arkansas, where her dissertation revolved around an iconic painting, The Arkansas Traveler. Before her time at the University of Arkansas, Hancox served as a logistics coordinator, a demand planning and project analyst, and a principle consultant in Chicago, Illinois.

In addition to working through how to answer these critical questions, we will use this forum to help med school applicants develop a deeper awareness of some of the most important issues facing medical doctors these days, such as the opioid crisis, the relationship between the American Medical Association and the U.S. government, the increasing elderly population, and the rise of corporate healthcare.

Seminar objectives will be divided into three components:

1. Discovering authentic ways to address the big three questions med school admission committees want to know, through analysis of depictions of doctors in popular media.
2. Developing an understanding of the most prominent public health issues in contemporary culture that shape the daily practice of medicine and the outcomes of the patients that doctors treat.
3. Working with peers in a workshop format to review and revise the medical school application, including, most importantly, the personal comment essay.

Currently the Liebolt Chair of Premedical Sciences, Dr. Mack Ivey is a leading faculty participant in helping U of A undergraduates on the premed track navigate the process of becoming a competitive med school applicant, from working as a mentor to help students select premed “core” and “supporting” course work to discovering opportunities for professional development as part of building a competitive premed portfolio/AMCAS application, and from guiding student leaders of the Alpha Epsilon Delta undergraduate honors RSO for premed students as a faculty mentor to organizing faculty, staff and deans who comprise the Premedical Advisory Committee at the University of Arkansas.

Ivey earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Georgia in 1987. After a post-doc fellowship at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, he joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas Department of Biological Sciences in 1992. His research projects include studies of the disease-causing processes of C. difficile and NASA-funded studies related to Mars and planetary protection. He is a member of the Fulbright College Honors Council, served as associate chair for the U of A Department of Biological Sciences, and was honored with a Distinguished Faculty Award by the U of A Honors College in 2015. One year prior, Ivey “emerged victorious” in the inaugural Life Raft Debate sponsored by U of A Housing and Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences.

Jonathan Langley is the Honors College Futures Hub's director of STEM and Pre-Medical Professions, helping honors students in these fields explore research, study abroad and internship opportunities during their time on campus and prepare for graduate or professional school.

Langley brings extensive experience to his role. Prior to joining the Honors College staff he worked for eight years in the UA's Office of Nationally Competitive Awards, where he helped ambitious students pursue funding for tuition, study abroad, graduate school and research opportunities. He coordinated the application process for the Student Undergraduate Fellowship (SURF) and supported students applying for STEM-focused awards, such as the Goldwater Scholarship, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates. In all of these processes, he helped STEM students think not only about immediate success for funding, but also about their long-term trajectory and the ways in which undergraduate opportunities can culminate in success at the post- graduate level.

Langley also served as an academic advisor in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, where he learned the specific coursework and long-term planning required of students wishing to enter medical school. Before working at the U of A, Langley was an English language instructor at Université du Maine (now Le Mans Université) in Le Mans, France, for the 2011-2012 academic year. Langley earned a Master of Arts in French Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in English and French, cum laude, at the U of A.

Sandy Edwards has dedicated her career to improving quality of life through arts and education. Over five decades, her leadership has expanded access to arts, culture and educational opportunities, with a strong focus on Arkansas.

She currently serves as senior advisor for University Advancement at the University of Arkansas, managing Development Outreach. Edwards retired in January 2023 as senior director of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, where she played a key role in the museum’s conception, planning, construction and opening. During her tenure, Crystal Bridges became a renowned cultural destination, welcoming more than 10 million visitors.

Before Crystal Bridges, Edwards and her late husband, Clay Edwards, led the University of Arkansas development program from 1998 to 2007, directing the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century and helping build unprecedented philanthropic support for the university.

From 1992 to 1998, she worked at Pennsylvania State University, where she helped create the first comprehensive advancement program in continuing and distance education and served on the executive team that launched Penn State’s World Campus. Earlier in her career, she earned national recognition for her work in large-scale concert promotion and the performing arts.