The Arkansas Tech University Health and Wellness Center will host ATU Wellapalooza 2026 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, in the Bibler Event Center at Ferguson Student Union.

There will be refreshments, giveaways and vendors. The stated goal of the event is to connect ATU students with community and campus well-being resources.

Learn more about the ATU Health and Wellness Center at www.atu.edu/hwc.

Arkansas Tech University students are invited to a workshop concerning the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, in the Miller Center for Global Engagement, Dean Hall room 117.

“The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs,” said Gabriele Haulmark, director of the ATU Office of International Education, ATU study abroad coordinator and senior instructor of English and German. “It enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad. To be eligible for the Gilman program, applicants must be receiving a federal Pell Grant during the time of application or provide proof that they will be receiving a Pell Grant during the term of their study abroad program.”

Send e-mail to studyabroad@atu.edu for more information.

Arkansas Tech University will host a study abroad fair on Thursday, Sept. 10.

The event is planned for 4-6 p.m. in the Bibler Event Center at Ferguson Student Union. Admission is open to all ATU students.

Attendees will learn about short-term and long-term study abroad options as well as study away programs through the National Student Exchange. Information about scholarships that can help fund study abroad and study away opportunities will also be shared.

Visit www.atu.edu/studyabroad to learn more about study abroad and study away opportunities available to ATU students.

Contact Gabriele Haulmark, ATU director of international education and senior instructor of English and German, at (479) 964-0527 or studyabroad@atu.edu for more information.

The Arkansas Tech University Department of Public Safety is conducting a test of the ATU Alert system on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

“This is only a test of the ATU Alert system,” said Capt. Tammy Dougan, interim chief of public safety in the ATU Department of Public Safety. “The ATU Alert system allows Arkansas Tech University to notify participating students, employees and others when emergency situations arise on campus.”

Each individual enrolled in the ATU Alert system will receive an e-mail, text message and phone call with the following message: “This is a TEST of the ATU Alert system. This is only a TEST. No action is required at this time. Thank you for using the ATU Alert system.”

Any ATU student, faculty member or staff member who does not receive a test message on Wednesday, Sept. 2, and would like to receive future alert messages can sign up through OneTech. Follow the “ATU Alert Sign Up” link under the “Personal Information” tab on the OneTech home page. Individuals may then provide their contact information.

For assistance, contact the ATU Department of Public Safety at (479) 968-0222 or dps@atu.edu.

Arkansas Tech University will host the 2026 EDGE Summit on its Russellville campus Tuesday, Oct. 27, and Wednesday, Oct. 28.

EDGE stands for Education to Develop and Grow Entrepreneurs. The ACC Capital Foundation launched the annual event in 2023.

According to information from the EDGE Summit website, the conference is designed to “connect teaching faculty from institutions of higher education across Arkansas” and “share best practices in entrepreneurship education, foster collaboration and develop programs that inspire and support student-led startup ventures.”

The EDGE Summit is a component of the AR-NETWORK, an initiative led by the Arkansas Research Alliance and funded by the National Science Foundation.

“Entrepreneurship education isn’t just about teaching students how to start a business,” said Dr. Julie Mikles-Schluterman, director of the ATU Center for Community Engagement and Academic Outreach and professor of sociology and criminal justice. “It’s about teaching them to recognize opportunities, solve problems and to turn ideas into action. That applies to every discipline. We want faculty and students to come to the EDGE Summit, be curious and make connections.”

Learn more about the EDGE Summit at https://accedge.my.canva.site/accedgesummit.

The band rehearsal room at Arkansas Tech University’s Witherspoon Hall will henceforth be known as the Hal Cooper Sr. Band Hall in remembrance of the late professor emeritus of music at ATU.

“This wonderful recognition of our dear friend and colleague will be formally dedicated during the ATU Symphonic Wind Ensemble concert on Sept. 27,” said Dr. Daniel A. Belongia, ATU director of bands and professor of music. “I am thrilled that members of Professor Cooper’s family will join us in the ceremony, and hope that many of those who also loved him can be with us on this special day.”

Cooper was director of bands at Arkansas Tech University from 1979-2011. He was named ATU professor emeritus of music in 2013 and he received the highest honor the university may bestow upon an individual — induction into the ATU Hall of Distinction — in 2017.

The ATU Department of Music further immortalized his life’s work in November 2021 with the establishment of the Hal Cooper Repertoire Collection.

In fall 2025, Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center announced that remastered digital recordings from the Cooper era of “Arkansas’ Band of Distinction” had been created and shared online at https://orc.library.atu.edu/atu_band_cooper/index.html.

One of only five individuals to hold the title of director of bands during the more than 110-year tradition of instrumental music at Arkansas Tech, Cooper served as president of the Southwest Division of the College Band Directors National Association, president of Arkansas Phi Beta Mu and district governor of Kappa Kappa Psi college band service fraternity.

Cooper was named Arkansas Bandmaster of the Year in 1988, and he achieved membership in the American Bandmaster Association in 1992.

He died on April 15, 2026, following a brief illness. He was 81.

Memorials may be made to the Hal Cooper Repertoire Collection with checks payable to the ATU Foundation, P.O. Box 1105, Russellville, Ark., 72811, or online at http://www.atualumni.com/CooperMemorial.

Last season, Arkansas Tech University and Southwestern Oklahoma State University both served notice to the Great American Conference that their football programs are on the rise.

The Wonder Boys finished 7-5 and earned a bid to the Heritage Bowl Powered by Riot. It was Arkansas Tech’s first winning season and its first postseason appearance since 2017.

The Bulldogs finished 6-5, including a 5-0 record against their fellow GAC members from Oklahoma. SWOSU celebrated a winning season for the first time since 2015.

Now, as they look to build upon that success, they will test each other in week one of 2026.

Arkansas Tech will host SWOSU for a 7 p.m. Great American Conference game at Simmons Bank Field at Thone Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 3. Tailgating will begin on Centennial Plaza at 4 p.m.

Game tickets are available at www.arkansastechsports.com/tickets.

“We’re always going to start the game and start our recruiting on the offensive line and the defensive line,” said Roy Thompson, who is beginning his second season as ATU head football coach. “Up front, on the offensive line, we have a lot of guys coming back who played meaningful football last year. We’ve added some guys to that unit, but most of those guys have been in the program, and they know what our focus is. We want to run the football. We want to get 600 pounds on 300 pounds and move some people. On the defensive line, watching those guys over the last couple of weeks, I feel like we have a talented and deep group of guys.

“This is going to be a line of scrimmage game,” continued Thompson. “SWOSU is one of the best rushing teams in the league, so this game will be won on the line of scrimmage.”

Thompson said that avoiding penalties and missed assignments, giving maximum effort on every snap and winning in turnover margin have been additional points of emphasis going into the season opener.

SWOSU might have been the best kept secret in GAC football in 2025. After an 0-2 start, the Bulldogs rallied to win six of their final nine games. Their only losses during that nine-game stretch were setbacks of four points or less against Henderson State University, Southern Arkansas University and Ouachita Baptist University.

In other words, Southwestern Oklahoma State was just a handful of plays away from a 9-2 season.

“I’ve been telling guys since the summer…(SWOSU) was the hottest team in the league at the end of the season last year,” said Thompson. “Those guys are talented. Coach (Andrew) Rice has been there for three years, and I think he’s done a good job of implementing his culture. The programs are a little bit alike in that we both want to play the game on the line of scrimmage. This is a challenge that needs to be won on the offensive line and the defensive line. We have to come out and make a statement on how we’re going to play football at Arkansas Tech.”

The Wonder Boys have won their last six meetings with Southwestern Oklahoma State, including a 32-10 win over the Bulldogs in Weatherford, Okla., last season.

“Our kids are going to play hard,” said Thompson. “That’s how we’re going to make our living here at Tech. We’re going to try to represent Arkansas Tech well. We want people to be excited about what we do. We’ve got some talented skill kids on the offensive side of the ball. As much as we focus on the offensive and defensive lines, our skill kids are pretty good. I think those guys are going to make some explosive plays. It’s going to be pretty exciting.”

Live coverage of the ATU-SWOSU game will be available on KCJC 102.3 FM, www.rivervalleyradio.com/river-country and www.arkansastechsports.com.

Talk to you on the radio.

Tech Tidbits is a column written by Sam Strasner, ATU director of university relations and radio play-by-play voice for ATU football and basketball.

Seventy-eight Arkansas Tech University students became members of ATU fraternity and sorority life during ATU Panhellenic Bid Day 2026 in August.

The newest female members of ATU fraternity and sorority life, organized by the organizations they have joined, are listed below.

Alpha Sigma Tau
Zoe Barnes
Karis Beasley
Marlea Booth
Jayda Darrough
Brooklyn Duvall
Maddison Eby
Brooke Estes
Macy Fuller
Julia Gillen
Emily Graves
Avery Koch
Jordyn McMillian
Keirsten Nutt
Sienna Reed
Ruby Rubio
Sydney Storment
Chyna Summers
Natalee Taylor
Madison Turpen
Bri Velazquez

Delta Zeta
Mea Adkins
Khiana Allred
Daylan Cheatham
Kaylie Christy
Jaylin Duncan
Addi Ferguson
Anna Beth Goodwin
Avery Guthrie
Lillian Keener
Addison Mills
Avery Morse
Gracelynn Mullens
Christina Orantes
Macy Parnell
Taylor Peters
Dee Dee Rogers
Abby Scrimshire
Katelyn Spurlock
Addison Turner
Jerrica White

Phi Mu
Audrey Albritton
Lanee Bailey
Raelynn Baltes
Morgan Cobb
McKenzie Danker
Emma Doty
Caitie Dunbar
Rian Gatewood
Alissa Gray
Jaidyn Grissom
Sydney Hiler
Emma Hobby
Samantha Johnson
Brooklyn Lasater
Angelina Petersen
Jalyn Pickett
Kaitlyn Spencer
Emily Thompson
Izabella Wallace

Zeta Tau Alpha
Maddy Adams
Maya Brickley
Abby Cooper
Emma Cornwell
Bria Farrell
Natalie Harlan
Presley Haynie
Shelby Holder
Loree Komarek
Ameslei Lunsford
Autumn Mills
Anna Claire Morton
Kamryn Phillips
Stevie Tanner
Kennedy Tedford
Sierra Valdez
Jacey Vines
Kylie Woodworth
Lexi Young

The College Panhellenic Council (CPC) at ATU serves as the governing council for the university’s National Panhellenic Conference sororities. CPC promotes scholarship, leadership, service, sisterhood and collaboration among its member organizations while supporting a positive and enriching fraternity and sorority Life experience for its members.

Learn more about ATU fraternity and sorority life at www.atu.edu/fsl.

The Arkansas Tech University Office of Campus Recreation will host an ATU Family Day pickleball tournament on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Clary Pickleball Courts and the Campus Recreation Center at Ferguson Student Union.

The format will be doubles. For the 2026 tournament, each team must include a current ATU student and an adult family member (not a sibling). Team members will remain set for the length of the tournament.

There is a two-game guarantee in pool play. The top six teams will advance to the finals bracket.

Pool play will begin at 9 a.m. It is estimated that bracket play, which will be single elimination, will begin at 1 p.m.

Registration and more information is available at https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/N9SHjDR6sr.

For more details, contact Pete Kelly, ATU director of campus recreation, at pkelly@atu.edu.

ATU Family Day 2026 activities will continue on Saturday, Sept. 19, with a 5-kilometer run/walk beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Mullens Plaza at Ferguson Student Union, tailgating on Centennial Plaza beginning at 3 p.m. and a football game between the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys and the Ouachita Baptist Tigers at 6 p.m. at Simmons Bank Field at Thone Stadium.

Learn more at www.atu.edu/parents/familyday.php.

Arkansas Innovators, Startups and Entrepreneurs (ARise) will host a technology commercialization sprint at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville on Thursday, Oct. 15.

The event will take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in Doc Bryan Student Services Center. ATU faculty and students looking to start a business or commercialize a piece of technology are among those encouraged to attend.

The one-day conference is designed to help innovators and early-stage founders take their technology-based business idea to market.

“The goal for the event is to provide a workshop for student and community rural entrepreneurs,” said Cass Capen-Housley, ATU instructor of management. “We are excited to be working with ARise since the Arkansas River Valley is one region they have not had a workshop like this one.”

Attendees will leave with information on customer discovery, intellectual property, raising capital and more.

For more information and to register, visit https://luma.com/a0lf4n0p.