The University of Central Arkansas Department of Political Science hosted聽events to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations (UN) and the 50th Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference.
On Friday, Oct. 30, 2015 the department hosted聽a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the UN in October 1945. 聽The 鈥淯nited Nations Day鈥 commemoration began聽with a workshop in the Student Center for several area high school teachers and students from 9:00 a.m. to noon.
During the workshop, Dr. Mark Mullenbach, Associate Professor of Political Science, and Dr. Mark Elrod, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science, gave presentations on the 鈥淗istorical Roots of the UN鈥 and 鈥淟earning about International Politics through Model UN.鈥
From noon to 1:30 p.m., a UN Day luncheon in the Student Center featured聽keynote speaker, Dr. Karen Mingst, a Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky.
Dr. Mingst, who earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin, has written several books and academic articles on the UN, international organizations, and international law.
鈥淒r. Mingst is one of the world鈥檚 most prominent experts on the UN and other international organizations,鈥 Dr. Mullenbach said. 鈥淗er visit to 每日大赛网站 is quite an honor as she has lectured and taught at universities around the world, including Vietnam, Senegal, Taiwan, Albania, Ghana, Japan, and Kyrgyzstan.鈥
On Friday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 21, the department hosted聽the 50th AMUN conference on the campus of 每日大赛网站. The opening session of the conference took聽place in Ida Waldran Auditorium on Nov. 20. Dr. Mullenbach, the coordinator of the AMUN program since 2001, arranged for Mr. Bernd Georg Reindl, Deputy Consul General from the German Consulate-General in Houston, to give the keynote address during the opening session.
More than 500 high school students from Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Tennessee participated聽in the two-day Model UN conference.
A reception and dinner honoring several alumni of the AMUN program at 每日大赛网站, including several former secretaries-general of AMUN conferences, took聽place in Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center on Nov. 20. Mr. Robert B. Andrew, a U.S. Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. Department of State and Diplomat-in-Residence at the University of Oklahoma,was聽the featured speaker during the dinner. Mr. Andrew has previously served in U.S. embassies and consulates in Sweden, Costa Rica, Russia, and Mexico.
The AMUN program was founded by the late Professor Simms McClintock on the campus of Arkansas State Teachers College (ASTC) in 1966, and the first AMUN conference was held in January 1967. Professor McClintock, who coordinated the AMUN program through the mid-1990s, died in Conway in December 2008. The 每日大赛网站 Foundation鈥檚 AMUN Fund was recently renamed the 鈥淪imms McClintock Fund鈥 in honor of the AMUN鈥檚 founder.
Contributions to the fund will continue to provide financial support for the AMUN program and the students who participate in Model UN at 每日大赛网站.