Dan Ferritor Community Lecture Series Established to Honor Former UA Chancellor

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The newly created Dan Ferritor Community Lecture will pay tribute to the myriad contributions of the former chancellor, the first to hold the Bernice Jones Endowed Chair in Community and who now serves the University of Arkansas system as vice president for academic affairs.

The current holder of the Jones Chair, Kevin Fitzpatrick, decided to sponsor the lectureship as part of his ongoing efforts to develop community educational programs for people both on and off campus.

“The lectures will be geared toward issues related to community development and growth, minorities and the disadvantaged, and ways we might better understand and nurture social capital in northwest Arkansas,” said Fitzpatrick, a sociology professor in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

He said Ferritor has been instrumental to the growth of the University of Arkansas and has served as an effective advocate for community issues in northwest Arkansas for many years.

“I think it’s a fitting tribute,” said Fitzpatrick.

The inaugural lecture will feature Dr. Mark LaGory from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. LaGory, an expert in community development issues, will speak on “Unlocking Community Capacity: How Social Capital Really Works” at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, in Giffels Auditorium. His lecture is free and open to the public.

LaGory, an urban sociologist, has written more than 50 articles and five books dealing with the impact of neighborhoods, communities and social networks on people’s choices and actions. For the last 20 years, he has focused on homelessness and the role social networks and individual psychological resources play in mediating the many stresses of being homeless. He also served as an academic partner for the national Social Capital Survey conducted by Harvard University and the Saguaro Group.

In his lecture, LaGory will explore our current understanding of the concept of social capital and its significance for 21st century communities and individuals. He defines social capital as a new conception of community and suggests how local residents and agencies can use this concept to tap into area assets and discover new sources of productivity and value. In particular, he will focus on the role minorities and religious groups play in building such capital in their communities.

“The idea of social capital is that our social ties represent a crucial form of capital, as valuable to the productivity and well-being of individuals and communities as their financial capital and their education and training,” explained Fitzpatrick. “Like financial capital and human capital, social capital is an asset. Indeed, it is through friends, colleagues and acquaintances that individuals and groups receive opportunities to use larger pools of financial and human capital. Social capital is a key that unlocks a world of greater possibility.”

Such capital can get people a job, a loan or just good advice through networks of friends and acquaintances. Communities benefit when groups share their talents and resources, creating partnerships that have the potential of being stronger, more resilient and more creative than any single group could be by itself.

The Dan Ferritor Community Lecture pays tribute to the legacy of Dan Ferritor, who led the University of Arkansas for over a decade as chancellor from 1986 to 1997. His tenure laid a firm foundation for the university’s continued progress in the 21^st Century. Among his many achievements is the leadership he provided during the campaign to save Old Main, rallying the state of Arkansas to contribute nearly $13 million toward restoring Arkansas’ symbol of higher education.