UALR honors distinguished business alums

October 6-12, 2014

By Jay Edwards

The ballroom at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Little Rock was full last Wednesday as the College of Business at UALR held its annual Distinguished Alumni Luncheon. This Year’s honorees were Susan Parke, owner of Beyond Cotton and a graduate of the UALR Executive MBA Program, and Mark Langston, certified financial officer of USAble Life and a 1984 accounting grad from UALR.

Parke was recognized first and said that if she had been told years ago that she would one day be a small business owner, she would not have believed it. “If I had not received my MBA from UALR I am sure I never would have had the confidence to fulfill my dream of owning my own business,” she said.

Her parents instilled in her that education was the key to growth, which, she said, led her down the path of higher learning and the MBA degree.

When she received the call after applying to the program, they told her, “Susan, we have good news and we have bad news. The good news is that you have been accepted into the program. The bad news is that years ago, when you took an undergrad class at UALR, you failed to turn in a library book. You will need to resolve that.”

Well, it was resolved and Parke graduated with an MBA and, as she says, “The rest is history.”

Parke believes strongly, after her time in the business world, that it is critical we teach economics courses to high school students.

“If we want to compete in the marketplace on a global level, we need to start teaching our youth economics,” she says.

In closing Parke gave three pieces of advice for anyone considering taking a leap to owning their own small business.

“First, don’t let the fear of failure paralyze you or you will never pursue your dream. Second, do have a healthy fear of risk. But when I say that I mean you should be confident in your ability to evaluate the risk factors and act accordingly. That is what the professors at UALR really gave me, skills and knowledge and confidence. And finally, and this is for every person in this room, always … always … turn your library books in on time.”

Next came Langston who gave a special thanks to Director of Development for the COB, Andrea Angel and “her tireless efforts to make this a great event.”

Before attending UALR Langston was at Little Rock Central High. He says that is where he met his future wife Ann. “I didn’t know much back then,” he said, “but I did know that if she was going to UALR then that’s where I needed to be too. It may have been the smartest thing I ever did.”

He said Central was also where he was introduced to accounting. “I was discussing class selections with my parents the summer before my junior year. I was convinced I wanted a career in chemistry. But my dad suggested I should think about becoming a CPA because they make a lot of money. My dad was obviously not an accountant.”

But he took his father’s advice and graduated in 1984 with a degree in accounting.

Also heard from were COB Dean Jane Wayland, Chancellor Joel Anderson and KenDrell Collins, a COB Student Ambassador. The crowd also saw a short video that highlighted five “Grads to Watch.” They are Liz Harris, who is a development specialist with the Arkansas Department of Human Services; Barrett Kerth, an analyst with The Circumference Group; Rebecca McEachern, a tax accountant with JPMS Cox; Shawn McGhee, a senior systems engineer with Walmart; and Charley Elise Swann, an attorney with James, House and Downing, P.A.