The Traveler

Issue date: 3/25/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Larry Ash Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan (left) and key members of his city hall staff held a town meeting with UA students, faculty and staff in Giffels Audatorium Tuesday.

Many recent UA graduates leave Fayetteville to pursue their careers in other cities across the United States, but that's a trend Mayor Lioneld Jordan would like to see reversed, he said at a town hall meeting Tuesday in Giffel Auditorium in Old Main.

Through the Fayetteville Forward Summit - a program that aims to spark student discussion of economic development, future job opportunities and desired changes in the city - and other opportunities like it, Jordan hopes to retain students as invested Fayetteville citizens.

Indeed, Tuesday's town hall meeting itself was a partial fulfillment of Jordan's promise as mayor to involve the university and its students in city development and outreach programs.

"The students are such a vital part of the community, and I want to know what your concerns are, your ideas are, and that is the reason we are doing this today," Jordan said.

Before he was elected mayor, Jordan actually worked at the University of Arkansas, and he said his 26 years of experience as a staff member in the Facilities Management Department taught him the need for university student participation in the workings of the city's future and economy - which is why, at the town hall meeting, he and his cabinet members encouraged students to become involved in everything from government committees to sustainability initiatives.

Many new committees in the local government exist for volunteer citizens, including UA students, Chief of Staff Don Marr said.

Sustainability Coordinator John Coleman addressed the university's participation in the city's bid to become more energy efficient.

Recently, the Sustainability Office received a grant of $60,000 to install a solar energy system in the UA campus library.

"The solar energy system will actually be designed by mechanical and chemical engineers at the University of Arkansas," Coleman said.

Recycling and Composting Director Bryan Pugh also announced a new initiative to boost company involvement in Fayetteville's recycling program. While private residents recycle more than 50 percent of their waste products, commercial businesses currently recycle at a much lower rate.

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