... even hopes to teach English as a second language in either Africa or Russia. Jim Baker, vice president of The National Bank of Arkansas in Conway, spoke, congratulating the two students and encouraging them to "establish grit... and hold ...

Tom Courtway, interim president of the University of Central Arkansas, announced Thursday a series of budget cuts designed to redirect a spending path that could lead the university from a positive fund balance to a $5.5 million deficit in July 2009.

The University of Central Arkansas' Board of Trustees will consider a 2 percent tuition increase at its regular meeting Friday.

The University of Central Arkansas Board of Trustees approved a $157 million operating budget for the upcoming school year, which will include a 2-percent tuition hike.

For at least two more years, the University of Central Arkansas will have a financial safety net to help in tough economic times.

Delivering a "life after Washington, D.C." speech, Jim Baker, a past agricultural administrator, told the Vilonia Chamber of Commerce, he took a cue on management from some older men in south Arkansas.

Although Tom Courtway, interim president of the University of Central Arkansas, said the school's fiscal state is not the best, he said it is not yet at its worst, either.

Although former University of Central Arkansas president Lu Hardin said Saturday in retrospect he should have notified the state's higher education department of the school's $6 million line of credit, he said the school is not alone.

The University of Central Arkansas received an official nod from the state Tuesday to go forth with a $6 million credit line that had been unauthorized since early 2007.

Tom Courtway, interim president of the University of Central Arkansas, said although legislators brought up new financial questions concerning UCA's budget during a recent hearing, he was pleased with the proceedings.