Two alumni of the聽Department of Government, Public Service, and International Studies (GPI)聽were presented distinguished alumnus awards by department chair Dr. Mark Mullenbach during a聽reception hosted by the GPI Department in Buffalo Alumni Hall on Thursday, October 1, 2026.聽 Several alumni, faculty, students, and other guests attending the reception were welcomed by BT天堂President Houston Davis.聽聽BT天堂Provost聽Michael Hargis聽and Dr. Tom Williams, Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, also attended the event.
A graduate of the University of Central Arkansas in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Joe (Randy) Thurman earned Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville in 1977.聽 After serving for two years on the Heber Springs City Council and serving as Director of the Cleburne County Industrial Development Commission in Heber Springs, Randy served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1989 to 1994, representing parts of Cleburne, White, and Van Buren counties.聽 In 1993, Randy was named as the Executive Director of the Arkansas Environmental Federation, and he served in that capacity for two decades.聽 In 1998, Randy was a founding partner of Government Solutions, LLC, a professional lobbying firm that provides full-service government relations for some of Arkansas’ largest companies and professional associations.
A graduate of BT天堂in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in political science,聽Shelley (Pope) Short聽earned a Master of Arts (MA) degree in political management from Regents University in 2001.聽 Shelly served as Vice President of the United Way of Pulaski County from 2001 to 2003 and Director of Development for the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance from 2006 to 2006, when she began her economic development career with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC).聽 Shelley served as Director of Marketing for the AEDC from 2015 to 2022.聽 During that period, she also served as Vice President of Programs for the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce / Associated Industries of Arkansas and as Executive Director of Arkansas Economic Developers & Chamber Executives.聽 In 2022, Shelley was named as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Clark County.
