Filling the state's educational gaps with Melissa Taverner

Melissa Taverner, President of Lyon College in Batesville, returns to the studio to update Rex on several of the school's recent and upcoming projects.  Melissa highlights the university's strong enrollment and residential occupancy for the upcoming year. She also announces that the college has secured a $1.95 million Title III Grant from the U.S. Department of Education that will fund the Thriving Scot Program, a five-year initiative aimed at enhancing learning communities to improve first-semester GPAs, retention rates, and graduation rates, particularly for economically disadvantaged and first-generation students.  The pair also discuss Lyon College's plans to launch the state's first dental and veterinary schools, both of which are celebrating the expansion of educational opportunities within the state. Melissa mentions that the new dental school will be constructed in the Riverdale neighborhood of downtown Little Rock, offering both educational opportunities for students and oral health care services for the community. The veterinary school is set to be constructed in Cabot, adjacent to the Cabot Animal Services building. Melissa also touches on Lyon College's partnerships with the University of Arkansas Little Rock's Bowen Law School and the Clinton School of Public Service. Near the conclusion of the conversation, she highlights the school's recently announced Backyard Access Plan, which offers discounted tuition to eligible students from the area surrounding the college.