Derek Mullins of Ash Flat recently graduated from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. Mullins joined more than 900 additional undergraduate Fulbright College students who graduated in spring 2023 and whose academic achievement was celebrated during the commencement ceremonies on Friday, May12, in Bud Walton Arena.“ On behalf of our faculty, staff, and the entire U of A community, we offer Derek a big congratulations,” said Kathryn Sloan, interim dean of Fulbright College. “We’re so incredibly proud of Derek for reaching this incredible aca-demic achievement.”

“To Derek and the entire Class of 2023, I’ll add this: You’ve grown in the face of these obstacles, you’ve adapted, and your resiliency has brought you to this moment. You’ve worked so hard for so long, and now you’ve reached the graduation milestone you’ve been striving for,” Sloan said. “Congratulations!” Collectively, Fulbright College awarded nearly 1,200 bachelor’s degrees to students this spring in areas of study that span across four academic disciplines in the college: fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. “I hope that Derek, all of our new alumni, and all who supported them on this journey to commencement will take a moment to reflect on just how momentous this is, on all it took to get to this point, and all the incredible potential the future now holds,” Sloan said.