Madeline Burke, a second-year student at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, has been named the 2021 recipient of the Dr. Ruth Allen Scholarship.
The annual scholarship is named for Dr. Ruth Allen, a former Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Health Professions at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Allen retired in 2002 after serving in various academic leadership roles, including the UAMS Office of Educational Development and as an educational evaluator in the Department of Geriatrics.
Allen earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1959 and master’s degree in biochemistry from Michigan State University in 1961. She then served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malaysia, teaching chemistry and physics for three years.
“Madeline is an exceptional student whose leadership and commitment to social justice makes her an excellent choice of the Dr. Ruth Allen Scholarship,” said Dr. Susan Hoffpauir, Interim Dean and Academic Dean for the Clinton School of Public Service. “She has accomplished important work while at the Clinton School and her Capstone project has the potential to have a significant effect on racial inequality in Little Rock through changes in policies and practices.”
Burke recently began working with ReMix Ideas as part of her final Capstone project, developing a racial equity index for Little Rock. The index will serve as a tool designed to show which areas in the city have higher and lower opportunities for minority-owned businesses to work with the municipality on a government contract.
“By creating a city-wide index, the goal is to minimize racial inequity and maximize opportunities in Little Rock,” Burke said. “There will be valuable information provided for government and community members to stay informed. Furthermore, the index may guide policy and program development as well as resource allocation for the city. My plan is to conduct best practices research for developing the city-wide index using both primary and secondary sources in the data collection.”
Since enrolling at the Clinton School in August 2020, Burke has completed field service projects in partnership with the City of Little Rock and Heifer International. During the 2020-21 academic year, Burke and a team of first-year students utilized surveys and interviews to research best practices in an effort to increase minority vendor participation for the Purchasing Division of the City of Little Rock.
In the summer of 2021, Burke partnered with Heifer International’s marketing and resource development team. She helped develop a Heifer International online community by creating a platform for stakeholders to connect and interact with each other through regular updates about the global nonprofit’s ongoing projects around the world.
Burke has furthered her interest in social entrepreneurship since enrolling at the Clinton School. She currently co-chairs the school’s Social Entrepreneurship Committee (SEC), a student-led organization that meets regularly to discuss ways to support the local social entrepreneurship ecosystem within Arkansas.
“It is important to me that I make a positive impact on those around me, so joining the SEC at the Clinton School seemed like a great way to do so,” Burke said. “The SEC is very active with both students and community members. We hosted a mindful spending workshop last fall and focused on creating online resources like our website and a social enterprise lifecycle diagram.”
A Little Rock native, Burke earned a degree in international studies from UA Little Rock, where she was a Donaghey Scholar and Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship recipient.
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