ASU board picks chairman

Retired banker Pierce a ’72 Jonesboro campus graduate

Dan Pierce, a retired banker, has been elected chairman of the Arkansas State University board of trustees, the governing body for the state’s second-largest university system.

The system - which has offices in Little Rock and Jonesboro - includes a four-year university in Jonesboro and community college campuses in Beebe, Mountain Home and Newport. The system has about 22,000 students.

Pierce, 65, is a native of Hornersville, Mo. He is the chief operations officer at NAI Halsey commercial real estate services in Jonesboro,where he lives, according to the ASU System website.

He will succeed Mike Gibson of Osceola, who is completing 10 years on the board. Gibson, 67, has been chairman twice before, andhis term expires in January.

Gov. Mike Beebe appointed Pierce to the ASU board in 2010.

Pierce was president of the Student Government Association at ASU-Jonesboro, graduating in 1972.

Later, he served as president of the ASU Alumni Association.

In 1983, then-Gov. Bill Clinton appointed Pierce to the State Board of Higher Education, now called the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Pierce served for 11 years on the state board, including about six years as chairman of its Finance Committee.

In other ASU board-officer elections, Charles Luter, 74, of Paragould is now vice chairman and Howard Slinkard, 66, of Rogers is the secretary.

ASU board members chose the officers for 2014 during a meeting in Jonesboro on Saturday.

Arkansas, Pages 16 on 12/16/2013

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