A state senator and four other finalists were interviewed Friday as part of the vice chancellor search at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Sen. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home, was on the short list of candidates, university spokesman Steve Voorhies confirmed. The other finalists interviewed by the search committee appointed by Chancellor G. David Gearhart include Mac Campbell, a D.C.-based federal staff member; Allison Rosenberg, a Seattle-area higher education consultant; and two people with jobs in Little Rock:Randy Massanelli, a Senate staff member, and Denver Peacock, an advertising executive.
“My understanding is the committee will meet again at some point in the upcoming weeks to discuss the finalists,” Voorhies said Friday. “They plan to make a recommendation to the chancellor in early April, is my understanding of the timeline.”
UA’s current vice chancellor of government relations, Richard Hudson, announced in November that he would retire July 31. He’s paid $202,000 a year, according to UA records.
The position involves, inpart, “the development and management of strategies to inform and influence public policy at the county, state, and federal levels on issues of interest to higher education and the university,” according to the UA job listing.
Phone calls to Key, Peacock and Campbell were not returned. Numbers found for Rosenberg had been disconnected. An email to Massanelli was not returned as of late Friday.
Key, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said in previous interviews that he expressed interest in the position in late January. He decided not to file for re-election, saying it wouldn’t be fair to potentialcandidates if he filed and then dropped out in the middle of the election.
He also said in previous interviews that he would not initially spend more than $400 on lobbying per quarter if hired, so he wouldn’t be required under state law to register as a lobbyist. If he did have to register, he would have run the risk of violating Act 48 of 2011 that requires a oneyear cooling-off period after the end of a lawmaker’s term before he can register as a lobbyist. But the law exempts people who spend less than $400 per quarter from having to register.
Key has a degree in chemical engineering from UA.
Peacock is the senior vice president for public affairs at the advertising and public relations firm CranfordJohnson Robinson Woods. He’s worked in communications on two previous presidential campaigns and was a staff member in the White House under former President Bill Clinton.
Massanelli is the state director for U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, and he also was the campaign manager for the senator.
Campbell is the deputy staff director and general counsel for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. Campbell lost a bid in 2006 for Arkansas treasurer. He’s also worked as a legislative director and aide for several U.S. senators, according to his resume.
Rosenberg is the only candidate without Arkansas ties on her resume. She runs a higher education consulting firm out of Seattle. Her resume lists several university and academic jobs, including assistant vice president and director of federal relations for Iowa State University and associate vice chancellor of research and federal affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The university received 41 applications for the position.
Missing from the list of finalists was former Lt. Gov. Mark Darr. The Springdale Republican, who submitted an application for the UA post, resigned as lieutenant governor Feb. 1 after being fined $11,000 by the Arkansas Ethics Commission for violations of state campaign finance and ethics laws.
Information for this article was contributed by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Michael R.
Wickline.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 03/22/2014