Panel seeking higher-ed chief endorses Powell

Full state board to vote today

A committee recommended hiring Brett Powell as the next state Department of Higher Education director Thursday.

Powell, 47, is currently the vice president for administrative services at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia. He and two others interviewed with the search committee Thursday for the department's director position. The full Higher Education Coordinating Board will vote on the recommendation appointment today.

"I'm just thrilled that they would have the confidence in me to recommend me for the position," Powell said after his interview Thursday.

The director's position will be vacated by Shane Broadway, who will become the Arkansas State University System's vice president for governmental relations. He has led the department since February 2011 and makes $168,128 annually.

The Higher Education Department began advertising for the position in December. It garnered 15 applicants by the Jan. 23 deadline.

On Wednesday, the search committee -- made up of four Higher Education Coordinating Board members and a representative each from a two-year college and a four-year university -- whittled down the number of candidates to three: Powell; Bernadette Hinkle, the assistant vice president for finance and business services at the West Chester University of Pennsylvania; and David Wright, the chief policy, planning and research officer at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

After Powell's 45-minute interview, he said the committee relayed that he would be its nominee for the position. Bob Crafton, the committee and Higher Education Coordinating Board chairman, said in an email Thursday that Powell's education, experience and communication skills impressed him.

Powell entered the field in September 1998 as the director of financial services at Ouachita Baptist, according to his resume. He worked there for about two years before moving to direct financial services at the University of Arkansas' Cooperative Extension Service.

In March 2003, he became the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's associate vice chancellor for finance, and in November 2006, he moved to his current position at Ouachita Baptist.

"I've worked in higher ed in Arkansas ... in both public and private institutions," Powell said. "In that time, I've done my best to learn about how institutions operate. I have a desire to make it better and to do whatever I can to assist in improving higher education."

The recommendation comes as more higher-education institutions are pushing for online components and as President Barack Obama is proposing to get rid of tuition costs at community colleges.

"There's some significant changes happening now," Powell said, adding that state higher-education institutions' response to those changes will shape the industry.

Because Powell works at a private university, his current salary is not attainable under the state's Freedom of Information Act. But the college's Internal Revenue Service Form 990 for 2013 -- which covers the period from June 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013 -- shows he earned $119,520, with an additional $15,986 in other compensation.

Powell's state salary would be $168,128, the same as Broadway's, if the Higher Education Coordinating Board approves his appointment, Crafton said. If approved, Powell would begin his new duties Feb. 9.

Metro on 01/30/2015

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