SAU picks interim provost for ’15-’16
Southern Arkansas University has appointed an interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Ben Johnson will fill the post for the 2015-16 academic year, as Trey Berry transitions to the president’s role.
Berry is replacing university President David Rankin, who is stepping down June 30. Berry currently makes $132,600 a year, records show.
Johnson’s appointment as interim provost starts Aug. 1 and continues through June 30, 2016, according to a news release. He is the current SAU honor professor and Ragsdale professor of Arkansas studies, the news release states. Johnson currently earns $78,413, records show.
The university will begin a national search to fill the provost position in the fall.
Food pantry to aid students at UAPB
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will open a food pantry for students this week.
The Collegiate 4-H Club worked with the Arkansas Food Bank to get the food pantry on campus. It will be in Room 233 of the Adair-Greenhouse Human Sciences Hall, according to a news release. The pantry will officially open Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon, the release states.
It will be open every third Thursday of the month from 2-4 p.m. for residential and commuter students who have valid student identification cards, the release says. Also, students can set up appointments to visit the pantry, if needed, at other times.
The college 4-H club surveyed students, staff and faculty members, and administrators about food needs, support and available resources. The survey showed that 78 percent of the 137 students who responded said they did not have enough food for themselves or their households, the release states.
Grant to help SAU equip new center
The Blue & You Foundation has given a nearly $150,000 grant to Southern Arkansas University.
The $149,128 grant will help the university buy equipment for its new Health Sciences Simulation Center. The university is building the region’s first rural simulation-based health care educational training center for about $95,000.
The 1,920-square-foot center will include hospital beds, crash carts, CPR trainers and audio-visual equipment with recording capabilities — items that the university plans to buy with the Blue & You Foundation grant.