Chief of staff hired at Arkansas Tech
Arkansas Tech University has hired a chief of staff, the university announced last week.
Jeff Mott took on the position on Aug. 31, reuniting with Arkansas Tech President Robin Bowen. The two worked together at Bowen's former school, Washburn University, in Topeka, Kan., where Mott worked as the director of the leadership institute and Bowen was vice president for academic affairs.
Mott had heard a recording of Bowen's inaugural speech in April and wanted to work for her again, according to the news release.
"I listened to her inauguration speech, and the four points that she made (distributive leadership, grit, social justice and community involvement) were bold," Mott said in a prepared statement. "That was exciting. The student-centric perspective she spoke of ... I've witnessed the same thing since I have been here. The students are the primary reason why all of us are here."
Mott previously worked as vice president for loyalty and retention marketing at Sprint Corp. and as project consultant for the Next Level Coaching Academy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
In his new role, Mott will earn $144,791 annually and represent the President's Office at functions and meetings, but he said he hopes to begin implementing initiatives once the university finishes the strategic planning process in 2016.
UAPB self-service websites unveiled
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff has started self-service admissions and financial aid websites.
The websites are adm.uapb.edu for admissions and fa.uapb.edu for financial aid, according to a news release. The websites allow applicants to see online checklists of required documents for both services.
They will also show which documents the admissions and financial aid offices at the university have recorded and what the student's status on both services is, the news release states.
To access the information, prospective students will enter the email address used on applications. From there, the applicant will receive a unique link via email.
Admissions information is available for spring, summer and fall 2016, while financial aid information is available for fall 2015 and spring 2016, the university said.
UAM gets $40,000 piano, music lab
The University of Arkansas at Monticello's Division of Music has a new piano and music technology laboratory.
The university spent about $40,000 to buy 12 student pianos, an instructor piano and a controller for a professor to communicate with students through headphones, according to a news release. The university also bought 12 computers and monitors, which allow the students to compose music directly to the computers, according to the news release.
Half of the funding came from the Centennial Opportunity Fund, which started during the university's 100th year celebration in 2009-10. A campaign at the time raised 100 donations of $10,000 each to create a $1 million unrestricted endowment for campus projects, the university said.
The rest of the money came from the School of Arts and Humanities and the Division of Music.
"This lab is easily the most current, up-to-date lab in the region," Paul Becker, a music professor at UAM, said in a prepared statement.
"It will be used mainly to teach piano but will also provide a place for our students to learn, write, compose, arrange and print music. It's exciting to have the best tools available for faculty and students to use. The lab will be an asset to the music program for years to come."
Metro on 09/27/2015