The director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education is stepping down after a year and a half on the job to become vice president for finance and administration at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.
The university announced Monday that it has hired Brett Powell, 48, to replace Bobby Jones, who is retiring, on Aug. 1.
Powell said he was contacted by Henderson State President Glen Jones several months ago and was urged to apply for the position. Powell has lived in Arkadelphia since 2006 when he became the vice president for administrative services at Ouachita Baptist University.
He also was associate vice chancellor with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from March 2003 to November 2006 and director of financial services with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service from January 2001 to February 2003.
Powell was named to lead the Arkansas Department of Higher Education on Jan. 30, 2015.
"It's a perfect fit," Powell said of the position at Henderson State University. "The timing may not be perfect, but I missed the college atmosphere.
"At the end of the day at the Department of Higher Education, there were no students, no faculty. I underestimated my enjoyment of being on a university campus. The opportunity to be back to the real mission of higher education was appealing."
Gov. Asa Hutchinson congratulated Powell in an emailed response to the announcement of Powell's new position.
"[Powell] has demonstrated extraordinary leadership as the director of the Department of Higher Education and I am grateful for this time spent working alongside leadership at our two-year and four-year colleges to establish some very significant milestones and objectives in degree attainment," Hutchinson said in the email. "He and Dr. Jones will make a great team at Henderson State and I wish Dr. Powell all the best in his future endeavors."
The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board will begin a search process, advertising the position's opening for three or four weeks, board chairman Bob Crafton said Monday. The board will meet July 29 -- the last day Powell will be the commission's director.
The board is comprised of four coordinating board members and a representative from a two-year college and a four-year university.
"It's a long process," Crafton said of the search. "We will advertise nationally and receive resumes."
According to Arkansas Code Annotated 25-7-101, the commission's director will be appointed by the board subject to confirmation by the governor.
"It's an important position," Crafton said. "Our problem is that nationwide, it's hard to compete financially with other states."
Powell earned $168,128 as director. He replaced Shane Broadway, who became vice president for governmental relations for Arkansas State University.
At Ouachita Baptist University, Powell earned $119,520 with an additional $15,986 in other compensation.
Powell said while serving as director he learned more about the state's educational institutions and became more familiar with Henderson State University.
He said while at the Department of Higher Education, he focused on long-range planning initiatives. He said that will be a benefit when he takes over at Henderson State University.
"I've turned into more of a planner than anything else," he said. "Henderson developed its strategic plan last year. I get the opportunity to help put that plan in place."
University of Central Arkansas President Tom Courtway said he didn't think Powell's short tenure as the director of the Department of Higher Education will hurt the state's universities.
"He ran the department well," Courtway said. "He was a very thoughtful man. The longer someone stays, the more depth he gains of the state as a whole. But these things happen. We just move on.
"I thought my dealing with him were very professional. We wish him well."
Powell earned his doctorate of education in higher-education administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. A certified public accountant, he has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and a master's in business administration from UALR.
State Desk on 05/24/2016