UCA president selects interim provost

Hargis, Business college dean, to fill post until permanent replacement hired

Michael Hargis
Michael Hargis

University of Central Arkansas President Houston Davis has named the dean of the College of Business as interim provost.

Michael Hargis, 40, dean of the College of Business, will begin his temporary role as provost Aug. 1. He replaces Steven Runge, 53, who is returning to a faculty position in the biology department at the president's request.

After the president hires a new provost, Hargis will resume his role as dean of the College of Business. Hargis came to UCA in fall 2006 as an assistant professor of management. He became interim dean of the College of Business in 2013 and appointed dean in 2014.

Before he joined UCA, he was an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga.

Hargis earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Hendrix College in Conway. He received post-graduate degrees -- a master of arts degree in industrial/organizational psychology and a Ph.D. -- from Wayne State University in Detroit. He lives in Conway with his wife Jessica and their two children, Matthew and Emma.

In 2016-17, Hargis was paid $167,923 in public funds and $8,046 in private funds for a total of $175,969, according to UCA. As of Aug. 1, he will make $189,000 in public and $10,500 in private funds for a total of $199,500 annually, the university said.

Davis, 44, became UCA president in January. In an email to faculty and staff members in June, Davis announced that he planned to search nationally for a new provost and that Runge would return to teaching. Davis also said he would provide more information about an interim provost in July.

Runge had been provost and vice president for academic affairs since February 2013. He was interim provost for a year before that. In July 2014, he became executive vice president and provost.

In the announcement in June, Davis praised Runge's work as provost. Runge wrote faculty and staff an email at the same time, assuring them. He wrote that the UCA president had told him "that he [Davis] wants to have a fresh start with leadership in Academic Affairs.

"When we selected a new president, I knew that this was a possibility," Runge said in June.

As provost, Runge makes $193,122 annually for a 12-month schedule. In his faculty position, his nine-month salary will be $115,123, effective Aug. 16, UCA has said.

Metro on 07/11/2017

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