Community college chancellor to retire
FORT SMITH -- Larry Davis, chancellor since 2010 at University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton, will retire at the end of January.
Davis, 68, described the opening this year of an approximately 53,000-square-foot workforce training center as a highlight of his time as the school's top leader.
The project cost about $15 million, he said, with more than $3 million in fundraising helping pay for it. A $10 million bond also helped finance the project, he said.
"It's an investment, and I think it's going to pay dividends, not only for our area but the whole state," Davis said.
The center hosts programs in welding, industrial maintenance, heating and air, and auto service.
"My dad was an auto mechanic," Davis said, describing technical programs as "near and dear to me."
The college has an enrollment of about 1,900 this fall, Davis said. He said he'll miss the camaraderie among community college leaders, which features some "trash talking" but also willingness to help each other.
"I know I could call any of them, any time, and they'd be there," Davis said.
UAFS hires firm to help find leader
FORT SMITH -- The search firm of Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc. will help find the next top leader at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, UA System President Donald Bobbitt said Thursday.
The university is seeking a replacement for Paul Beran, who left Aug. 31 after serving since 2006 as chancellor for the campus. Beran is now executive director of the South Dakota Board of Regents.
The search firm will be paid $84,000, with the money for their services coming from the UAFS Foundation, UA System spokesman Nate Hinkel said. The search firm will also be paid an additional fee for indirect expenses, Hinkel said.
NW News on 11/19/2018