Ex-Harding chief
will take reins
Harding University will replace its current president next month with a former president.
President Bruce McLarty will retire Nov. 30, and Chancellor David Burks will take over as president Dec. 1.
Burks was Harding University president from 1987 until 2013. McLarty succeeded him.
University trustees reached an agreement with McLarty in October for him to retire while trustees search for a permanent replacement to better weather economic challenges the university has faced, Robert Walker, chairman of the board of trustees, wrote in a letter to campus.
"Recent economic and higher education trends have created an extremely challenging business environment that has impacted the institution, leading the board to make a change," Walker wrote. "Chancellor Dr. David Burks will bring his experience and proven business acumen back to the University as a guiding hand through these unprecedented times."
Harding, in Searcy, is Arkansas' largest private university and largest religious college, enrolling more than 4,500 students this fall. About 1,000 of those students were graduate students. Enrollment, which reached a high of 7,056 students in the fall of 2011, has declined in recent years.
Harding's fall term ends before Thanksgiving this year, and McLarty will still preside over commencement Nov. 21.
Panel paring list
for chancellor job
A committee searching for the next chancellor of Arkansas State University-Newport is winnowing the list of 56 applicants.
Chancellor Sandra Massey announced her retirement in October. Massey has been chancellor since 2013.
ASU-Newport, a two-year college, enrolled 1,581 students this fall. That doesn't include concurrently enrolled high school students, who totaled about 500 last fall.
The college's students can also take classes at sites in Jonesboro and Marked Tree.
Like most other community colleges in Arkansas, ASU-Newport's enrollment has steadily declined. It enrolled 2,715 students, including high school students, during the fall 2016 semester.
The pandemic has caused challenges for nontraditional students, who often attend community college.
ASU-Newport, along with Shorter College in North Little Rock, also offers classes for state prison inmates.
The Chancellor Search Advisory Committee began reviewing applications Oct. 26 and anticipates interviewing candidates on campus later this month, ASU System spokesman Jeff Hankins said.
The job posting on the college's website calls for a candidate with strong internal and external leadership skills, including developing relationships with business partners and other entities "locally, statewide, regionally and nationally to increase the visibility of the institution."
ASU System sells
chancellor house
The Arkansas State University System has sold the former ASU chancellor house in Jonesboro, nine years after deciding to sell the property.
The house, at 3613 Lacoste Drive, served as the chancellor residence until the ASU System office moved. Current Chancellor Kelly Damphousse now lives where the president used to live, on Nettleton Avenue.
An unidentified buyer offered $430,000 for the Lacoste Drive property, $5,000 more than the $425,000 appraised value, according to a system news release.
The system had held off on selling the property for years because "no acceptable offer had been received until recently," the announcement states.
ASU System trustees approved the home's sale during a specially called meeting Wednesday.
Tech's Bowen gets
president's award
Arkansas Tech University President Robin E. Bowen has been recognized regionally for her years of support of the student affairs staff and programs, the university announced last week.
Bowen received this year's National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Region IV-West President's Award.
The region covers: Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming in the United States, as well as Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada.
In recent years under Bowen, the university has increased its freshman four-year graduation rate by 15.8 percentage points, according to the university.
UALR gets funds
for new program
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received $640,000 to help develop a health care cybersecurity curriculum, the university announced last week.
UALR is one of several universities and industries working together on the project.
The $640,000 in funds are the university's portion of a three-year grant totaling $6.3 million for the whole group.
The project will also support a pilot phase, which will train 200 first responders and military veterans for free. They'll learn, as part of a certificate program, how to secure information systems used in the health care industry, the university's announcement states.