English to assume
UA research helm
FAYETTEVILLE -- The top research officer at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville is leaving for another job, and the university's engineering dean will fill the role beginning Nov. 1.
John English, UA's engineering dean since 2013, will take over for Daniel Sui, who accepted a similar job at Virginia Tech.
"I'm looking forward to working with researchers from across campus on the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research," English said in an email.
UA in July announced a $194.7 million grant from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation for the "I3R" initiative that's to include a new facility and a planned Bentonville outpost.
"I3R builds on our research mission and will enhance commercialization of our faculty's innovations, and the opportunity to be in this role during such a formative time in that project is exciting," English said.
He earned a bachelor's degree from UA in 1981, according to an alumni directory. English earned a master's degree from UA and a doctorate in industrial engineering and management from Oklahoma State University.
English will earn $376,463 as vice chancellor for research and innovation, the same salary he's paid now, but will begin accruing $3,680 in monthly deferred compensation to be paid after retirement, UA spokesman Andy Albertson said.
Sui arrived in 2018 after a national search. Albertson, when asked why no search is being done now, in a statement said the university is "very fortunate to have a proven, successful leader with deep ties to Arkansas already on campus."
Chancellor Joe Steinmetz, in a statement, said he's "thrilled John has agreed to serve in this role."
Conflict form said
to need tweaking
FAYETTEVILLE -- Faculty members at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville are considering a change to a conflict-of-interest form that a research compliance director said is "just really not sufficient."
Former electrical engineering professor Simon Ang faces multiple counts of wire and passport fraud in a federal indictment that alleges he failed to disclose ties to China while pursuing federal research grants. Ang, fired by UA in July, has pleaded innocent.
Jason Ramage, an assistant vice chancellor for research and innovation, Wednesday told the university's faculty senate that the current form "is just a single open-ended question asking about potential conflicts of interest.
"We've expanded on that and asked a series of 10 questions, asking about specific types of conflict of interest," Ramage said.
Ramage did not mention Ang. He told the faculty that there "have been some rather high profile incidents involving faculty across the country at various institutions that have been discovered not to have disclosed certain conflicts of interest."
One change would involve having the university's vice chancellor for economic development review a disclosure form for outside employment "if an issue of intellectual property is raised."
Documents released to the Democrat-Gazette by UA about Ang's firing show that he was alleged to have misappropriated intellectual property "of the University" for personal gain
The faculty will consider voting on the change in October.