ASU - Jonesboro:  Search for
first chancellor gets underway

      Feb. 8, 2006 -- Arkansas State University’s search for its first Jonesboro campus chancellor is underway.

      The process will involve many participants during various stages over the next few months.

      One of the first steps in the search will be a series of “town hall forums” where students, faculty, staff and other interested individuals may learn more about the purpose for the new position and to give their opinions on the type of individual ASU should seek.

      The title of chancellor is common in higher education, but it is new to many at ASU-Jonesboro.  While ASU campuses at Beebe, Mountain Home and Newport all have a chancellor, or campus executive, Dr. Wyatt has filled that role at ASU-Jonesboro in addition to his duties as president of the ASU System.

      Board of Trustees Chair Florine Tousant Milligan of Forrest City said in December that the time has come for Arkansas State University to differentiate the duties of the system president from the campus chief executive.  The Board passed a resolution at its December meeting authorizing the division of duties.

       “We would like for Dr. Wyatt, as president of the ASU System, to focus his attention on resource development, government and constituent relations, interaction with campus chancellors, and to continue to oversee the development and coordination of the ASU campuses,” Milligan said.

      As campus chief executive, the new chancellor will focus on carrying out the goals articulated in the campus’s strategic plan, which was adopted last year by the Board of Trustees.

      “We are grateful for the confidence of the trustees to initiate this process now as an outgrowth of our planning process,” Dr. Wyatt said in December. “We are confident that with the board’s approval, we will be able to move forward effectively and efficiently with this division of responsibilities.”

Town Hall Forums

      The town hall forums will be held Wednesday through Friday, Feb. 15-17.  Each session will run about 50 minutes.  Participants may choose from among 17 different sessions, starting at various times throughout the day in the Board Room of the Dean B. Ellis Library.

      Late afternoon sessions start at 5 p.m. on Feb. 15 at St. Bernards Auditorium, 505 E. Washington Ave., and on Feb. 16 in the Student Union Mockingbird Room.  The final session will begin at 12 noon on Feb. 17 at the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, 1709 E. Nettleton Ave.

      Faculty, students, staff and members of the community may register for their preferred time at the web site, http://www.astate.edu/chancellorsearch.  The site also will carry other pertinent details about the selection process.

      The Town Hall Forums will provide an opportunity for all students, faculty and staff to give and seek information about the chancellor search process and the reasons the position was created, and to establish a list of qualities and characteristics that would be desirable for chancellor candidates.

      The university has employed Academic Search Consultation Service of Washington, D.C., to assist with identifying and screening candidates.  Dr. Bill J. Franklin, one of the firm’s consultants, will work very closely with ASU and the Search Advisory Committee, members of which will be announced within the next week.

      Under the process established for the search, applications and nominations will be directed to the consulting firm.  The consultant will narrow the list of name to a small and diverse group of individuals who best match the job description and leadership criteria developed through the Town Hall Forums.

      The Search Advisory Committee will include students, faculty, staff and administration from the Jonesboro campus, as well as members of the civic community.  Dr. Glen Jones, assistant to the president for diversity initiatives, will chair the committee.

      The committee’s role will be to advise Dr. Franklin and Dr. Jones about the conduct of the search and screening process and to help identify those who will be considered leading candidates.

      The committee will recommend a list of individuals to the Board of Trustees.  Following a series of interviews and introductions to the campus community, the final decision on the chancellor selection will rest with the Board of Trustees.  The Board will authorize President Wyatt to negotiate an appointment of the chancellor.

The ASU System

      The ASU system includes campuses at Jonesboro, which offers degree programs through the doctoral level; Beebe, Mountain Home, and Newport, where associate degree programs are offered; and at Heber Springs, Marked Tree and Searcy. 

      ASU-Beebe became part of the ASU system in 1955.  It associated with White River Vo-Tech at Newport in 1992; that campus is now ASU-Newport. ASU-Mountain Home was officially established in 1995. Delta Technical Institute at Marked Tree merged with ASU and became Arkansas State University Technical Center in 2001. 

      A new campus is being built for ASU-Heber Springs, which operates as a sister campus of ASU-Beebe.  Foothills Technical Institute at Searcy merged with ASU-Beebe in 2003, and is now ASU-Searcy, a technical institute of ASU-Beebe.

      ASU offers bachelor's degree programs, master's degree programs and upper level courses through ASU degree centers at ASU-Beebe, ASU-Mountain Home, and three other cities

-- Blytheville, Forrest City and West Memphis -- where partnership agreements have been established in cooperation with the local community colleges. ASU also operates an instructional site at Paragould.

      Because of the close partnerships between the campuses, ASU reports a combined enrollment for its system of campuses. Total system enrollment in the fall of 2005 was 16,937.

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