Chancellor ReportsApril 19, 2024

Strategic Plan & Campus Changes

Written By: Terisa Riley

Dear colleagues and students,

I am writing to make you aware of some organizational changes which are predicated on the creation of our strategic plan pillars and on the priorities set by the University of Arkansas System.

In the category of workforce development, the UA System has created a Workforce Action Plan which will, when implemented, coordinate and strengthen workforce training and development in the state of Arkansas. The foci of these efforts will be in non-credit training and in secondary career centers. As a result of this invigorated effort, I have promoted Mr. Kendall Ross has accepted the role of Associate Vice Chancellor for Economic and Workforce Development. Kendall has been serving as the Executive Director for the UAFS Center for Economic Development which is comprised of the Center for Business and Professional Development, Jim Walcott Family Enterprise Center, and the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center. He will continue to serve in this capacity while representing workforce development and personally leading initiatives in the UA System Workforce Action Plan. Kendall will report directly to me and will have a seat on the Chancellor’s Cabinet.

Ms. Amanda Seidenzahl has accepted the role of Director of UAFS Early College Programs. Amanda currently serves as the Director of the Western Arkansas Technical Center. She will continue to serve in this capacity while incorporating concurrent enrollment partnerships in her professional portfolio. Amanda has an excellent working relationship with leaders throughout the school districts we serve for both programs, and this promotion will expand on our efforts to increase educational opportunities for students in our region as well as improving our yield of participants to become degree-seeking students on campus upon high school graduation. Amanda will report directly to Dr. Margaret Tanner, associate provost.

Next, a group of faculty and administrators have been meeting to determine ways to create a Center for Advanced Manufacturing as one of our five Centers of Excellence. For more than a year, groups have visited a variety of area manufacturing plants, talked with industry leaders about their needs and expectations with regard to hiring students who are ready on day one, and began developing and advisory board for a UAFS Advanced Manufacturing. As a result of the work, the advisory board has recommended the creation of a Bachelor of Science degree in Smart Manufacturing or Smart Systems Engineering (working titles only). To develop this initiative, the provost has worked with faculty in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and in Business and Industry to reorganize to provide vital and comprehensive resources for this initiative. To do so, the existing engineering program with UA-Fayetteville, the to-be-proposed program in smart manufacturing/systems engineering, and electrical engineering technology will be brought together in CBI under a single Department of Engineering. A search for an assistant professor in Mechanical Engineering to fill the current vacant position and an open rank search in manufacturing/systems engineering for a departmental leader should begin immediately with the intent of proposing an ABET accredited program to support smart manufacturing engineering with aim to launch as early as fall 2025, pending the necessary approvals.

I am excited about these tangible efforts to accomplish our strategic plan as we provide relevant, timely education to prepare our students for careers now and in the future.

As always, I am proud to be a Lion.

Terisa Riley

Terisa C. Riley, Ph.D.

Chancellor

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