Dr. Ray Green to Serve as Provost

Written By: Rachel Putman

The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith has named Dr. Raymond Green as its next provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs following a national search, Chancellor Terisa Riley announced Thursday.

Green currently serves as dean of the College of Education and Human Services at East Texas A&M University, where he has led efforts to stabilize enrollment, expand academic offerings, strengthen faculty recruitment, and advance student success initiatives.

He will join UAFS this July, following the departure of former Provost Shadow Robinson, who was selected earlier this year as president of Frostburg State University.

“Dr. Green brings a rare combination of academic leadership, student-centered vision, and understanding of the mission of regional public universities,” Riley said. “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a deep commitment to supporting his faculty and his students. I sincerely admire that approach to leadership, and it is wholly aligned with our values at UAFS. His leadership experience, collaborative approach, and passion for transforming lives through education make him an outstanding fit for UAFS and the River Valley.”

Green has served in higher education leadership for more than two decades, including as founding dean of the Honors College at East Texas A&M University (Formerly TAMU-Commerce,) where he helped establish multiple residential learning communities focused on scholarship, leadership, and student engagement. 

In his current role as dean of the College of Education and Human Services, Green led efforts to reverse a significant enrollment decline, hired more than 40 faculty members in four years, launched new academic programs, and supported increased external grant activity across the college. He has also guided multiple successful accreditation processes and partnered on competency-based education initiatives designed to address teacher shortages in Texas. 

A social psychologist, Green earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Drew University before completing both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in social psychology at Rutgers University. 

Green said UAFS’s mission and momentum drew him to the institution.

“I was attracted by the university’s commitment to increasing student social mobility,” Green said. “I believe students are making an investment of their time and finances with the hope that there will be a meaningful return on that investment. It is clear UAFS is already making a tremendous impact in that work, and I’m excited to help continue that momentum moving forward.”

As a first-generation college student, Green said higher education transformed the trajectory of his own life and continues to shape his leadership philosophy.

“It was very clear to me within days of being on campus that college was already a life-changing experience,” Green said. “That transformation is really magical, and helping create those opportunities for students is why I’ve spent my career in higher education.”

Green also emphasized the role regional public universities – like both East Texas and UAFS – play in strengthening their communities.

“We are here to provide opportunities for students and to help our regions move forward,” he said. “Just as we talk about the social mobility of students, we should think about the economic mobility of the region, and the university is the engine for that change.”

Throughout his career, Green has taught courses ranging from social psychology and group dynamics to the interdisciplinary honors seminar “Don’t Fear the Reaper: Death, Dying, and Rock and Roll.”

“It is easy, as you move further into administration and further from the classroom, to get bogged down in the details,” Green said. “But staying connected to teaching and to students is an important reminder of why we do this work.”

Green and his wife, Sabrina, a recently retired school psychologist, will relocate to Fort Smith later this summer. They have two adult children, Conor and Meghan.