The University of Central Arkansas Board of Trustees took the first step to begin the presidential search process at their regularly scheduled meeting on Friday, Feb. 12.
As outlined in Board Policy 202, a Search Advisory Committee will be created and will serve as an aid to the Board of Trustees in its endeavor to appoint a president for the University of Central Arkansas.
Board chair Shelia Vaught appointed Bobby Reynolds as chair of the Search Advisory Committee and Kelley Erstine as campus liaison to the Search Advisory Committee.
The chair of the committee will provide leadership and facilitate meetings of the committee and will be a non-voting member of the committee. The campus liaison will assist the chair in the planning and organization of committee meetings and on-campus interviews and will be a non-voting member of the committee.
Reynolds is a 1973 UCA graduate and served on the Board of Trustees from 2009 to 2015. During his time on the board, Reynolds was instrumental in developing a policy allowing the officers of the Faculty Senate, Staff Senate and Student Government Association to have the opportunity to ask questions at meetings of the Board of Trustees and provide input to the board prior to a vote being taken.
Erstine has been UCA’s chief of staff since 2014. He is a 1979 UCA graduate and served as a member of the Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2003 and has also served as vice president for Institutional Advancement.
The chair of the Search Advisory Committee will recommend to the Board persons to be appointed as members of the committee. The members of the committee will be knowledgeable about the duties and responsibilities of the position of president and be representative of the interests of UCA and university groups.
From the nominations made to the chair, the Board of Trustees will then select members of the committee. The Board of Trustees will have the right to make any changes, revisions or additions or ask any group for additional or substitute recommendations. The Board of Trustees will approve the committee in March.
To submit a nomination for the Search Advisory Committee, go to uca.edu/presidentialsearch
“Bobby Reynolds and Kelley Erstine are the perfect leaders for this committee. They both have years of institutional knowledge about UCA and are so passionate about its success. I am confident they will serve the institution to the best of their abilities and will do a great job,” said Vaught.
UCA President Tom Courtway announced in December 2015 that he will transition to teaching in the UCA College of Business at the end of his current contract.
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