LITTLE ROCK (April 14, 2021) – University of Arkansas System President Dr. Donald R. Bobbitt today announced the formation of an advisory committee to assist in the search for the next chancellor of the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville (UACCB).
Deborah Frazier, who was named chancellor at UACCB in 2007, is retiring May 31.
Bobbitt and Chris Thomason, vice president for planning and development for the UA System, are leading the search for the UA System and will coordinate the recommendation of a short list of final candidates cultivated by the committee for Bobbitt to consider before taking his pick to the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas.
“Chancellor Frazier has proven to be an exceptional leader for the campus, and she leaves her institution on excellent footing when one considers the quality of its academic programs, the quality of its student body, and in its finances,” Bobbitt said. “Identifying the next chancellor for UACCB is about fit, and we will find a leader who appreciates the progress the institution has made, while articulating a vision for the future that meets the needs of the community and the state.”
An interim chancellor to take over after Frazier retires is expected to be named later this month.
”Chancellor Frazier’s planned retirement on May 31 does present some challenges for the search committee, but we agree that it is more important that we take the time to do the search properly than to do it quickly,” Bobbitt said. “Thus, I anticipate that an interim chancellor appointment will be necessary for a part of the time from May 31 until the next chancellor is in place. Fortunately, there are a number of very capable leaders at UACCB ready and willing to take on this responsibility.”
Marietta Candler, division chair of Nursing and Allied Health at UACCB and a 27-year employee at the institution, will chair the search committee, which also includes key members of the campus community (faculty, staff), local leaders that make up its board of visitors and foundation board, and a member of the UA Board of Trustees.
The committee includes:
| Committee Member | Affiliation |
| Ms. Marietta Candler; *Chair | Faculty, Division Chair |
| Dr. Maggie Williams | Chair, Board of Visitors |
| Mr. Calvin Wright | Board of Visitors |
| Dr. Michael Hester | Board of Visitors |
| Mr. Ted Hall | Board of Visitors |
| Ms. Stacy Gunderman | Community |
| Mr. Carter Ford | UACCB Foundation Board |
| Ms. Mindy Shaw | Faculty |
| Dr. Andrew Seely | Faculty Senate President |
| Mr. Heath Wooldridge | Staff, Physical Plant |
| Mr. Cheyenne Diaz | Staff, Career Pathways |
| Mr. Steve Cox | UA Board of Trustees |
| Ex-Officio Committee Support | |
| Ms. Cheryl Gunther | Administration |
| Ms. Hannah Keller Flanery | Communications |
| UA System Support | |
| Dr. Donald R. Bobbitt | UA System President |
| Mr. Chris Thomason | UA System VP-Strategic Planning |
About the University of Arkansas System (www.uasys.edu)
Since its inception, the University of Arkansas System has developed a tradition of excellence that includes the state’s 1871 flagship, land-grant research university; Arkansas’s premier institution for medical education, treatment and research; a major metropolitan university; an 1890 land-grant university; two regional universities serving southern and western Arkansas; seven community colleges; two schools of law; a presidential school; a residential math and science high school; and a 100 percent-online university and divisions of agriculture, archeology and criminal justice. As the premier higher education system in the state, it enrolls more than 70,000 students, employs more than 17,000 employees, and has a total budget of more than $4 billion. An intrinsic part of the texture and fabric of Arkansas, the UA System is a driving force in the state’s economic, educational and cultural advancement.