Four Finalists Selected in National Search for Next UAPB Chancellor

LITTLE ROCK (Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025) — University of Arkansas System President Jay B. Silveria today announced four finalists in the national search for the next chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB).

Selected with the help of an advisory search committee chaired by Perry Stuckey, a UAPB alum, Pine Bluff native and retired senior vice president at Eastman Chemical Co., the finalists will each visit campus this month for meetings with students, faculty, staff and university stakeholders. The dates of each visit are set and will include a public presentation and Q&A session with each finalist. Further details about the finalists and details about their visits will be updated on the UAPB Chancellor search webpage at https://uapb.edu/chancellor-search/.

The finalists (in order of visit dates) include:

• Robert C. Mock, Jr., Ed.D. (Feb. 19) executive vice president for strategic initiatives & chief of staff, University of Maryland Eastern Shore
• Anthony Graham, Ph.D. (Feb. 21) tenured professor of education and former provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, Winston-Salem State University
• Carla Martin, J.D. (Feb. 26) vice chancellor for finance and administration, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
• Robert Z. Carr, Jr., Ph.D. (Feb. 28) provost and vice president for academic affairs, Fisk University (Nashville, Tenn.)

“I couldn’t be more pleased that these four distinguished individuals have accepted our invitation to visit the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in the search for our next chancellor,” Silveria said. “I appreciate the diligent, mindful groundwork that’s been done by the search committee and everything that’s been accomplished during the search process before my arrival. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to meet the finalists and getting feedback from the campus and community about what they would like to see from the next leader of this proud institution so that any recommendation that is made to the Board of Trustees is a reflection of an open, inclusive process. A national leadership search presents an opportunity to test the reputational quality of an institution, and the quality of our four finalists show that UAPB is very well regarded on the national stage.”

Nearly 60 applicants from across the country applied for the position by the December 2024 preferred deadline. The advisory search committee conducted conversations over the course of January and following campus visits and a feedback period, Silveria will ultimately make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas on UAPB’s next chancellor.

“It’s been a special experience for myself and the other members of the committee who who want to see a bright future for the institution,” Stuckey said. “I think we were all very pleased to see so many interested candidates from from around the country – it’s a testament to the solid reputation UAPB has earned. I think we have an opportunity to take the University to the next level with the right leadership and I’m excited about what the future holds.”

Prior Search News:

• UAPB Chancellor Recommended to Lead UM – Flint
• Stewart Named Interim Chancellor at UAPB
• Chancellor Search Committee Announced

Meet the Finalists:

Robert Mock, Jr., Ed.D.

Vice President for Strategic Initiatives & Chief of Staff, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Mock is currently the vice president for strategic initiatives & chief of staff at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, an 1890 Public Land Grand HBCU. He previously worked as an associate plant manager for Illinois Tool Works (Augusta, Ark.) and quality control manager with Pepsi-Cola Co. (St. Louis, MO.). Mock has served as a hospital administrative officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard as a Captain from 2002-2010. During his time at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, he has served as interim Div. I athletic director and interim vice president for Enrollment Management & Student Experience. He previously served as president of Johnson & Wales University Charlotte Campus in North Carolina. Mock also served as vice president for student affairs at the University of Kentucky, where he held teaching appointments in the Colleges of Communications and Education. Mock was the vice provost for Student Affairs and assistant vice chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and director of recruitment & retention, associate dean in the College of Professional Studies and faculty in the Speech Communications Department at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. Mock earned an engineering degree from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsvillem, and a Master’s degree in Interpersonal & Organizational Communication and Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. 

Anthony Graham, Ph.D.

Tenured Professor and former Provost and V.C. for Academic Affairs at Winston-Salem State University

Graham is currently a tenured professor of education and former provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. He also served as interim chancellor at the institution from 2023-24. He was previously a tenured full professor and dean of the College of Education at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in mathematics in 1997. He obtained a master’s degree in Secondary English Education in 1999 and a doctorate in curriculum and teaching with a cognate in multicultural education in 2003 from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Prior to his work in higher education, Dr. Graham was a high school English teacher. He has served as the managing editor of the historic peer-review academic journal The Negro Educational Review,and has collaborated with educators and scholars to create initiatives that increase the number of classroom teachers, especially ethnic and racial minority teachers, who enter the teaching profession in under-resourced and hard-to-staff rural and urban schools.

Carla Martin, J.D.

Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Martin is currently the vice chancellor for finance and administration at UAPB, where she has served since joining the institution in 2009 as dean of its School of Business and Management. There, she led the college to its first prestigious ACBSP accreditation in the history of the business program, ensuring rigorous standards of teaching, learning, and research. She also served as interim vice chancellor for finance and administration beginning in 2014 before permanently being named to the position in 2016. She has previously worked in management at Walmart Stores, Inc. as a realty transactions manager and senior manager of supplier diversity, the latter of which being an operations role where she worked to identify new and diverse suppliers as well as collaborated with over 2,500 current minority- and women-owned businesses to sustain and increase their engagement with Walmart Stores, Inc. She began her career practicing as an attorney at Brown & McKissic Law firm in Pine Bluff. She graduated from UAPB in 2001, earning a business administration degree (marketing) before earning a juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 2004. 

Robert Z. Carr, Jr., Ph.D.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Fisk University

Carr has been the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Fisk University since 2022. He served as the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at UAPB from 2017-22. He was previously dean and professor of Education in the School of Education and Psychology at Alcorn State University and dean and associate professor for the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Langston University. Carr was the director of professional and field-based experiences and assistant professor of education at Jackson State University. He has been a National Council for Teacher Education (NCATE) board of examiners member and national team chair and is currently a Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) site visitor. Carr earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Tougaloo College, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Oklahoma State University, a second master’s degree in educational leadership from Walden University, and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Oklahoma State University. He also completed the Harvard Institute for Management and Leadership in Education in 2013.