JONESBORO — The search for a new chancellor of Arkansas State University at Jonesboro will be put on hold until newly appointed ASU System President Charles L. Welch takes the helm, officials said.
The ASU board of trustees selected Welch, the president of Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, as the ASU System president on Nov. 9 and had hoped he would take over the university on Jan. 1.
However, Welch agreed earlier this month with Henderson’s board of trustees to remain with HSU until that university finds a new president. It could be until July 1 before Welch starts at the ASU System.
Florine T. Milligan, chairman of the ASU board of trustees, said last week that there are no plans to begin a search for a new chancellor.
“We haven’t discussed it,” said Milligan, who is from Forrest City. “We’re still working with [Welch].”
Milligan, whose 10-year term with the board expires in January, said Welch’s contract has not yet been finalized.
“I think we will [have to] wait until Dr. Welch comes on board before we begin a search for a chancellor,” said Robert L. Potts, the interim ASU System president.
The uncertainty over who will guide ASU-Jonesboro over the long term comes at a time when interim leadership is preparing for a new session of the Arkansas Legislature,which will have many new members when it convenes Jan. 10.
The Arkansas House will have 47 freshmen - the largest number of newcomers in the term-limits era since 1999, when there were 56 freshmen. Arkansas has 100 House members.
Meanwhile, the ASU-Jonesboro campus is undergoing changes, including rapid growth, that could affect its future.
Last year, it was the third largest four-year public university in Arkansas.
Now, it’s the second largest, with 13,438 students - a 10.5 percent increase from fall 2009.
ASU-Jonesboro just added another doctoral degree program.
And the faculty is sharply divided over the use of online courses.
ASU System officials and trustees say that, although several top positions are manned by interim administrators, they are well informed about the university and are prepared to lead it through the transition.
Potts, 66, who has already announced plans to retire, has said he will remain with the system for an indefinite period to help with the transition.
Before becoming interim president, he had been the ASU-Jonesboro chancellor since 2006.
G. Daniel Howard, the interim ASU-Jonesboro chancellor who was the second highest academic campus official, said he doesn’t know when a search will be conducted, but he said he is committed to running the university until a more permanent person comes aboard.
Howard said he is interested in the job and will apply once a search begins.
The interim leadership at the ASU System and ASU-Jonesboro came about last spring, when J. Leslie Wyatt announced he would step down as system president.
On July 1, trustees appointed him a professor at ASU-Jonesboro.
Wyatt announced on that day in a memo to Howard that he was working for American University System, an online course company, as president and chief executive officer. Neither trustees, Potts or Howard had approved the outside job.
Last week, Howard granted Wyatt’s request for unpaid leave.
Wyatt had requested unpaid leave from his professorship to continue his work with American University System, saying he wanted to avoid a perceived conflict of interest. The leave takes effect Jan. 1.
The American University System firm lists ASU-Jonesboro and seven other schools as partners.
On Sunday, the firm’s website said that ASU “is authorized for operation as a post secondary educational institution by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.”
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 11/22/2010