Presidential inauguration is Friday at Arkansas Tech

Robin Bowen will be inaugurated Friday as the 12th president of Arkansas Tech University. The inauguration is scheduled for 2 p.m. on the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center South Lawn on the Russellville campus, and the public is invited. A reception will follow in the Chambers Cafeteria West Dining Room. In case of inclement weather, the event will be moved to Tucker Coliseum.
Robin Bowen will be inaugurated Friday as the 12th president of Arkansas Tech University. The inauguration is scheduled for 2 p.m. on the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center South Lawn on the Russellville campus, and the public is invited. A reception will follow in the Chambers Cafeteria West Dining Room. In case of inclement weather, the event will be moved to Tucker Coliseum.

RUSSELLVILLE — Robin E. Bowen will be inaugurated Friday as the 12th president of Arkansas Tech University and the first female president of a public, four-year university in Arkansas.

The inauguration is scheduled for 2 p.m. on the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center South Lawn at Arkansas Tech in Russellville. A reception will follow in the Chambers Cafeteria West Dining Room.

The public is invited to attend the inauguration. In case of inclement weather, the event will be moved to Tucker Coliseum.

“An inauguration provides a university a wonderful opportunity to reflect on its past and to dream what it can become. I am both incredibly honored and humbled by the response we have received to this event,” Bowen said. “It is my hope that this will be an inclusive experience that will reach all facets of the Arkansas Tech community and allow our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends to express their shared affection for our institution.”

Bowen, 55, took office on July 1, 2014, as president of Arkansas Tech.

She and her family moved from Massachusetts to Russellville. She and her husband, Doug, have three children. She succeeded longtime president Robert Brown, who retired.

Bowen also has the distinction of being the first occupational therapist to head a four-year public institution in Arkansas. She has a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She taught for 14 years before beginning her ascent into administration. Bowen earned a doctorate in higher-education administration from Texas Tech University. Immediately prior to coming to Arkansas Tech, she was executive vice president and provost at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts.

“In my 10 months as president, I have had the opportunity to meet with faculty, staff and students from across the campus,” Bowen said. “What I have learned is that the quality of the people at Arkansas Tech is our greatest strength. Their passion for our institution has helped me gain a greater understanding of what our opportunities and challenges might be in the years to come. Arkansas Tech is in a strong position for continued growth and improvement. It is incumbent on our university community to ensure that we grow and improve in ways that will allow all students to achieve their academic goals.”

Among those scheduled to speak at the inauguration ceremony are 3rd Congressional District U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers, Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson, Russellville Mayor Randy Horton and Chancellor Bruce Sikes of the Arkansas Tech-Ozark Campus.

Horton said his remarks won’t focus on Bowen being the first woman of a public, four-year institution.

“She’s the real deal — man, woman — we don’t need to put any qualifications on it,” Horton said. “She is what the university needs at this point and time. The things she has proposed as things she wants to do while she’s there, … I see that it’s already being done. She’s not kidding around.”

Horton said he and Bowen are members of a couple of the same organizations, and they meet together every two or three months to talk about partnership opportunities between the city and the university.

“I always leave there feeling like I can do more; I can do more,” he said. “There’s a quality about her that makes you want to do the best that you can do in support of the community. She just quietly gets you to do the best that you can. I’m as excited as I can be. She’s going to make a big difference in the whole River Valley.”

Additional speakers will include Larry Large, president of the Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities, and

Robert Antonucci, president of

Fitchburg State University.

The Arkansas Tech Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform “A Commemorative Fanfare,” an original composition by Philip Parker, professor of music at Arkansas Tech. The piece was commissioned in celebration of the inauguration.

Eric Burnett, chairman of the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees, will serve as master of ceremonies. He will present Bowen with the Arkansas Tech chain of office, after which Bowen will offer her inaugural address.

For more information, visit www.atu.edu/inauguration.

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

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