PINE BLUFF -- The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's National Advisory Committee on Aquaculture approved a nonbinding resolution Tuesday supporting the removal of oversight of UAPB's aquaculture and fisheries program from the university, and its director announced plans to quit.
Farmers and wildlife experts from around the globe ship fish into the UAPB center's fish pathology unit to identify diseases and halt their spread, and industry insiders have consistently said that the school's program is among the best in the nation. Arkansas is the second-largest producer of aquaculture products in the United States, behind Mississippi.
The committee members and program director Carole Engle have been in disagreement for more than a year with UAPB Chancellor Laurence Alexander over the direction of the program, particularly concerning its research methods.
Engle announced Tuesday that she plans to leave the program in the coming weeks because of the disagreements and said others could soon follow.
Advisory committee members and Engle have said that placing the aquaculture and fisheries administrative offices under the auspices of the University of Arkansas' Agriculture Division would be advantageous to all involved by creating one synergistic direction for the program.
University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt has said that moving any part of UAPB's aquaculture and fisheries program to another entity will not happen and should not even be up for discussion.
The committee -- whose members are stakeholders in the aquaculture field and provide advice to the program -- operates independently of the university and holds no authoritative power. One of the program's requirements for receiving federal dollars, however, is seeking input from and working with such stakeholders.
Details of how the program might move from UAPB to the Agriculture Division have not been spelled out, although the UA System board of trustees would have to be involved, officials have said.
UA System board Vice Chairman Ben Hyneman said he and other board members are aware of the conflict about the UAPB aquaculture program but have full confidence in Alexander and his abilities to handle the situation.
"We hope everyone can sit down and evaluate where we are right now and move the program forward for the fish farmers in Arkansas. I feel confident that this will be resolved," Hyneman said.
Engle said she has felt pressure from Alexander and others at the university to broaden research beyond the scope of aiding stakeholders, which "could damage our program. And we simply don't have the manpower to do that and remain focused on our stakeholders."
Engle also said she has received "very little response or guidance" from James O. Garner Jr., the interim dean and director of UAPB's School of Agriculture. Engle said she began reporting to him when Alexander took over the chancellor's position in 2013.
Garner deferred to Alexander when asked about the aquaculture and fisheries program.
Alexander said the program should be focusing on new research while continuing to serve the needs of the state's aquaculture industry through proven research methods. He said he hasn't proposed straying from the stakeholders' needs, but rather is working to get the program closer in line with the university's research mission.
"These research methods I am proposing allow faculty to broaden their research perspectives," Alexander said. "Requiring a faculty only to do one type of research goes against academic freedom."
Committee member Wayne Branton, who also serves as president of the Catfish Farmers of Arkansas, said Tuesday that Engle's departure would likely doom the program.
"UAPB's aquaculture and fisheries program is second to none around the nation," Branton said. "You are competing with LSU and Mississippi State and Auburn University. And Dr. Engle has contributed so much to this program, and so much is owed to her because of that. If we lose her, we are going to be in real trouble."
Bobbitt told committee members Tuesday that if the program is focused so intensely on one individual, meaning Engle, "then you don't have a program."
Mike Freeze, a Lonoke County fish farmer who is the committee's vice chairman, cited an anonymous online survey conducted recently among the aquaculture and fisheries staff that he said shows discontent.
He told committee members that 11 of 18 staff members responded to the survey and expressed concern about the program's future, saying that the working atmosphere was "less desirable than a year ago."
But Bobbitt dismissed the results.
"If such a survey were to be useful, it would have to be conducted by professionals and include more specific questions," he said.
Alexander told the committee in response to the resolution's passage that it had overstepped its boundaries.
"This is outside the scope of anything you should be involved in," the chancellor said. "This is not the way advisory groups work. They don't control; they seek support. I want this group to work with me and sustain this program at UAPB."
No one was sure after Tuesday's meeting what the next step would be, but many agreed that more dialogue is needed.
Mary Benjamin, UAPB's vice chancellor for research, innovation and economic development, said: "All of this is of great concern to me. We need to be more open and talk about this, and figure out how to get it resolved. This program is too important for this university."
A Section on 01/28/2015