Higher-ed board hires new leader from OBU

Brett Powell (left), new director of the state Department of Higher Education, and Jay Jones, interim chancellor at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, chat Friday at a meeting of the Higher Education Coordinating Board in Little Rock.
Brett Powell (left), new director of the state Department of Higher Education, and Jay Jones, interim chancellor at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, chat Friday at a meeting of the Higher Education Coordinating Board in Little Rock.

The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board on Friday hired an Arkadelphia man to take the helm of its corresponding agency.

The board approved a search committee's recommendation to hire Brett Powell as the Arkansas Department of Higher Education director. Powell, 47, is currently the vice president for administrative services at Ouachita Baptist University.

"I am just a simple accountant from south Arkansas," Powell told the board. "The confidence you have in me to lead the agency at this time is humbling."

Powell will start the new job Feb. 9 and earn $168,128 in the position. At Ouachita Baptist, Powell made $119,520, with an additional $15,986 in other compensation, according to the university's Internal Revenue Service Form 990 for 2013, which covers June 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013.

Powell will replace the department's current director, Shane Broadway, who is leaving the post to become the Arkansas State University System's vice president for governmental relations. Broadway, who makes $168,128 annually in the director's job, will move to the ASU System post Feb. 9, after leading the department since February 2011.

The Higher Education Department began advertising for Broadway's replacement in late December, and 15 candidates applied for the job before the Jan. 23 cutoff date.

A search committee -- made up of four coordinating board members and a representative each from a two-year college and from a four-year university -- narrowed the list of applicants to three. The committee made its recommendation Thursday after interviewing the three candidates.

"I appreciate the efforts of our search committee," Coordinating Board Chairman Bob Crafton said Friday. "That wasn't easy. It took some time. But, we think this will be a very successful situation."

Crafton has said that Powell's education, financial experience and communication skills impressed him.

Powell has worked at Ouachita Baptist as the vice president for administrative services since November 2006. In that role, he acts as the chief financial officer of the university and leads operations of five university offices, including Student Financial Services and Human Resources.

Before that, he worked as the associate vice chancellor for finance at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from March 2003 to November 2006.

Powell, a certified public accountant, has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, a master's in business administration from UALR and a doctorate of education in higher-education administration from UALR.

As director, he will work with the coordinating board, agency staff, the leadership of the state's public colleges and universities, legislators and the governor. He also will serve in the governor's Cabinet.

The appointment -- which is subject to confirmation by the governor, according to state law 25-7-101(b) -- received Gov. Asa Hutchinson's endorsement.

"I'm delighted with the selection of Dr. Powell to be the new director of Higher Education," Hutchinson said in a news release. "I'm pleased with the choice, and I'm pleased with the way the board conducted the selection process. I have no doubt that Dr. Powell will do a great job leading a department so crucial to the future of Arkansas."

The appointment comes as the 90th General Assembly discusses the state budget. The Higher Education Department, colleges and universities are facing stagnant state funding, and institutions are seeing enrollment decreases.

Powell said Friday that he was "a bit apprehensive knowing the big shoes" he was tapped to fill.

"I am someone who looks forward to tackling a challenge," he said. "And from what I've learned so far, I think I'm really going to love this job. It's just an exciting opportunity for me and hopefully it will be for many years to come."

Powell met with Broadway shortly after the committee's recommendation and will train during the transition period. On Friday, Broadway said he will still be available after he assumes his new position to assist the Higher Education Department.

During Friday's meeting, Broadway also read aloud his resignation letter, addressed to Hutchinson. Broadway noted he had accepted the ASU System job, where he will earn an annual salary of $185,000. His resignation will be effective "close of business" on Friday.

"As an alumnus of Arkansas State University, it will be a distinct honor to return to the place that gave me my opportunity for a higher education," he said. "It will be a privilege to work with faculty and staff who were dedicated to my success, changed my life and gave me a career I could have never imagined."

In the letter, Broadway said that the Higher Education Department has worked for the past four years to restore relationships with the General Assembly and higher-education institutions.

He later welcomed Powell and placed a Higher Education Department pin on Powell's suit.

"These people -- the people I work with each and every day -- are very special, and I wanted to make sure I left them in good hands," Broadway said. "I know I leave them in very capable hands."

Metro on 01/31/2015

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