The University of Arkansas System has named its new chancellor for the Phillips Community College campuses.
G. Keith Pinchback, 50, will head the three-campus community college based in Helena-West Helena. Pinchback will leave his post as vice chancellor of institutional advancement at Arkansas State University-Beebe and begin his new leadership role July 1.
"I am proud to be part of the U of A System and following Dr. [Donald] Bobbitt's [the UA System president] leadership," he said in a statement. "PCCUA is an outstanding institution, and I hope to help it become an economic driving force for the great people of the Delta and Grand Prairie."
Pinchback will succeed the outgoing chancellor, Steven Murray, 64, who opted to retire early after leading the 1,797-student college since 2003. Pinchback of Searcy will earn $140,000 annually, said Nate Hinkel, interim director of communications at the system.
Bobbitt selected the new leader from a pool of 27 hopefuls. A 17-member search committee later pared down the list to five candidates, who interviewed via Skype and telephone. The five were whittled down to three, all of whom visited the campuses in Helena-West Helena, DeWitt and Stuttgart for another round of interviews.
Pinchback will go before the UA System board of trustees for approval, though the members were notified beforehand, Hinkel said. The selection fills one of three open leadership seats at system schools. The other two are at the Fayetteville and Monticello campuses.
"It was a validating process to learn that so many viable candidates were willing to fill the big shoes that Dr. Murray is leaving behind," Rhonda St. Columbia, vice chancellor of college advancement and resource development at Phillips and chairman of the chancellor search committee, said in a statement. "But Dr. Pinchback is the right fit for both our institution and the many students and communities we serve."
Pinchback, who is originally from Jonesboro, said Friday that he and his family are excited to get back to Helena.
After graduating from Arkansas State University, Pinchback had a four-year stint in the U.S. Air Force, stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. He was honorably discharged in 1988 as a senior airman and soon after returned to his home state.
He and his wife, Alana, packed their bags for Helena, and he put his bachelor's degree in journalism to use. He worked as a sports editor at The Daily World.
"Alana went to work one day, and our heater went out," he said. "She mentioned it to one person, and at the end of the day, we had five heaters in our front yard."
And then there were the times the couple couldn't make it back home for Thanksgiving, and other Helena residents took them in, he said.
"We never forget that," he said. "Those random acts of kindness ... really stick with me."
Those were part of what led him to apply for the chancellor's position, he said.
"This is my way of going and helping all those people in the Delta," he said, adding that he looked forward to building on the foundation that Murray established.
Bobbitt said in a statement that he was glad Pinchback -- who also holds a master's in business administration and a doctorate in educational leadership -- finished at the top.
"He brings a wide array of experiences in higher education to the position, along with some business experience that is critically important given the financial challenges facing higher education," he said. "I am excited about his vision for PCCUA in that he believes to the very core of his being that higher education is the way to help the communities that PCCUA serves thrive economically and culturally. Dr. Pinchback demonstrated a very keen understanding of the many issues facing the institution and I look forward to working with him to address those challenges head on."
Pinchback is coming in at a time when Bobbitt has committed to raising retention and graduation rates across all campuses under the University of Arkansas umbrella.
At Phillips, 19.2 percent of the 313 students who entered the college in fall 2011 graduated three years later, according to data from the state Department of Higher Education. Of all the community colleges, Arkansas State University in Newport had the highest three-year graduation rate with 42.4 percent of the 764 students who entered that same semester.
The school has improved its retention rates through the years. Of the 150 students who enrolled in the fall 2013 semester, 91, or 60.7 percent, returned the next year compared with the 52.6 percent of the 194 students who enrolled in fall 2012, data show.
This fall, though, the community college is expecting 35 fewer students, documents show. The college is home to many first-generation students, Bobbitt said Friday. On top of that, economics come into play, he said.
"It's not just can you afford school," Bobbitt said. "It's can you afford school and child care and food on the table. It's a consequence of poverty in the area but also unemployment in the Delta. It's not just finding the money for school. It's finding the money to live while you go to school."
In his application letter, Pinchback said he is a firm believer in the community college culture.
"And it is because of this, I consider that one of our most important jobs in establishing ease of access to the students and their retention," he wrote in the letter. "The technological and informational challenge to access these students continues to change and one that I believe I can be part of the team to make PCCUA more proactive than reactive."
Pinchback -- and all higher education leaders -- are trying to accomplish Herculean tasks to raise those rates, Bobbitt said. But Bobbitt said he was confident Pinchback will form a strategic plan after hearing from those in the trenches at the two-year school.
"My advice to him was: You need to hit the ground listening," Bobbitt said, adding that Pinchback was a good listener. "He has a keen appreciation and passion to help students in that area succeed. It's part of his fundamental passion."
Metro on 06/13/2015