Karla Fisher

New chancellor ready to continue path of excellence at ASU-Beebe

Karla Fisher, the new chancellor of Arkansas State University-Beebe, stands by the new arch at the center of the campus. Fisher earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, and began her career as a technical writer and publications coordinator. Only later did she discover her love for college administration.
Karla Fisher, the new chancellor of Arkansas State University-Beebe, stands by the new arch at the center of the campus. Fisher earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, and began her career as a technical writer and publications coordinator. Only later did she discover her love for college administration.

It’s easy to do your job when you have a great staff and happy customers. At least that’s what Karla Fisher said about her new job as chancellor of Arkansas State University-Beebe.

“All of the students I have met with, all they can do is talk about how much they love ASU-Beebe and how much they want to be here,” she said. “And what has impressed me the most beyond how much the students love this college is the remarkable senior staff, and the folks we have below them to support them are equally remarkable. I’ve seen so much talent on this campus in just two weeks.”

Fisher’s first day as chancellor was Jan. 18, following the retirement of longtime chancellor Eugene McKay. Fisher has spent time meeting faculty and students, visiting all of the ASU-Beebe campuses and introducing herself to the community.

Growing up in Oklahoma, Fisher did not always know she would end up in education administration. After graduating from high school, she attended St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with an emphasis in writing in 1991. Her first job out of college was as a technical writer and publications coordinator for Karta Technology.

Fisher shifted focus and worked in communications, business development and marketing, and she returned to her alma mater to earn a Master of Arts degree in communication in 1997.

“I came out of the corporate world. I didn’t start thinking I would be in education,” she said. “As soon as I got my master’s, I started teaching adjunct. I’ve taught at pretty much every level, from concurrent high school all the way up through doctorate-level classes.”

Her first job stepping out of the corporate world into the education field was at Salt Lake Community College in Utah.

“It wasn’t because it was in education,” she said of taking the job as director of institutional marketing at Salt Lake Community College. “When I think back to that, it was just because the job was really interesting. I love to build things. I love to expand programs, and this job was going to allow me to build an entire new division for that college.”

Though it was a marketing job that brought her to Salt Lake Community College, Fisher said her mentality shifted, and she embraced the product she was hired to sell.

“I fell in love with the mission of community colleges. I started teaching there and fell in love with it. I thought, ‘If I’m going to spend the rest of my career in this industry, I need to get a lot smarter at it.’ So I went to the University of Texas at Austin to get a Ph.D. in community-college leadership.”

Fisher said her doctorate program was a “fantastic experience” in which she learned about college-administration duties and the special circumstances — such as financing, politics and staff management — that are unique for community-college settings.

Before starting at ASU-Beebe, Fisher was at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas, for 51/2 years. She served there as vice president of academics, along with a short stint as interim president.

Fisher said that in her time as interim president at Butler Community College, she had to facilitate a lot of belt-tightening. She said she felt she had the community connections to get the school through that season, but it was important to hand over control so the school could move on with a new president after that time.

“I chose not to apply for that job [as permanent president] because it just wasn’t my college,” she said. “ASU-Beebe is my college. Every job is a very special fit.”

While Fisher was looking for her next step, she got a call from ASU System President Chuck Welch, who told her that several people had told him she would be a great fit for ASU-Beebe. Fisher said the fact that she has a business background seems to position her to be successful at ASU-Beebe, and she hopes she can apply her knowledge to the school’s current success.

“I think one of the biggest challenges for people in senior leadership is to constantly be reminded, and to remind ourselves, that it’s not about us,” she said. “It’s not about me. It’s about where this institution can go and what it can do for students and for the people who work here.”

Fisher said she has been impressed by the students, faculty and staff at ASU-Beebe. The enthusiasm on campus is exciting, she said, and student success is high. In fact, the school was recently named in the top 10 percent of community colleges in the country by Aspen Prize for Community College, for which she applauds McKay and the staff.

“I used to work for a national research project, so I’ve been on a lot of college campuses, and typically, when you go in, you work on student retention and completion,” Fisher said. “ASU-Beebe has remarkable student-success numbers. We have other things to work on — every institution does — but we don’t have to worry about that. The quality of the product we put out is great.”

Fisher said she is taking time to get to know the school, but she also has ideas she wouldn’t mind seeing implemented at ASU-Beebe. One example is a program in high schools that prepares students for college or careers.

“We did this in Kansas and called it Early College Academies,” she said. “It’s a two-year cohort program where students have a unique experience in health sciences, in public safety, etc. I’d love to take a look at Early College Academies and help more students transition out of high school and into either workforce or higher ed in an accelerated pathway. Too often, I think high-schoolers get to senior year and get senioritis, so I think ASU-Beebe can work with our K-12 partners and see how we can be useful to them.”

While she has ideas for the future, Fisher said she is thankful for the foundation of success ASU-Beebe has already achieved, and she is eager to work alongside the staff to continue with that success.

“The longer and harder a person works to get to where they are, they can become self-focused, but I don’t see that here,” Fisher said. “I see people who are really focused on the quality of the education that we’re putting out and on truly transforming the lives of students.”

Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansas online.com.

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