CONWAY -- Almost 40 people have applied to be the next president of the University of Central Arkansas.
Arkansans applying for the position include Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland, whose office is based in Conway, and Len Frey, an administrator at Arkansas State University at Jonesboro.
A UCA graduate, Hiland has been prosecutor for the 20th Judicial Circuit, which includes Faulkner, Van Buren and Searcy counties, since 2011. His past positions have included staff attorney for the Arkansas Public Service Commission and an aide to former Gov. Mike Huckabee. Hiland holds a doctor of law degree from the W.H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Hiland applied after being nominated by Sally Roden, a retired UCA professor and administrator, and Franklin Holbrook, president of the Faulkner County NAACP.
Frey has been vice chancellor for finance and administration at ASU since July 2012. He holds a doctorate in business administration from the University of Memphis. Frey previously was dean of ASU's College of Business. His previous positions have included work at Nicholls State University in Louisiana and business manager at Cardiology Associates of Northeast Arkansas in Jonesboro.
UCA President Tom Courtway has told trustees that he wants to step down from the position. Courtway, 63, was UCA's interim leader twice before being officially named president in December 2011.
UCA has contracted with Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search for $82,500 to help with the search process. The UCA Foundation is covering that cost, university spokesman Christina Madsen said. This figure does not include the costs for committee members traveling to Dallas for candidate interviews later; these costs also will be reimbursed by the foundation, she said.
A committee of faculty, staff, alumni and others will narrow the field of applicants to eight to 10 when it meets in a closed session Thursday, said Kelley Erstine, chief of staff and campus liaison to the committee.
Erstine said applications will continue to be accepted past last week's deadline.
Nancy Reese, a faculty representative on the search committee, told members of UCA's faculty senate Tuesday that "the thought is that the best candidates will wait until the last minute before that Thursday morning review because they do not want their names released to the public."
Reese said one of the reasons some applicants delay is that "they do not want their names to be released to the public because of their current jobs."
Committee members will gather in Dallas on Oct. 19-20 to interview the finalists and narrow the total to three or four, Erstine said previously. Those finalists will visit the UCA campus during the week starting Oct. 24 for separate interviews with the board of trustees, faculty, students and others, including community members.
Erstine said the board may call a special meeting late that week to vote on a presidential selection, but trustees may schedule a special meeting later.
"If at all possible, it is the desire to have someone [in office] by the first of the year," Erstine said.
UCA's general counsel, Warren Readnour, has said state law would allow UCA to pay the next president up to $307,330 in the current fiscal year and $343,750 in the next fiscal year.
Information for this article was contributed by Eric Besson of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
State Desk on 10/12/2016