The academic dean at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service has been named as the school’s interim dean.
Susan Hoffpauir, a professor and the academic dean at the Clinton School, will lead the master's degree program until a new dean is named, UA System President Donald Bobbitt said Wednesday.
“Dr. Hoffpauir has a wide array of experience and an impressive list of academic and leadership accomplishments during her career and is a natural fit to help lead this unique institution while our search is completed,” Bobbitt said in a statement.
She replaces James L. “Skip” Rutherford III, who announced his retirement in September 2020. His retirement becomes effective June 30. Rutherford has led the UA Clinton School since 2006.
Hoffpauir — who at one time served as associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and academic policy at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock — joined the Clinton School in 2011.
School officials said her accomplishments include leading a curriculum review and revision effort, conducting the school’s first self-study, and writing the 10-year program review required by the Arkansas Division of Higher Education.
She facilitated the planning and development of the new online executive master of public service program, which began in March 2018, and she expanded the Clinton School’s community partnerships in Arkansas, nationally and internationally, the UA System office said in a news release.
Clinton School students work with partners on projects tied to curricular requirements. During Hoffpauir’s tenure, the school said, the Office of Field Services has built a policy and curricular infrastructure that supports partnerships with 44 international host organizations on six continents.
At UALR, Hoffpauir led the institution’s regional accreditation review by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, and she designed and established the bachelor of social work program, which earned full accreditation in 2005.
Hoffpauir has a bachelor’s degree in social welfare from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She earned a master of social work degree from Michigan State University in East Lansing, and later received a master of arts in developmental psychology and a Ph.D. in social work and social science from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.