Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, an assistant dean at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, has been named the top choice to become the next dean of the University of Arkansas System Clinton School of Public Service.
The hire must be approved by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees, which is set to meet Sept. 16-17.
The Clinton School holds a unique place in the UA System. The main campus is at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, and the school's focus is on graduate training in public policy and related issues.
UA System President Donald Bobbitt is recommending DeFrancesco Soto after a national search to replace Skip Rutherford, who retired at the end of June after serving as dean since 2006.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the way the search process was executed, evidenced first by the high quality of diverse candidates that showed interest in the position and furthered by the stellar group of finalists that visited the campus,” Bobbitt said in a statement Tuesday.
Two additional finalists had previously been announced: Lara M. Brown, professor and director of George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, and Mitchell B. Lerner, professor and director of Ohio State University's East Asian Studies Center.
The announcement comes after public records showed associates of former U.S. president Bill Clinton, the school's namesake, earlier in the search process presenting their own strongly-worded recommendations for leadership of the Clinton School.
Bruce Lindsey, a director on the Clinton Foundation’s board and counselor to the board’s chairman, Bill Clinton, back in April stated, "I have reviewed all of the applicants and, based on their cover letters and professional experience, don't believe any of them have the background, vision or understanding of the Clinton School and its role in the U of A system, to take the Clinton School to the next level or, more relevant, back to President Clinton's original vision,” according to written communication from Lindsey to Bobbitt released under the state's public disclosure law.
Lindsey, in a statement in July to the Democrat-Gazette, said that he wrote to Bobbitt seeking “to rethink the position" rather than circumvent the search process, presenting to Bobbitt the idea that a UA-Fayetteville dean, Todd Shields, could lead the Clinton School.
Lindsey, who represented the Clinton Foundation on a search committee for the dean position, in July said that the Clinton School would "be well-served by any of the three finalists."
Another Clinton associate, Marsha Scott, shared a "talking points" message to a board of trustees member, Cliff Gibson, which stated in part that "WJC and his team are prepared to lend support to the school if Todd is managing the process," a reference to Bill Clinton's full name of William Jefferson Clinton.
Scott in July said in an email that the "talking points were to provide context and background, and an outline for a path to success for the Clinton School," with "no promises implied or otherwise."
Bobbitt on Tuesday called DeFrancesco Soto “the right fit to continue growing and developing the unique school’s academic programs, as well as its continued community outreach and mission to make an impact in Arkansas and around the world.”
DeFrancesco Soto is expected to take on the role of dean beginning on Jan. 3, according to Tuesday’s announcement.
Susan Hoffpauir, the school’s academic dean, has been serving as interim dean since Rutherford’s departure.
Rutherford earned a yearly salary of $189,000, said Nate Hinkel, a spokesman for the UA System. Hinkel said Rutherford's yearly salary did not change during his time as dean.
"I understand he refused any salary increases," Hinkel said in an email.
Hinkel said DeFrancesco Soto is set to earn $250,000 annually.
“At this moment in our country and world, public service is vital to creating a space for people to engage with one another and find common ground," DeFrancesco Soto said in a statement, adding that she was looking forward "to building even more capacity for the school to strive toward President Clinton’s vision of a graduate program that builds bridges through public service.”
DeFrancesco Soto is an assistant dean for civic engagement and a senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin's LBJ school, named after former U.S. president Lyndon Johnson. She is also a faculty fellow at the university's Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, whose mission is "to facilitate anti-racism research and programming dedicated to reshaping policies that lead to the end of racial inequality," according to the center's website.
DeFrancesco Soto earned a bachelor's degree in political science and Latin American studies from the University of Arizona. She earned a master's and doctoral degree in political science from Duke University.