Dean Victoria M. DeFrancesco Soto has announced members of the inaugural Dean's Advisory Board for the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.
The 21-member board is composed of leaders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, according to a news release from the Clinton School, which is based in Little Rock.
The board includes three ex officio members: former President Bill Clinton, Dean DeFrancesco Soto and Bruce R. Lindsey, a long-time adviser to President Clinton.
Lindsey is also counselor to the chair of the board for the Clinton Foundation. Former President Clinton is the chair of the Clinton Foundation board.
Donna E. Shalala, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, will serve as the Advisory Board's inaugural chair. She is currently Trustee Professor of Political Science and Health Policy at the University of Miami.
Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater, who grew up in Marianna, will also serve on the board. He is a partner with Squire Patton Boggs, an international law firm.
"I'm excited to see a blend of old friends and new faces serving on the Clinton School Dean's Advisory Board," said President Clinton. "The board brings together a diverse group of professionals from across the country who are leaders in their respective sectors. Each member will bring their own unique insights and will provide critical counsel and support as the Clinton School of Public Service continues to grow and find new ways to expand its impact."
"This is an incredibly diverse group that reflects public service in action, including leaders from the worlds of law, medicine, technology, higher education and government," said DeFrancesco Soto.
"Each Advisory Board member offers a unique perspective on how to support the Clinton School of Public Service as it continues to grow," said Lindsey. "I applaud Dr. DeFrancesco Soto for bringing together such a distinguished group."
Last year, while a search was underway to replace founding Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford, Lindsey expressed some concern about the applicants. Lindsey represented the Clinton Foundation on the Clinton School dean search committee.
"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." Lindsey wrote in an April 19, 2021, letter to UA System President Donald Bobbitt. Lindsey went on to say that he was "not sure the Clinton School could survive a bad choice."
Lindsey wrote that he, Bill Clinton and a Clinton Foundation executive believed there was one person who "could take the Clinton School where it needs to go, and that's Todd Shields."
But Shields wasn't one of three finalists named in the search for a Clinton School dean. All three finalists were from out of state.
Shields, who has been dean of UA's Fulbright College since 2014, recently accepted a job as chancellor at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
Bobbitt, in a statement last year, said he didn't reply in writing to Lindsey's letter.
"I did, however, have a conversation with him explaining the high quality of our candidate pool at that time and my confidence that we would continue to attract top-notch individuals to consider the position. I believe the high quality of our three finalists reflects that," Bobbitt said.
DeFrancesco Soto, who was then assistant dean for civic engagement at the University of Texas at Austin's LBJ School of Public Affairs, was one of those three finalists for the Clinton School dean position at the time.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained Lindsey's letter through an Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request.
Responding to a question from the Democrat-Gazette, Lindsey said his letter was about the candidates' unfamiliarity with the Clinton School's founding and purpose, citing a document from 2004 that he said described the Clinton School as "designed in partnership" with other UA System campuses and also as "one component of the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Center" and "the academic arm for many of the President's public policy initiatives."
"All of the major applicants for the deanship were from out of state with no knowledge of this history," Lindsey said, going on to say that Shields "had both the knowledge of the Clinton School and of the U of A system to restore this original vision."
Another Clinton associate, Marsha Scott, sent a "talking points" message to a board of trustees member, Cliff Gibson, which stated in part that Clinton and his team were "prepared to lend support to the school if Todd is managing the process."
Scott, a UA project specialist who served in the Clinton-era White House, wrote to Gibson that the Clinton School "is seen as failing," blaming Bobbitt.
In July 2021, Scott said in an email to the Democrat-Gazette 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."
After DeFrancesco Soto was named the new dean, Bobbitt called her "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."
According to Wednesday's news release, members of the Advisory Board will provide advice to the dean on strategic issues impacting the future of the Clinton School; act as ambassadors of the school and its students, faculty, and research; provide insights to the dean on how the Clinton School can enhance its mission of social impact; and assist in the recruitment of prospective students and the placement and advancement of Clinton School graduates.
"The Dean's Advisory Board will promote and support continuous growth in the quality and dynamism of the Clinton School's education, research, and outreach," according to the release. "Additionally, the board will assist with generating financial support for students, faculty and academic programs at the Clinton School.
Besides Shalala, Slater and the three ex-officio members, others on the Clinton School Dean's Advisory Board are:
• Gayatri Jane Agnew, senior director/head of Accessibility Center of Excellence at Walmart.
• Kris Engskov, co-founder & CEO of FHCC, an Arch Ventures-funded start-up company (in stealth mode) focused on building the next generation of mental and behavioral health care for seniors.
• James Filippatos, vice president for Global Public Policy with The Walt Disney Company.
• Aldo Flores-Quiroga, former deputy secretary of energy for hydrocarbons at Mexico's Ministry of Energy and senior adviser at FTI Consulting.
• Mark Gearan, director of the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School.
• Arturo Gonzalez, an economist who is director of advocacy and research at Meta Platforms Inc.
• Tara Hernandez, president of JCH Properties+, a real estate investment, consulting and development company that specializes in delivering urban lifestyle experiences through the conversion of underutilized real estate into "cool", creative spaces.
• Colette Honorable, former commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and partner with Reed Smith LLP's Energy and Natural Resources Group. Honarable spent part of her childhood growing up in Little Rock.
• Amy Kroll, founder and executive director of the LBJ Women's Campaign School.
• Dr. Dean Kumpuris, city director with the City of Little Rock.
• Linda Lopez, CEO with Impact Strategies, a consulting firm providing policy, strategy and advice to foundation executives, non-profit organizations, and government on best practices to invest resources to advance economic opportunity for marginalized communities, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and refugee resettlement.
• Spencer Lucker, director of employment engagement strategy for the Detroit Mayor's Workforce Development Board.
• Donna C. McLarty, co-founder, board chair emeritus and board member of Vital Voices Global Partnership. She is originally from Texarkana.
• Frank E. Ross III, vice president for student affairs at Butler University.
• Janet Walkow, executive director and chief technology officer for the Drug Dynamics Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.
• Alison Williams chief of staff for Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Information for this article was contributed by Jaime Adame of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.