Calvin White Jr., a native Arkansan who is an associate dean at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has been selected as the next executive vice chancellor and provost at Arkansas State University, Chancellor Todd Shields announced Thursday.
White’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the ASU System board of trustees, which is next scheduled to meet in June. If approved, White — who would be the first Black person to serve as provost at A-State — would officially begin his duties July 1.
“I welcome, with great enthusiasm, this opportunity to work with the excellent faculty, staff, students, and community of Arkansas State,” White said in a news release from the university. “I look forward to the exciting challenge ahead, and to continuing to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of A-State’s thriving research, academic programs, and overall vital intellectual campus life.” White, 49, joined UA-Fayetteville in 2007 as an assistant professor, was promoted to associate professor in 2013, and has served in campus leadership roles such as program director and department chair — as well as on strategic projects focused on budget preparation and oversight, assessment and accreditation, international education, fundraising and strategic planning — before ascending to the post of associate dean of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, according to A-State. He directly oversees several academic areas, numerous interdisciplinary programs, and six centers, including the Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History and the Blair Center for Southern Politics and Society.
“As a native Arkansan, this is an exceptional opportunity to contribute as a leader to research, innovation, and discovery that directly improves the lives of all Arkansans,” White said in the university’s news release. “My entire academic career has been focused on the overall intellectual growth of students, colleagues, peers, the institution, community, and state.” White, who previously served as chair of the department of history and the director of the African and African American Studies Program, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history at the University of Central Arkansas before finishing his Ph.D. in history at the University of Mississippi, according to A-State.
White served as a fellow in the SEC Academic Leadership Program and earned several teaching, advising, and service awards — including the Fulbright Master Teacher Award and the Dr. John and Mrs. Lois Imhoff Award for Outstanding Teaching and Student Mentorship — and he’s been inducted into the UA’s Teaching Academy and served as a Gilder-Lehrman Fellow at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City’s Harlem.
White would be the second person in a leadership role at the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences to move east to Jonesboro for a promotion in less than a year, as Shields was dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences before accepting A-State’s chancellor position last summer.
“I’m well acquainted with Calvin’s work from our previous time together, and I’m looking forward to everyone at A-State getting to know what an outstanding administrator and colleague he is,” Shields said in the news release. “In higher education as a whole, the road ahead will be demanding, and Arkansas State — with the selection of White as our next provost — is better positioned to meet these challenges head-on.” White, an author of multiple books, was also an instructor at the University of Mississippi and UA-Pulaski Technical College before moving to Fayetteville, according to A-State. A native of Stuttgart, White and his wife of 21 years, Shatara Porchia-White, have one child, daughter Monroe Adeline Catherine, 10.
White was selected over two other finalists, Mark Clarke and João Sedycias. All three men visited A-State to meet with the search committee, other on-campus groups and members of the community, as well as deliver public presentations.
Clarke is associate provost for faculty development and faculty affairs at the University of Houston, the latest of several administrative posts at that university, including associate vice chancellor for technology transfer, according to A-State. He completed undergraduate studies in biological sciences at England’s Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), followed by a graduate study at Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute in Manchester, and his M.I. in pharmacology and Ph.D. in cell biology and microchemistry are also both from MMU.
Sedycias started his teaching career at California State University at Sacramento before serving as department chair at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Essex County College in Newark, N.J., and Federal University of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, and his latest role is dean of the William J. Maxwell College of Arts and Sciences at New Jersey City University, according to A-State. He completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Spanish at the State University of New York at Buffalo, then added a master’s degree in English from SUNY-Buffalo before finishing his Ph.D. in comparative literature there.
“I am extremely excited that Calvin is joining our team at Arkansas State, [and] I am also appreciative of the incredible work our advisory committee put into finding the right leader for this pivotal role,” Shields said in the news release. “Their enthusiastic support and feedback was that we should offer the position to Calvin. We cannot wait to welcome him to Jonesboro and to the Pack.” White will take over for Len Frey, who has been interim provost since January. Frey, who was not a candidate for the position beyond his interim appointment, is A-State’s executive vice chancellor for finance and administration and chief operating officer.
In December, A-State’s previous provost, Alan Utter — who was provost since 2019 — announced his intention to return to teaching in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Sport Sciences, and Shields balanced provost duties with his chancellor work and leading the national search for the new provost until he appointed Frey the next month.
As provost, Utter made $276,400 annually, according to A-State. White’s contract, which would run through July 1, 2026, includes a starting annual salary of $300,000.
The provost — who also serves as an executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and research — is the chief academic officer of the university, providing primary administrative leadership, direction and evaluation for all academic activities and faculty affairs; in that role, the provost reports directly to the chancellor and supervises academic administrators, professional staff and support staff, according to the university.
The provost oversees ASU’s colleges of agriculture; engineering and computer science; education and behavioral science; liberal arts and communication; the Neil Griffin College of Business; nursing and health professions; sciences and mathematics; University College; and the graduate school. Other responsibilities include accreditation and assessment; the Arkansas Biosciences Institute; Campus Queretaro in Mexico; heritage sites; institutional research; the library; military science; the museum; research and technology transfer; and maintaining the university’s Carnegie Classification Research 2 classification.
White was selected over two other finalists, Mark Clarke and João Sedycias. All three men visited A-State to meet with the search committee, other on-campus groups and members of the community, as well as deliver public presentations.