Randall Woods Named Dean Of UA’s Fulbright College

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- Dr. Randall B. Woods, interim dean of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas since July 1, 1999, has been appointed to the position permanently, effective immediately, Chancellor John A. White announced today.

Woods, 55, who also is the John A. Cooper Professor of American History (since 1984) and Distinguished Professor of History (since 1995), takes the helm of the largest academic entity at the University. With 19 academic departments, the Fulbright College enrolls 40 percent of the more than 15,000 students who attend the University.

Woods was selected from a field of four candidates. They were: Charles W. White, dean of liberal arts at Florida Atlantic University; Linda P. Brady, chair and professor of the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology; and Kyle Perkins, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at Southern Illinois University, who later withdrew his name from consideration.

Woods’s salary will be $175,000 annually, effective July 1.

"We are very pleased Dr. Woods has agreed to serve as dean," White said. "His scholarly record, his demonstrated administrative and leadership abilities, and the respect and admiration he enjoys from his colleagues make him the ideal choice to lead the Fulbright College.

"His leadership is key to realizing our vision of a nationally competitive, student-centered research university serving Arkansas and the world," White added. "We have high expectations and the fullest confidence that the best days for the Fulbright College await us."

Woods said, "I am honored to serve as dean, particularly during this important period for the University of Arkansas. During the past year, as interim dean, I saw the enormous potential that exists within the college to compete at the highest levels. I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the Fulbright College in moving the University into the upper ranks of the nation’s publicly supported research universities."

Woods joined the University of Arkansas faculty in 1971, after earning bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. He served as associate dean of the Fulbright College from 1979-82.

His most recent book is J. William Fulbright, Vietnam, and the Search for a Cold War Foreign Policy (Cambridge University Press, 1998).

His earlier Fulbright: A Biography (Cambridge University Press, 1995) won the 1996 Robert H. Ferrell Prize for best book on American foreign relations and the 1996 Virginia Ledbetter prize for the best book on Southern studies. It also was nominated for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

He is currently working on a biography of former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and later this year will see the publication of Quest for Identity: A History of Postwar America (Harcourt-Brace).

He is the author of five other books and scores of scholarly articles and book chapters on international relations, U.S. History, U.S. diplomatic history, and African-American history.

Woods’s appointment was recommended to White by Dan Bennett, interim vice chancellor of academic affairs, with the concurrence of Bob Smith, who will succeed Bennett on July 1 as vice chancellor of academic affairs and provost (the University’s chief academic officer).

"Not only has Dean Woods done a superb job of leadership this past year in his interim post, but he also was clearly the strongest candidate in the field," Bennett said. "The added benefit is that he knows the Fulbright College and the University inside out, and he is a nationally respected scholar whose academic reputation will add prestige and credibility to his talents as an academic leader."

Bob Smith said, "As incoming provost, I am most pleased that Dr. Woods has accepted the post. The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences represents the core component of our vision of the University. What better person could we find than a scholar-teacher-administrator of the caliber of Dr. Woods to serve as dean? The added bonus for the University is that the new dean also happens to be the principal biographer of the late Senator for whom the College is named."

Woods was a National Endowment for the Humanities Senior Fellow in 1981 and has continued to stay active with the NEH, most recently serving on its dissertation grant panel.

He also has served the Fulbright Exchange Program as a member of the American History Selection Committee (1991-94). He also was a Fellow of the Atlantic Council Conference for Academic Associates, Brussels, Belgium, in 1985.

At the University of Arkansas, Woods received the Alumni Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching and Research in 1994 and also the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy Achievement Award.