FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Arkansas Division of Student Affairs has hired Ainsley Carry as the director of Student Support Services.

As Student Support Services director, Carry will oversee the operation and direct supervision of the Office of Student Support Services, where he will be responsible for supervising a staff and managing budgets. He will also be responsible for collecting data on student success, following federal guidelines, and overseeing program development. Services offered include tutoring, study skills training, career counseling and financial aid counseling.

"We are very excited to have Dr. Carry in the Division of Student Affairs," said Brian Hemphill, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs and dean of students. "He has a proven track record of assisting students for more than six years. His experience as a director, lecturer and advisor will enhance our Student Support Service operation at the University of Arkansas."

Carry will also maintain a close liaison with campus programs, community agencies and policy groups involved in assisting students in academic difficulty. He will prepare reports and program renewals as required by the U.S. Department of Education, document the effect of program activities on student performance and academic progress, and evaluate the effectiveness of the program and plan necessary modifications.

"I am honored to have been selected as director of Student Support Services," Carry said. "I am privileged to work for two universities in the most prestigious conference in the country, the Southeastern Conference. I look forward to being a part of a university that competes academically with every other university in the country by bringing in the top students year after year."

Carry has worked in academics since 1994 and before coming to the U of A, he served as the director of Multicultural Student Affairs at Southern Methodist University where he was responsible for the operation and direct supervision of the department of multicultural student affairs that included coordinators of African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American Student Services. At SMU, he has also served as lecturer in the Division of Continuing Education, where he taught leadership education to undergraduate students.

He was a coordinator of Instructional Services at the SMU Learning Enhancement Center and also spent three years at the University of Florida as an academic advisor, where he advised at-risk student athletes on course selection and academic skills and monitored academic progress, eligibility and degree completion status.

Carry has been a featured speaker at several professional conferences including Developing a Diversity Education Program at SMU and authored Academic Mentor Program and Manual, which he presented at the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletes in Orlando, Fl. He has also served on the SMU Chair of the President's Commission on the Status of Racial Minorities Objective, the SMU Student Retention Task Force and the Leadership Dallas Initiative.

Carry received his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Florida.