Fulbright College Welcomes Two Associate Deans

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Charles H. Adams, associate dean of academic affairs and international programs in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, will step down from this position after a 14-year tenure. In his place the college will gain two interim associate deans.

Yvette Murphy-Erby, director of the School of Social Work, has been appointed interim associate dean for academics effective Sept. 6. Marcia Shobe, professor of social work, will serve as the school's director during Murphy-Erby's absence.

In an effort to accommodate the tremendous growth in Fulbright College, Lynda Coon, professor of history, will also join the administrative staff. She will serve in an advisory capacity while on research leave during the fall semester and become interim associate dean beginning in January to help meet additional needs in academic affairs and administration.

"I am pleased that these two outstanding educators, researchers and administrators will be joining the Fulbright College dean's office," said Provost Sharon Gaber. "Dr. Coon and Dr. Muphy-Erby are proven leaders within their academic units, and I know they will bring the same expertise to the Fulbright College dean's office."

Before joining the University of Arkansas faculty in 2004, Murphy-Erby had almost 20 years of social work experience, focused primarily on child welfare issues. Prior to her appointment as the director of the School of Social Work in 2011, she served as the school's associate director and director of the bachelor in social work program.

Coon completed a five-year term as chair of the department of history in June. She is currently working on a new book on imagining Jesus in the Dark Ages (ca. 300-900). Her last book, Dark Age Bodies: Gender and Monastic Practice in the Early Medieval West was published in 2011. She has been at the university since 1990. 

Adams will serve as a professor in the college's department of English. He will also work with international educators across campus to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and initiatives.

"Dr. Adams has a long history with international education," said Todd Shields, dean of the Graduate School and International Education and interim dean of Fulbright College. "He has worked to enhance the university's 20-year partnership with Shimane University in Japan. He was also instrumental in expanding humanities offerings at the University of Arkansas Rome Center, a very successful program started by the Fay Jones School of Architecture in the 1980s."