Dean's Chair Established in College of Education and Health Professions

Photo credit: Razorback Yearbook

Dean Hotz, circa 1937.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas is creating an endowed dean’s chair thanks to a gift of $1.5 million from Palmer and Marie Hotz of Foster City, California, and a $2 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation. The chair is the first of its kind in the college and is being named in honor of Palmer and Hartman Hotz’s father, Henry G. Hotz, who served as the college’s fourth dean for nine years.

“This remarkable gift from the Hotz family and the Walton Family Foundation will rightfully honor a very influential person in the history of the college,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “The College of Education and Health Professions is already the home to many nationally respected departments and programs, and this dean’s chair will allow them to continue that upward trajectory. We are very grateful to the Hotz family for this generous gift in recognition of their father’s legacy.”

The Henry G. Hotz Endowed Dean’s Chair will allow the College of Education and Health Professions to attract, recruit and retain a highly qualified individual to lead the college and provide the resources to further the dean’s contribution to teaching, research and public service. The holder will also be a full-time member of the University of Arkansas faculty.

The college’s current dean, Tom Smith, will be the first holder of the chair. Smith accepted a five-year appointment as dean in 2010 and most recently agreed to remain in the post for another year. Smith holds the rank of University Professor of special education.

The name of the new chair is fitting, given the Hotz family’s connection to the university and college. Henry G. Hotz graduated from Oshkosh State Normal College and received his doctorate from Columbia University. He came to the University of Arkansas as a professor of secondary education, having previously taught at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and was named acting dean of the College of Education in 1934 and dean in 1936. He spent the remainder of his career at the university, with the exception of two years as Arkansas state high school supervisor.

Dean Hotz’s son, Palmer, is a retired senior scientist and professor who received a Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Arkansas and his Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. His wife, Marie Brase Hotz, also holds a Ph.D. from Washington University. They have three children — Henry Brase “Hank” Hotz, Mary Palmer Hogen and Martha Hotz Vitaterna — as well as five grandchildren.

“I am pleased to be able to make this contribution to the University of Arkansas’ College of Education and Health Professions to honor my father’s contributions to education and administration as dean,” said Palmer Hotz. “I believe, as he did, that an educated public is the necessary keystone of a thriving democratic society, and I anticipate that this gift will help perpetuate the ideals which he embodied and taught.”

In addition to this gift, Palmer and Marie Hotz previously established the Hartman Hotz Lectures Series in honor of Palmer Hotz’s brother, who was an honor graduate of the university and later went on to earn a law degree from Yale before returning to Fayetteville to join the faculty in the School of Law. The series is sponsored by the School of Law and the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Because of their philanthropy, the Hotzes are recognized in the Towers of Old Main, a giving society for the university’s most generous benefactors. They are also members of the Chancellor’s Society, life members of the Arkansas Alumni Association and are recognized as Thoroughreds for their consecutive years of giving to the university.

About the College of Education and Health Professions: Preparing high-quality, effective teachers and educational leaders is a top priority of the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas. This emphasis on excellence dates back to the opening of the university in 1871, when a teacher-education program was established to help the state grow and thrive. The college is unique because it focuses on two very important areas — education and health. The college prepares teachers for all levels of public school, school administrators, school researchers and policymakers, and special education teachers. It also prepares adult educators and professionals for higher education. On the health side, the college prepares nurses, speech-language pathologists, health educators and administrators, recreation professionals, rehabilitation counselors and human performance researchers.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.