FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas Provost Jim Coleman has appointed Dean Kim Needy as interim vice provost for research and innovation, effective Jan. 3, 2018.

Needy has served as dean of the Graduate School and International Education since 2014 and will continue in that role.

“I am pleased to announce that Dr. Needy will be guiding us through this transition and co-chairing the search committee to help us identify an excellent new vice provost for research and innovation,” said Coleman. “She is an experienced leader with a strong connection to the campus and to our research program.”

Needy joined the U of A Department of Industrial Engineering as department head in 2008. She is a respected scholar in the fields of engineering management and engineering economic analysis.

“It is my honor to serve the university in this pivotal time,” said Needy. “Dr. Jim Rankin has provided excellent leadership and support for research at the University of Arkansas, and I am committed to keeping this momentum going.”

Trish Starks, associate professor of history, will serve with Needy as co-chair of the search committee for a permanent successor to Rankin, who has served as vice provost for research and innovation since 2010. An internal search will be conducted in early spring 2018, and Needy will resume her focus on the Graduate School and International Education when the search is complete.

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.