Van Laningham Announces Retirement After 26-Year Career at the U of A

Russell Cothren

Kathy Van Laningham

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Kathy Mandrell Van Laningham, vice provost for planning at the University of Arkansas since 2000, has announced she will be retiring as of May 31.

Van Laningham joined the university in 1992 as assistant to the vice chancellor for academic affairs, after working four years as senior assistant for education in Gov. Bill Clinton’s administration.

She was already very familiar with the U of A, having earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1974 and her doctorate in 1985. She received her master’s degree in English from Sam Houston State University in 1976.

During her 26-year career at the U of A, Van Laningham has worked for Chancellors Dan Ferritor (twice), John White, Dave Gearhart and Joe Steinmetz; she served in the offices of seven provosts: Don Pederson, Dan Bennett (interim), Bob Smith, Bob McMath (interim), Sharon Gaber, Ashok Saxena, and Jim Coleman.

“Kathy has had an extraordinary career with the University of Arkansas, playing so many pivotal roles in moving the university forward,” said Coleman, executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost. “Although I have only had the pleasure of working with Kathy for a little more than a year, her extensive experience, strong skill set, institutional knowledge, and personal demeanor have made her an exceptional partner as I have adapted to the provost role. She has been an invaluable asset to the Office of Academic Affairs and the entire Razorback community and will be deeply missed.”

Van Laningham directed the Office for Institutional Research from 1995-2011, restructuring the operation to provide administrators with modern data analytics so they could make decisions based on actual, accurate and timely information. She said that “convincing Gary Gunderman to take the job as director of the office” is one of her biggest accomplishments.

Van Laningham used her experience in state government to represent the U of A in efforts to restructure Arkansas’ higher education funding model; help monitor the legislative sessions; and provide answers to questions from legislators, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the UA Board of Trustees.

She also worked with SEC colleagues to create the Academic Leadership Development Program, which has given many U of A faculty the training to become excellent leaders on campus. She served as liaison and campus director for eight of the program’s 10 years. It is currently managed through the SEC academic programs office.  

“I may be proudest of the work I did with different chancellors and provosts over a period of several years to help the public understand the importance of the New Arkansan Non-Resident Tuition Award Scholarship program,” Van Laningham said. “Legislators, board members and members of the media all had questions and concerns about the program, but we were able to provide the data and hard evidence to show the ways this program benefits both Arkansas and the university.”

Chancellor emeritus Dan Ferritor worked with Van Laningham when she was first hired, and again when he served as interim chancellor in 2015.

“Every once in a while, an organization finds someone who can do it all,” Ferritor said. “ For 26 years Kathy Van Laningham has taken on every challenge she could find. She took on the job of vice provost for planning during a time when the university experienced incredible growth in enrollment and construction. In her spare time, Kathy headed and participated in several prominent searches that always yielded the highest quality candidates and served on more committees than a person should ever have to serve on. And she did it with a smile, gaining friends and admirers across the campus. The University of Arkansas will miss Kathy for all these reasons and just for being a good person.” 

“My position in Academic Affairs has offered more challenges and opportunities over the past 26 years than I ever imagined,” Van Laningham said. “I’ve been so happy to have the chance to give back to the institution that changed my life in ways I could never have expected. I’m looking forward to retirement, but I will miss my colleagues in this office and across the campus. I’m confident they will keep doing great work in the future.”

Coleman plans to develop a position description in the coming weeks, “drawn from the foundation created by the excellent work that Kathy has done,” and then begin a search to fill her position.