Noah Pittman Promoted to Honors College Associate Dean

Russell Cothren

Noah Pittman

Noah Pittman, who has served as Honors College assistant dean of enrollment since 2014, has been named associate dean of enrollment, effective July 1. Under his leadership, the Honors College has seen a 28 percent increase in new freshman enrollment, and the caliber of students applying for fellowships has continued to climb. The incoming class of Honors College Fellows, for example, boasts an average high school grade point average of 4.24 and an average composite ACT score of 34.23, making them one of the most competitive groups of fellows to date.

Pittman has played a key role in launching Honors College seminars on cutting edge topics. He taught the first Honors College Forum, Tracking Trump and Hillary, in 2016, followed by a series of courses focusing on politics during a turbulent era, including Midterm Elections, Trump 365, Presidential Speeches, and forthcoming, Campaign 2020 and Partisanship. Pittman also assisted Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz in teaching the popular "Flagship U!" forum, where Honors College undergraduates learn the inner workings of running a large state flagship university. 

"It has been my pleasure to work with Dean Pittman both in the classroom and in recruiting high-performing students from across the state who are improving the U of A's retention rate," said Chancellor Joe Steinmetz. "My experience and that of the provost with Noah this spring in the UARK Leaders program has only deepened my appreciation for the sensitivity and strategic approach he brings to his role at the Honors College."

In his new role Pittman will develop strategies to further increase the Honors College's market reach and, in partnership with Enrollment Services, will plan new student enrollment strategies, including virtual opportunities for prospective students interested in learning about the Honors College. Pittman was part of a team that helped launch the Honors College Path Program in 2014, a recruitment and mentoring program for high-achieving students from underrepresented populations. He will build on the success of this effort by designing and implementing new strategies to increase student diversity within the Honors College. Pittman also oversees the student success staff within the college, which develops innovative programs for honors students. Pittman will also continue to assist Dean Lynda Coon with curricular development for the college. 

"Noah Pittman has had an absolutely stellar run in recruiting, retaining and educating our honors scholars," said Honors College Dean Lynda Coon. "I look forward to working with him to take our recruitment and retention efforts to the next level. And crucially for the new strategic plan we are developing, I look to Noah to help us recruit and welcome a more diverse group of honors students to campus."

Pittman has been actively involved in honors education, making numerous conference presentations at the state, regional and national level on behalf of the Honors College. He is active in the College Board, serving as an AP Seminar exam reader and participating in the 2014-15 Enrollment Leadership Academy cohort for the Southwestern Region. He directed the Honors College AP Summer Institute, endorsed by the College Board, from 2014-19 and managed the transition of the institute to Enrollment Services this year. Pittman serves on committees within the National Collegiate Honors Council and the Southern Association of College Admission Counseling. He has published an entry on the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

Here at the University of Arkansas, Pittman was selected to participate in the UARK Leaders Program this past year and has served on the Provost's Enrollment Advisory Committee since 2017. He has also served on the Honors College Capital Campaign Committee and the Executive Committee of the Alpha of Arkansas chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Pittman received the Staff Gold Medal Award from the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards in 2016. The Arkansas Alumni Association also recognized his mentorship with honors students who were named Razorback Classics and Seniors of Significance in 2019.

Pittman earned a B.A. degree in political science, summa cum laude, from Rhodes College in 2009, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. At the University of Arkansas, he earned an M.Ed. degree in higher education leadership in 2011 and completed his Ph.D. in public policy in 2014. His dissertation, "Evaluating the Effects of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery on College Participation," received the William Miller Best Public Policy Dissertation Award.