FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Isabel Whitehead, a member of the Dean's Office staff as a graduate assistant and in other roles, has been named international and honors programs coordinator for U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Reporting to Lisa Wood, assistant dean for international and honors programs, Whitehead's responsibilities include teaching and advising, honors student programming and recruiting, advising honors student leadership groups, researching, and honors administrative and service duties. Whitehead is also coordinating international program promotion and recruitment.

From Houston, Whitehead earned her master's degree in agricultural and extension education from the U of A in 2018 after earning her bachelor's degree in animal science with an emphasis in agricultural education from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, in 2016. She has been an adjunct instructor in the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology since 2018.

"I am so delighted to have Isabel join the Dean's Office staff in this role of coordinator," said Wood. "Isabel embraces the mission of Bumpers College to prepare students for successful careers through impactful experiences, such as those provided through our honors and international programs. I have had the pleasure of working with Isabel for nearly three years, and I know the talents and experience she brings to this position. The Bumpers honors and international programs will expand in quality and scope under her guidance."   

"I am thrilled to move into the position coordinating honors and international programs," Whitehead said. "I attended a small university with a close-knit agricultural college, so I value the family atmosphere that Bumpers provides. It is an honor that I was able to transition into an instructor role after graduating from the University of Arkansas with my master's degree and to now become a full-time staff member in the Dean's Office. It means a lot to me that I can continue contributing to Bumpers College because the faculty within AECT truly shaped me as a young professional and educator." 

Whitehead is identifying weekly, monthly and annual goals and objectives for honors and international programs, serving on the International Program Committee, coordinating email and social media communications, representing Bumpers College at the annual Study Abroad Fair and other events, managing and tracking the faculty-led grant and returning program applications, assisting in selecting the college's international program student mentors, coordinating international program efforts with U of A's Office of Study Abroad and conducting research.

"I am passionate about increasing the accessibility of undergraduate research and study abroad opportunities - these experiences add value to students' educations and truly make a lasting impression on one's future," Whitehead said. "My goal within the international programs office is to highlight existing faculty-led study abroad programs, international internship and research opportunities, and work directly with Dr. Lisa Wood to increase funding opportunities to make studying abroad a reality for as many students as we can once international travel is safe to resume. In the meantime we are piloting virtual program options.

"Within honors, I am focused on demystifying the process of research and creative work, and refining our honors curriculum for first-year students to instill a sense of community and shared pursuit of excellence right from the start," she said. 

In addition to her adjunct instructor duties, Whitehead also served as the college's interim diversity and inclusion coordinator in 2019-20.

"My own experiences being mentored through undergraduate research projects directly influenced and empowered me to continue my education and ignited what is now a lifelong interest in research, so I love being able to guide students through those same stages now in my role as an instructor, and as an honors faculty mentor and committee member to multiple students," she said.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

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 2.7 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.