Rhonda Houser Returns to U of A, Joins Bumpers College as HR Partner

Photo Submitted

Rhonda Houser

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Rhonda Houser, a previous U of A employee, has returned to campus as a human resources partner for the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

She rejoined the campus community in July on temporary assignment to assist with U of A's COVID-19 response and joined Bumpers College on Nov. 30. Her primary responsibilities are supporting recruitment and retention efforts, including consulting with departments to efficiently and effectively facilitate searches, recruitment and candidate selection processes. She is also assisting in implementing an on-boarding program for college faculty and staff.

In addition, Houser is helping with employee relations issues, interpretation regarding HR policies and procedures, and supporting the transition to Workday and the Human Capital Management (HCM) business processes.

Before returning to campus, she served as director of HR at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art for 10 years. Her team was responsible for all HR functions, including staffing, benefits, performance management, payroll and employee relations. She was also responsible for the Volunteer Services Department. When the museum opened in 2011, it had more than 900 active volunteers and still has more than 500.

Houser worked at the U of A as director of employment and classification/compensation from 1985-2000 and at Staffmark as vice president for administration from 2000-02.

She was the owner of HR Factor in Bentonville from 2003-07, and HR director and minority owner of FirstStaff Staffing in Fayetteville from 2007-09.

FirstStaff Staffing, a temporary staffing company, included eight branches and a corporate office of 30 internal staff, and at one point more than 800 temporary associates. HR Factor, a consulting and employment firm, aided companies in implementing, developing or supplementing strategic HR policies, procedures, programs and employment functions.

Houser is a member of the Northwest Arkansas Human Resources Association and the Society for Human Resource Management, received Professional Human Resource Certification in 1998 and served as an adjunct public personnel management instructor for five years.

She earned her bachelor's degree in business administration and her master's in education, both from the U of A.

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 fewer than 3% of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A 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.