Kevin Hall Named Associate Dean for College of Engineering

University Relations

Kevin Hall

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Kevin Hall, University Professor of civil engineering and associate dean for research, has been named associate dean for academics in the College of Engineering.

His appointment is effective Aug. 1. Hall succeeds Norm Dennis, who will retire effective July 31.

As associate dean, Hall will have programmatic and financial oversight of all college academic programs, including on-line programs, in coordination with the college fiscal officer. He will provide oversight of academic engineering facilities, and oversight of all academic programs staff operations within the dean's office.

Within the college, Hall will be the primary contact for ABET, university academic program reviews, the Higher Learning Commission accreditation and all external academic reporting. ABET accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology at the associate, bachelor's and master's degree levels. Hall will also serve as an ex-officio member of all major college-level committees.

Hall joined the Department of Civil Engineering as an assistant professor in 1993. He was promoted to associate professor in 1997, full professor in 2002 and university professor in 2020. He served as head of the Department of Civil Engineering from 2005-2016.

Hall also serves as executive director of the Mack-Blackwell Transportation Center and interim director of the High Density Electronics Center, or HiDEC. He is a member of the U of A faculty senate. In 2017-2018, he served as chair of the faculty senate.

As associate dean for research, Hall oversaw research and graduate missions to promote and advance scholarship, facilitate multidisciplinary research activities, and articulate and implement the research vision for the College of Engineering.

"I am extremely excited about this appointment, as Dr. Hall brings a wealth of experience and tremendous passion to this position," Dean Kim Needy said. "Dr. Hall's experience as an administrator, department head, and faculty member gives him a unique understanding of academic affairs. I'm looking forward to his leadership in this important area of our college."

"It is both an honor and a privilege to serve as the associate dean for academics in the College of Engineering," Hall said. "I look forward to working with our amazingly talented faculty, staff, and students to ensure our programs, in all forms and at all levels, prepare future generations of engineers to address the challenges facing us in  the 21st century."

In 1986 and 1990, respectively, Hall earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering from the University of Arkansas. He received his Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Illinois in 1993.

Kevin Hall holds the Walter E. Hicks and Blossom Russell Hicks Professorship for Infrastructure Engineering.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.