Alice Griffin to Retire After 20 Years at the University

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Alice Griffin, director of curriculum review and program assessment.

Alice Griffin, director of curriculum review and program assessment, is planning to retire on June 30, after serving the U of A for almost 20 years.

A retirement celebration will be held in Griffin's honor from 3-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 13, in the Honors College Study Lounge in Gearhart Hall, room 130. Faculty and staff are invited to drop in during this time as their schedules allow. University leadership will provide brief remarks at 3:30 p.m. to thank Griffin for her service to the university.

"During the past 20 years, I have worked closely with Alice in a number of different capacities," said Provost Terry Martin. "Her contributions to the university and oversight of our academic programs have been crucial in creating an environment on campus where both students and faculty succeed. I appreciate her dedication and commitment to our university for the past two decades. She will be greatly missed, and I wish her well in her retirement."

Griffin joined the U of A in 2004 as coordinator of advising and retention in the Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. In 2010, she became the student affairs coordinator for Bumpers College. She started her current role as director of curriculum review and program assessment in 2014.

In the past 20 years at the university, Griffin has designed student retention plans, coordinated student orientation programs, partnered with community colleges to develop transfer articulation programs, monitored student degree progress, managed academic advising programs, worked with faculty on student success initiatives, coordinated the review process for more than 250 academic programs and helped develop a comprehensive dataset on student learning outcomes. She has worked closely with academic leadership across campus and has served the Undergraduate Council, Graduate Council and the Faculty Senate with their curriculum initiatives. Griffin has also served as chair of the Academic Advising Council, as well as participated in other leadership roles on campus.

In addition to Griffin's current role at the university, she is a member of the Arkansas Association for the Assessment of Collegiate Learning and a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission. She was nominated as a U of A Extraordinary Woman by the Chancellor's Commission on Women in 2018 and received the Golden Tusk Award in 2012 from the U of A Division of Student Affairs.

Prior to joining the U of A, Griffin served in similar roles at Northwest Arkansas Community College, the University of the Ozarks, Arkansas State University–Beebe, Hendrix College and the University of Central Arkansas (UCA). She recently was selected to the UCA Alumni Board of Directors, and she has previously served as president of the Arkansas Academic Advising Network, as well as president of the Arkansas College Personnel Association. Griffin is also an active member of the Women's Giving Circle and serves on the board of Millwood Christian Church.

She received a Doctor of Education in higher education from the U of A, a Master of Science in counseling/student personnel services in higher education from the University of Central Arkansas and a Bachelor of Science in rehabilitation psychology from Central Missouri State University.

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 few 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.