The Office of the Provost recently named Deborah Korth the senior associate vice provost for student success and academic excellence, effective Sept. 16, 2024.

As senior associate vice provost, Korth will oversee academic support programs for students and faculty offered at the Student Success Center, located in the Cordia Harrington Center for Excellence (CORD).  She will also work with current Student Success Center leadership and academic units across campus to implement campus-wide student success initiatives and programs.

"For more than 20 years, Deb has been a strong advocate for our students and proven to be a vital resource for our faculty," said Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Jim Gigantino. "She has developed many programs to promote academic success for our campus community and is well-respected throughout the university. As senior associate vice provost, she will continue to advance student success and academic excellence on an even larger scale across our institution."

Korth joins the Student Success Center from Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, where she was named assistant dean of student success in 2023. Korth is also the Provost's Faculty Fellow for General Education Learning Outcomes (GELO) Assessment, a position she has held since 2022.

"I'm honored to join the Student Success Center in this new role," Korth said. "I look forward to working with the faculty and leadership across campus to further support our students during their academic journey and set them up for lifelong success in their chosen fields."

About Korth

In addition to serving as assistant dean and as the Provost's Faculty Fellow for GELO Assessment, Korth is a non-tenure track teaching professor. She led several Fulbright College student success initiatives, including the creation of Professional Agility and Career Essentials (PACE) Micro and Instructor Coach Program. She currently serves as a director of the U of A Teaching Academy and is the chair of the General Education and Core Curriculum Committee. 

Korth is known by most students as the professor of Destination Arkansas Blackboard Assignments (DABA). Since fall 2018, Korth has led the campus-wide team responsible for creating and implementing DABA, an onboarding course for all new students at the university.  

She serves as the faculty liaison to the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) to support faculty across the university in obtaining certification in effective college teaching. She is also a trained peer mentor observer with the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center (TFSC), a co-chair of the High Impact Practices Collaborative, a member of the Faculty Senate's Executive Committee and a member of Campus Council.

Since joining the U of A in 2000, Korth has served as the director of Fulbright Student Success, was an instructor and then clinical associate professor in mathematical sciences, served as the director of the Math Resource and Teaching Center, was the vice chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, served as director of the Enhanced Learning Center and was the special assistant to the dean of students. She has also served as a member of the Arkansas Math Pathways Taskforce and a member of the Arkansas Course Transfer System Review Committee with the Arkansas Division of Higher Education.

Her research focuses on student persistence, student success, general education curriculum assessment and mathematics education. She has given 40 presentations on campus and throughout the nation on these topics, and she has worked on many grant proposals that have secured scholarship funds for students.

Korth has received many honors for her service and teaching. She received credentials in effective college teaching from ACUE and was inducted into the U of A Teaching Academy in 2020. She received the Golden Tusk Award from Student Affairs, became an Adopted Professor of Yocum Hall in 2017, received the Outstanding TA Supervisor Award in 2015 and received the Student Customer Service Award for her service in the Math Resource and Teaching Center, among others. She was also recognized by the National Guard in 2011 for the support she provided to guardsmen who were also U of A students.

Prior to joining the U of A, Korth was an academic adviser, program coordinator and faculty member at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. She also taught mathematics and computer science to middle school students in Wake County Public Schools in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Korth earned an Ed.D. in higher education administration and college teaching from the U of A. She earned a master's degree in secondary mathematics education from North Carolina State University and a bachelor's degree in mathematics teaching from the University of Nebraska.

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 $3 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 and Economic Development News.