The University of Arkansas System issued the following media release on the afternoon of Wednesday, Dec. 18.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Chancellor Charles F. Robinson, Ph.D., today agreed to an extension of his employment agreement with the university through Dec. 31, 2027.

The agreement comes after the Board of Trustees of the U of A voted unanimously to negotiate a contract extension with Robinson at its regular meeting on Nov. 22. Robinson signed a three-year agreement to serve as chancellor of the university following a national search on Nov. 16, 2022.

“Dr. Robinson’s efforts to grow our flagship university’s impact in size and scope while maintaining our land grant mission to serve the people of Arkansas have provided positive momentum for the U of A and for our students, faculty and staff,” said Kelly Eichler, chair of the U of A Board. “Chancellor Robinson has articulated an ambitious strategic plan that focuses on student success, research excellence, and recruiting and retaining the very best faculty and staff for the university. As a board, we stand ready to work with him to support the institution in reaching these goals in the years ahead.”

Under Robinson’s leadership, the university has reached historical highs in enrollment, scholarship funding, and retention and graduation rates. Research expenditures at the university reached a high of $221.5 million in 2023, and the university recently announced $122 million in gifts toward the Land of Opportunity Scholarship endowment campaign to support high-achieving Arkansas students with high levels of financial need.

He has also overseen construction projects such as the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research (I³R), the Multi-User Silicone Carbide Research and Fabrication Facility (MUSiC) and the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation, facilities which are adding critical square footage to accelerate the growing research enterprise at the university.  

“I look forward to continuing to serve the U of A campus community and the State of Arkansas,” Robinson said. “While we have had many successes in recent years, we are not satisfied. I remain committed to working with the Board of Trustees and our students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters to help the university achieve even more in the coming years.”

Robinson was named interim chancellor in August of 2021 after serving the U of A in several capacities over the course of more than two decades. He joined the university as an assistant professor of history in 1999 and was promoted to full professor in 2011. He was then promoted to positions of increasing responsibility, including vice chancellor for Student Affairs and provost and executive vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs. 

During his time at the university, he has led several projects focused on student recruitment and success, including a college readiness program for underrepresented students, a major restructuring of the Division of Student Affairs and a $10 million scholarship effort for first-generation, low-income Arkansans.

Robinson holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Houston, a master’s degree in history from Rice University and a doctorate in history from the University of Houston.

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About the University of Arkansas System (www.uasys.edu): Since its inception, the University of Arkansas System has developed a tradition of excellence that includes the state’s 1871 flagship, land-grant research university; Arkansas’s premier institution for medical education, treatment and research; a major metropolitan university; an 1890 land-grant university; two regional universities serving southern and western Arkansas; eight community colleges; two schools of law; a presidential school; a residential math and science high school; and a 100 percent-online university and divisions of agriculture, archeology and criminal justice. As the premier higher education system in the state, it enrolls more than 70,000 students, employs more than 17,000 employees, and has a total budget of more than $4 billion. An intrinsic part of the texture and fabric of Arkansas, the UA System is a driving force in the state’s economic, educational and cultural advancement.