Deans Named To Lead Proposed UA Honors College

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Two University of Arkansas administrators have been appointed to top leadership posts in the proposed undergraduate honors college, pending approval of the college by the UA Board of Trustees on June 6.

Chancellor John A. White has named Bob Smith, provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs, as interim dean designate. Beginning July 1, Smith will serve in that post until a permanent dean is appointed. A national search for the permanent "founding" dean is expected to begin later this year.

White also named Suzanne McCray, director of the Office of Post-Graduate Fellowships, as associate dean designate, effective July 1.

"There is nothing so important to the University of Arkansas as getting the new honors college off the ground in good order, and effective leadership early on will be key to that process," White said.

"In his two years as provost, Bob Smith has done excellent work inside the institution as our chief academic officer and outside the institution as executive secretary of the 2010 Commission, which is dedicated to improving public understanding and support of the University's key role in the state's future.

"Suzanne McCray has been brilliant in her leadership of the University's Office of Post-Graduate Fellowships. Her commitment, energy, and intelligence have had a profound influence on our undergraduates' stellar performance over the last several years in winning record numbers

of prestigious national scholarships, such as Barry Goldwater Scholarships and Harry S. Truman Scholarships."

The University of Arkansas Honors College will be established and endowed as a result of the $300 million gift commitment, announced April 11, from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation of Bentonville. Some $200 million from that gift will be dedicated to the honors college, to establish endowed fellowships and scholarships for students, endowed chairs and professorships for faculty, research and study abroad funds for students, substantial support for Mullins Library and instructional technology improvements as well.

The intent is to build one of the finest public university honors colleges in the nation, virtually overnight. Honors colleges attract students of exceptional academic ability by offering a challenging sequence of courses that encourage independent and creative learning. Honors college students receive close attention from faculty, including opportunities to work on faculty research projects, as well as other special learning and enrichment activities.

When fully operational, the honors college will enroll about 2,000 students. The intent is to "capture" for the state of Arkansas those high ability students who often are lured out of state. It also is designed to attract talented out-of-state students to Arkansas. Wherever they come from, their matriculation at the University of Arkansas will greatly increase the likelihood that they will live in the state after graduation, providing the leadership needed to fuel economic development and cultural change.

"I am honored and delighted to serve in an early leadership role during the formative stage of our honors college," Smith said. "I am looking forward to working with our academic deans in this endeavor and especially to working with Dr. McCray. I have developed a deep respect for her based on her superlative work with the Office of Post-Graduate Studies. I know she will be a fount of strength, imagination and expertise as we work to get the college operational."

Smith came to the University of Arkansas on July 1, 2000, from the University of Connecticut, where he was vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School. After earning his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in pharmaceutical chemistry, Smith moved upward through the faculty and administrative ranks at the University of Iowa, the University of Texas at Austin, and Washington State University before moving to Connecticut.

He provided leadership for the 2010 Commission, a blue-ribbon panel of 92 distinguished Arkansans, whose first major achievement was the completion in summer 2001 of a comprehensive report, Making the Case: The Impact of the University of Arkansas Upon the Future of the State of Arkansas. Aside from his continuing work with the 2010 Commission, Smith has been collaborating with the Graduate School on a comprehensive study of doctoral education at the U of A in connection with officials of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.

McCray, who has earned three degrees from the University of Arkansas, said that she was "excited beyond anything I could imagine" by the astounding gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation and what it will mean for the University and our ability to provide an exceptional education for exceptional students.

"I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to play a leadership role in the new honors college," she said. "Building on the excellent faculty and student talent we have in place already at the University, I know we can attract an influx of new talent that will enable us to offer the best education of any public university in America. This is truly the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am committed to building an honors college that is second to none."

McCray has served as director of the Office of Post-Graduate Fellowships and as an adjunct faculty member in English since 1998.

In addition, she is serving as vice president of the National Association of Fellowship Advisors, which she also serves as a member of its planning committee. In 2003, she will serve as conference chair for NAFA's annual conference, to be held in Denver.

She also served as co-director of a national conference, "The Truman and Marshall Scholarships: Breaking the Code," sponsored by the Truman and Marshall foundations and held at the University of Arkansas in 1999.

Beginning in 1990, she served in various leadership posts for the honors studies program in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

She received her B.A. in English with highest honors from the University of Arkansas in 1978 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society. She earned an M.A. in English in 1980 and an M.A. in French literature in 1990, both from the U of A. She earned her Ph.D.

in 20th century literature from the University of Tennessee in 1990 as well.

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