Arkansas State Names Former University of Arkansas Fulbright Dean to Lead Flagship Jonesboro Campus
July 18-24, 2022
By The Daily Record Staff
Dr. Todd Shields, dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas (UA) since 2014, has been appointed as the next chancellor of Arkansas State University (ASU) in Jonesboro, ASU officials announced on July 11.
Shields will be introduced to the campus of the state’s second largest university later this month. His first official day at A-State as chancellor will be Aug. 15, and his annual salary will be $450,000.
“I believe that the hiring of Todd Shields will prove to be a truly transformational moment for our university,” said ASU System President Dr. Charles L. Welch. “He has an extraordinary track record in fostering student success, securing external funds, and managing large, complex academic units. These experiences, combined with his strong reputation and connections statewide, are precisely why the Chancellor Search Advisory Committee recommended his hiring to me. "
In early June, Welch and the ASU search committee first announced that Shield was among the four finalists that accepted invitations to visit the campus in Jonesboro to formally interview for the position of chancellor. The University of Arkansas dean and his wife, Karen, have two adult children, Savvy and Dane.
“I am honored and thrilled to accept the position of chancellor at Arkansas State University. After talking with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members, the opportunities at Arkansas State are obvious and exciting,” said Shields. “My family and I are deeply committed to the mission of Arkansas State, and we couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the A-State family. After seeing the many opportunities, new relationships, and potential partnerships in Jonesboro, Northeast Arkansas, and across the university, we are eager to help serve the campus, the community, expand collaborations, and help Arkansas State University grow into an even brighter future. My wife and I are deeply honored to join the Red Wolves.”
The ASU search committee included 22 individuals representing faculty, staff, students, and community leaders who reviewed 44 applicants for the position. After conducting formal interviews with four finalists, the committee recommended Shields. In selecting Shields, Welch said the University of Arkansas dean outlined an exciting vision for our university in areas of community engagement and development, fundraising, academic programming and research.
“His energy and enthusiasm are contagious, and I cannot wait for our university community to get to know Todd and Karen,” said Welch. “I want to thank each member of the committee for their hard work and energy the past few weeks,” Welch said. “From assisting with the creation of the job announcement to conducting zoom meetings with potential candidates, it was a brisk schedule and I appreciate their commitment to a thorough job in providing important feedback.”
Shields earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology in 1990 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He continued his education at the University of Kentucky where he received his Master of Arts in political science in 1991 and his Ph.D. in 1994. In addition, Shields participated in Ohio State University’s Summer Institute in Political Psychology in 1993 and Harvard University’s Management Development Program in Higher Education in the summer of 2006.
The other three finalists were Dr. Karen Petersen, dean of the Henry Kendall College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Tulsa; Dr. Lawrence Kimbrough, who formerly led Philander Smith College in Little Rock from 2004 to 2012; and Dr. Lance Tatum, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, chief academic officer and provost at Troy University in Troy, Ala.
Shields’ depth of academic administrative experience spans from department chair to research centers and from deanships of individual colleges to divisions touching all corners of the university. His two most recent academic appointments, dean of the Graduate School and International Education (GSIE) and dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, illustrate his leadership strength.
Fulbright College is the largest college at UA, and includes some of the institution’s hallmark programs. Managing $80 million in general budget plus a research budget of approximately $18 million, Shields had oversight for more than 650 full-time faculty and instructors and more than 700 teaching and research assistants as the Fulbright dean.
One of Shields’ signature contributions to UA was the creation of a School of Art within the college, bolstered by significant endowment gifts to fund construction of a new campus space that serves as a partnership with the city of Fayetteville.
A $120 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation established the School of Art, with a following with $70 million total in support from the Windgate Foundation for the 154,600-square-foot Windgate Studio + Design Center to anchor a new art district redevelopment south of the campus core on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. He also secured $90 million in software and equipment gifts to programs throughout the Fulbright College.
As the dean of GSIE, Shields collaborated with administration, deans, faculty and staff in every college at UA. He also served as the leader for Fayetteville’s Rome Center, a campus hub in the Italian capital. Among the key achievements as graduate dean was increasing overall graduate school enrollment and the number and diversity among international students. During this time, Shields was also responsible for overseeing reviews of all programs across the campus, involving him in a wide range of academic areas from business to education, from architecture to the health professions.
Shields played a pivotal role in the creation of the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society, serving as the founding director of the interdisciplinary research center. Building upon his previous experience as the associate director of the Fulbright Institute of International Relations, the Blair Center became an established resource for programing, curriculum, research and polling for the state and region. Shields followed his time as department chair and Blair Center director with a year as the associate dean of the President William Jefferson Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock.
He began his academic career as an assistant professor in political science at Arkansas in 1994, promoting to associate professor in 1999. He joined the Fulbright Institute as its associate director in 2000, and in 2005 became a full professor in political science. For seven years, he also concurrently chaired the political science department at UA.
Shields was also recently appointed by Governor Asa Hutchinson to serve on the newly reinstated Arkansas Commission on the Status of Women where he serves as co-chair of the subcommittee on research and writing.
On March 31, former ASU Chancellor Kelly Damphousse announced his resignation, effective June 30, after completing five years of service at the system’s flagship university in Jonesboro. Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, earlier announced Damphousse has been named as the sole finalist to replace Dr. Denise Trauth as president on July 1.
Shields will take over leadership nearly two months after the ASU system’s board of trustees in little Rock approved a $341.5 million budget that includes a 4.6% tuition hike for the upcoming fall semester as its flagship university in Jonesboro, a four-year research institution in Jonesboro with Campus Queretaro in Mexico.
The ASU system also includes the financially challenged Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, as well as five independently accredited and functionally separate two-year institutions: ASU-Beebe, with additional campuses in Heber Springs and Searcy and an instructional site at Little Rock Air Force Base; ASU-Newport, with additional campuses in Jonesboro and Marked Tree; ASU-Mountain Home; ASU Mid-South in West Memphis and ASU Three Rivers in Malvern.
In early May, the ASU board of trustees moved forward with a reorganization plan for Henderson State University in Arkadelphia that will provide over $5.3 million in savings over the next two years.
For the upcoming 2023 fiscal year that begins July 1, Arkansas State in Jonesboro budgeted $208.3 million, an increase of 2% from last year, with a 4.6% increase in annualized tuition and fees. Henderson budgeted $51.5 million, which is a decrease of $17 million or 25% compared with a year ago, with no increase in tuition and fees. Tuition and fee rates will rise 3.3% at ASU-Beebe, 4.1% at ASU-Mountain Home, 2.2% at ASU Mid-South, 3.4% at ASU-Newport and 2.9% at ASU Three Rivers.
