2 named trustees for UA System

Governor taps Eichler, Nelson

The latest appointees to the governing board of the University of Arkansas System have a strong background in Republican politics, with Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday naming as trustees his policy director, Kelly Eichler, and a twotime GOP nominee for governor in the 1990s, Sheffield Nelson.

In a statement, Hutchinson, a Republican, praised both as “tremendous additions” to the board that oversees 11 colleges and universities. Each appointment to the 10- person board begins March 1.

Issues in the months ahead for the board include hiring a leader for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, increasing enrollment at the online education venture e-Versity, and reviewing various campus projects, such as a $ 160 million proposal to expand Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium at UA- Fayetteville.

Democrats, too, have selected appointees with close political affiliations. Former Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, appointed Morril Harriman, his chief

of staff, to the board in 2014. Beebe appointed another former Democratic governor, David Pryor, to the board in 2009.

While Hutchinson’s appointees have well- established political associations, both emphasized their focus on helping students.

“I work for Gov. Hutchinson. I can’t separate myself from what I do,” said Eichler, 51. But “when I’m on this board, I am on the U of A board of trustees,” said Eichler, a fourth- generation UA- Fayetteville alum. “And my interest is just U of A and what benefits the students.”

Nelson, 74, spoke about how education helped him advance from a difficult childhood.

“I knew that the only way out of poverty was to get an education,” Nelson said. As far as the UA board, “I don’t think it should be politicized at all,” he said, adding, “I won’t be thinking politics on any vote.”

Eichler, an attorney, was a Razorback cheerleader and member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority — a chapter founded at UA by her aunt — before going on to earn a law degree from UALR.

She has been Hutchinson’s policy director since he took office in January of last year. She also served in the administration of former Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, working as a criminal justice

adviser and later as his chief legal counsel, according to Hutchinson’s office.

Huckabee’s two terms as governor ended in 2007, and Eichler unsuccessfully ran as a Republican in 2008 for a seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives, losing by less than 100 votes to John Edwards, a Democrat.

Eichler said she has a son who is a high school senior looking at various colleges, and she said she’s been impressed by “the strides that U of A has made since I was there,” praising the Fayetteville campus’s business college.

“I’m very interested in promoting that college within U of A,” Eichler said before noting the size and scope of the full UA System. As a new board member, “I don’t know yet to tell you where my focus might be,” Eichler said.

Her husband, Brad, is head of corporate finance for Little Rock- based financial services company Stephens Inc. Eichler, a former Pulaski County deputy prosecutor, has also served on the Arkansas Board of Corrections, among other appointments.

Nelson, also an attorney, is the former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Arkla, once one of the largest natural gas companies in the country. He lost bids for governor in 1990 and 1994.

Nelson, who lives in Little Rock, is a senior partner with the law firm Jack Nelson and Jones. He has served on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and as president of the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.

He is a graduate of Arkansas State Teachers College, now known as the University of Central Arkansas, and

earned a law degree in 1969 from the UA School of Law. Among other public service positions he’s held, Nelson served separate stints on the board for the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and, in the 1980s, on the UALR board of visitors during a tumultuous period involving disputes between the main UA board over campus leadership.

Eichler’s appointment is for 10 years. She replaces Jane Rogers, an organizational consultant who served as a campaign finance manager for Huckabee during one of his runs for governor. Rogers began serving on the board in 2003, appointed by Huckabee.

Nelson’s appointment is for nine years. He replaces Jim von Gremp, a real estate investor and businessman who stepped down to serve on the board for the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. Von Gremp, a former executive director of governmental relations for Huckabee, began serving on the board in 2005, appointed by Huckabee.

Nelson spoke of having a particular interest in both UALR and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences but said he thought the process was well underway to find the next leader for UALR. A search committee was named earlier this month to find a replacement for the retiring chancellor, Joel Anderson.

“I won’t be trying to get myself involved in anything already set up,” Nelson said.