ASU trustees approve Jonesboro chancellor

Damphousse has been dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma since 2013.

NEWPORT — The Arkansas State University board approved hiring Kelly Damphousse as the Arkansas State University chancellor Thursday.

In a 5-0 vote, trustees agreed to pay Damphousse $360,000 a year in public and private funds and give him $100,000 in a “longevity incentive payment” if he remains as chancellor through July 1, 2022. He also will receive $40,000 in deferred compensation beginning July 1, 2018, and for each year of his contract.

Damphousse, 54, will have a university vehicle, paid membership and monthly fees to two Jonesboro country clubs and use of the chancellor’s home in Jonesboro.

“It was an excellent hire,” said board Chairman Ron Rhodes of Cherokee Village. “I’ve heard many wonderful things about [Damphousse]. ASU-Jonesboro is in for a treat.”

Damphousse has been dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma since 2013.

He also was an assistant professor in the Department of Justice Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Damphousse, who was born in Alberta, Canada, will take the office July 1, replacing interim Chancellor Doug Whitlock, who was interim chancellor for a year.

Whitlock was named chancellor after Tim Hudson resigned without a severance package in August after state and ASU System audits revealed Hudson tried to hire his wife, Deidra Hudson, as the university’s full-time study-abroad director.

State law prevents administrators from hiring spouses for positions they would oversee.

ASU System President Chuck Welch said Damphousse, who did not attend Thursday’s meeting in Newport, will leave the University of Oklahoma on June 16 and take a week off before moving to Jonesboro with his wife, Beth.

Damphousse