Decker to start in interim UALR job

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will soon have a new interim vice chancellor of student affairs, the university has announced.

William “Cody” Decker will begin the job on Aug. 8, after current vice chancellor of student affairs Mark Allen Poisel leaves.

Poisel’s departure comes after years of sharp enrollment declines and subsequent financial constraints at the university, one of the state’s big research institutions. Enrollment has dropped from more than 13,000 students in 2010 to less than 11,000 students this past academic year.

Poisel has been in the position for two years.

Poisel wrote a draft recruitment plan for the university that targeted only undergraduate students and has been criticized by some faculty members for not being ambitious enough.

The draft plan is being reviewed for finalization by a committee on which Poisel serves.

Decker will serve one year as vice chancellor of student affairs, earning $170,000, while the university conducts a national search for a permanent replacement.

Decker currently leads the Office of Institutional Research and Analytics, and will continue to do so, according to the university’s news release. He is associate provost and chief data officer for the office, which “facilitates the collection, analysis, and interpretation of institutional data to support planning, decision making, and regulatory reporting” at the university, the release states. He has directed the office since 2015.

Decker also serves on several university committees.

Decker has received three degrees from UALR: a Ph.D. in integrated computing, a master’s in information quality, and a bachelor’s in information science, the release states.