17 candidates file to succeed UAFS chancellor Beran

A list of 17 candidates for the job of chancellor at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith includes the school’s interim leader and the dean of the university’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics college, according to records released under the state’s public disclosure law.

The candidates are vying to replace Paul Beran, the former UAFS chancellor who left Aug. 31 after serving since 2006 as the top campus leader. Beran left to become executive director of the South Dakota board of regents.

Edward Serna took over Sept. 1 as interim chancellor at UAFS. He joined the university in 2015 and was serving as chief of staff and vice chancellor for strategic initiatives when the University of Arkansas System announced his new interim role.

Serna earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Winthrop University in South Carolina and graduate degrees from Clemson University and Auburn University before earning a doctorate from the University of Alabama’s Higher Education Administration program.

The other candidate already at UAFS, Ron Darbeau, in 2015 was appointed dean of the UAFS College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and the School of Education. He joined UAFS from McNeese State University in Louisiana, where he served as head of the university’s Department of Chemistry and Physics.

Darbeau earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of the West Indies, and master’s and doctoral degrees in organic chemistry from Johns Hopkins University.

A job profile soliciting applications and nominations listed Feb. 8 as the date by which submissions should be submitted “for best consideration.” But there remains the possibility of additional candidates, said Nate Hinkel, spokesman for the UA System.

Margaret Tanner, UAFS’ associate provost for academic affairs, chairs the 17-person search committee set to meet for the second time Wednesday.

The committee includes Fort Smith’s mayor, George McGill, also a member of the university’s board of visitors, as well as the city’s vice mayor, Kevin Settle.

In the first meeting, “we had a lot of engagement and conversation among the various members,” Tanner said. “Several different viewpoints are represented on the committee, and so it’s important

that those viewpoints are heard.”

She said candidate credentials will be reviewed at the upcoming meeting to identify who might be interviewed. The search committee advises UA System President Donald Bobbitt, who said last July that he hoped a new chancellor would be hired by July 1 of this year. Bobbitt has also said there is not a strict timeline for the search.

Records released by the UA System show candidates through Feb. 8, Hinkel said. They are:

■ Tyler Adams, executive dean of continuing education and lifelong learning at the University of the Bahamas. Adams is also a professor of communication.

■ Safran Almakaty, unemployed.

■ Timothy Cornelius, academic vice president of career and workforce education, Northwest Arkansas

Community College.

■ Ron Darbeau, professor and dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

■ Joe Delap, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Athens State University in Alabama. Delap is also a professor.

■ Ron Dempsey, vice president for university advancement at Winona State University in Minnesota.

■ Charalabos (Haris) Doumanidis, vice provost for research and interim dean of the School of Mining and Geosciences, Nazarbayev University. The university is located in the country of Kazakhstan.

■ Rick Kurtz, professor, Shawnee State University in Ohio.

■ Lewis Jones, senior consultant and chairman of the board of advisers at the International Group for Educational Transfer.

■ Kimberly Long, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Newman University in Kansas. Long is also a psychology professor. ■ Bruce McGowan, provost and associate vice president at Rogers State University’s campus in Bartlesville, Okla. ■ Scott McKay, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Dakota State University in South Dakota. McKay is also a chemistry professor.

■ William (Bill) McKinney, senior adviser for regional campus affairs at Indiana University.

■ Edward Serna, interim chancellor at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. Serna also is chief of staff and vice chancellor for strategic initiatives.

■ Dirk Schlingmann, professor in the Division of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of South Carolina Upstate.

■ Philip Way, provost and vice president for academic affairs and student affairs at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania.

■ Clifford Wittstruck, dean of academics at Western Wyoming Community College.