Winthrop Rockfeller Institute Names Marta Loyd As Executive Director

by Stephanie Baker ([email protected]) 279 views 

The Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Board of Trustees has hired Dr. Marta M. Loyd as the institute’s next executive director.

Loyd comes to WRI from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, where she has worked for 17 years, the past 12 of which were spent as vice chancellor for university advancement.

In this role, she was a member of the chancellor’s senior staff and was responsible for areas such as development, alumni, marketing and communications, and public relations, overseeing a staff of 28.

Loyd also has served at UA-Fort Smith since 2002 as the executive director of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Foundation Inc., serving the foundation’s 35-member Board of Directors in strategic and financial planning, coordination of communications efforts and organization of Board functions. In a 10-year span, she transformed the Westark Community College Foundation, with $20 million in assets, into a comprehensive university foundation with an endowment of more than $60 million and assets of more than $75 million, according to a WRI press release.

“We are extremely thrilled to make this announcement,” said Milo Shult, president of the WRI Board of Trustees. “Dr. Loyd’s long track record of helping UA-Fort Smith grow into a top-notch educational institution speaks for itself. We look forward to seeing what new heights WRI can reach under her leadership.”

Loyd holds a Bachelor of Science in dental hygiene from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; a Master of Education in higher education leadership from the University of Arkansas; and a Doctor of Education in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri.

She begins her position at WRI on Feb. 10.

In 2005, the University of Arkansas System established the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute with a grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust.  WRI sits atop Petit Jean Mountain and hosts a variety of workshops, seminars, public lectures, conferences and special events through its educational institute and conference center.