Sunday Kudos: Elise Mitchell Nabs A National Honor

Elise Mitchell nabs a national honor, Wade Murphy donates a million to his alma mater, Fazliddin Khodjaberganov earns a promotion at Simmons First, and John English returns to the University of Arkansas College of Engineering.

MITCHELL GARNERS PR AWARD
Elise Mitchell, CEO of Northwest Arkansas-based Mitchell Communications Group was named 2013 Agency PR Professional of the Year at the annual PRWeek Awards.

Mitchell, who founded her firm in Fayetteville in 1995, is also serving as CEO of Dentsu Public Relations Network since joining the worldwide agency earlier this year.

The agency’s client portfolio includes: Walmart Stores Inc., Sam’s Club, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree Hotels, Procter & Gamble, J.B. Hunt Transport, Tyson Foods, and Southwestern Energy.

WADE MURPHY DONATES $1 MILLION TO WAKE FOREST
Wake Forest University graduate Wade Murphy, grandson of Murphy Oil founder Charles Murphy, is donating $1 million to the school’s Humanities Institute.

Murphy, the executive vice president of Marmik Oil in El Dorado, graduated from Wake Forest in 2000 with a major in history. He earned an MBA from American University in 2007 and has served as a member of the Wake Forest Young Alumni Development Board and currently serves on the Wake Forest College Board of Visitors.

“Wake Forest is and always has been a place that teaches students how to identify and pursue that which is good, beautiful and true,” said Murphy. “One of the prevailing reasons I want to support the Humanities Institute is that it will go a long way to ensuring that these ideals are carried forward.”

SIMMONS FIRST PROMOTES KHODIABERGANOV
Simmons First National Corp. promoted Fazliddin “Fazi” S. Khodjaberganov to Assistant Vice President of the Special Services Group.

Khodjaberganov has over 11 years of financial services experience with more than six years with Simmons First. Prior to joining Simmons First, he served as a System Administrator, Processing Specialist and Credit Quality Management Analyst. He currently serves as Loan Review Specialist within the Special Services Group at Simmons First.

Khodjaberganov holds a B.A. degree with an emphasis in Finance from Ouachita Baptist University and has attended both the Barret School of Banking and the Commercial Lending Academy.

Khodjaberganov is a member of the Little Rock Lions Founders Club and a volunteer with the Race for the Cure and the Special Olympics.

ENGLISH RETURNS TO UA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
John English has been named the ninth dean of the University of Arkansas College of Engineering. English, currently dean of the College of Engineering at Kansas State University, will also hold the Irma F. and Raymond F. Giffels Endowed Chair in Engineering. His term will begin July 1.

English received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in operations research from the University of Arkansas. He holds a doctorate in industrial engineering and management from Oklahoma State University.

English was a faculty member in the University of Arkansas department of industrial engineering from 1991 to 2007 as well as head of the department from 2000 to 2007. From 2000 to 2005, English was the founding director of the Center for Excellence in Logistics and Distribution, a National Science Foundation Industry and University Cooperative Research Center. While director of the GENESIS Technology Incubator at the University of Arkansas from 1999 to 2001, English helped start-up companies commercialize technological advances.

Terry Martin has served as interim dean of engineering since July 2012. The previous dean, Ashok Saxena, led the College of Engineering for nine years before leaving to accept a post as the senior leader of a new research university in India.