UA Announces Gearhart Retirement

The University of Arkansas announced Monday that Chancellor G. David Gearhart will retire, effective July 31.

Gearhart, who became the UA’s fifth chancellor on July 1, 2008, cited family reasons in a university-issued press release.

 “I have four main reasons for making this difficult decision,” Gearhart wrote in a Jan. 9 letter to UA system president Don Bobbitt. “They are our four grandchildren: Ben, age 5; Caroline, age 4; Ellie, almost 2; and soon to be born, Lily Jane. Going forward, I hope to spend more quality time with each of them as well as with our children and their spouses, Katy and Justin and Brock and Lindsey.”

Gearhart said he plans to continue teaching, according to the news release. He is a member of the faculty of the College of Education and Health Professions.

“I was initially surprised by Dr. Gearhart’s decision, but after talking to him and learning that his reason to opt for retirement included his desire to spend more time with his growing family, I understood and supported his plans,” Bobbitt said. “There never is a good time to make these decisions, but the University of Arkansas is in a very strong position with record enrollments, a strong research portfolio and nationally recognized student achievement.”

Bobbitt added that he would proceed “deliberately” in hiring the UA’s next chancellor.

“I know this will be a much sought-after position,” he said. “I look forward to working with campus administrative and faculty leaders, the University of Arkansas system board of trustees and other stakeholders to name the next chancellor.”

To see what others are saying about Gearhart’s retirement, including Jim von Gremp, Jane Rogers, Chris Wyrick, Johnelle Hunt, Reynie Rutledge and others, click here.

Gearhart is a Fayetteville native. His UA biography is available here. He became chancellor following 10 years of service to the university as vice chancellor for University Advancement. He previously served at the UA for three years as director of development in early 1980s.

As vice chancellor, he led the UA in the largest fundraising endeavor ever undertaken by an organization in Arkansas, the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, which raised $1.046 billion for academic programs. That campaign included the largest single gift to an American public institution of higher education, a record-setting $300 million gift to found an Honors College and endow the Graduate School and a $50 million gift to endow the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

His Bachelor of Arts degree is from Westminster College where he was named a distinguished alumnus in 1992. Both his law degree and his Doctor of Education degree are from the UA.

Gearhart’s key accomplishments as listed by the UA include:

• University of Arkansas enrollment tops 26,200 for the 2014-15 academic year, a 37 percent increase since 2008.
• Six-year graduation rates reach 62.3 percent in 2014, the highest in the state among public institutions, and highest in the U of A’s history.
• Since 2008, we’ve seen a 43 percent increase in the number of incoming students with an ACT of 30 or higher, and a 60 percent increase in the number of students with GPAs of 3.75 or above.
• While growing in size and in academic quality, the diversity of campus has increased by more than 80 percent since 2008.
• The greatest single area of enrollment growth in 2014 is in online enrollment with 7,444 students taking at least one online class during the fall 2014 semester, a 506 percent increase since 2008.
• Added 300 faculty in the past five years to meet student growth needs.
• University of Arkansas elevated to the highest possible classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching during its last reclassification of the nation’s 4,633 universities and colleges. The University of Arkansas is one of just 108 schools with this distinction, bestowed for increased accomplishments in research and productivity.
• Initiated first tuition freeze in 24 years for the 2009-10 academic year.
• Implemented a set of 15 institutional goals under the heading of Providing Transparency & Accountability to the People of Arkansas, a triennial report chronicling progress toward goals.
• Created the first Commission on Women, a 12-panel advisory board focusing on issues such as work/family balance, mentoring among faculty and staff, campus safety and environment and other issues that may have an impact on women.
• During Gearhart’s tenure went from $119 million to $920.6 million.
• Research expenditures reached $120.4 million, up from $113.8 million in 2008. Research expenditures have exceeded $120 million for the fourth year in a row.
• Annual fundraising surpasses $100 million for four consecutive years, with $113.3 million raised in fiscal year 2014.
• Oversaw the expansion, renovation, or addition of more than 1.5 million square feet to our campus space, an investment of approximately half a billion dollars.
• Among the first institutions in the country to submit a long-range Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus to zero by the year 2040 in response to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.
• Established Commission on Affordability and Cost Containment, which led to more than $62 million in savings and containment over a period of three years.
• Recognized as a Military Friendly university in the Guide to Military Friendly Schools every year for the past six years.  
• Made progress in increasing salaries for assistant professors to move them 3.6 percent above the university’s peer public institutions in the Southeastern Conference.
• More than 800 students will study abroad this year in more than 42 countries.
• Gearhart was one of the first 50 signatories on the Presidents’ Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security, an historic effort by universities declaring their commitment toward fighting global hunger.
• Recognized by the Arkansas Chapter of ALPFA with its “Lideres Corazon (Leaders of the Heart) Higher Education Award,” for his support of the Latino community in Arkansas.
• In 2008, when Gearhart began his tenure as chancellor, university reserves were approximately $2 million. At the beginning of fiscal year 2014 began with reserves of $50 million.
• Tuition remains lower than at many institutions not only in the SEC, but in the nation, and the university is consistently ranked as a “Best Bargain” in higher education.
• Chancellor Gearhart was invited to the White House in 2014 to participate in the president’s College Opportunity Summit.