Dean’s chair created at UA College of Education, Health Professions

The College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas is creating an endowed dean’s chair thanks to a gift of $1.5 million from Palmer and Marie Hotz of Foster City, Calif., and a $2 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation.

The chair is the first of its kind in the college and is being named in honor of Palmer and Hartman Hotz’s father, Henry Hotz, who served as the college’s fourth dean for nine years.

“This remarkable gift from the Hotz family and the Walton Family Foundation will rightfully honor a very influential person in the history of the college,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “The College of Education and Health Professions is already the home to many nationally respected departments and programs, and this dean’s chair will allow them to continue that upward trajectory. We are very grateful to the Hotz family for this generous gift in recognition of their father’s legacy.”

The Henry G. Hotz Endowed Dean’s Chair will allow the college to attract, recruit and retain a highly qualified individual to lead the school and provide the resources to further the dean’s contribution to teaching, research and public service. The holder will also be a full-time member of the UA faculty.

The college’s dean, Tom Smith, will be the first holder of the chair. Smith accepted a five-year appointment as dean in 2010 and most recently agreed to remain in the post for another year.

Henry Hotz came to the UA as a professor of secondary education, having previously taught at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and was named acting dean of the College of Education in 1934 and dean in 1936. He spent the remainder of his career at the university, with the exception of two years as Arkansas' state high school supervisor.

“I am pleased to be able to make this contribution to the University of Arkansas’ College of Education and Health Professions to honor my father’s contributions to education and administration as dean,” said Palmer Hotz. “I believe, as he did, that an educated public is the necessary keystone of a thriving democratic society, and I anticipate that this gift will help perpetuate the ideals which he embodied and taught.”