UA Names Laura Jacobs Associate Vice Chancellor

Incoming University of Arkansas Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz has named Laura Jacobs as his chief of staff. In her new role as associate vice chancellor and chief of staff for Steinmetz, Jacobs will be charged with a variety of responsibilities, including involvement in executive strategy and strategic planning, advising the chancellor, serving as a liaison to internal and external constituencies and working on various special projects. In addition, the university’s Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History will report to her. (The Pryor Center collects and shares audio and video resources in an effort to document the cultural heritage of Arkansas.)

“I was consistently impressed with Laura as I got to know her last year during the chancellor search process in her role leading the search committee,” Steinmetz said in a press release announcing the hire. “Her depth of experience in strategic planning and communications combined with her natural tact in dealing with others make her a perfect fit for this important role.”

Jacobs has a history of employment with the UA in Fayetteville that spans back to 1998. Roles she has held at the university include: manager of development communications, managing editor of Arkansas magazine, a quarterly publication for alumni published by the office of university relations, and senior director of strategic communications. Off campus, she worked for two years as director of communications at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. It was back in 2014 that she rejoined the university as associate vice chancellor for university relations.

Other changes in the chancellor’s office include the promotion of Marcia Overby to associate vice chancellor for administration and the naming of Sally Adams as executive assistant to the chancellor.