UAFS names next provost of academic affairs

Dr. Shadow JQ Robinson has been named the new provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith starting July 1. Robinson, 46, will succeed Dr. Georgia Hale, who announced her retirement in February.

“I am confident Dr. Robinson will add tremendous value to the university through his data-informed approach to academic affairs combined with an innovative and forward-looking way of doing business,” said UAFS Chancellor Dr. Teresa Riley. “He is an incredibly well-rounded person who leads with a passion for educating students and investing in the successes of faculty and staff. I am eager to work with him to advance the mission of the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith.”

Robinson was raised in rural Kentucky and said the Ozarks feel like home. He also said thanks to the work of those who come before him, the UAFS campus and its position in the higher education landscape feel inviting and inspiring.

“UAFS is dedicated to ensuring its graduates are ready to not only successfully enter the workplace but to adapt as changes in the workplace continue to accelerate,” he said.

Robinson said at its core UAFS understands the role it plays in the economic and social mobility of its students, and he is eager to work with the university and the community to be able to make certain that students graduate with the ability to get jobs and feel economic development needs of Fort Smith and the region. He added that he is excited to be joining the university as it embarks on developing its next strategic plan.

“UAFS is uniquely poised because, unlike many other regional public universities, UAFS has only been a four-year institution for 20 years,” Robinson said. “We have a chance to define ourselves in a way that meets the shared needs of our students and the surrounding region. We have the opportunity to be a national leader in how a university can nurture students in academic programs that respond to opportunities and align with the needs of the region. I think UAFS is ready to be that leader.”

Robinson serves as the dean of the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the University of Tennessee at Martin, Tenn., where he provides academic, administrative and financial leadership to more than 100 faculty and staff, with an annual budget of more than $6 million.

Prior to his work at UT Martin, he held visiting positions at Lexington Community College and Eastern Kentucky University before joining the faculty at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Ind., in 2003. There he earned the Outstanding Teaching by New Faculty Award in 2008. At Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., he served as department chair, director of the James Observatory, director of the Compass Curriculum, and Faculty Council president.

Robinson’s annual salary will be $210,000. Hale’s salary this year is $187,272.