Gov. Sanders appoints Kevin Crass to UA board to replace Charles Gibson

Gov. Sarah Sanders on Thursday (March 2) appointed Little Rock attorney Kevin Crass to a 10-year term on the University of Arkansas System board of trustees.

He replaces board chairman C.C. “Cliff” Gibson III of Monticello. His term expires this year.

Crass is a senior partner in the litigation practice group at Friday, Eldredge & Clark. He was also executive director of the governor’s transition team following her election this past November.

“It is a great honor and privilege to be appointed by Governor Sanders to serve on the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees,” Crass said in a statement. “As the Governor’s transition director, I saw first-hand her commitment to empowering all Arkansans with opportunity through bold education reforms. She will be Arkansas’ education governor. I look forward to working with the Board and the administration as we prepare the next generation of leaders to take our state to new heights.”

According to a news release, Crass has experience in handling the defense of national and state class actions in state and federal courts. He also provides clients with representation before governmental bodies and counsels them in regulatory matters. Crass has been a personal counsel to several of the state’s constitutional officers.

“I am proud to appoint Kevin Crass, a highly respected, accomplished attorney, to serve on the Board of Trustees at the University of Arkansas,” Sanders said. “As the executive director of my transition team, he helped lay the foundation for my administration to hit the ground running on day one with bold, conservative reforms that empower all Arkansans. I am confident that his strong leadership, character, and experience will make him an invaluable member of the Board of Trustees.”

A 1981 graduate of Ouachita Baptist University and a 1984 graduate of the UA Little Rock School of Law, Crass previously was a member of the Board of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Bar Association. He also was a member of the Federal Practice Committee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, having been appointed by the judges in that district.

He also is on the Board of Visitors of UA Little Rock and the Ouachita Baptist University President’s Advisory Council. He previously belonged to the UAMS Foundation Fund Board including a term as Chair. He is the Chair of the War Memorial Stadium Commission, and past Chairman of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Crass and his wife Cathy endowed a scholarship at the University of Arkansas for students from Jefferson and Pulaski Counties.