ASU System appoints former Chancellor Robin Myers as Interim President

The Arkansas State University System Board of Trustees voted Friday (Dec. 8) to name Dr. Robin Myers, chancellor emeritus at ASU-Mountain Home, to serve as interim system president effective Jan. 15.
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The move comes ahead of the upcoming search for a successor to ASU System President Chuck Welch. Welch announced Nov. 14 that he would resign as system president after nearly 13 years effective Jan. 15 to move to Washington, D.C., and become president and chief executive officer of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Myers, who retired in July after 11 years as chancellor of ASU-Mountain Home, will not be a candidate for the permanent position.

Trustee Price Gardner of Little Rock, who is serving as chair of the Board of Trustees search process, said the search is expected to begin in January with a target hiring by May.

“We will be reviewing search firm options in the next two weeks,” Gardner said. “It’s an attractive position, and we expect to have a quality pool of candidates. We’re not looking for someone to make significant changes or overhaul things. We have one of the strongest system staffs and group of chancellors in the country. We’re hiring from a position of strength and don’t want to lose momentum.”

The board elected Christy Clark of Little Rock to serve as chair in 2024. Steve Eddington of Benton will serve as vice chair, and Bishop Robert Rudolph Jr. of Bryant will serve as secretary.

In other business, the board approved construction of phase one of the $6.4 million Center for Health Sciences project at ASU-Newport and established A-State Qatar, a new off-campus location in Doha, Qatar.