Provost Discusses Strategy and Progress With U of A Faculty

Photo by Russell Cothren, University Relations

Provost Jim Coleman speaking to campus faculty members.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Jim Coleman, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas, spoke to campus faculty Tuesday about the progress made in the first months of implementing the university’s new Strategic Plan, including a major step toward improving student success on campus, a core element of the plan.

The provost told faculty members that the university will open the pilot Student Success Center in the Garland Center in early May. The UA Board of Trustees has also approved construction of a permanent Student Success Center, and the administration is working to find funding for the project.

Coleman said the Student Success Center is based on a “one student at a time” approach.

“The idea behind ‘one student at a time’ is that, as a university, we can try to meet each student where they are, with their distinctive set of challenges, and match the resources we have with those challenges, to help each student successfully make the journey from K-12 to post-graduation success,” the provost explained.

Coleman said the key is integrating campuswide resources to help individual students overcome the various challenges that keep them from staying in school and graduating. He described those challenges as academic, financial, social and wellness, adding that each student has their own specific challenges. Advisers at the Student Success Center will take a holistic, 360 degree approach, integrating the university’s resources to meet a student’s specific needs.

Discussing the university’s Strategic Plan, adopted last fall,  the provost said intent is to establish the University of Arkansas’ mission, then achieve that mission by “creating a culture of continual improvement, using metrics to assess what is working, all with an underlying belief that the way to advance the reputation of the university is to continually get better.”

Coleman said the university’s mission, as often stated by Chancellor Joe Steinmetz, is to fulfill its role as the “flagship, land grant institution for the state of Arkansas: to contribute national and international level research and discovery; provide a world class education that is attractive to talented  and diverse students from within and outside the state and helps retain them in Arkansas; and transform the lives of students and improve the well-being of people and communities in Arkansas.”

The provost’s talk was a part of Faculty Appreciation Week at the university, and he used the occasion to highlight several faculty achievements, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Grants awarded to a record six faculty members, more than at any school in the SEC so far in the 2017-2018 fiscal year. He also pointed out that resources allocated for salaries and recruiting new faculty were already yielding positive results.

Coleman closed his presentation with appreciation.

“Thank you for your commitment to our students, to teaching and to scholarly and creative pursuits. The energy and care about the tripartite mission of teaching, research and service truly excels on this campus.”

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.