College of Engineering Names New Head of Civil Engineering Department

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Kevin Hall, a professor in civil engineering at the University of Arkansas, has been named head of the department. He succeeds Bob Elliott, who stepped down from the position after 14 years, and who will resume teaching duties.

“It’s been quite a full circle experience for me in the department,” said Hall. “I started as an undergraduate student, completed my master’s program and became a faculty member. Now I have the opportunity to see it from the other side of things.” 

After a stint with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hall pursued his academic career at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, receiving his doctorate in 1993. He returned to the College of Engineering as assistant professor that year, receiving promotions to associate professor in 1998 and professor in 2003. 

“I knew I wanted to teach, but only if it was at the University of Arkansas,” said Hall, who received the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award for Research and Teaching from the Arkansas Alumni Association in 2004.

 “We conducted a very thorough national search to find the best person to fill this position,” said Ashok Saxena, dean. “I feel very good that the most qualified person was right here inside of our own college. I feel confident that Dr. Kevin Hall will lead the department to new heights in the next several years.”

Hall’s research focuses on the design, production and rehabilitation of pavements and construction materials, and he plays a vital role in highway transportation both throughout the U.S. and within Arkansas. As part of the Transportation Research Board’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program 1-40 project panel, Hall is a part of the national effort to determine how to implement an entirely new system of pavement design standards to update the nation’s highways. He is one of only two members of the project panel from academia. He is a member of five standing committees of the Transportation Research Board; chair of a road and paving materials subcommittee of the American Society for Testing and Materials; and a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Society for Engineering Education and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

He is also co-chair of the College of Engineering’s Strategic Planning Committee, a member of the university’s Service Learning Committee, a past member of the university’s Diversity Task Force and has served as a member of the Faculty Senate since 1998.

Hall is optimistic about the future. “We have some challenges in civil engineering — the profession as well as the department,” he said. “But we also have some tremendous opportunities to positively affect the lives and living conditions of people around the world. I hope to help our department continue to prepare students to meet those challenges.”