John Ed Chambers III of Danville was elected by his fellow trustees to serve as 2016 chairman of the Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees during a meeting at the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center on Thursday.
Chambers, chief executive officer of Chambers Bank, is in his third term as a member of the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees. He first served on the board from 1994-99. In 2007 and 2012, he was appointed to five-year terms on the board. His current term will expire on Jan. 14, 2017.
The Chambers family has provided leadership for Arkansas Tech for more than nine decades.
Chambers’ grandfather — Judge John Ed Chambers — served on the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees from 1925-37, 1939-53 and 1955-63. His father — John Ed Chambers II — was an Arkansas Tech trustee from 1965-67 and 1987-88.
Chambers Cafeteria at Arkansas Tech is named in honor of all three generations of the family and their support of the university.
Also serving as 2016 Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees officers are Leigh Whiteside of Russellville (vice chairman) and Charles Blanchard of Russellville (secretary).
They are joined by fellow board members Fritz Kronberger of Russellville and Tom Kennedy of Little Rock.
Kennedy was sworn in by Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson to begin his second term on the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees at the beginning of Thursday’s meeting. He previously served as a trustee from January 2010-January 2015. Kennedy was chairman of the board in 2014.
Thursday’s agenda included proposed meal plan rates for Arkansas Tech students on the Russellville campus in 2016-17.
Trustees approved a 3.5 percent increase for meal plans A, B and C. Those three plans were the choice of 88 percent of participants during the 2015-16 academic year. The average increase for plans A, B and C in 2016-17 will be $48 per semester. Below are breakdowns on the cost for each of those plans:
*Plan A (unlimited dining and $150 declining balance): $1,404 in 2015-16; $1,454 in 2016-17.
*Plan B (210 meals and $150 declining balance): $1,354 in 2015-16; $1,402 in 2016-17.
*Plan C (150 meals and $150 declining balance): $1,302 in 2015-16; $1,348 in 2016-17.
The board also approved a 7 percent increase in meal plans D and E, which are available for commuter students and are utilized by 10 percent of meal plan participants. Cost for plan D (65 meals and $100 declining balance) will go from $535 in 2015-16 to $571 in 2016-17, while plan E (40 meals and $100 declining balance) will increase from $385 in 2015-16 to $410 in 2016-17.
In other business on Thursday, the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees approved:
*a recommendation from David Moseley, Arkansas Tech senior vice president for administration and finance, to eliminate consideration of developing an upscale restaurant at Lake Point Conference Center and review other ideas for the Lake Point facility;
*establishment of an institutional animal care and use committee as a means of qualifying for certain research grants and to ensure correct animal research on campus;
*a letter of notification changing one of the concentration areas within the Bachelor of Professional Studies degree from information technology to workforce technology;
*and a decrease in the Arkansas Tech English Language Institute tuition rate from $4,300 per eight-week session to $2,150 per eight-week session beginning in fall 2016.
In personnel matters, the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees approved hiring the following full-time faculty members:
*Dr. Mohamed Abdelrahman, vice president for academic affairs and professor in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, effective June 1, 2016; Latasha Holt-Bocksnick, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, for the spring 2016 semester; and Dr. John O’Connor, associate professor of health and physical education, for the 2016-17 academic year.
Dr. Charles J. Gagen was granted a change in assignment that will allow him to return to full-time teaching in his role as professor of fisheries science and step down from his administrative appointment as head of the Department of Biological Sciences effective Jan. 1, 2016.
Dr. John Jackson, professor of fisheries science, was appointed to succeed Gagen as department head.
Kristy Bayer received a change in title from assistant athletic director to associate athletic director. She also serves as head volleyball coach and senior woman administrator in the Department of Athletics.
Trustees approved the following full-time staff appointments:
*Tosha Bradley, associate director for admissions operations, for the 2016-17 fiscal year; Victor Dreier, director of the STEM Institute and Project Lead the Way state affiliate director, effective Jan. 18, 2016; Angela Hutson, teacher education director of placement, effective Jan. 4, 2016; and Courtney Pratt, coordinator for student engagement in the College of Business, effective Jan. 1, 2016.
The board accepted the resignations of the following Arkansas Tech-Ozark Campus employees:
*Ritchie Powers, faculty and program director in paramedic/emergency medical services, effective Jan. 8, 2016; Justin Smith, chief business and community outreach officer, effective Jan. 22, 2016; and Angela Teague, faculty in health science technology at Arkansas Tech Career Center, effective Jan. 22, 2016.
Joshua Freeman was appointed by trustees to succeed Powers as program chair for the paramedic/emergency medical services program at Arkansas Tech-Ozark Campus.
