University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt will recommend elevating Brian Shonk from vice chancellor for academic affairs to chancellor at the University of Arkansas Community College (UACCB) at Batesville.
Shonk, who has worked for the two-year university since 2013, has been chosen to succeed Deborah Frazier, who retired as chancellor May 31. Zachary Perrine has been leading the school on an interim basis.
Bobbitt’s recommendation will be considered by the system's Board of Trustees for final approval at its regularly scheduled meetings this week at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Bobbitt in a news release said a search for the UACCB's next chancellor yielded an impressive field of candidates but that Shonk's institutional knowledge and his eagerness to keep the campus working toward its goals made him the best fit for the job.
"He’s been on that campus for nearly a decade and has earned a great deal of respect from faculty, staff and students, as well as the entire Batesville community, and I feel that he is equipped to be the right chancellor at the right time to keep UACCB poised to continue its upward trajectory," Bobbitt said.
Shonk has previously served as dean, associate dean and director of public safety at Northwest Florida State College. He holds two associate degrees in criminal justice and electronics technology from the school. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Troy University. Additionally, Shonk has a master's in public administration and a doctorate in education, curriculum and instruction from the University of West Florida.
He officially takes over at UACCB on Jan. 1.
“I’m truly honored to have been chosen to help lead the campus that I’ve grown to love and respect during the last decade of my time here,” Shonk said in the release. “We have very unique campus and civic communities here and great momentum heading into the future, and I’m very excited about continuing that mission and working to find impactful ways to improve students’ and graduates’ lives and the communities they live in.”
