Arkansas State University in Jonesboro has named three finalists for the position of executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost.
They are:
- Mark Clarke, associate provost for faculty development and faculty affairs at the University of Houston. He completed undergraduate studies in biological sciences at Manchester Metropolitan University, followed by a graduate study at Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute in Manchester. He finished his M.I. in pharmacology and his Ph.D. in cell biology and microchemistry, also from MMU. He has held other administration positions at UH, including associate vice chancellor for technology transfer.
- João Sedycias, dean of the William J. Maxwell College of Arts and Sciences at New Jersey City University. He completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Spanish at the State University of New York at Buffalo, then added a master’s degree in English from SUNY-Buffalo before finishing his Ph.D. in comparative literature, also at SUNY-Buffalo. He was also a department chair at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Essex County College in Newark, N.J., and Federal University of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil. He began his teaching career at California State University at Sacramento.
- Calvin White, associate dean in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history at the University of Central Arkansas before finishing his Ph.D. in history at the University of Mississippi. He directly oversees several academic areas, numerous interdisciplinary programs and six centers, including the Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History and the Blair Center for Southern Politics and Society. He previously served as chair of the department of history and the director of the African and African American Studies Program.
Each candidate will visit the A-State campus to meet with the search committee, other on-campus groups and members of the community.
Sedycias is scheduled to visit Feb. 21-22, followed by Clarke on Feb. 28-March 1 and White on March 6-7.
The previous proviost, Alan Utter, stepped down at the end of the fall semester to return to a faculty position. Len Frey, the university’s executive vice chancellor for finance and administration and chief operating officer, has been serving as interim provost.
