Benjamin Gregory has been promoted to principal at WER Architects of Little Rock. He will work as a project architect and associate on all project sizes. Aaron Sanderson has been promoted to senior associate at the architecture firm. He joined the firm in 2016. Sam McGuire and Betsy Offutt have both been promoted to associate.
Alex Bigger and Josh Conlee have joined the foundation board of Black River Technical College of Pocahontas. Bigger is an Arkansas district court judge and Pocahontas native. Conlee is the president of Lawrence Healthcare, where he oversees Lawrence Memorial Hospital and Lawrence Hall Health & Rehabilitation, both of Walnut Ridge. Lisa Haller has been hired as an administrative specialist II in the college’s adult education department. Stacy Ingram has been hired as a payroll specialist and human resources assistant at the college. Ingram has 27 years of experience as an assessor.
Len Frey has been appointed interim provost at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Frey is the executive vice chancellor for finance and administration and the chief operating officer of the university. He will now assist the chancellor with day-to-day operations until a permanent replacement is found.
Matthew Bellew has been hired as corporate partnership coordinator at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Bellew fills the newly created position to establish partnerships with corporate entities to increase access to higher education. Stevie Nielson has been hired as editor at the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs at UA Little Rock. Nielson will be responsible for writing research articles, editing grant proposals, managing social media and serving as editor of the university’s annual research magazine. Nielson was previously at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for 14 years.
Jacob Oliva has been selected as commissioner of the Division of Elementary & Secondary Education of the Arkansas Department of Education. Oliva was also recently named secretary of the department.
Jess Porter has been named executive director of the Center for Arkansas History & Culture at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Porter will now oversee the center, which is in the Bobby L. Roberts Library in Little Rock, UA Little Rock Downtown and the Sequoyah National Research Center in Little Rock. Porter is an associate professor of geography at UA Little Rock.
Priya Bargoti has been hired as clinical trials manager for the BioAR Trial accelerator program at HealthTech Arkansas of Little Rock. Bargoti previously worked for the Department of Defense, and will now coordinate clinical trials throughout seven sites in Arkansas.
Dr. Soumya Thumma and Dr. Bhavana Vemula have joined the Baptist Health Specialty Clinic in North Little Rock as endocrinologists. Thumma completed her fellowship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and is board-certified in diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism. Vemula completed her fellowship in diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism and is board-certified in endocrinology.
See more of this week’s Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.
Sign up for Daily E-news
