
Well, announced today all over the news is that University of Arkansas Chancellor John White will step down and go back to teaching in the Department of Engineering as a faculty member. This obviously came as a surprise to me; however, so many changes are going on with the Athletic Department and the U of A in general that this should not be a surprise at all.
Here are just some of many of Chancellor White's accomplishments:
Average ACT scores for incoming freshmen increase from 23.5 to 25.8.
Average grade point averages of incoming freshmen increase from 3.4 to 3.59.
Freshman year retention rises from 73.2 percent to 82.8 percent.
Enrollment increases from 14,740 to 18,648 - an increase of 26.5 percent.
Increasing diversity is made the university's top institutional goal, and total minority enrollment increases from 1,728 to 2,383.
National merit/achievement scholars nearly double, from 90 to 171.
Research expenditures increase from $73.7 million to $113.8 million.
Overall university endowment rises from $119 million to $877 million - an increase of approximately 637 percent.
The University of Arkansas receives the largest gift ever made to American public higher education ($300 million) from Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.
The Campaign for the Twenty-First Century raises $1.046 billion in private gift support.
The Honors College is created and endowed at a level unmatched in higher education.
The 2010 Commission is launched as a group of more than 90 business, civic, education and government leaders tasked with making the case for the University of Arkansas' importance in the state's economic and cultural future.
The university is among first 100 signatories to American College and University Presidents
Climate Commitment, committing the University of Arkansas to being carbon neutral by 2009.
Several dozen buildings, stadiums, or structures are either renovated or added to campus, including state of the art sports and academic facilities.
Razorback and Lady Razorback athletic programs are merged into one administrative unit.
Now, how much influence he had in keeping Nutt at Arkansas, we will never know. All I know is that the University is a much better place now than it was decades ago. The Walton College of Business and College of Engineering lead the nation as two of the top institutions for learning. I hope this trend continues and eventually we start keeping jobs here in the great state of Arkansas. It can only get better from here, right!?!