Tag Archives: Chuck Welch

A-State Board Considers Weapons Policy

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by Keith Turner
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO — The Arkansas State University System board of trustees considered an updated weapons policy, helping transfer students and disaster preparation during its first fall meeting.

ASU System President Chuck Welch described the new weapons policy as a “reaction” to a bill passed by Arkansas legislature. The bill allows, to a degree, concealed carry on college campuses.

Welch said the Arkansas State Police have not yet completed its enhanced training program, meaning no one can legally carry a handgun on campus yet.

“We anticipate that it will be sometime in 2018 – January, February, March – sometime in that time frame before an individual will be able to legally carry a weapon on our campuses,” Welch said.

Helping Transfers

Welch and A-State Chancellor Kelly Damphousse announced a study of transfer students beginning in October or November. The goal of the study is to analyze the relationship between ASU campuses and students who transfer or wish to transfer from two-year schools.

“We have a large number of students in community colleges in the state of Arkansas. Unfortunately, we don’t have a large percentage transferring to a university,” Welch said.

Damphousse said he is passionate about transfer students.

“The next step is to make sure we get more transfer students from our sister schools to come here,” Damphousse said.

Disaster Preparedness

The board approved long-term lease agreements for ASU disaster preparedness training facilities in Walnut Ridge and Imboden. The school will seek grants and private funding for the project, which will train participants to respond to a variety of natural disasters. Fewer than 10 similar facilities exist nationwide.

Representatives of ASU and the cities of Walnut Ridge and Imboden signed 50-year leases for the facilities the following week.

In Walnut Ridge, ASU will pay $12,500 a year to rent 100 acres of land, with a 3 percent increase every five years. Walnut Ridge will pay the rent on behalf of ASU for the first two years. The Walnut Ridge site will have training zones specific to certain disasters, such as tornadoes and floods.

ASU will pay $10,000 a year to rent 183 acres in Imboden. The Imboden site will allow for “wilderness scenarios.”

Susan Hanrahan, dean of ASU-Jonesboro’s College of Nursing and Health Professions, assisted in the push for the training facilities.

“With the opportunity to have land in two different spaces, we can start working on getting funding to help build those things and bring people to our region for that type of education,” Hanrahan said.

Walnut Ridge Mayor Charles Snapp told the Jonesboro Sun this “might be the biggest economic boom” in the history of his city and Lawrence County.

System Review

Welch announced plans to hire a firm for reviewing the ASU System and campuses. The review will analyze staffing, programming and resources to determine the overall efficiency of the office.

The review should take around 12 weeks, but it could be up to six months before the results are known.

Other items considered included:

  • Celebrating the anniversaries of two ASU System campuses: ASU Beebe, now in its 90th year, and ASU Mid-South, now in its 25th year.
  • Accepting a resolution to rename the ASU-Newport criminal justice department in honor of the late Lt. Patrick Weatherford, who was killed in the line of duty in June. Weatherford worked for the Newport Police Department, and was a graduate of ASU-Newport and ASU-Jonesboro. His wife, Kristen, attended the meeting.
  • Approving restructuring amendments to the faculty handbook.
  • Approving new policies on internal controls and investments.
  • Approving a resolution to change the name of the lounge area on the third floor of the Reng Student Union to the Vaughn Student Lounge.
  • Approving a request by ASU-Newport to offer additional automotive-mechanical certificates (automotive mechanical systems, automotive transmissions and axles, engine performance, and heating and air conditioning).
  • The efficiency of the employee health care plan.

(Board of Trustees photo courtesy of A-State Media Relations)

Damphousse Seeks Community Ties

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By Kimberely Blackburn
Delta Digital News Service

Damphousse Window Art

Window art featuring Kelly, Beth and Maple Leif Damphousse decorated the window of the Chancellor’s office. Damphousse became A-State’s chancellor on July 1. Photo by Kimberely Blackburn

JONESBORO – A native Canadian and Montréal Canadians fan, Arkansas State University’s new chancellor aspired to become either a goaltender for the NHL or a Mountie before coming to Northeast Arkansas by way of Oklahoma.

Chancellor Kelly Damphousse said he planned to stay at his last position as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma until retirement, but an email sent by A-State President Chuck Welch prompted him to apply. When he first visited the campus, Damphousse saw the challenges but viewed A-State as a diamond in the rough. He said he can impact a community as a chancellor in a much different way than he could as a dean.

“It’s important for us to have a relationship with the people on our campus. Sometimes it’s easy for someone who in administration to get removed from the reality of the world that they’re serving,” Damphousse said.

Damphousse explained why he creates relationships:

Campus and Community

Damphousse said his main concern will always be the students, faculty and staff. He said he understands he can only see a few students per day due to his position. Yet faculty and staff members interact with hundreds.

Damphousse said he wants to use his position to help bridge the gap between campus and community. He said there seems to be a strain between the two due to past events. He said he believes strains occur due to a lack of communication, meaning people do not truly know each other.

To remedy this, Damphousse said he speaks to any community club that extends an invitation, as well as local merchants and companies to see how A-State can help their business. Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin said he and Damphousse agreed to work together on several projects.

Perrin said he hopes to help get the word out of what A-State offers the community. He said A-State remains a driving force in the Craighead County community.

Perrin said A-State can help employers by providing both new employees and education for existing workers. Perrin said he believes A-State and the Jonesboro community can achieve this by fine-tuning programs already on campus.

“I’ve always learned in business, you build and become strong on what you have. If you’ll continue to build and to redefine what you’ve got, you’ll be highly successful,” Perrin said.

Damphousse explained his plans to keep A-State movng forward:

United Way

Damphousse recently announced on his Facebook account that The United Way of Northeast Arkansas named him and his wife, Beth, as co-chairs of Arkansas State University’s United Way Campaign.

Nanette Heard, executive director of United Way of Northeast Arkansas, said the Damphousses will encourage the A-State community to designate part of their salary to help fund projects throughout the eight-county region.

UWNEA covers residents of Clay, Craighead, Cross, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Poinsett and Randolph counties. Heard said the projects include shelters, after-school programs and programs that help feed the hungry.

Damphousse said the community matters to him and to A-State. Because the campus and community will always be tied together, he said if one rises, they both rise. Damphousse said he and Beth plan to be around for the long run.

He mentioned an analogy about planting trees you never get to sit under. But Damphousse said he wants to sit under the trees he plants. He said he wants to see the efforts that come from the changes he implements.

This is why, Damphousse said, the motto “Every Red Wolf Counts” truly encompasses everyone.

“Every Red Wolf Counts. That means every student, every faculty member, every staff member, every alumnus, every member of the Jonesboro community,” Damphousse said. “I see them all as Red Wolves because we’re all tied together.”

He even let students name the family dog:

Listen to the entire interview:

AState President Hosts Town Hall on Jonesboro Campus

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AState President Chuck Welch

AState President Chuck Welch listens to concerns at a Town Hall meeting on the Jonesboro campus. He said he expects to have an interim chancellor in place within a few weeks. (Photo by Tucker Crain)

by Tucker Crain
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO, Ark. — Arkansas State University System President Chuck Welch addressed the Jonesboro campus in an open town hall following the resignation of chancellor, Tim Hudson.

“There is not going to be any formal presentation taking place, instead, I want us to have a conversation. This is going to be very laid back,” Welch said.

Over 50 people attended the Aug. 24 meeting, and questions ranged from the minutia of running the campus to transparency.

“ASU-Jonesboro lacks transparency. From the top to the bottom; this is nothing new. The recent audits have just exacerbated that. How do we let our shared governance come in and keep this from being the case?” asked Michael McDaniel, professor of communication disorders. “We, the faculty and staff – and even the students – have achieved a seat at the table. But having that seat does not seem to be the same as having a voice. We want to be heard. These shared governance committees do not work like this.”

Welch insisted things will improve.

“I have sat in on many of the shared governance meetings, and there are certainly very vocal people on every single one. If we need to go through extra steps to make sure everyone feels like their voice is being heard, then we will,” Welch said.

Welch then explained how such a shared governance committees could actually work out.

“We have an issue with clearly defining shared governance, its committees and how they are executed. When it seems like something is being done that not everyone at ASU-Jonesboro likes, you must remember that we make decisions that affect more than just the ASU-Jonesboro campus and its community,” Welch said.

While the crowd seemed satisfied by the answers on transparency, students in attendance brought concerns of their own.
Brett Dush, a junior at ASU-Jonesboro, went on a recent study-abroad trip to Spain.

“We were all given documents specifying the exact cost of everything and where all our money was going. But we looked into it. A lot of our money went to a travel agency and we had to pay for some of our meals out of pocket, which was not the original plan. I will email them to you,” Dush said.

“Please do,” Welch replied, “because I will provide transparency. I’ll show everyone the receipts I have that are under question. We are hiring a full-time study-abroad director. We will not carry out any trip that will not let students get the most possible from it. That is why we had to recently cancel the upcoming trip to France. And for that, I am truly sorry. But if we do these, we are going to do them right.”

History professor John Beineke, a distinguished professor of educational leadership and curriculum, questioned if Welch knew of the improprieties of the Hudson administration. Welch denied prior knowledge.

“I hear a lot of things. I hear a lot of things that just are not true. Was I aware the Dr. Hudson’s leadership style was different than mine? Yes. However, the word ‘bully’ never came up until after everything else came to light,” Welch said.

Paul Mixon, the interim dean of the College of Engineering, questioned when the Jonesboro campus would have new leadership. Welch suggested an interim chancellor would be selected in weeks rather than months.

“What we really need right now is a chancellor who can act as a healer,” Welch said. He continued by addressing concerns brought by audience members who thought the search committee might not have done the best job picking the last chancellor.

“I cannot predict the future, and hindsight is always 20/20. But the search committee will come up with numerous capable candidates,” Welch said.

Mary Jackson-Pitts, professor of communications, questioned if the search committees actually had input.

“On the last search committee I was on, we were not allowed to vote for who we really liked,” she said.

Welch noted that would not have been his instructions.

“I have never been on a committee where I said we could not vote. Instead, I say this: I want to protect both members of the committee and the candidates. But we do a heavy background check on all the candidates. I call people on and off the reference sheet. I talk to former students and coworkers. I bring all this information to the committee and we discuss,” he said.

Welch assured everyone the flagship campus still has the most consideration of any in the system.

“People question a lot of things we do by saying, ‘But won’t that hurt ASU-Jonesboro?’ The decisions we make at the central office always help the flagship campus the most. You can look and see that at the University of Arkansas, the University of North Texas, and other schools we compare our systems to,” he said.

Welch emphasized the openness he demonstrated in the town hall was something he was looking for in the next interim chancellor and, eventually, the long-term chancellor.

“I underestimated how little this sort of thing was taking place – this openness. I want the next chancellor to be a listener, have a calming influence, an external perspective and to help me stay honest with you all. Last time, I wanted someone who was aggressive, progressive and inventive. Well, we sure got that,” he said.

During the conversations, Welch did not forget to mention how much he loves his job and Jonesboro.

“This is my hometown. I was a first generation college student, and my dad did not even graduate from high school. This job is not just a paycheck for me – it is a chance for me to give opportunities to others that my parents did not have. It is my passion. We cannot undo some things that happened but we can heal. I may not be the brightest, but I can learn a few things,” he said.

Welch will also meet with the following campus governance committees next month:

  • Student Government Association—Sept. 13
  • Faculty Senate—Sept. 16
  • Staff Senate—Sept. 21