Tag Archives: Kelly Damphousse

International Agreement Concerns A-State Faculty

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By Jessica Ladd
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO — A recent dual-program degree agreement between Arkansas State University and the American University of Malta sparked concerns amongst A-State faculty. A gap in communication could be to blame.

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Agreement Signing-  Photo of A-State and AUM agreement signing in Malta. (from left) A-State Chancellor Kelly Damphousse, AUM President Dr. Walker and Malta’s Education and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo. (photo from AUM’s Facebook page)

AUM, a private liberal arts college in Cospicua, Malta, signed an agreement with A-State in March 2019.  The agreement would allow students from A-State to attend AUM their sophomore and junior years, with their freshman and senior years being on the A-State campus. AUM students can take online classes through A-State for their first six semesters. Their senior year, students can attend classes on A-State’s campus full-time. Students would receive a degree from both universities.

Loretta Neal McGregor teaches psychology at A-State. She also serves as president of the Faculty Senate. McGregor said a breakdown in communication occurred and the issue of the Malta agreement didn’t come before the Senate until after it was signed.

“When the Chancellor came to the Faculty Senate, he said that he had talked to some of the deans from various colleges and department chairs from various colleges. But, the Faculty Senate is the governing body for the entire faculty. So, it was almost like there was a bypassing of the Faculty Senate to include deans and chairs. Then it was stated that since the deans and chairs are part of the faculty, their voice was representative,” McGregor said.

She said A-State considers itself a shared governance. The administration should work with the Senate to help make sure the university has policies that are beneficial to students and faculty members, and to help the university run smoothly.

McGregor said the university struggled with communication over the years. It’s important to have clear lines of communication because the faculty are the ones there day in and day out.  She said most of the faculty concerns center around the curriculum and courses students will be engaged in.

When asked why the Malta agreement wasn’t brought before the Faculty Senate beforehand, A-State Chancellor Kelly Damphousse said the Faculty Senate doesn’t have the authority to approve these agreements. The authority resides in the faculty. The administration took the issue to the faculty and they approved it.

The potential communication breakdown occurred as the administration spoke with chairs and deans, who weren’t elected to represent the whole faculty. The communication gap might not have been as big of an issue if AUM didn’t have a questionable history.

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AUM– Photo of the American University of Malta. (photo from AUM Facebook page)

AUM, a relatively newer university, opened in September 2017. The central Mediterranean institution managed to gather tons of publicity in its short operation. The Sadeen Group, a Jordanian construction and property development company, owns AUM. The company’s only background in education comes from its for-profit schools in Jordan. Their main developments include travel, tourism and hotels. In Malta, citizens protested the development of the university.  The two pieces of land granted to Sadeen for the development were considered valuable public property. Once the college opened, more odd events occurred.

Erik Gilbert, a history professor at A-State, said he was shocked after he conducted a quick Google search regarding AUM. He sent an email with a list of sources to all A-State faculty explaining what he found.

“There seem to be so many red flags there. They got fined for misrepresenting who they were, they seem to have mispresented their relationship with DePaul (university) and had to have that explicated. They fired all their faculty one semester into their operation and then rehired a bunch suggesting that maybe they still needed faculty, but they wanted different faculty, perhaps, cheaper faculty,” Gilbert said.

Seventeen students attended in fall 2017, a lower number than expected.  AUM fired 12 of its 13 professors in January 2018 after offering them three-year contracts. Maltese law legally allowed the firings.  At the end of their six-month probationary period, the faculty received notification of their termination. AUM claimed the firings were due to the low enrollment. AUM hired six new professors. They currently have seven faculty members including the provost.

Despite the controversy sounding AUM, Damphousse said he still sticks by his decision. He knows there is concern regarding faculty terminations there. He said, unfortunately, that happens when a university faces financial difficulty. It happens in America as well. Damphousse said he doesn’t have any concerns regarding the firings.

A lot of work goes into an agreement like this. Damphousse, Global Engagement and Outreach director Thilla Sivakumaran and Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications Bill Smith traveled to Malta to negotiate the agreement. Damphousse said he remains confident in A-State’s short-term study-abroad opportunities in Malta.

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Damphousse In Malta– A-State Chancellor at the agreement signing in Malta. (photo from AUM Facebook)

“I went there and visited the place. I met with the faculty who are there. I taught a class while I was there. I met with students who are there. So, I’m very comfortable with our decision to be partnering with AUM,” Damphousse said.

He said A-State is always looking for ways to make itself distinctive. Malta, a country rich in history, brings in students from across the globe. Most of the professors come from America and all classes are taught in English. Damphousse also said Malta can be a great European location for A-State faculty members to plan short-term study abroad and research opportunities. ASU prides itself on being diverse. This agreement would help expand that diversity. ASU has similar agreements with other universities, and they’ve been successful as well as beneficial. He also said A-State did not invest any money into the actual agreement. According to The Sun, travel expenses to and from Malta totaled $7,000.

As for the confusion among faculty regarding the agreement, Damphousse said currently a plan is in motion to keep it from happening again. The provost has been working with A-State’s international program to develop a process to ensure the faculty all have a say in determining when the university gets involved in relationships like the one with Malta. The new policy should be completed shortly.

NEARK Hepatitis A outbreak continues

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by Keith Turner
Delta Digital News Service

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This map displays the reported cases of hepatitis A by county, showing a high concentration of cases in Northeast Arkansas. (Courtesy of Arkansas Department of Health)

JONESBORO — Health officials in Northeast Arkansas report as many as 182 cases of hepatitis A since February as part of an outbreak throughout the area. 

Students at Arkansas State University experienced a scare when a food-service worker employed through A-State’s food service provider, Sodexo, was reported to have a potential case of hepatitis A. A-State no longer employs the worker. 

A-State Chancellor Kelly Damphousse sent an Oct. 25 email to students, faculty and staff detailing the situation, and assuring the public all appropriate food-safety procedures were in place to limit exposure.

“I want to assure you that it is safe to eat in the Acansa Dining Hall. I ate breakfast there this morning, and I will be eating lunch there today,” Damphousse wrote in the email.

The Arkansas Department of Health held vaccination clinics at the Craighead County Health Department and on A-State campus for anyone concerned about potential exposure. However, officials reassured the public that the virus was restricted to the single employee, and not found in the food or any other sources.

“There is not an outbreak of hepatitis A at Arkansas State University, and there is no documented foodborne case,” A-State officials said in a statement.

A-State officials reviewed Sodexo’s various food handling procedures, including the continuous wearing of gloves, appropriate hand-washing technique and regular sanitization of the food-preparation area. Michael Wonderly, Sodexo’s director of campus operations for A-State, said employees are trained in these procedures according to Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points policy standards to ensure the safety of the food.

A highly contagious liver infection, symptoms of hepatitis A can include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, diarrhea, clay-colored stool, joint pain and jaundice (yellow of the skin and eyes). Wonderly said Sodexo policy tells employees to stay home if they have fever, vomiting or diarrhea, and employees are sent home if they present any symptoms at work.

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Sandra Holland receives her hepatitis A vaccine from Debra Cook, LPN, during a clinic at the Craighead County Health Unit. (Photo by Keith Turner)

“This particular employee also showed no symptoms that would have had us send them away for medical attention before being allowed to return to work, so when the employee notified us we took the proper measures and informed the university which was also informed by the Health Department,” Wonderly said. All Sodexo employees also received vaccinations.

ADH spokesperson Meg Mirivel advised the risk of getting hepatitis A through a food service setting is low, and hepatitis A is being spread primarily through close contact in the community.

Several groups are at higher risk for contracting hepatitis A, according to the ADH, including people who have direct contact with someone who has hepatitis A, travelers to countries where hepatitis A is common, men who have sexual contact with men, people who use both injection and non-injection drugs and household members or caregivers of a recent adoptee where hepatitis A is common. Health officials advise these groups to receive a hepatitis A vaccine.

The ADH said besides the vaccination, the best way to prevent hepatitis A is practicing good hand hygiene and thoroughly washing hands after using the bathroom and before preparing or eating food.

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

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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:

A-State Dedicates ‘The Circle’

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University officials unveiled a placard explaining “The Circle” during the dedication. The university named the apartment buildings for its first four black faculty. Photo by Kimberely Blackburn

by Kimberely Blackburn
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO — Arkansas State University honored its pioneering black faculty Aug. 7 at the dedication of “The Circle,” a group of apartment buildings.

Chancellor Kelly Damphousse said such an honor sends a statement and begins many projects intended to make the campus a more welcoming place.

“We’ve come a long way in recognizing the important role that African-Americans play in our community, but we have a lot further to go,” he said.

A-State named the buildings — which will house A-State faculty, graduate students and New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine students — for the four men who taught at a time when many did not accept integration:

  • C. Calvin Smith, emeritus professor of history and A-State’s first black faculty member
  • Mossie Richmond, A-State interim president, vice president for student affairs and dean of University College
  • Herman Strickland Sr., emeritus associate professor of teacher education and dean of University College, and
  • Wilbert Gaines, emeritus associate professor of physical education.

Chancellor Kelly Damphousse presents Earline Smith with a crystal award in honor of her late husband C. Calvin Smith. Each family received an award. Photo by Kimberely Blackburn

Smith lived in campus housing after being unable to find someone in Jonesboro willing to rent to his family. As the other families arrived, they became neighbors and formed “The Circle.”

Rick Stripling, vice chancellor for student affairs, said the dedication sends the statement that Arkansas State embraces diversity. He emphasized the importance of honoring the contributions of these men in the public eye.

Smith’s widow, Earline, said the families’ shared experience formed an extended family who truly loved each other. She said never in her wildest dreams did she expect so many people would attend the dedication. Richmond’s widow, Velmar, said the dedication honored and dumbfounded her.

Strickland said he came to A-State and found friends immediately. He said he gained acceptance as a teacher because of his friendship with Smith, who had done it first. He said he became a dean because Moss mentored him.

Gaines claimed the dedication shows A-State as, “a beacon of light to which other institutions can come for divine wisdom and insight.”

Richard Hartness Sr. authored a book illustrating the families’ lives called “The Circle: Coping With Integrated Life at AState, 1970-1978.” A former student of Smith’s, Hartness said he learned of the story at the celebration of Smith’s life after his death. Hartness said Smith brought important aspects of American and black history to his students that sometimes corrected the history books. Hartness said he now teaches these ideas to his students at East Arkansas Community College.

Richmond’s family member, Sandra Smith, works as principal of the BCH2 Academy at Wynne public schools. She said the dedication provided an opportunity for her to bring ideas to her students and teachers. Smith said she often quotes Frederick Douglass — who said, “Education can be an equalizer” — to show the importance of education to her students.

“In 2017 when we find there is still racial tension at times, this (dedication) establishes the fact hard work does pay off, and there is a facet of America that recognizes hard work,” she said. “As (Arkansas State) honored these founders and pioneers, they have honored themselves. As we lift others up, we lift ourselves up and if we understand that, we will be a greater America.”