ASU Mid-South names new Vice Chancellor

Gray brings experience, leadership to

CAO position

asumidsouth.edu A new Chief Academic Officer with experience in instruction, grants management, developmental education, and workforce training has been named at Arkansas State University Mid-South.

Jeff Gray has been a member of the ASU Mid-South campus community for twelve years in increasingly responsible roles ranging from adjunct instructor to administrator. Most recently he served as Dean of Workforce Education.

“For more than twelve years, I have been fortunate to serve this institution in a variety of roles. My broad experience in academic affairs and in grants management has given me the opportunity to develop a deep appreciation for policy and a comprehensive knowledge of best practices in developmental, general, and workforce education.

Having held positions in several areas of this campus, I have also developed an approach to management and leadership that is based on a servant leadership philosophy and am always willing to perform any task I set out for others myself.”

Gray began his professional career at Mid-South in August 2007 as an adjunct instructor, teaching developmental English while completing his final year of graduate school at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, where he also obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree.

He became a full-time instructor in 2008, and later was promoted to Lead Instructor of Communications, Developmental Communications, Fine Arts, and Humanities, a position he held until July of 2016. That fall, he accepted the position of Project Manager for the Arkansas Delta Accelerating Pathways Together (ADAPT) grant, awarded to the five-college Arkansas Delta Training and Education Consortium (ADTEC), of which ASU Mid-South is a member.

Most recently, in 2018, Gray accepted the role as Dean of Workforce Education, a position which provided unique opportunities to work directly with the various programs, curricula, and regulatory Jeff Grayagencies in our Workforce Education Division, including those within the ASU Mid-South secondary technical center.

“Jeff’s broad experience, proven track-record, approachability, servant leadership, understanding of our campus culture, and dedication to our students and to our college are strengths that I certainly admire and appreciate in our new Vice Chancellor,” said Dr. Debra West, Chancellor.

In addition to Gray’s campus leadership, he has conducted training and practice seminars for the National Association for Career and Technical Education Information (NACTEI) Conference, and the Association for Colleges Teaching and Learning Assistance (ACTLA) Conference, and the League for Innovation in the Community College Conference.

In 2017, Gray, along with colleagues in developmental math and the Barbara C. Baxter Learning Success Center at ASU Mid-South, received the Innovation of the Year Award from the League for Innovation in the Community College.

He was recently named to the National Council of Instructional Administrators’ Rising Star Institute. In 2017 he was chosen by ASU Mid-South to participate in the Arkansas Community College’s Leadership Institute, and in 2013, he was chosen as Outstanding Faculty of the Year at ASU Mid-South.

“The continuity of leadership and Jeff’s ability to be immediately effective during these uncertain times is very important to me and our entire campus,” Dr.

West added. Gray’s appointment as Vice Chancellor was effective July 1.

Arkansas State University Mid-South is a public twoyear institution of higher education with an opendoor admission policy, serving Crittenden County, Arkansas, and the surrounding areas with a comprehensive educational program. The College is committed to economic development in the Arkansas Delta through the provision of high quality, affordable, and convenient learning opportunities and services consistent with identified student, community, and regional needs. To meet these needs, the College provides quality academic and support programs, personnel, technology, administrative services, and facilities necessary to respond in a timely and effective manner.

For more information about ASU Mid-South, visit https://www.asumidsouth.e du.

Jeff Gray