White to retire as University of Arkansas chancellor after 11 remarkable years in Fayetteville

University's fourth chancellor has guided unprecedented growth, led the institution into the nation's top tier of colleges and universities

Dr. John A. White

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Dr. John A. White, who has led the University of Arkansas through a period of unprecedented growth over the past 11 years, will step down as chancellor effective June 30, 2008.

 White, a 1962 University of Arkansas alumnus whose career in higher education spans almost four decades, plans to retire from university administration and return to the faculty in the College of Engineering, where he holds an appointment as distinguished professor of industrial engineering.

 "The time has come for someone new to continue the remarkable progress we've made over the past decade, inject some new ideas and energy, and lead this great university to fulfill its destiny as one of the nation's top comprehensive, student-centered research universities," said White. "I'm proud and humbled by what we've accomplished over the past decade, and it has been a profound honor for me to serve my alma mater as chancellor during this exciting time in our university's history."

 White is the fourth chancellor in the university's history. Until 1981, the president of the university system served a dual role as the chancellor of the flagship Fayetteville campus.

 A total of 24 presidents or chancellors have served the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

 "John White has been the visionary leader this university needed as it moved into the 21st century," said B. Alan Sugg, president of the University of Arkansas System and undergraduate classmate of White. "Any way you measure it, Dr. White has been a highly successful leader with a record including tremendous enrollment growth, enormous fundraising success, enhancement of academic reputation, as well as construction of hundreds of millions of dollars in academic, athletic and residential facilities. There is no doubt that there is strong momentum throughout the U of A community."

 White received his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1962. He holds a master's degree in industrial engineering from Virginia Polytechnic and State University, and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. He also has received honorary doctorates from the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven in Belgium and George Washington University.

 Prior to serving as university chancellor, he was dean of engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and was a member of the Georgia Tech faculty for 22 years. From 1988 to 1991, he served as assistant director for engineering at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C.

 White is married to Mary Elizabeth Quarles White, his wife of 44 years. They have a daughter, a son, three granddaughters and a grandson.

 "Over the holidays, I spent considerable time reflecting and talking about the future with Mary Lib and the rest of my family," said White. "I'm 68 years old, I've given my heart and soul to a very demanding position for more than a decade, and I've come to the realization that I need to hand over the reins and spend more time with my family, especially my grandchildren. I've had very little time to spend with them during my years as chancellor.

 "At the same time, I'm thrilled to be returning to my roots in the classroom, and will continue to serve my alma mater as an educator and as a supporter of the next chancellor," he added. "I truly believe this university's best years are still ahead of her."

President Sugg will initiate the process of identifying the university's fifth chancellor. It is the responsibility of the university president to recommend a candidate to be approved by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees. No timeline has been set for naming a successor to White, although Sugg is optimistic that a new chancellor will be in place by July 1, 2008.

Biographical Sketch Chancellor John A. White

A native of Arkansas and a University of Arkansas graduate, Dr. John A. White said he returned to his alma mater to do all he could to "make a difference" for the state which had done so much for him and his family. After a decade at the helm of the flagship institution of the University of Arkansas system, White has changed Arkansas forever.

With an ambitious agenda from the moment he was named chancellor, White's main goal is to realize the university's vision of becoming the nationally competitive, student-centered research university Arkansas needs and deserves in the 21st century. In reaching that goal he seeks to enhance the university's academic reputation nationally and ensure that the university is the economic and cultural engine for the state of Arkansas.

Few goals could have been more ambitious than setting a billion-dollar fund raising campaign goal, a level of support achieved by less than 15 public universities in America. In a testament to his leadership, more than $1 billion dollars were raised in the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, including the largest single gift to a public university in the history of American philanthropy: the $300 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.

In recognition of this achievement, the university's Alumni Association made a special exemption to its rules to name White as the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Alumnus Award at the close of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century.

A man whose leadership is sought by many, he recently has received several important appointments in the area of collegiate athletics to add to his already impressive resume. He is the presiding chair of the Northwest Arkansas Council and a member of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority. White has served both on the NCAA Executive Committee and the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, as well as a term as the president of the Southeastern Conference.

Upon his appointment as chancellor, White moved immediately to draw the best students from the state and beyond. To build a foundation for the future at Arkansas, White increased the number of students who received Chancellor's Scholarships. Resulting in a twelve-fold increase in the number of new freshmen who were Chancellor's Scholars in the fall of 1998, the impact of that first class is just beginning with their graduation in 2002.

White has yet to rest. His priorities include increasing the instruction of Arkansas' students through information technology and an environment that is diverse and international in outlook; moving the university from the equivalent of the old Carnegie Foundation definitions of a Research II university to Research I status; increasing the diversity of the university's faculty, staff and student body; increasing private gift support; and increasing state and federal support. He also is striving to increase enrollment to a 22,000-person student body that is competitive with those at the best publicly supported universities in the nation.

An advocate for improving his home state, he serves on the board of directors for the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority. White completed a second six-year term on the National Science Board last year, and has served as the chair of the Council of Presidents of the Southeastern Universities Research Association and as president of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Foundation.

White served previously as president of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, chairman of the American Association of Engineering Societies, and president of the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science.

Prior to returning to Arkansas, White was dean of engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he served on the faculty for 22 years. His career in higher education and in management and engineering consulting has carried him into the national ranks, including service as assistant director for engineering at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C., from 1988 to 1991.

Among his numerous awards, White was honored in June 2006 with the inaugural John L. Imhoff Award from the American Society for Engineering Education, an honor made personally significant as the late Dr. Imhoff recruited White to the industrial engineering field in 1958 and was a mentor of White's until Imhoff's death.

White was named the 2005 Northwest Arkansas Humanitarian of the Year by the National Coalition for Community and Justice and was bestowed the 2005 Regent's Medallion of Merit from Sigma Nu Fraternity. During his academic career, he also received the Donald E. Marlowe Award for Distinguished Education Administration of the American Society for Engineering Education, the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, the Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award of the Society of Women Engineers, the Distinguished Service Award of the National Science Foundation and the National Science Foundation Engineer of the Year award.

White earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1962, a master's degree from Virginia Polytechnic and State University, and a doctorate from The Ohio State University. He also holds honorary doctorates from Katholieke Universitiet of Leuven, Belgium, and George Washington University.

White is married to Mary Elizabeth Quarles White and they have a daughter, a son, three granddaughters and a grandson.

Major accomplishments at the University of Arkansas

Chancellor John A. White (1997-2008)

• 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.

Download: A Decade of Progress

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Tysen Kendig, associate vice chancellor

University Relations

(479) 575-5555, tkendig@uark.edu