10/12/15  U of A Monticello To Get New Chancellor

University of Arkansas Systems President Donald Bobbitt said Friday he'll recommend the hiring of Karla Hughes as the next chancellor of the Monticello campus. According to a report in the Arkansas  Democrat-Gazette, the 64 year old Hughes is currently executive vice president and provost of the University of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. 

Hughes, a Kansas City, Kansas native is scheduled to take over the job on January 15, with the approval of the UA systems board at their meeting November 19 and 20 in Fayetteville.  Hughes' annual salary will be $250.000,00. Hughes will replace Jack Lassiter who retired in January after serving as  chancellor for 10 years. 

She'll enter the open-enrollment university at a time when enrollment has declined and officials at the university are working to build up student retention and graduation rates. Bobbitt says Hughes is ready to tackle the problems head on and wants UA-M to  be the model open-admissions university.