Jay Silveria will become the new president of University of Arkansas System on Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government & Public Service)
The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees approved the selection of Jay Silveria as the UA System’s new president Monday.
The retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General will assume his new role with the state’s largest university system on Jan. 15, 2025, contingent upon successful negotiation of an employment contract.
Silveria told the board he was honored by the selection and “excited about what lies ahead.” As higher education faces challenges in Arkansas and across the country, Silveria said his job is to make the case for the value of the “higher education, research and public service that we provide” and to place students’ needs above all.
“I don’t possess all the answers and I’ll tell you that from the beginning,” he said. “I know we have a lot of challenges, but I have no doubt that we can take them on if we work hard enough, deliberative enough and consistent enough and we work together.”
Silveria will succeed Donald Bobbitt who notified the board in July he would retire Jan. 15, 2025, or earlier if a successor was selected before then. Bobbitt succeeded Alan Sugg as president on Nov. 1, 2011.
The UA Foundation Board retained the services of Greenwood Asher and Associates to assist with a national search for a new president. Board trustee Scott Ford led the search and said there was “enormous interest” in the position that resulted in discussions with dozens of people. Ultimately seven candidates submitted a formal application.
Monday marked the seventh time the board has met in executive session since late October to discuss the search.
“I believe we’ve found a proven leader who brings unmatched qualities, achievements and experience from his time in the military and in higher education to our System that will help us navigate the myriad of opportunities and issues facing our campuses, divisions and units,” board chair Kelly Eichler said in a statement. “The Board is very proud of this selection, and we are looking forward to welcoming General Silveria and his family to Arkansas, and helping him familiarize himself with our unique System and our dedicated students, faculty and staff across the state.”
The president reports to the board and serves as chief executive officer of the University of Arkansas, which has 20 campuses, divisions and units, and a budget of more than $4 billion.
The UA system’s next president will be expected to assess the financial strength and viability of the system, and serve as a leader by promoting diversity among the system campus communities, curriculum, activities and student involvement, according to a position description.
Silveria, who retired from a 35-year career in the U.S. Air Force in November 2020, spent the last three years of his service as superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, according to a press release. Silveria currently serves as the executive director of Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service in Washington D.C.
Silveria earned a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a Master of Social Science from Syracuse University. He attended the National War College at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington D.C., and was a senior executive fellow at Harvard University where he also attended the Harvard Seminar for New Presidents at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, according to the press release.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said higher education will be a focus of next year’s legislative session, which will begin Jan. 13, 2025.
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