Kennesaw State’s Dean of the College of the Arts, Dr. Patricia Poulter, plans to leave KSU to become the executive vice president and provost at the University of Central Arkansas.
In an email to faculty, staff and students Wednesday, March 14, Linda Noble, KSU’s interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, said that Poulter will be making the move. Poulter will report directly to UCA’s current President, and KSU’s former interim president, Houston Davis.
She will also oversee all schools at UCA and develop strategies to forward UCA’s mission. Poulter will begin in her new position on July 1, 2018.
During her time at KSU, Poulter helped create the COTA’s advisory board and the Advising and Retention for COTA students, add 80 new scholarships and gain $1.2 million in donations in 2017, up 29 percent from 2016, according to the email.
According to UCA, Poulter was one of 58 applicants for the position and one of 11 who was requested for an interview in Little Rock. UCA students, faculty and staff made up a 19-person committee for the interviews and asked the top four interviewees, including Poulter, to visit the campus at the end of February and beginning of March.
During the visit, Poulter toured the campus, met with the Faculty and Staff Senates, UCA’s Student Government Association and the executive staff at UCA. She was also asked to do a presentation where she answered questions for the campus community.
After the visit, committee members said she was the most supported of the semi-finalists and received the most positive feedback from the campus community, according to UCA.
When asked about the visit, Poulter told the UCA News department that she was “thrilled to be joining the University of Central Arkansas.”
“During my visit, I received such a warm greeting from the entire campus community, and it was immediately clear that there is an energy here that is almost visible,” Poulter said.
The Sentinel reached out to Poulter for comment on accepting her new position, but she did not respond before publication.
Prior to her time at KSU, Poulter received a bachelor’s in music education and a master’s in conducting from Eastern Illinois University, and she earned her Ed.D in music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
According to a KSU article, Poulter returned to EIU after obtaining her degrees and served as the department chair for the department of student teaching and clinical experiences, the interim department chair of the journalism department and associate dean of the college of the arts and humanities. She later joined the KSU staff in July 2013.