LITTLE ROCK, AR – Today, the University of Arkansas System President, Dr. Donald R. Bobbitt, has named Andrea Stewart, Ph.D., interim chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), effective July 1, 2024. This appointment makes her the second female to head UAPB in its 150-year history, leading behind Dr. Carolyn Blakley, who served as interim chancellor in 1991.

Currently serving as provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at UAPB, Stewart will assume the role as a national search occurs to name a new permanent chancellor. Dr. Laurence B. Alexander, who led UAPB for over a decade, will leave UAPB at the end of the month to become chancellor of the University of Michigan – Flint.

“While we conduct the comprehensive search for the next chancellor, I am please to announce that Dr. Andrea Stewart has accepted my offer to serve as the Interim Chancellor for UAPB, beginning July 1, 2024, and will serve until the new chancellor starts his or her appointment. Please join me in thanking Dr. Stewart for accepting this challenging appointment and assist her as you can in carrying out the complex responsibilities of her new position,” said Bobbitt in a letter announcing the appointment.

Stewart has served as provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs since August 2022. Prior to that, she was the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences beginning in 2013, providing leadership to 12 academic departments. She served as coordinator/director of the social work program for 25 years, leading its initial accreditation and subsequent reaffirmations. Stewart served as interim Chairperson of the Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences and president of UAPB’s Faculty and Staff Senate. She successfully supported the Department of Nursing faculty to begin a new nursing program in 2015. Stewart received a Doctorate in Social Work from Howard University, a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), and a Bachelor’s Degree in sociology with a minor in psychology from UALR.

“I am deeply honored to serve as the interim chancellor of UAPB and thank Dr. Bobbitt for his tremendous opportunity,” said Dr. Stewart said. “This institution holds rich legacy of academic excellence and community impact, and I am committed to advancing its mission during this transitional period.”

“I thank Dr. Stewart for her heartfelt leadership and dedication to my alma mater, our Dear Mother UAPB. Dr. Stewart was my dean as a computer science major for the four years of my collegiate experience, and there is no doubt UAPB isn’t in good hands during this transitional period with Dr. Stewart at the helm. It is a historic moment in the institution’s 150-year history, as it marks the second woman to head Dear Mother in the interim role. Dr. Stewart has my full support,” said HCF Founder, President and CEO Demetrius Johnson, Jr.

Bobbitt said an announcement is also coming later this week to name the members of a search committee “that will have the responsibility of advising me and the University of Arkansas System’s Board of Trustees in identifying and vetting candidates, interviewing semi-finalists and scheduling visits to Arkansas for finalists in this process. It is important that all aspects of the campus community be fully engaged with the finalists when they visit as there will be a ample opportunity for your thoughts to be shared with, and considered by, the UA Board of Trustees in arriving at their final decision.”

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