Expanding Research Recognition - February 24, 2026

Dear Faculty, Staff and Graduate Assistants,

Last semester, I held a series of town halls and listening sessions to learn from you and hear first-hand about the opportunities and challenges you face working for the university.  Through that process, I identified points of pride and several areas where our institution can improve, and I will provide regular updates on how we are addressing these areas.

After visiting with you, I was encouraged to work even more closely with the Division of Research and Innovation (DRI) to support the great work already underway in their division to modernize and professionalize our research enterprise.  The first area I would like to focus on is how we are expanding research recognition on our campus.

In 2024, we named Becca Muenich the Provost’s Fellow for Honorific Awards.  She was reappointed last semester, and in this role, Dr. Muenich has been working with both my office and DRI to increase the number of faculty nominations for honorific awards in the areas of research, scholarship, and creative endeavors.  Through this initiative, we’ve strengthened our relationship with DRI, and this project is a prime example of how we’ve worked closely together to elevate the national reputation of our faculty and further reinforce the university's profile as a top tier research institution and an employer of choice.

Dr. Muenich has also been working with the Office for Faculty Affairs to highlight the faculty who have received honorific awards on facultyaffairs.uark.edu and find other ways to showcase their achievements across campus. In addition, we are collaborating with DRI to establish a recognition system for research achievements and to create additional institutional awards that celebrate research contributions, in all forms, throughout the university.

Last semester, we partnered with DRI to hire Jeyam Subbiah as the associate vice chancellor for research development, and earlier this year, DRI partnered with the Office for Faculty Affairs to hold Research Camp, which was attended by more than 100 faculty. For the first time, Research Camp was held over two days with the first day focusing on early career faculty and the second day open to all faculty. This event centered on building cross-disciplinary partnerships across departments, grant funding opportunities, and how faculty can plan for and achieve promotion and tenure.  In addition, we held an awards ceremony at the end of Research Camp to recognize 19 faculty members who received their first major external grant, which is a significant milestone in their careers. These faculty represent nearly every college on campus as well as University Libraries and I³R.

As we continue forward this semester, I want to thank you for your dedication to research excellence and our land-grant mission. Your contributions have a direct impact on our community and our success as an institution, and when you succeed, the university succeeds.

Best Regards,

Indrajeet Chaubey, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs 
Distinguished Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering