Progress in Student and Research Support - May 8, 2026

Dear Faculty, Staff and Graduate Assistants,

As we celebrate commencement over the next few days, I want to recognize the role you have played in all we’ve accomplished this year. We’ve made significant progress in supporting our students and advancing our research and creative activities, and we could not reach our goals or succeed as an institution without you.

Since last spring, we’ve opened three major research facilities, I³R, the Anthony Timberlands Center and MUSiC. We reopened the Fine Arts Center after extensive renovations. We dedicated one of the largest university-based solar facilities in the U.S. We’ve started construction on a new residence hall and are planning to add a new academic building to provide more classroom space. These new facilities and renovations directly impact our students, faculty and staff and will help us accommodate our continued enrollment growth in a sustainable way.

Beyond the physical growth of our campus, the university has set a new record for research activity, with $252.9 million in expenditures in FY25. That’s an increase of over $90 million in just four years, and we are committed to building on the tremendous momentum you’ve helped create.

Last July, the Division of Research and Innovation (DRI) hired Director of Research Infrastructure Srinivas Sistla to coordinate research planning and investments across the university. DRI is also working to expand research and scholarship support for our faculty by adding a DRI Research Fellow, who will facilitate scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. Additionally, the university and DRI have increased coordination between units to improve approval processes involving the Institutional Review Board (IRB), finance and procurement, which will allow faculty to secure research funding and start their research projects with little delay.

To enhance student support on our campus, Student Success units across the university have made remarkable progress toward raising our graduation rates this year. Last fall, the Office of Student Success coordinated with campus offices and every undergraduate college to implement the Graduation Pathways Working Group and the Mission 6-Year Graduation Project. These initiatives, along with collaboration across campus, are predicted to increase our graduation rate significantly.

I also want to highlight the achievements of our faculty, staff and GAs this year. Our faculty and graduate students have established partnerships throughout the state and across the globe to address water quality and protect Arkansas’ water resources; to develop innovative applications for rice, soybeans and lithium-ion batteries; and to uncover how collagen is affected by disease-causing bacteria. This spring, our faculty have been recognized with early career research awards, including Assistant Professor of Communication Jake Dionne, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Wan Shou, Assistant Professor of Special Education James Sinclair, and Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Dongyi Wang. Our staff and faculty have worked together to create the Mid-South AI Research Consortium with other universities across the south, which will allow us to advance AI research and unify the region’s AI capabilities.

Our improvements in research infrastructure, our campus-wide initiatives focused on helping students graduate, and your dedication to advancing our land-grant mission are vital to us reaching our 150 Forward Reaching Higher goals. Over the summer, I hope you find time to rest, recharge and take pride in all you’ve accomplished and how instrumental you’ve been to our recent success.

Best regards,

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