News

UA BOARD APPROVES NEW DOCTORATE PROGRAM AT UAPB

By Wes Clement/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Friday, September 4, 2009 10:16 PM CDT

A proposed doctoral program in aquaculture/fisheries at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is one step closer to being a reality.

The University of Arkansas System Board of Directors voted Friday to expand UAPB’s role and scope to include the fisheries Ph.D. program, the first doctorate program at UAPB.

The proposal now must go to the state Higher Education Coordinating Board for approval, a step expected by spring 2010 before the first students can enroll in the fall of 2010.

“It will be important for the state that we do this and move forward,” said Dr. Carole Engle, UAPB aquaculture/fisheries department director.

UAPB has worked for 10 years to build a team of qualified faculty required of a Ph.D. program.

Dan Ferritor, UA System vice president of academic affairs and former chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, was charged with critically investigating the proposed program.

“We looked at this program,” Ferritor said, “and it got as stellar a review as any I’ve ever been involved in.”

He was in charge of bringing expert scientists to UAPB to determine if the aquaculture Ph.D. program would be competitive nationally. Dr. Robert McGehee, dean of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences graduate school, was among those involved in reviewing the program.

“It is absolutely one of the strongest I’ve seen out of the gate,” McGehee said. “Frankly it’s amazing they haven’t requested this before. It’s a phenomenal program.”

The graduate faculty UAPB has built during the past decade was subjected to peer review to determine the qualifications of each individual.

“One of the things that we did was to take all of the graduate faculty at the UAPB aquaculture program, and brought them to our graduate council at UAMS, and every one of those faculty were overwhelmingly and unanimously received,” McGehee said.

Following the initial review process, the UA System brought in a team of 30 nationally respected scientists to take a close look at the details of the program.

“The conclusion that I had,” Ferritor said, “as a result of these reviews, I don’t think I had ever seen, not in my time, a Ph.D. program that has had a stronger or more thorough review. That review that it had doesn’t get any tougher or stronger.”

Engle said the graduate faculty the university has hired in preparation for the program is highly qualified.

“We’ve recruited top quality scientists from across the United States and they are here with strong credentials.

“Our faculty have received the highest awards and honors in their field... They publish on average 5.7 journal articles per scientist research year.

“They serve on national task forces and are called to do this on any number of issues that affect aquaculture and fisheries across the United States,” she said.

Engle said earlier that students have been calling UAPB to enroll in the doctoral program though it does not yet exist and has not been advertised. She attributed this to the draw of the aquaculture school’s highly recognized faculty.

Also Friday, the board: