Dr. Len Frey appointed to serve as Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
JONESBORO — Dr. Tim Hudson, chancellor, announced today that he has appointed Dr. Len Frey as vice chancellor for Finance and Administration at Arkansas State University.
Frey, who currently is dean of the College of Business at ASU, is expected to begin his new duties on July 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year.
“I am very pleased that Len Frey has agreed to serve in this key leadership position on the university’s Executive Council,” Dr. Hudson said. “His professional background in business management and higher education, combined with his knowledge of the community and the state of Arkansas, give him a solid foundation of experience relevant to the opportunities and challenges he will face as vice chancellor.”
A search committee was co-chaired by Julie Bates, vice president for Finance for the ASU System, and Dr. Rick Stripling, vice chancellor for Student Affairs.
Frey will succeed Ed Kremers, who has served as vice chancellor since January of 2008. Kremers, who has announced plans to retire from ASU at the end of June, joined the university staff as associate vice president in 1994, before the System Office was established.
“We are grateful to Ed Kremers for the professional and very successful manner in which he directed the various university operations under his oversight,” Dr. Hudson also said. “ASU-Jonesboro is in excellent financial and operational condition, largely due to the excellent leadership Ed brought to the position. I hope he will enjoy his well-deserved retirement and return to the campus often to participate in special events in the life of the university.”
Following a 4 1/2-year term as chair of the Department of Management and Marketing, Frey was appointed interim dean of the College of Business in January of 2005. The appointment was made permanent later that year.
Before joining the ASU faculty, Frey was associate professor of management, director of the Free Enterprise Program, and chair of the Department of Management and Marketing at Nicholls State University in Louisiana. His prior business experience includes positions in the healthcare industry at Cardiology Associates of Northeast Arkansas and St. Bernards Medical Center.
Frey is a past president of the Jonesboro University Rotary Club and treasurer on the board of directors of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce. He also is a member of numerous local and state boards, including the Arkansas District Export Council, Accelerate Arkansas, Jonesboro Economic Development Corp., and the UAMS Area Health Education Center Northeast Advisory Committee.
His academic teaching specialties, in which he also has been a consultant for business and industrial clients, include team building, management and leadership. He also has published several articles in professional journals.
Frey completed both his bachelor of science in accounting and his master of business administration degrees at ASU. He earned his doctoral degree in business administration from the University of Memphis. A native of Mammoth Spring, he is a 1981 graduate of Mammoth Spring High School. His parents, Tom and Willa Frey, reside in Mammoth Spring. He is married to the former Renea McKinney, the daughter of Jim and Julie McKinney of Ravenden.
“I look forward to working closely with Chancellor Hudson and the executive team to accomplish the ambitious goals that he has set for the university,” Frey said. “The university is on the cusp of many great accomplishments and I am excited to be a part of the leadership team.”
The advertised opening for vice chancellor attracted 14 applications, which the search committee reviewed carefully before inviting two finalists to campus for interviews with various campus constituencies, according to the committee co-chairs.
The vice chancellor provides leadership and oversight for the Finance and Administration division of the university. As such, he is responsible for the financial and administrative operations of the university, including serving as liaison to various governmental entities.
“We are grateful to the various members of the search committee for their work with identifying the best possible candidate for vice chancellor,” according to a statement from committee co-chairs, Bates and Stripling. “We also appreciate the candidates who expressed interest in the position.”
# # #
