Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – The ASU System Board of Trustees on Friday approved resolutions concerning the system and Arkansas State University, as well as heard updates regarding A-State.
During the president’s reports, recently named A-State chancellor Dr. Calvin White presented updates on the university, including what is had accomplished during the fall semester and future plans. In his report, White said the university had six consecutive semesters of record-breaking student enrollment.
“I believe Arkansas State University is entering one of the most exciting chapters in its history, and we are having a moment,” White told the trustees. “We have the opportunity and we have the people who are committed to doing something special. Our responsibility now is to build on that success.”
In response, he said A-State is working on an enrollment growth campaign, which he said will focus on recruiting in areas such as Pulaski, Crawford, Benton, and Washington counties, as well as in the Memphis metro area. More information about this plan will be announced in the coming months, he said.
In fall 2026, A-State enrolled over 18,000 students, which is a 4.7% increase compared to fall 2025. A-State opened its College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) in August and is already recruiting its next class. The class has 120 spots available, and over 1,500 students have applied, White said.
The university recently dedicated the CVM’s equine barn and opened the Windgate Hall of Art and Innovation. White also pointed to the construction celebration of the upcoming CREST Center, which occurred earlier Friday morning. A-State awarded over 6,000 credentials last academic year, which include degrees, doctorates, technical certificates, and more.
“I don’t think we have ever been in a better spot, system-wide and in Jonesboro also,” trustee Jerry Morgan said.
For A-State-specific resolutions, the board approved renaming the defensive coordinator’s office in the Centennial Bank Football Stadium to the Coach Marvin Hagaman Defensive Coordinator’s Office. According to the resolution, the renaming honors Hagaman who led the A-State football team to the 1970 National Championship.
The board also approved bylaws for A-State Strategic Endeavors, Inc., a nonprofit organization that supports the university through providing structure for beneficial partnerships and transactions through projects such as research, campus facilities, private entity partnerships, and more.
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These bylaws establish the organization’s board structure, how it considers transactions, and the circumstances that determine when a project must also come before the ASU System Board of Trustees.
“This is a vehicle forward-looking that will help the continued drive to do some things, give flexibility to Jonesboro and maybe is a model going forward,” trustee Price Gardner said of the resolution. “I think we will see dividends from this going forward.”
For the system itself, the board approved establishing a policy governing AI usage in the ASU System. This policy outlines what authorized use of AI would be concerning academic, instructional, research and administrative purposes, as well as training requirements for students, faculty and staff. It also requires that each ASU System IT organization maintain its own supplemental AI governance standard.
“These four policies are similar but very important as things continue to change,” ASU System president Dr. Todd Shields said.
The board also approved an information and technology resource policy. It establishes 12 standards that each system IT organization must follow. These standards are listed below:
- Technology resource management
- Technology resource vulnerability and patch management
- Network security
- Technology resource phyiscal and environmental security
- Logical access security
- Artificial intelligence governance
- Risk assessment and vendor management
- Compliance framework implementation and assurance
- Incident response
- Business continuty and disaster recovery
- Technology resource user education
- Enterprise resource planning
The board approved revising its Appropriate Use of Information and Technology Resources Policy. The revised policy adjusts some definitions and language, adds a section detailing the appropriate use of artificial intelligence, and providing additional examples of what the appropriate use of technological resources would be.
The board also approved a data security and classification policy that creates data classification tiers and how all institutionally managed data is to be secured, stored, managed, and processed.
In other business, the board approved the following:
- Amending the 2027 operating budget of ASU Mountain Home
- Approving ASU Three Rivers to add area high schools as instruction locations
- Approving ASU Three Rivers to offer a technical certificate in general technology
- Renaming the Strength Training Center at Henderson State University to the “Jada and Chris Hart Strength Training Center”
- Purchasing property in Arkadelphia
- Faculty and staff salary changes from May through September
- New hires from May
- Multi-year contracts at A-State
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