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Carol Barnhill Named Chief Procurement Officer for A-State

02/28/2019

JONESBORO – Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Dr. Len Frey announced the realignment of offices within procurement, and the appointment of Carol Barnhill as Arkansas State University’s first chief procurement officer.

A veteran administrator with considerable experience in state contracts and purchasing, Barnhill becomes the lead on a new internal structure.  For many years, she served as the director of procurement for A-State, but has spent the past nine months working with the ASU System on collaborative A-State and system projects outside of procurement.  She returns to A-State with broader responsibilities.

“For the past several months we have been engaged in an intensive effort to review our processes and procedures, and we have made numerous changes to how we conduct these critical activities,” Frey said.  “This new organizational structure provides additional accountability, as well as an opportunity to be more strategic in our overall procurement.  We believe by elevating the authority of the CPO, combined with her experience, will lead to better procedural compliance and more overall efficiency.”

Along with Barnhill, Gretchen Burns is appointed as senior associate controller within the Controller’s Office. 

In the new alignment, Barnhill will manage Procurement Services, Contract Administration and Strategic Sourcing, and will report directly to Dr. Russ Hannah, senior associate vice chancellor for finance and associate chief financial officer.  Burns will oversee the offices of Accounts Payable and Disbursing, Travel Services, Tax Administration and General Accounting and reports to the current controller, Myra Goodwin.

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Carol Barnhill
Carol Barnhill