A historian by training and native Arkansan, Dr. Calvin White, Jr. brings nearly 20
years of successive academic leadership experience and scholarly distinction to Arkansas
State University.
Leading the Pack
Dr. Calvin White, Jr. became Interim Chancellor of Arkansas State University on July
1, 2026, after serving as Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor. As the university's
chief academic officer, he led the Office of Academic Affairs and Research, the institution's
largest division, which includes 12 academic colleges, the Arkansas Biosciences Institute,
A-State Heritage Sites, two museums, and the A-State Reserve Officer Training Program
regiment.
Since joining A-State in 2023, White has played a strategic role in advancing the
university’s academic distinction and contributing to its institutional growth, while
strengthening research advancement and workforce development. Under his leadership,
the University established Arkansas’ first College of Veterinary Medicine from conception
to its first class anticipated in fall 2026. During this period, enrollment has expanded
to more than 18,000 students and counting, 58% of whom are first-generation. White
himself was a first-generation student and is the first African American to serve
as chancellor at A-State.
Scholarship and Honors
White is a historian who has been awarded numerous teaching and mentorship accolades
and whose research focuses on the African American experience in the Arkansas and
Mississippi Delta, which has led to multiple publications.
He served as a fellow in the SEC Academic Leadership Program and earned numerous top
teaching, advising and service awards, including the Fulbright College Master Teacher
Award and the Dr. John and Mrs. Lois Imhoff Award for Outstanding Teaching and Student
Mentorship. He was inducted into the University of Arkansas’s Teaching Academy and
served as a Gilder-Lehrman Fellow at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
in Harlem, New York. Further, White has lectured at the University of Sussex in Brighton,
England, and presented research at the Obama Institute at the University of Mainz,
in Mainz, Germany.
Education and Background
White earned a Ph.D. in history at the University of Mississippi and holds bachelor’s
and master’s degrees from the University of Central Arkansas.
A native Arkansan with deep ties to the Delta community, White has spent extensive
time in east and west Africa, Europe, and other international locations. He credits
these combined experiences with both enriching his personal scholarship and skills
in academic leadership, as well as broadening his global outlook.
White enjoys quiet hours in libraries and jazz, but above all values time spent with
his family, considering his greatest accomplishments to be those of husband and father,
roles he holds in the highest regard.
