Meet the Chancellor

Leading the Pack

Placing new emphasis on student support services at A-State, Shields knows the pathway to higher retention and graduation begins with effective teaching strategies and on-campus programming tailored to the needs of the current generation of students.  Now in his third year, he is working relentlessly to build partnerships with local community and industry leaders to strengthen Northeast Arkansas and create unmatched opportunities for the student population at A-State, which has grown more than 18 percent since his arrival.

Under Shields’ leadership, Arkansas State University has launched several transformative initiatives that are reshaping the future of higher education in the region.  In early 2025, the university broke ground on the state’s first College of Veterinary Medicine, which will address critical shortages in rural veterinary care and expand A-State’s impact on animal health and agriculture.  Shields also led efforts to establish the Center for Advanced Materials and Steel Manufacturing, supported by $10 million in federal funding, positioning the university as a leader in applied research and talent development for the steel industry.  In partnership with Arkansas Northeastern College and ASU-Newport, A-State secured competitive workforce grants to expand training opportunities across Northeast Arkansas.  And with the construction of Windgate Hall of Art and Innovation, the university is fostering cross-disciplinary problem-solving through a dynamic new space that bridges art, engineering, computer science, and entrepreneurship.

Prior Roles

Before arriving at A-State, he spent many years at the University of Arkansas, where he rose through the ranks to serve as dean of the largest academic unit in Fayetteville.  Shields’ depth of academic and administrative experience spans from department chair to research centers, and from deanships of individual colleges to divisions that touch all corners of the university.  His two most recent academic appointments, dean of the Graduate School and International Education (GSIE) and dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, illustrate his leadership strength.

One of Shields’ signature contributions to UA was the creation of a School of Art within the college, bolstered by significant endowment gifts that funded the construction of a new campus space, serving as a partnership with the city of Fayetteville.  Additionally, Shields played a pivotal role in the creation of the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society, serving as its founding director.  Shields followed his time as department chair and Blair Center director with a year as the associate dean of the President William Jefferson Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock.

Academic Career

He began his academic career as an assistant professor in political science at Arkansas in 1994 and was promoted to associate professor in 1999.  He joined the Fulbright Institute of International Relations as its associate director in 2000 and became a full professor in political science in 2005.  For eight years, he also concurrently chaired the political science department at UA.

Education & Family

Shields earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology in 1990 from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.  He continued his education at the University of Kentucky, where he received his Master of Arts in political science in 1991 and his Ph.D. in 1994. 

He and his wife, Karen, have two adult children, Savvy and Dane, and welcomed their first grandchild, Adeline Janine Wolfe, in March 2024.