BILL KINCAID

University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbit has named Bill Kincaid, associate general counsel for the UA campus in Fayetteville as acting chancellor of the system’s flagship campus.

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A release said Kincaid would serve for “a few weeks” while Bobbitt seeks to identify “the best person to lead the campus through the next academic year and beyond.”

Bobbitt continues to remain silent on the reason for Joseph Steinmetz’s abrupt departure as chancellor last Friday beyond pointing questioners to Steinmetz’s statement. Steinmetz claimed he was tired of being a “crisis manager” and referred to increasing polarization on issues, including the ongoing debate on campus honors for former Sen. J. William Fulbright. He left without advance notice a $714,000-a-year job and vacated the university residence in a hurry.

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Steinmetz’s comments about politics ring true enough. Management of a major university is not easy and competing factions care deeply about diversity, pandemic response, tenure issues, athletics, parking and any number of other issues. But  there’s evidence the catalyst was something more personal.

It seems clear that the president owes an explanation. Did superiors’ assessment of job performance figure in the sudden departure?

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Steinmetz’s departure followed by a couple of days inquiries by media to UA about photographs on social media that appeared to be Steinmetz. One legislator who has seen them described them as obscene. After using a university spokesman to initially declare the photos were a hoax, Steinmetz’s only public statement on the issue since has been to decline to discuss them. He told the Chronicle of Higher Education “anybody can post anything on social media, and the world believes it.”

Bobbitt announced the appointment of Kincaid in a letter to the campus.

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“I am committed to working with the Board of Trustees, the campus community, and all supporters of the university in pursuing a path to finding the next chancellor of the University of Arkansas,” Bobbitt wrote. “While I know the decision by Chancellor Steinmetz to resign from his position last week came as a surprise to many, the University of Arkansas remains in a strong position and prepared for a bright future.”

Kincaid, 55, has worked in the counsel’s office since 2000 and as managing associate general counsel since 2018.

From the UA release:

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Kincaid is a 1988 honors graduate of Yale University. He obtained his law degree in 1993 from the University of Virginia. He also holds a master’s in public affairs from Princeton University through a joint program. Prior to joining the University of Arkansas, Kincaid worked with the U.S. Department of Education and the White House Domestic Policy Council. He also previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard S. Arnold, who at that time was Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He is married to Missy Darwin Kincaid and has two children currently attending the University of Arkansas.

“I appreciate Dr. Bobbitt asking me to serve in this capacity,” Kincaid said. “It’s an honor, especially as we continue to celebrate our 150th year serving the State of Arkansas. I look forward to working with our outstanding leadership team, faculty and staff over the next few weeks to keep the university moving forward. We have a lot of work to do to get ready to welcome students this fall and continue progress on a range of initiatives.”

 

UPDATE: To my question of whether this was a signal Bobbitt has no intention to comment on reasons for Steinmetz’s departure, System spokesman Nate Hinkel said:

We’re remaining where we were on Friday regarding speculative reasons of Dr. Steinmetz’s departure. The former chancellor notified Dr. Bobbitt about resigning on his own and the president has moved swiftly to ensure the campus remains on course. We’re continuing to move forward with finding a more permanent leader as Dr. Bobbitt works with the Board of Trustees, the campus community and all supporters of the university in pursuing a path to finding the next chancellor.

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