Julie Hall, a Harvard graduate in social studies who holds a master’s degree in education from UALR, has assumed a new position as director of the University District Educational Network.

The new position will allow Hall to work within the University District framework on a new youth development initiative aimed at helping address some of the district’s broader educational goals and priorities.

Her operation will be housed in the Office of University Advancement in Administration South.

Hall comes to UALR with a strong background in education and community service. She has more than 18 years of experience designing, implementing, facilitating, and teaching in both traditional and non-traditional educational settings, most recently working as a program coordinator at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute.

“Julie Hall brings a wealth of experience to the challenges and opportunities of improving education for children in the University District,” said Bill Walker, vice chancellor of University Advancement. “We are very fortunate to have her join UALR in our efforts to strengthen neighborhoods near the campus.”

For 12 years, Hall taught social studies and gifted and talented classes at public secondary schools in Arkansas and Wisconsin. She served as a curriculum specialist at Dunbar Magnet Middle School in Little Rock.

Before working in U.S. schools, she lived for four years in Namibia in southern Africa where she was a volunteer teacher of English as a Second Language and worked for WorldTeach.

A native of Illinois, she graduated from Harvard in 1989 and earned a master’s degree in education from UALR in 1997. She can be contacted at jchall2@ualr.edu or at (501) 569-3187.