Dr. Calvin Johnson, former chair of UALR’s Department of Teacher Education, has been named interim chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

University of Arkansas System President Dr. Donald R. Bobbitt said the appointment will begin Tuesday, May 29, until a national search is conducted to find a permanent replacement for Dr. Lawrence A. Davis Jr., who will retire on May 25.

Johnson, a former dean of the College of Education at UAPB, said he won’t be a candidate for the permanent position.

A former legislator who served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1998 to 2004, Johnson is currently a member of the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board, a position he will resign from before becoming interim chancellor.

Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture education at UAPB and a master’s degree in counselor education from the University of Central Arkansas. He completed his Ph.D. in adult education and public school administration at Kansas State University.