Following a national search, three finalists have been selected as candidates for dean of the new University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Social Sciences and Communication.

The finalists include Lisa Bond-Maupin of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Phillip Bridgmon of Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and Eric Freedman of Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Zulma Toro appointed Michael Schwartz, dean and professor of law at the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law, to lead the campus search committee.

The College of Social Sciences and Communication will include eight departments offering degrees at the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels, including the School of Mass Communication and the departments of Speech Communication, Rhetoric and Writing, Criminal Justice, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology, Political Science, and the Institute of Government. The college will also support several interdisciplinary research centers and institutes, including University Television, KLRE/KUAR public radio, the Survey Research Center, the Center for Nonprofit Organizations, and the Center for Public Collaboration.

Bond-Maupin, associate dean for Planning and Department Affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences, joined New Mexico State in 1995 as an assistant professor in sociology/anthropology. Her career focus has been on juvenile justice in communities of color. She was the founding department head for the Sociology Department and helped establish the Women’s Studies Program. Her campus visit will be May 12 and 13.

She received a doctorate in justice studies in 1992 and a master’s degree in social work in 1987 from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1982 from the University of Missouri.

Bridgmon, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Northeastern State since 2012, has helped reorganize the college from seven to 10 departments to include Cherokee and indigenous studies, theater and art, and history. He formerly held positions at the University of North Alabama as a Leadership Committee member of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges and chair of the Quality Enhancement Plan. His campus visit will be May 13 and 14.

He received a bachelor’s degree in 1996 and a master’s degree in criminal justice and doctorate in political science in 2002 from the University of Alabama.

Freedman, dean of the James L. Knight School of Communication at Queens University since 2012, helped to strengthen the academic profile and reputation of the college and positioned the Knight School as a critical industry and civic partner in the greater Charlotte area. Prior to joining Queens, he was assistant dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Florida Atlantic University. His campus visit will be May 15 and 16.

He received a doctorate in critical studies in 1998 from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, a master’s degree in 1991 in art history from USC’s School of Fine Arts, and a bachelor’s degree in 1987 from Cornell University.

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