Jennifer Holtz has been named the new head of the School of Counseling, Human Performance, and Rehabilitation at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

As director, Holtz is in charge of the school’s nine graduate and undergraduate academic programs. She is also the coordinator of the UALR Master of Education in adult and professional learning program.

While working as an assistant professor at DePaul University, Holtz began her UALR career as an adjunct faculty member in 2010. She was hired as an assistant professor in 2012 and promoted to associate professor in 2015.

She has also worked as a clinical instructor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and as a visiting scholar at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Holtz has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Newman University and a master’s degree in gerontology from Wichita State University. She received her doctoral degree in adult, continuing, and occupational education from Kansas State University in 2002.

Hailing from Chicago, Holtz is an avid gardener and reader with an appreciation for French and German history and pre-Soviet Russian social history. She has two basset hounds, Miki and Ditka, who are named after retired professional athletes. Miki is named after Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks, and Ditka is named for Mike Ditka of the Chicago Bears.