A longtime administrative leader at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Dr. Sandra Robertson Greenwood, will retire after four decades at the university.

She will be honored during a 4 p.m. reception Tuesday, Sept. 20, her 70th birthday, at the Legends Room in the UALR Jack Stephens Center.

As the director of budget and strategic initiatives, Sandra has been responsible for the development of the university’s annual operating budget and for the annual request for state appropriations for 24 years.  

She began her long career at the university as a learning lab coordinator, where she oversaw developmental programs in English, math, and reading. During her eight years in this position, she co-founded the Arkansas Association for Developmental Education and served as the association’s secretary.

During her career, Sandra held a variety of leadership positions at UALR, including serving as the interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs in 2003 and again from 2011 to 2012.

While serving as the executive director of community college relations and extended programs from 1998 to 2003, she worked hard to develop partnerships with the state’s community colleges.  

As part of that role, she led the statewide effort to develop an Associate of Arts in teaching degree for community colleges, which was funded by a grant from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. She also earned a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to fund scholarships for community college transfer students pursuing a technology-related major.

During her career at UALR, she served as assistant to the provost, director of institutional research, executive assistant to the chancellor, and chief of staff for the chancellor. In addition, she serves as an adjunct faculty member in the UALR College of Education and the Clinton School of Public Service.

Dr. Joel E. Anderson, who retired as chancellor of UALR over the summer, worked with Sandra for 21 years. He described Sandra as a talented leader and role model.

“Dr. Sandra Robertson is an extraordinary woman, and her many years of service and many leadership contributions defy easy summary,” Anderson said. “She was always willing to take on any job, large or small—whether to clear up a confusing $5 budget question or to serve longer than expected as interim provost. Her career has spanned a time of change in the role of women in American society, and Dr. Robertson has been a notable role model and mentor for women on campus and in the community.”

Sandra earned a bachelor’s degree in English and communication from Ouachita Baptist University and a master’s degree in communication from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

In 1994, she earned a doctorate in higher education administration from UALR. She also completed a Kellogg postdoctoral fellowship in community college leadership at the University of Texas at Austin and attended the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education at Harvard University in 1997.

Sandra served on the Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation board of directors, the Arkansas Women’s Leadership Forum, the Committed to Education Foundation board of directors, and the Single Parent Scholarship Board. In addition, she has held several leadership positions as a community volunteer for the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce leadership program.