W. Cody Decker has been named associate provost and chief data officer at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, effective July  1.

The new position encompasses the duties of the director of institutional research and additional responsibilities that address institutional priorities in regards to the outcomes-based funding formula, strategic plan metrics, and a new data governance initiative, among other duties.

“Dr. Decker’s work in information systems as well as his leadership experience will aid the university in achieving institutional priorities,” said Velmer S. Burton Jr., executive vice chancellor and provost for UA Little Rock.

Decker received a Ph.D. in Integrated Computing from UA Little Rock. He is currently the director of institutional research in the Office of Institutional Research, which facilitates the collection, analysis, and interpretation of institutional data for administrators, faculty, and staff at UA Little Rock. Decker specializes in enterprise data architectures, systems integration and implementation, and management dashboards/key performance indicators. He also serves as an adjunct professor in the Department of Information Science and has researched and published in the areas of information quality, entity resolution, and data privacy.

Decker has more than 13 years of experience in information systems, research, and technology. Before coming to UA Little Rock, he was the assistant commissioner of education and chief information officer at the Arkansas Department of Education, where he implemented cost-saving measures to account for a reduction in department funding while simultaneously delivering award-winning information tools for Arkansas’ K-12 educators and students.

Decker has also served as the network project manager in research and technology at Dawson Education Cooperative, and as technical support manager at Environmental and Spatial Technology, Inc. (EAST).

“I am honored to serve in this additional capacity and as the university’s first chief data officer,” Decker said. “I’ve treasured my experiences thus far, especially the partnerships with faculty and staff, and I look forward to continued collaborations as we increase the quality, use, and capabilities of data analytics at UA Little Rock.”