Andrea M. “AnDi” Tompkins has been hired as the inaugural Windgate Center of Art and Design art outreach specialist.

In her new role, effective July 1, Tompkins will build department community, recruit art students from Arkansas and the contiguous states to attend UA Little Rock. She will coordinate summer and year-long programming geared toward junior high and high school students and their teachers, and she will manage department scholarships for current and first-time students.

“We’re excited to have AnDi join us,” said Tom Clifton, chair of UA Little Rock’s Department of Art and Design. “With AnDi’s experience in the visual arts, I’m sure she’ll have a tremendous positive impact on the department and our students.”

Tompkins is a native Arkansan, having grown up in Hot Springs. She has a B.A. with distinction in art from Hendrix College and a Master of Science in education with a focus on educational leadership from Northwest Missouri State University. She has also completed two years of graduate course work and passed the comprehensive exam at UA Little Rock toward a Master of Art in art history.

Tompkins has more than 20 years of experience in specialized residential high schools and collegiate programs, including Arkansas Governor’s School; Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts; and the Missouri Academy of Science, Mathematics, and Computing. She has a broad background in Student Services, including staff supervision, office and facilities management, budget management, and extensive experience in developing educational programming for gifted adolescents.

For the past 12 years, Tompkins has served as the manager for the Arkansas Arts Center’s Museum School, where she supervised 50 art instructors, oversaw the daily operation of the community art school for nearly 2,400 students per year, aided in the development of art class curricula, and managed the school’s budget.

Tompkins lives in Bryant with her husband, Joe Harvey, and their daughter, Maryn.

Andrea Tompkins is UA Little Rock’s new art outreach specialist. Photo by Benjamin Krain