Bob Adams, vice chancellor for business and finance for the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), will become the new vice chancellor for finance at UALR in February, Chancellor Joel E. Anderson announced this week. Adams will assume his new assignment as UALR’s chief financial officer on Feb. 1, 2009. He will replace Lucian Shockey, former vice chancellor for business and finance, who resigned earlier this year.

Adams, who has held the position in Tennessee since 2002, helped to direct the finances of the nation’s sixth largest higher education system that governs 45 post-secondary educational institutions. The TBR system includes six universities, 13 two-year colleges, and 26 technology centers, providing programs in 90 of Tennessee’s 95 counties to more than 180,000 students.

“I am delighted that Bob Adams is joining UALR’s administration,” said Chancellor Anderson. “Bob brings to UALR years of experience overseeing the financial health of several institutions of higher learning. With the national and global economy in a state of unease, it is important to have a strong, experienced hand on board to help guide UALR’s finances.”

Adams, a native of Tennessee, began his career in 1973 as an auditor in the Tennessee Division of State Audit working primarily on assignments in higher educational institutions. He was budget director at Austin Peay State University from 1977 to 1981 and then served as financial analyst at the Tennessee Board of Regents central office from 1981 to 1986.

He held increasingly responsible positions at Middle Tennessee State University from 1986 to 1999, serving as associate vice president for finance and administration from 1997 to 1999. From 1999 to 2001, he served as the chief financial officer for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Prior to the appointment to his position with the Tennessee Board of Regents, he was the vice president for finance and administration at Austin Peay State University.

Adams holds a doctorate in higher education and policy studies from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, an educational specialist degree from Middle Tennessee State University, an MBA from Middle Tennessee State University, and a BS degree in accounting from Austin Peay State University.  He is also a certified public accountant.  He served for more than 22 years in the Tennessee Army National Guard, retiring with the rank of major. Adams and his wife, Darla, have one son, Jeffrey Jackson Adams.