Chancellor approves Red Wolves as new mascot

The Red Wolves is officially named as the mascot for Arkansas State University. The ASU Board of Trustees approved the name in a meeting on Friday.

The announcement came after a Jan. 30 recommendation of either the Wolves or a variation of it from the ASU Mascot Steering Committee. Chancellor Robert Potts said that no other four-year university had the Red Wolves as a mascot, while the more generic, Wolves, was used at various other universities. "The red wolf is a noble species that once inhabited (Arkansas)," Potts said. He cited them as being vicious and aggressive.

The new mascot imagery is to be unveiled at 11 a.m. Thursday on the east side of the ASU Student Union. The roll out ceremony is to include guest speakers Morgan Pippin, president of the Student Government Association, and Corey Leonard, quarterback of the football team. In case of bad weather, the ceremony will be held at the Student Union center court.

ASU's athletic teams will be competing as the Red Wolves at the beginning of the 2008-2009 academic year, according to a press release.

Potts also announced to the board that the search for new men's basketball coach is still underway. ASU's previous head coach, Dickey Nutt, resigned Feb. 19 after 13 years in the position. It was effective immediately.

Assistant coaches Al Grushkin and Shawn Forrest are currently acting as co-interim head coaches. "We hope to move rapidly, but we do not want to rush this decision, because we feel this is an important decision for our campus and others across the state," Potts said.

ASU officials are still in the process of talking to potential candidates, and Potts said he hoped to "within the next few days bring those talks to a conclusion."

An announcement is hoped to be made before the Final Four is played, though Potts said it is "more important to get the right person than to make a deadline."

Whoever is hired is hoped to be a "national class coach, and that is what we are looking for; someone that can lift the ASU's men's basketball team to a new level," Potts said.

In other news, the board heard reports from President Les Wyatt and the four chancellors, including Potts. Potts said the campus' spring semester enrollment of 10,369 is an all time high for ASU and is an increase of 3.6 percent from spring 2007. The preliminary first-time enrollment numbers of 8,172 increased by the same percentage from 7,822 in the spring 2007.

Potts also stated in his report that there are 12 capital construction projects in various stages of planning. This includes groundbreaking ceremonies April 4 for the Student Wellness and Recreation Center and two separate ceremonies May 9 for the new Honors student housing facility and the new apartment complex.

Potts also announced in his report that plans were underway to reestablish an English as A Second Language program in order to attract more international students to the campus. According to his report, ASU has already hired Cagri Bagcioglu, effective Feb. 1, to expand international programs, and contracts have been signed with two agencies, one in South Asia and the other in Japan.

The board also approved the following resolutions:

• A 6.9 percent increase in ASU-Jonesboro residence life rates and meal plan options for the 2008-2009 academic year to fund the costs to operate the residence facilities and dining services.

• A contractual relationship between ASU-Jonesboro and the National Collegiate Network Institute (NCN) to recruit international students from Japan.

• Change of the ASU-Jonesboro unit name of the Department of Accounting and Law in the College of Business to the Department of Accounting. The change allows the college to more effectively allocate internal resources.

• To allow ASU-Beebe to offer within its approved criminal justice program a certificate of proficiency in corrections, a certificate of proficiency in forensics, a certificate of proficiency in law enforcement and a certificate of proficiency in wildlife enforcement.

• To allow ASU-Beebe to offer within its approved computer-aided drafting/design program a certificate of proficiency in 2-D mechanical CAD drafting.

• To allow ASU-Beebe to offer within its approved computer systems and networking technology program a certificate of proficiency in computer fundamentals and a certificate of proficiency in computer and networking fundamentals.

• The revised and updated 2008-2013 Strategic Plan for ASU-Mountain Home.

• The transfer of certificates and AAS degrees at ASU Technical Center previously approved by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, from the oversight and management of ASU-Jonesboro to the oversight and management of ASU-Newport, effective July 1.

The board previously approved to transfer management of ASU Technical Center from ASU-Jonesboro to ASU-Newport.