Dr. Bentley Wallace has verbally accepted an offer to become the fifth president of South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado.

The SouthArk Board of Trustees voted Friday morning to extend the offer to Wallace, currently the dean of the School of Technical and Professional Studies at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock.

He is expected to begin his new duties on February 1.

He will succeed the retiring Dr. Barbara Jones, who has been the college’s president since 2009. The decision culminates a national hiring search that was conducted over the course of six months.

“I am very honored to be selected as the next president of South Arkansas Community College, and I appreciate the thorough process and diligence provided by the search committee, the board of trustees and the search firm,” Wallace said.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to serve students, employers and communities throughout South Arkansas, in partnership with the distinguished faculty and staff at SouthArk, as we work together to realize the college’s mission of excellence in learning, teaching and service.”

Wallace has held his current position since 2018, after having been the vice chancellor for economic development at that college since 2013. Prior, he was the director of business and transportation technology at Arkansas State University-Newport for seven years.

He also has been very active in state community-college leadership. He recently was elected to a second term as president of the board of Arkansas Community Colleges, the statewide organization that represents such schools.

Wallace has held numerous other volunteer board and committee positions at the local and state level, and is a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow.

He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with a doctor’s degree in human resource and workforce development education, of Arkansas State University with a master’s degree in education and of ASU with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.

Before entering the higher education sphere, he worked in the healthcare, construction and transportation industries.

“SouthArk is a fantastic college, and El Dorado is such a vibrant and exciting place,” he said. “As we visited El Dorado numerous times during the search process, everyone we met at the college, in restaurants, and in shops were extremely friendly and welcoming. Our family is very excited as we plan our move to Union County and

look forward to serving and getting to know our new friends and neighbors. We can’t wait to be there.”

Dr. Bentley Wallace will become the fifth president of South Arkansas Community College.