Gov. Asa Hutchinson has appointed Tom Kennedy of Little Rock to the Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees.
Kennedy will serve a five-year term from Jan. 15, 2016, through Jan. 14, 2021.
He will succeed Eric Burnett of Fort Smith, who served as chairman of the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees in 2015. Burnett’s five-year term of service will end on Jan. 14, 2016.
This will mark Kennedy’s second term on the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees. He was a member of the board from January 2010-January 2015 and was chairman of the board in 2014.
Kennedy graduated from Arkansas Tech in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. He went on to earn a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law and gain admittance to the Arkansas Bar Association in 1985.
A former prosecuting attorney, Kennedy represented District 12 in the Arkansas State Senate for four years. He serves as vice president of public affairs at Entergy Arkansas, Inc., and is on the board of directors for the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas.
Kennedy is married to the former Kristi Mitchell of Russellville. They have two daughters.
Kennedy’s appointment completes the five-member Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees for the 2016 calendar year. He joins fellow board members Charles Blanchard of Russellville, John Ed Chambers III of Danville, Fritz Kronberger of Russellville and Leigh Whiteside of Russellville.
The board will elect officers for 2016 during its first meeting of the new year on Thursday, Jan. 21.
