Dr. Mohamed Abdelrahman, vice president for academic affairs at Arkansas Tech University, announced on Monday, Aug. 29, that Dr. Beth Giroir will provide leadership for retention efforts at the institution as part of a new, centralized Office of Student Success Initiatives.
Giroir (photographed) will take office as interim assistant vice president for student success on Monday, Sept. 12. The Office of Student Success Initiatives will oversee and coordinate all retention programs, tutoring and career support at the university.
“The creation of the Arkansas Tech University Office of Student Success Initiatives is a result of the recently completed strategic planning process at our institution,” said Abdelrahman. “Our objective is to create a centralized office to lead and coordinate the campus-wide efforts to develop, implement and assess high-impact programs targeting student success at Arkansas Tech from retention and graduation to having impactful careers.”
Giroir served on the faculty in what is now known as the Arkansas Tech College of eTech from 2011-14. For the past two years, she has overseen student success efforts in the Arkansas Tech Office of Student Services.
The new Arkansas Tech Office of Student Success Initiatives will report to the Arkansas Tech Office of Academic Affairs.
A native of Owatonna, Minn., Giroir graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a baccalaureate degree in political science and public administration. She went on to earn a Master of Education degree in counseling and personnel services and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in higher education administration, both from the University of Southern Mississippi.
In addition to her time on the Arkansas Tech faculty, Giroir also worked as program coordinator for Tech 1001 — a course designed to introduce incoming freshmen to the university — and as an institutional research associate for the university. Her previous experience at other institutions included staff positions at the University of Southern Mississippi and Louisiana State University.
Abdelrahman said that a search for the permanent assistant vice president for student success in the Office of Student Success Initiatives will commence later this year.
