ASU System welcomes Dr. Brendan Kelly as its third president

Dr. Brendan Kelly

Brendan Kelly, Ph.D., became the third president of the Arkansas State University System on Sept. 23, 2024, after being selected by the ASU System Board of Trustees on June 5, 2024.

Dr. Kelly joined the ASU System after serving as president of the University of West Georgia in Carrollton since 2020. He joined UWG at one of the most extraordinary periods for higher education due to the COVID-19 pandemic and repositioned the institution for a successful future rooted in optimism and innovation in a rapidly changing higher education landscape.

Among his accomplishments at UWG, Dr. Kelly:

• Achieved record-breaking fundraising outcomes including the most robust total year record and largest gift in institutional history.
• Led an enrollment resurgence at the undergraduate level and dramatic increases in graduate student enrollment, including achieving the highest undergraduate retention rates in the institution’s history.
• Led stakeholder-based institution level strategic planning resulting in Becoming UWG — Institutional Strategic Plan 2021-2026.
• Created and implemented an enterprise-wide continuous improvement framework to activate the strategic plan.
• Increased recurring and non-recurring state support for the university including completing a new, state of the art academic building and full funding for multiple deck to deck renovations of buildings on the main campus and satellites.
• Led the development of the UWG Research Corporation to advance the capacity of the university in elevating university participation in IP, private-entity partnerships, and advanced research activities.
• Led the creation of multiple, high-demand academic programs in collaboration with industry partners.
• Advanced the programmatic foundation for UWG Athletics including an elevation from the DII Gulf South Conference to DI Atlantic Sun Conference.
• Led the creation of a university-wide, integrated marketing and communication platform.

A practiced academic leader, Dr. Kelly’s focus at UWG was innovative programming both inside and outside the classroom with an emphasis on creating valuable life and career outcomes for students, with a commitment to launch and advance student careers upon graduation. He served on the board of directors of multiple regional and state economic development entities, as well as the Atlanta Regional Higher Education Consortium.

While leading and implementing the “Becoming UWG” Institutional Strategic Plan, Dr. Kelly led UWG to record-breaking fund-raising efforts, including the largest gift in institutional history, and oversaw an enrollment resurgence. Its spring enrollment was 11.4% higher than last year, while its graduate enrollment surged 41%.

Prior to joining UWG, Dr. Kelly was chancellor at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg and Greenville from 2017-2020 and was appointed as interim president of the University of South Carolina in 2019. He was vice president of university advancement and president of the UWF Foundation, Inc., at the University of West Florida in Pensacola from 2013-2017, where he led a successful $50 million capital campaign. His professorial career spanned 13 years in Florida and Michigan in communication arts.

Dr. Kelly is a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities board of directors and was named “One of the Most Influential Georgians” by Georgia Trend magazine and James Magazine. He was active with the National Forensic Association (NFA) and other speech and debate competitions for many years and was honored as a NFA Hall of Fame inductee and with the Eddie Myers Distinguished Service Award.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in public relations and a Master of Arts degree in communication at Eastern Michigan University and his Doctor of Philosophy in communication at Wayne State University.

Kelly and his wife, Dr. Tressa Kelly, have three children – Bree Luckey (married to Drew Luckey), Liam and Kieran.