Chancellor

Dr. Trey Berry, Chancellor

Dr. Trey Berry currently serves as chancellor of Henderson State University. The Arkadelphia native was appointed to that position on January 1, 2024.

Prior to his time at Henderson, he served as president of Southern Arkansas University from 2015-2023. Berry joined SAU in 2011 as professor of history and dean of the College of Liberal and Performing Arts. He was promoted to provost and vice president for academic affairs one year later. Before coming to SAU, he spent two years as deputy director of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, two years as a dean at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, and 18 years as a faculty member and administrator at Ouachita Baptist University. During his time at SAU, the University launched and successfully completed its most ambitious comprehensive fundraising initiative in its history. Beginning in 2016 and concluding in October 2021, the Love & Loyalty Campaign raised $29.7 million, far surpassing its goal of raising $22.275 million. thanks to the generosity of Mulerider alumni and friends. The campaign established over 100 new endowments and funded support for every area of campus. 

Enrollment also increased at SAU during the 2015-2023 time period by more than 10 percent, with 5,094 students enrolled during the fall of 2022, SAU’s highest enrollment in history. 
 
Berry earned both his M.A. and Ph.D. in history at the University of Mississippi and earned his B.A. in history with minors in both political science and biology at Ouachita Baptist University. His published books include: The Forgotten Expedition; The Louisiana Purchase: Journals of Dunbar and Hunter; The Arkansas Journey (5th to 7th grade textbook); and Arkansas History: A Collegiate Reader.

He is married to Dr. Katherine Berry and together they have a grown son, Tanner, and a daughter, Berkeley, who is in 10th grade.