Chris Boothman to Serve as Interim Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management
JONESBORO – Chris Boothman was named interim vice chancellor for Enrollment Management and Global Outreach (EMGO) at Arkansas State University, Chancellor Todd Shields announced this week.
Currently the assistant vice chancellor for EMGO’s Global Campus unit, Boothman will take over direction of the division as Dr. Thilla Sivakumaran has announced his departure later this summer.
“I appreciate Chris stepping up to provide leadership to this important part of Arkansas State’s operations, and I am looking forward to working with him over the coming months,” Shields said. “Chris has an outstanding track record in problem solving with our A-State Online and our enrollment management areas. He’s been an integral part of A-State.”
“I am honored to be asked to serve as the interim vice chancellor,” Boothman said. “I have a great commitment to the work we’ve done with improving our on-campus recruiting, enhancing our international projects, and maintaining and expanding our online programs.”
Boothman takes over a division he’s played critical roles in for the past five years. He was promoted to assistant vice chancellor in July 2022, and has overseen day-to-day operations of A-State’s Global Campus operations, which includes the university degree centers in Arkansas, international locations such as Mexico and Qatar, as well as Early College Programs, which include high school concurrent students and the UpSkill coding initiative.
“I’m very happy to see Chris’ selection as the interim vice chancellor,” Sivakumaran said. “I know the division will be in good hands.”
Among the recent projects he has brought to completion is the establishment of DegreeWorks as a key component for both incoming and ongoing student progress monitoring. He also led the team within EMGO to create enhanced coordination among recruitment and registration efforts. As A-State makes the transition from Blackboard to Canvas for its institutional learning management system in fall 2023, Boothman was the project lead for the university in this crucial, time-sensitive project.
Boothman joined the division in 2018 as the director of A-State Online faculty support after working with the Registrar’s Office for eight years. With the registrar, he rose through the ranks from assistant director and systems analyst, coordinating needs for student records with the university’s Information and Technology Services, to associate registrar prior to moving to the online program.
A 2005 graduate of the University of Manchester with his Bachelor of Science with honors in computer science and geography, Boothman earned his MBA from A-State in August 2010.
Sivakumaran came to A-State in 2012 as the dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Science, serving two years in that role prior to becoming the executive director of Global Engagement and Outreach. For six years he oversaw A-State’s international recruiting as well as international projects including exchanges to Asia and Europe and overseeing university partnerships such as A-State Campus Queretaro. He was promoted to vice chancellor and the EMGO division created in January 2021 to bring all the university’s recruiting outreach into a single area. Prior to A-State he was associate dean for the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
“I want to say thank you to Thilla for giving over a decade of service to Arkansas State,” Shields said. “His work ethic and ability to tackle difficult tasks was well-known across the campus and we will miss him. We wish him well in his new opportunity.”
“It’s been my honor to work for the students, faculty and staff of Arkansas State,” Sivakumaran said. “It’s a bittersweet day, and I’ll always have fond memories of my time in Jonesboro.”
