Dr. Rick Massengale Sr. became UA Northark's fifth president on Aug. 2, 2021. He became UA Northark's first chancellor on April, 20, 2026, when UA Northark became part of the University of Arkansas System. Massengale served as UA Northark's vice president of academic and student affairs from 2019-2021.
Before coming to Harrison, Massengale served Arkansas Tech University in Russellville as associate vice president for sponsored programs and university initiatives and as a professor of computer and information science. From 2008 to 2015, Massengale was a department chair and associate professor of computer and information science at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. He earned a bachelor of science in computer science from Arkansas Tech University at the University Center in Fort Smith, Ark. Massengale earned a master of business administration from Webster University and a doctor of philosophy and applied science in applied computing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
