Dr. Daniel J. Fudge, assistant professor of political science at University of the Ozarks, has been selected to participate in the prestigious Leadership Arkansas Class XVIII.
The Leadership Arkansas program was established in 2005 and is presented by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Industries of Arkansas. The nine-month program, which begins in September, will include 53 men and women in various fields and professions from throughout the state in its 18th class.
“I am humbled to be selected as a member of the Leadership Arkansas Class XVIII,” Fudge said. “This program will allow me to travel the state, learning from and alongside incredible leaders from across Arkansas. I’m excited to dedicate the next nine months – and years to come – to representing Ozarks and introducing new audiences to the superior higher education experience our faculty and staff provide our students. My dedication to Ozarks and our students will not stop when these sessions end, as I am committed to returning after each session with valuable information and relationships that will benefit my students and the university as a whole.”
According to the program’s website, the participants are “leaders within their respective communities and industries and are interested in expanding that involvement across the state of Arkansas. Over the course of nine months, these individuals will work together to become better acquainted with the issues facing Arkansas, experience the best that the regions and communities have to offer, network with some of the best and brightest in the state, and honor their already-demonstrated leadership capacities.”
Fudge joined the U of O faculty in 2022. He grew up in the Arkansas River Valley communities of Dover and Russellville before graduating high school in Van Buren, Ark. He earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Arkansas Fort Smith (UAFS) before going on to receive his master’s and Ph.D. from University of Mississippi.
Before coming to Ozarks, Fudge served as an adjunct professor and associate director of development at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS). He also was an assistant professor of political science at Tulsa Community College and an instructional assistant professor at the University of Mississippi.
Two of Fudge’s grandparents attended Ozarks — his late paternal grandfather, J.W. Fudge, and his maternal grandmother, Mary Bean. J.W. Fudge attended pharmacy school at Ozarks in the early 1950s before the pharmacy school was relocated, and Bean graduated in 1970 with a degree in elementary education.
Fudge lives in Fort Smith with his wife, Meagan Bowling Fudge, a Leadership Arkansas alumna and director of student information systems at the UAFS.
U of O alumna Mary Zunick ‘92, cultural affairs manager for Visit Hot Springs, was also selected for the Leadership Arkansas class.
Topics: About, Academics, Faculty Spotlights, Political Science