News

Gov. Asa Hutchinson has appointed Attorney Price Gardner, a 1984 graduate of Arkansas State University, to a second term on the ASU System Board of Trustees.

Price, who is managing partner of Friday Eldredge & Clark LLP, was first appointed to a five-year term by Hutchinson in 2017 and served as chair of the ASU System Board in 2021. His reappointment is for a seven-year term – as specified by Act 18 of 2021 as part of the board’s expansion to seven members – and expires in January 2029. He is serving as vice chair of the board.

ASU System President Chuck Welch said he was grateful for the governor’s reappointment and the willingness of Gardner to continue to serve.

“Trustee Gardner brings expertise to the ASU System in so many areas,” Welch said. “We value his input and leadership, and we look forward to his continued oversight as we address opportunities and challenges for the system and its role in higher education.”

During Price’s tenure on the board, the ASU System has grown to seven member institutions with the addition of ASU Three Rivers in 2020 and Henderson State University in 2021.

“I’m proud of the expansion and strengthening of the ASU System amid the past two years of coping with the pandemic,” Price said. “Our team systemwide has shown resilience both operationally and financially while serving and protecting our students. I think we deliver excellent educational options at a good price and investment value to students, and I look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Welch and my board colleagues.”

Price is a member of Fifty for the Future, Arkansas and American Bar Associations, the Arkansas Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Red Wolves Foundation and Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. He is a 1924 Sustaining Life Member of the ASU Alumni Association.

While at Arkansas State, he was a four-year football letterman, two-time All-Southland Conference selection and three-time Southland Conference All-Academic Team. In 2021, he was named a Distinguished Alumni of the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting at Arkansas State in 1984 and his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law in 1988. He also has a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree in taxation from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. In addition to being a member of the Arkansas bar since 1988, he is also licensed as a certified public accountant (inactive) in Arkansas.

The ASU System, based in Little Rock, serves nearly 38,000 students annually through on-site and online options. Member institutions include Arkansas State University in Jonesboro with an additional campus in Queretaro, Mexico; ASU-Beebe, with additional campuses in Heber Springs and Searcy and an instructional site at the Little Rock Air Force Base; ASU-Mountain Home; ASU-Newport, with additional campuses in Jonesboro and Marked Tree; ASU Mid-South in West Memphis; ASU Three Rivers in Malvern; and Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.