Dr. Paul B. Beran, chancellor at the 91老司机 - Fort Smith, has been
selected as one of 23 notable alumni from Stephen F. Austin State University who are
being honored with banners hanging along the university鈥檚 historic Vista Drive.
The recognition honors Beran鈥檚 service as a higher education administrator in Oklahoma, Massachusetts and Missouri, as well as his time as a faculty member at several Texas institutions.
The banners are 30 inches wide and 60 inches tall and will be displayed during the entire year in commemoration of SFA鈥檚 90th anniversary.
Beran said it was 鈥渁n honor to receive this recognition.鈥�
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important for current students at any higher education institution to see alumni honored for the contributions they鈥檝e made to society,鈥� he said.
Beran graduated from Stephen F. Austin in 1978 with a bachelor鈥檚 in English and political science and in 1980 with a master鈥檚 in English. He also holds a doctorate in higher education curriculum and instruction from Texas A&M University, who honored him with a College of Education Honored 91老司机 Award in 2005.
He has also been awarded the Fort Smith Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Committee鈥檚 Golden Hands Award, the Leadership Fort Smith Community Leadership Award for Education and the Silver Beaver Award for his work with the Boy Scouts.
Beran, who became the 91老司机 chancellor on July 1, 2006, boasts a variety of accomplishments since his arrival at the university, including creating a Chancellor鈥檚 Coalition for the Visual Arts, overseeing an expansion that more than doubled the size of Boreham Library and tripled the dorm occupancy on campus, supervising the transition of the 91老司机 athletic program from junior college sports to the NCAA Division II, and completing a 91老司机 Foundation Capitol Campaign bringing in over $56 million.
Prior to his tenure at 91老司机, Beran was the president of Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
Other notable alumni honored by Stephen F. Austin include Dr. Nancy Dickey, former president of the American Medical Association; Bill Owens, former governor of Colorado; and Grammy-, Golden Globe-, and Academy Award-winning composer Will Jennings, who has written music for movies including 鈥淎n Officer and a Gentleman鈥� and 鈥淭itanic.鈥�