G. David Gearhart (born June 9, 1952) was the fifth chancellor of the University of Arkansas. He succeeded John A. White on July 1, 2008, following 10 years of service to the university in his capacity as vice chancellor for university advancement. As chancellor, Dr. Gearhart instituted the first tuition freeze in 24 years and implemented a $220 million campus building renovation and refurbishment plan, as well as a campus-wide energy savings plan. He has also undertaken a renewed emphasis on the arts on campus, including the establishment of the “All Steinway Campus.” Under his leadership campus enrollment increased by more than 10 percent in two years, record research awards were recorded, and the university was reclassified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as RU/VH—“research university/very high,” the foundation’s top research classification. Career in higher education Early career In 1977, Gearhart was appointed the director of development at Westminster College and led fundraising efforts for the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library. He returned to his native state in 1978 to become vice president for development at Hendrix College. After four years at Hendrix, Gearhart was selected to be the director of development at the University of Arkansas. In 1985, Gearhart was appointed vice president for development and university relations at Pennsylvania State University, becoming senior vice president three years later. While at Penn State, he launched a major capital campaign, which raised in excess of $352 million. Total private gifts to Penn State during his 11 years at the university surpassed $950 million. In 1995, Gearhart joined the international consulting firm of Grenzebach, Glier, and Associates as senior vice president and managing director. Career at the University of Arkansas Gearhart returned to Arkansas in 1998 as vice chancellor for university advancement at the University of Arkansas. In that capacity, he was the architect of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, a billion-dollar capital campaign that concluded in June 2005 with the University of Arkansas taking its place as one of only 13 public universities at that time to have exceeded a billion dollars raised. The centerpiece of this campaign was a $300 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, the largest gift ever made to a public university. The direct results of Gearhart’s leadership in this effort included the creation of 132 new endowed faculty positions, 1,738 new student scholarship and fellowship funds, dozens of