21 Jul 2025 Driver named Clinton School’s Assistant Dean of Impact

LITTLE ROCK – The Clinton School of Public Service has named Dr. Nichola Driver as its inaugural Assistant Dean of Impact, a newly created leadership position that builds upon her exceptional service as Executive Director of the Office of Field Service and Director of the Clinton School Impact Center.

Driver’s new role as Assistant Dean of Impact signals a strategic evolution in the school’s commitment to integrating public service education with measurable community outcomes. 

In this expanded position, Driver will lead institution-wide efforts to align academic programs with experiential learning, deepen partnerships with community stakeholders, and enhance the school’s public service footprint across Arkansas and beyond.

“I am honored to serve as the Assistant Dean of Impact at the Clinton School,” Driver said. “This role represents a meaningful opportunity to elevate the ways our students, faculty, and partners create positive, sustainable change.”

As Assistant Dean of Impact, Driver will oversee the Office of Field Service (OFS) and the Clinton School Impact Center (CSIC), ensuring cohesive strategy and innovation across student fieldwork, faculty collaborations, and community-based research initiatives. She will also serve on the school’s leadership team, advising on institutional strategy and curricular integration.

“Dr. Driver’s leadership and research exemplify the Clinton School’s mission of impact-driven public service,” said Dean Victoria DeFrancesco Soto. “Her leadership has shaped how we connect students to real-world challenges and measurable community outcomes. As our inaugural Assistant Dean of Impact, she will help us elevate and expand that work across Arkansas and beyond.”

In her previous roles, Driver guided more than 200 student-led field projects across dozens of countries and communities and established key processes for integrating coursework and project work. The transition to Assistant Dean reflects both her accomplishments and the Clinton School’s strategic emphasis on data-driven, community-engaged public service.

Driver holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and brings a distinguished record of research, teaching, and service. She is an experienced evaluator, having consulted for a range of organizations across Arkansas and the region, including Entergy, the Arkansas Department of Health, the UAMS Women’s Health Clinic, and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute.

Her research focuses on health disparities and social determinants of health, with recent studies examining maternal health and well-being, food insecurity among Latino families, and access to reproductive healthcare in Arkansas. In 2024, Driver was named to the “40 Under 40” list by Arkansas Business.