Eric Atchison

Eric Atchison is the Vice President for Strategic Research for the Arkansas State University System.

Atchison joined the ASU System in July 2019 following his tenure as director of system analysis, research, and enrollment management at the Board of Trustees of Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. He leads systemwide strategic research and advances the effective use of information resources across the ASU System, including data collection, analytics, and performance metrics. He works closely with academic leaders on program development and collaborates with administrative teams at each institution to strengthen operations, manage special projects, and direct grant-funded initiatives.

He engages in statewide initiatives to strengthen higher education policy through collaboration with the Arkansas Division of Higher Education and contributes nationally to higher education policy and data quality efforts through extensive service with the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics and the Institute of Education Sciences.

Atchison’s professional leadership has included serving as president of the Mississippi Association for Institutional Research, treasurer of the Arkansas Institutional Research Organization, secretary of the board for the Southern Association for Institutional Research, and chair of the Association for Institutional Research Nomination and Elections Committee.

His teaching experience spans multiple institutions, including adjunct faculty in sociology at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, sociology and educational leadership and research at Delta State University, and data analytics at Agnes Scott College.

Atchison received a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Mississippi, as well as a Master of Science in Community Development and a Master of Education in Secondary Education from Delta State University. He is a graduate of the Delta Regional Authority’s Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy and completed Harvard University’s Authentic Leadership Executive Education program.