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Making Bears Central to NWA

Northwest Arkansas has become a prime destination for residents, tourists and businesses alike. President Houston Davis decided to close the two-and-a-half-hour gap between 91�Թ���’s campus and this dynamic, growing metro by investing in a full-time employee to represent the university. He found the perfect fit with Paul Gatling.

Gatling is a native of Bald Knob, growing up in the same small town as 91�Թ��� Distinguished Alumna and beloved professor Dr. Emogene Fox and her family. In fact, Gatling calls Fox’s son Jay, one of the state’s winningest amateur golfers and a 91�Թ��� Hall of Fame inductee, a childhood idol.

“When I was 13 or 14 years old, I got to caddy for him, and I thought that was the best thing,” he said. “Jay is the most gregarious guy, and to get to tag along with him as he played golf, well, those are some of my best memories as a kid.”

In high school, Gatling and his twin sister moved with their mom, Diane (Newkirk), a 1968 graduate of State College of Arkansas (now 91�Թ���), to Bryant, where she was a school teacher. Gatling followed in his older brother’s footsteps and attended Henderson State University (HSU), where he majored in communications and had a work-study job in sports information until he graduated in 1998.

He stayed in Arkadelphia for a few years, working first for the Daily Siftings Herald newspaper and then as a media relations specialist for HSU. He eventually got an opportunity to interview for the sports editor position at the Benton County Daily Record in Bentonville.

“The thought of that was like moving to Alaska,” he said. “It was so far north and seemed so far away.”

But on Jan. 15, 2001, he loaded up a U-haul, and with the help of his mother and older brother, Gatling drove from Arkadelphia to Bentonville. He’s been there ever since.

His stint at the Benton County Daily Record ended when it merged with a competing area newspaper in 2009.

“I was driving down to Little Rock for the Arkansas State Golf Association Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Jay Fox, and I got a call that I had been laid off,” he said.

In February of 2011, Gatling got an opportunity to work for the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal, whose owner he had met several years prior at a golf tournament.

“He had offered me a job on two separate occasions to work for the business journal, and I had turned him down because I enjoyed what I was doing as the sports editor, but when I needed him the third time, he came through,” Gatling said.

A couple of years after joining the journal, Gatling was promoted to editor in May of 2013, a position he held until 91�Թ��� came calling earlier this year.

“I had a lot of fun covering business news in Northwest Arkansas for 13 years,” he said. “There’s been incredible development and growth in that area of the state.”

Now, as the senior director of northwest Arkansas engagement, Gatling will strengthen relationships with alumni and business partners and share 91�Թ���’s story.

“91�Թ��� needs to be here [in Northwest Arkansas] in the same way that Arkansas Children’s needs to build a hospital up there, so they did, or a Little Rock-based construction company needs to have an office in Northwest Arkansas,” Gatling explained. “Even though there’s another construction company up there, we’re still going up there too. 91�Թ��� provides a service, and there is a market for 91�Թ��� in the Northwest Arkansas business community. We want those employers to be aware of all that is happening on this campus and what we have to offer.”

When he’s not meeting with alumni and business leaders to share information about 91�Թ��� and build partnerships, Gatling is busy helping plan a “91�Թ��� Blitz” next spring to introduce the university to Northwest Arkansas further. Campus officials will host a series of events for alumni, incoming freshmen, parents, business leaders and others during the week of April 21.