Last Friday, just before the holiday weekend, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Brandon Tollett to a seven-year term on the Arkansas Board of Corrections. This appointment comes in the midst of an ongoing, internecine political battle between the governor’s office and the board over the capacity and operation of Arkansas prisons.
Tollett’s appointment to the board adds another responsibility to his already full schedule. He is currently employed full-time as the Director of Safety & Emergency Management at Ouachita Baptist University (Sanders’ alma mater). According to his LinkedIn page, Tollett is also currently a student in the evening program at the University of Arkansas–Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Additionally, he appears to be an adjunct professor at OBU, teaching one class in the criminal-justice program each semester.
Because Arkansas law requires that one member of the board is a “member of a criminal justice faculty who is employed at any four-year university in Arkansas,” Tollett’s role as an adjunct professor is, technically, the most important part of his resume as far as being on the board.
Yet, even if Tollett’s teaching a single class per semester complies with the letter of the law, he would still be woefully under-qualified when compared to prior board members who held that seat.
For example, Whitney Gass, who Tollett is replacing, is a full-time associate professor of criminal justice at Southern Arkansas University who has been recognized for her accomplishments in criminal justice and education in Arkansas. She has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from SAU, a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Louisiana–Monroe, and a doctorate in criminal justice from UALR. She has over 13 years’ experience as a full-time criminal justice professor at SAU.
Likewise, Mary Parker, who held the board seat before Gass, has a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degree in criminal justice. When she was appointed to the board in 1993 by then-Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, Parker had nearly a decade of experience as a criminal-justice professor. She was also a multi-time past officer of the Southwest Association of Criminal Justice.
For comparison, Tollett has a bachelor’s degree in organizational management and a master’s in organizational leadership, both of which are online-only programs from Mercy College in New York. Neither his undergraduate degree program nor his graduate program required criminal justice coursework or classes.
Tollett’s comparative lack of qualifications raises a number of questions.
First, and perhaps most importantly, if Tollett has no degree in criminal justice (or even in a field adjacent to criminal justice), why is he teaching courses at OBU? Even if you assume that the textbook alone would be enough for him to limp through teaching Intro to Criminal Justice, as he did in Fall 2023, there is no insight or educational background that he brings to a class like Police & Society, which he is teaching in Spring 2024.
Secondly, why did Sanders feel the need to replace Gass when Gass wanted to stay in the position? The Arkansas Times reached out to Gass in early December and asked whether she had heard anything from the administration about being reappointed. Gass responded, “I have applied for reappointment but have not heard from the governor’s office about it.”
Finally, if Sanders was dead-set on replacing Gass, perhaps due to Sanders’ ongoing conflicts with the board, why replace her with Tollett? Why not find someone who is a full-time professor with a degree or two or three in criminal justice and real experience in the field? There are 22 four-year colleges and universities in this state, and almost all of them have criminal-justice programs staffed with dedicated professors.
Coming on the heels of reporting that another Sanders appointee – Doyle Webb – pushed the Arkansas Public Service Commission to accept a terrible settlement offer in a long-running lawsuit against Entergy, barely a year after the prior chair of the commission rejected the same offer, one cannot help but wonder if Tollett is simply another unqualified, overtly political appointee who will give Sanders more control over the board. Will Tollett attempt to slow the string of embarrassing losses the board keeps handing to the governor’s office, both publicly and in court?
Tollett’s appointment expires December 31, 2030.
UPDATE: Dr. Gass gave the following response when asked whether she had heard from the Governor prior to Tollett’s appointment and/or whether she had any reaction to the appointment.
I did not hear from Gov. Sanders’ office before Tollett’s appointment. I am not surprised that she appointed someone without a Criminal Justice education or professional background. He will challenge her less if he doesn’t know she’s straddling the law.
I wish to remain on the Board but I won’t smear her appointee, as I’m sure he is flattered, as was I when contacted about serving the appointment. I feel the person who fills my seat needs a greater understanding of the criminal justice system with a focus on the constitution and corrections. Without a deep understanding of corrections issues, a person can’t truly serve Arkansas residents or vow to make their safety a priority through corrections.