LITTLE ROCK, AR, September 17, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Jeantyl Norze has been recognized for achievement in higher education.
Dr. Norze currently serves as an associate professor of organizational accountability and evaluation at the University of Arkansas, a position he has held since 2023. In this capacity, he supports staff, faculty and county agents in assessing program impacts, evaluates community outcomes, identifies best practices for credible reporting and collaborates with stakeholders on data collection and analysis. He also manages reporting systems for local, state and federal stakeholders, documents organizational impact and communicates findings to diverse audiences. Among his most significant achievements at the university is leading the design, testing and implementation of a comprehensive program-reporting system that replaced an outdated platform. This initiative required extensive coordination with stakeholders and was launched in January after thorough input and testing, marking a major milestone in advancing the university's extension work.
Dr. Norze also serves on dissertation committees and capstone project committees, providing guidance and scholarly support to graduate students as they navigate their research and complete their degrees. Through these mentoring activities, he helps foster the next generation of scholars and professionals while contributing to the academic mission of the institution. Dr. Norze has demonstrated a strong commitment to professional service through leadership, mentorship, and contributions to the evaluation profession. He actively mentors early-career professionals, supporting their professional growth and development within the field. In addition, he serves as a reviewer for academic journals and federal grant programs, contributing his expertise to ensure the quality and rigor of scholarly research and funding decisions. His professional leadership is further reflected in his role as Program Chair of the Leadership and Performance Evaluation Topical Interest Group (TIG) within the American Evaluation Association and as Chair of Program Staff Development committee for the Southern Region Program Leadership Network (SR-PLN).
From 2022 to 2023, Dr. Norze worked as an evaluation specialist at the University of Connecticut, where he contributed to program assessment, impact reporting, and research initiatives. Since 2020, he has also served as a research fellow at the Western Center for Metropolitan Extension and Research, providing valuable insights into urban and metropolitan issues through collaborative research efforts.
From 2019 to 2021, Dr. Norze also served as an evaluation specialist at the University of Nevada, Reno where he focused on impact assessment and reporting. His earlier experience includes serving as an instructor at Louisiana State University, teaching leadership development, program evaluation and program planning at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. From 2018 to 2019, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Louisiana State University, where he furthered his expertise in research methodology and academic publishing.
In 2019, Dr. Norze volunteered as an assessor for the Jefferson County Commission. His leadership abilities were evident during his tenure as vice president of membership for Golden Key LSU from 2014 to 2015 and as vice president of MVLSU during the same period. From 2013 to 2014, he contributed as a teaching assistant for a leadership development course at Louisiana State University.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Norze was director of operations for the Avian Flu Project with the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture from 2011 to 2012. During this time, he also served as the focal point for animal drugs for the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with the World Organization for Animal Health. In 2011, he worked as a radio operator with UNOPS. His professional journey began in 2010, when he was appointed the focal point for the evaluation of performance veterinary services for the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the World Organization for Animal Health.
Throughout his career, Dr. Norze has established himself as an expert in program evaluation, research, academic publishing, impact assessment and reporting system development. His dedication is further reflected in his sustained record of research, scholarship, grant activity, and through active membership in the American Evaluation Association.
Dr. Norze's educational background has been instrumental in shaping his professional accomplishments. He earned a post-graduate credential in business and managerial economics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Urbana in 2019. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy in agricultural and extension education at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 2018, after earning a Master of Science in human resource education and workforce development from the same institution in 2015. His academic journey began with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Universidad Agraria de La Habana in Havana in 2009.
He has also pursued numerous certifications that have contributed to his expertise. These include analyzing and visualizing data with Microsoft Power BI from Simplilearn in 2021; strategic leadership and management specialization, strategic leadership and management capstone, exploring and producing data for business decision making, firm level economics — consumer and producer behavior, firm level economics — markets and allocations, country level economics — macroeconomic variables and markets, corporate strategy, business strategy, foundations of everyday leadership, applications of everyday leadership, managing the organization — from organizational design to execution, inferential and predictive statistics for business, designing the organization — from strategy to organizational structure (all from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Urbana in 2019). Dr. Norze credits consistency and commitment to his work as fundamental drivers behind his success.
His scholarly contributions include authoring "A Comparison Between Domestic Students and International Students on Their Work Readiness at a Research University" published by Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, "The Influence of Selected Demographic Characteristics on the Perceived Effectiveness of an Entrepreneurship Training Program Among Female Participants" published by Journal of Business Diversity in 2019; and co-authoring "Increasing Youth Knowledge of Wetlands Through 4-H Club Meetings," featured in Louisiana 4-H Youth Development Research Review Research Report 123. Dr. Norze's work has been recognized with honors such as the Best Paper Award from the Academy of Business Research Conference and the Best Reviewer Award.
Beyond his professional achievements, Dr. Norze is deeply committed to family life. He is married and has two children who are his greatest source of inspiration and motivation. He cherishes spending quality time with them through activities such as visiting parks, museums and libraries. For Dr. Norze, family is central to both his personal fulfillment and professional drive.
Looking ahead, Dr. Norze intends to publish additional research while helping the University of Arkansas develop enhanced systems to communicate the collective impact of its extension work across all counties in the state. He seeks to foster evaluative capacity in his field by cultivating critical evaluation skills among peers and students alike. While interested in potentially transitioning to a Full professor role focused on impact measurement, Dr. Norze remains guided by his commitment to making a meaningful difference in people's lives above all else.
# # #