Arkansas Board of Corrections eyes new public information officer

Arkansas Department of Corrections in North Little Rock on June 5, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

The seven members of the Arkansas Board of Corrections met Monday morning for a special-called meeting to discuss applicants for a new public information officer.

Following an hour-long private conversation during executive session, members voted to form a committee that would whittle down the applicant pool from 26 to five for the board to interview on Friday. Members of the committee include board member Lona McCastlain, Division of Correction Director Dexter Payne, Secretary of Corrections Lindsay Wallace, department personnel director Nicholas Stewart and department attorney Thomas Burns.

Following the action, Chairman Benny Magness said the board was looking for “what we call a true public relations person.” He said the person should be more active with good news about the agency.

“The board’s main concern is getting somebody back — I hate to use the term of ‘What it used to be’ — when we had a public relations officer that actually met with the press, got the press coming and viewing our facilities, some of the things we did. It just don’t seem like we’re proactive enough with good news.”

Much of the board’s media coverage over the last eight months has focused on its dispute with the governor over the expansion of prison bed space and firing of former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri. A legislative committee in June approved an audit looking into the board’s hiring of outside counsel to represent it in legal battles related to the dispute.

Dina Tyler, who formerly held the PIO position, completed her last day with the agency on June 21. Tyler’s information is still listed as the public information officer for the Department of Corrections on its website, though the phone goes unanswered and emails are returned with an automated message.

Tyler held a position with the Department of Corrections for nearly three decades. She announced her intent to retire as the communications director in May 2020, returning to the post in 2023.

The job description for the public information officer states the person will be “responsible for representing the department in disseminating information and establishing positive relations with the public and the media.”

Functions of the job include supervising a small staff, giving advice to staff when needed, attending meetings or legislative functions as a representative of the department and coordinating media coverage for programs.

Part of the committee’s responsibilities in selecting what applicants the board will interview is checking their minimum qualifications, which include a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, journalism, communications, public administration or a related field. The applicants are also asked for four years of experience in a related field, including one year of management or supervisory experience.

During Monday’s meeting, the board started to discuss the roles of the staff members the public information office would oversee — ones who would assist and write policy reports — but McCastlain recommended they hold that conversation for another time.

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Correction: Former Board of Corrections spokesperson Dina Tyler’s last day was June 21, and she previously returned from retirement in 2023. A previous version of this story had incorrect information.

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