New Arkansas Ag Experiment Station Administrator Eyes Continuous Improvement on Impactful Research and Development
Arkansas native with 13 years’ UA System joins ag experiment station
By John Lovett – Jul. 17, 2025
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — As a researcher, educator and administrator with a knack for making connections, Cynthia Sides has a vision for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station that is geared to broaden and strengthen its impact on the state.
Sides recently joined the experiment station as associate vice president for agriculture-research and associate director for research development and compliance, a new role for the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
She joins Jean-François Meullenet, senior associate vice president for agriculture-research and director of the experiment station, and Nathan Slaton, associate director for operations, on the experiment station administrative team.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Sides to the experiment station as our new associate director for research and compliance,” Meullenet said. “Dr. Sides’ vast experience in research administration strengthens our team competencies and will allow UADA to further grow its research and impact in Arkansas and beyond.”
Sides’ new role is focused on supporting and expanding external funding opportunities and maintaining compliance with grant requirements.
“I want to help our researchers thrive in their own innovative endeavors,” Sides said. “Their research is synonymous with impact for Arkansans, and for me, there is no better vision than for the experiment station to be the collaborative leader in research development initiatives that result in increased impact for the state.”
Sides will provide strategic support for experiment station researchers in proposal development, team building, and training. She sees potential to diversify the portfolio of grant submissions in an evolving federal landscape and for more collaborations, including interdisciplinary research within the University of Arkansas System and with other Arkansas educational institutions and industry partners.
Making connections
With the experiment station’s connections in each of the state’s 75 counties through research and extension offices, Sides sees potential in building on community relationships through sustainable farming practices, workforce development opportunities and educational initiatives.
“It’s really about making sure the communities throughout the state understand what UADA research is, that they have that personal understanding, that they’re proud that this is where research is being done and what UADA is doing really matters,” Sides said.
Sides is a lifelong Arkansan with 13 years of experience working in the University of Arkansas System connecting researchers with business innovation and grant-funding opportunities. She currently serves as vice chair on the Arkansas Economic Development Commission’s Science and Technology Division board and is a member of its Commercialization Committee.
Over the last four years, Sides served as the assistant vice chancellor and director of research advancement for the University of Arkansas Division of Research and Innovation, where she worked closely with researchers and the university’s research centers and institutes. She also led research development initiatives that resulted in improvements and opportunities for researchers. These included the adoption of different technology platforms, the creation of new processes, and the development of training initiatives, such as the Beginning Investigator Research Development Support program, also known as BIRDS.
Following her postdoctoral research, Sides was the founding director of the IGNITE program, which stands for Industry Generating New Ideas and Technology through Education, out of the Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering in 2013. She went on to serve as associate director of the Office of Entrepreneurship from 2014 to 2017 and as the director of the Office of Innovation and Industry Partnerships, connecting faculty and students with real-world industry needs.
Sides has been the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on research that has garnered over $1 million in external funding, including support for the University of Arkansas I-Corps Commercialization STEM Training in Entrepreneurship Practices.
In 2017 she was the principal investigator on a nearly $500,000 Innovation in Graduate Education program award from the National Science Foundation to facilitate the University of Arkansas’ Professional Awareness, Advancement, and Development Program, also known as PAAD, a program for graduate students pursuing STEM degrees to receive additional training to help them pursue academic and non-academic careers.
Sides serves as an adjunct faculty member in the department of chemistry and biochemistry and has developed and taught the Emerging Technologies in Industry course through the graduate school’s Materials Science and Engineering interdisciplinary program. In this class, leaders from Arkansas industries connected with students from science, engineering and business backgrounds to discuss innovative design ideas and business solutions.
Two of her former Emerging Technologies in Industry students are two people she is excited to work with at the experiment station: Keith Berry Jr., Ph.D., research development specialist with the experiment station, and Parker Cole, Ph.D., associate director for the Division of Agriculture’s Technology Commercialization Office, and an inaugural member of the Professional Awareness, Advancement, and Development Program when he was a graduate student.
Sides grew up south of Fort Smith and attended Greenwood schools. She earned her bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and English from Arkansas Tech University and her doctorate in chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Arkansas.
To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on 𝕏 at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on 𝕏 at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
EXPANDING IMPACT — Cynthia Sides recently joined the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station’s administration team in a new role focused on supporting and growing external funding opportunities and maintaining compliance with grant requirements. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Paden Johnson)
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