Barbara Dunn has been named executive director of the Pine Bluff Civic Auditorium Complex Commission, the city panel that oversees the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
Commission chairwoman Lisa Kosmitis announced the hire Monday, two weeks after the panel fired Joseph McCorvey. Dunn said she will begin her duties Aug. 5.
Dunn was recently executive director of institutional advancement and public relations at Southeast Arkansas College, where she served the past 25 years. She was previously human resources director for the Arkansas Department of Community Correction.
“I have made such an impact with students at Southeast Arkansas College — I have an opportunity to make an even bigger impact with the Pine Bluff Convention Center by bringing in events and shows,” Dunn said. “At one time, it was the place to take your family to watch comedy shows and musical shows. I’d like to bring it back to the community. It’s all about the community.”
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Dunn, a Pine Bluff native, touts her experience with donors, grant writing and public relations, adding she would be an asset to the commission.
“I can’t stress it enough. It’s about Pine Bluff, Arkansas,” Dunn said.
Dunn graduated from Watson Chapel High School, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Webster University. She serves on the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce Redcoats, as well as the Chamber’s executive board and the Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission.
“Dunn, an accomplished and visionary leader, brings a wealth of experience to the Pine Bluff Convention Center,” Kosmitis wrote in the news release. “With a 35-year proven track record of success in higher education and state government, as well as trained experience in educational administration, leadership, marketing, grant writing, human resources, fundraising, recruitment and project management, Dunn is poised to lead the Pine Bluff Convention Center into a new era of continued growth and success for our community.”
Dunn says the greatest need is to reach out to community members and find out their interests for entertainment and activities at the Convention Center, open since 1976.
“It’s not about me. It’s about our community,” Dunn said. “I would like to survey our community to see what they would like to see. Just listen and move the Convention Center forward.”
Barbara Dunn