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U N IV E R S I TY
OF
T H E
OZARKS
TODAY
SENIOR BRICK CEREMONY CLASS OF 2023 JOINS ALUMNI BRICK WALKWAY
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
CONTENTS 2
Class of 2023
10 New Athletic Fields
University celebrates 131 new graduates
Construction under way on new sports facilities
16 Prayers That Stick Campus Prayer Room provides spiritual healing
ON THE COVER: Members of the Class of 2023 placed their bricks into the Alumni Brick Walkway during the Senior Brick Ceremony in May.
University President Richard Dunsworth talks with freshmen during the Frontier Leadership class that he teaches each year. This past summer marked the 10th anniversary since Dunsworth became the University’s 25th president. (See page 4)
UNIVERSITY MISSION
TODAY
True to our Christian heritage, we prepare students from diverse religious, cultural, educational and economic backgrounds to live life fully. UNIVERSITY CORE VALUES
Growth, Honesty, Hospitality, Justice, Sabbath and Service
AN ANNUAL MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND
UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION
FRIENDS OF UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
Richard L. Dunsworth, J.D............President Gloria Arcia, Ed.D..........................Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Janie Diels, Ph.D...........................Vice President for Academic Affairs Amy Lloyd.....................................Vice President for Marketing & Enrollment Lori McBee....................................Vice President for Advancement & Alumni Engagement Dody Pelts.....................................Vice President for Student Success
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20 Be the Light
24 Alumni Profile
Softball standout finds comfort in mother’s lasting legacy
Alumnus Reggie Brasfield ‘04 shines in business, service
PRODUCTION STAFF
UNIVERSITY DIRECTORY
Larry Isch, Editor Director of Public and Media Relations Karlee Swartz Creative Director Phyllis Parsons Graphic Design and Brand Coordinator Vinnie Tran Graphic Design and Photography Coordinator
Admin Services........479-979-1208 Admission................479-979-1227 Advancement...........479-979-1234 Alumni Engagement.479-979-1234 Athletics...................479-979-1407 Ozarks Bookstore.....479-979-1323 President’s Office.....479-979-1242 Public Relations........479-979-1420
PHOTO CREDITS
Vinnie Tran and Josh Peppas
32 Class Notes Catch up on the latest news of former classmates, friends
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Office of Alumni Engagement University of the Ozarks 415 N. College Avenue Clarksville, AR 72830-2880 Phone: 479-979-1234 E-mail: alumnioffice@ozarks.edu WEBSITE
www.ozarks.edu
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
CLASS OF 2023 Ozarks Honors 131 Spring Graduates
T
he University of the Ozarks conferred degrees upon 131 graduates during the Spring 2023 Commencement ceremony on the campus mall on May 13. Maura (Figliulo) Howerton, a 1980 Ozarks graduate from Plymouth, Minn., served as the keynote speaker. Howerton is retired from Deloitte Tax as a managing director of Global Employer Services. She is one of six siblings who attended the University. Howerton told the graduates that her education at Ozarks and the people she met here “opened the world to me.” “I was a member of the International Club and made friends with people from Ethiopia, Japan, Iran, Thailand and so many other wonderful places. Several of these international students came to stay at my home during school breaks, bringing their culture, food, and traditions into my family life. Because of these strong
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connections, my father, an American World War II veteran, would later travel to Japan, sit across the table from and share a glass of sake with a Japanese World War II vet whose daughter had once stayed in our home. When I traveled to Thailand, one of my Ozarks’ classmates was the most incredible tour guide and host. And now, over 40 years later, one of my father’s neighbors in Rockwall, Texas, is one of my former classmates. What I have realized is that many doors have opened for me, not in spite of choosing to come to this small, but very special place, but because I chose to go to college here. So, look around you. Remember all these wonderful relationships and be sure to connect with the people you’ve met here whenever you are able.” Jose Fonseca, a business administration, psychology and political science major from Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica, was nominated by the faculty to provide the welcome address on behalf of the class. “Today’s world is very complex, the problems require bold and innovative solutions,” Fonseca said. “The world needs leaders like us, leaders who are not afraid to take risks, to think outside of the box, and to stand up for what is right. The world needs leaders that are empathetic, leaders who understand that every decision they make has an impact, not just on themselves, but on those around them. I encourage you to be brave, be passionate, and more importantly, be your true selves ... Graduates, today I motivate you to be the impact this world needs. Let’s challenge the status quo, let’s make the world know that the younger generations can make the impact that is needed. Let us never forget the values and principles that have been instilled in us during our time here, and let us always strive to be ethical, compassionate, and responsible individuals.”
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UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
RICHARD L. DUNSWORTH, J.D. UN IV ERS ITY PRES IDEN T In the decade since Richard L. Dunsworth became the University’s 25th president, Ozarks has seen unprecedented growth and progress in a variety of areas, including enrollment, fund-raising, facilities, graduate success rate and alumni and community relations.
The University has raised approximately $87 million for scholarships, facilities and programs since you took office in 2013. How do you explain the fund-raising success of the University over the past decade? It happens because of generational foundations. It happens because of work that was done in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s. It doesn’t happen overnight. It happens because there was a strong foundation built. It happens because the institution creates and maintains relationships. The University outcomes, what we’re able to do in regards to graduation, retention and student success, warrants continued investment. It happens because of experiences alumni had when they were students and because our alums actively tell a story. They tell their friends and invite them to invest in this place too. Does the level of commitment and generosity from our alumni and friends ever surprise you? Yes, it does. Maybe after a decade I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m not sure ‘surprised’ is the right word. It’s more like awe or appreciation. Humbled feels overused, but it’s a level of humility; a level of wonder. It led me years ago to say that I’ll never tire of saying ‘Thank You,” and whether that’s a donation of a cost of a cup of coffee or the price of a new baseball facility, each are appreciated and each are valued.
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You have led efforts to freeze tuition for 8 of the past 10 years and four consecutive years. Why has holding the line on tuition been an emphasis for you? It’s been an emphasis because of the economics of most of our students. At Ozarks, a traditional student comes from working families, comes from rural America, comes from places that generally did not see significant growth in their adjusted gross income over the past decade. Or, where they did see growth in their income, that was eaten up by energy, food and health costs. So, if there was anything that we could do to make sure that we weren’t just one more pressure point on a family, we wanted to do that. I wanted to do what we could about the amount of debt that graduates have when they leave Ozarks. And, I wanted to make sure that we were not only being great stewards of our resources, but also great stewards of the resources that the families of our students give to us. I don’t know that we’ll be able to do that much longer, because the cost of delivering high-quality, face-to-face education is very resource intensive. But let’s make sure every percentage of a tuition increase is warranted and that we’re not doing it just because everyone else does. Since you arrived at Ozarks, enrollment is up 28 percent and Ozarks has had the three largest enrollments in University history. How has this happened? The phrase that comes to mind is block and tackle. There wasn’t a silver bullet; there wasn’t a Hail Mary. There was a series of
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schools, and not only get in but thrive there; our graduates are sought after by employers, especially employers in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. So we’re delivering on the mission of the institution.
strategies that started with block and tackle, the fundamentals. We really started focusing on home - Johnson County; that people saw us as an option and that many saw us as the best option out there for what they were looking for. And then, we expanded that into the collar counties and as we expanded into the collar counties we began to develop international strategies that made sense to Ozarks. People have asked me what that international strategy is and I simplify it by saying it’s four hours from Houston; that the majority of our international students can be home four hours from Houston. That opens up a pretty wide geographic area for us. But when you talk about enrollment ups and downs, one of those areas where we had seen significant growth was with Haiti. And then the recent turmoil, the assassination of their president, took a country that was growing and emerging for us as a pretty significant market and almost shut it down overnight. Sometimes we can respond quickly in those situations and sometimes we can’t. As we think about three primary markets, you have the Arkansas market; the out-of-state market, which is dominated by Texas; and then you have the international market. We need all three to be successful. I do wish we could get a few more Arkansans. They have a lot of really good choices in state and sometimes it’s hard to get an Arkansan to drive by five other schools to enroll at Ozarks. We’re not conceding any market and we’re willing to get out and not be out-worked. In addition to the work and strategy, the conversation around price, loan debt and helping people understand professional success. That our graduates get into graduate
Since the University began tracking the employment and graduate school placement success of our recent graduates seven years ago, the success rate has averaged about 95 percent, including 98 percent for the Class of 2022. What would you attribute that to? One, is that our graduates are tenacious, they’re gritty, they work and upon graduation they have the skills and abilities to be hired, to get into grad school and to do the types of things they set out to do when they enrolled at Ozarks. The other is that the faculty and staff know why we’re here. That we’re here to educate students, transform their lives, and put them on a trajectory that a bachelor’s degree is intended to provide. Our faculty and staff are also well connected within five hours of campus. When a student is struggling to find an internship or a job or whatever, our faculty and staff say, ‘Hey, let me help you. Let’s open our contact list and make that happen.’ The last piece is the changes that we made with the Career Services Office a few years ago where we moved it to be a part of the alumni engagement staff. This ensures that our alumni play as active a role as possible in helping our students find employment. The LENS curriculum, where students are required to earn their major and minors from each of the three academic areas, was implemented in 2016. Has LENS been a success? LENS is successful and I think it will be even more successful in the coming decade. It’s successful in one way because it gives students language to talk about liberal arts without using the phrase liberal arts. We are a liberal arts institution, we have a liberal arts core, but those words have lost their meaning and significance in our society. So by talking about LENS in the way that we’re able to talk about it—students having knowledge and understanding in three different ways of knowing—gives the student language to be able to tell a story that’s rich and vibrant; a major in one field, two minors in other unconnected or different fields of study, sets them up for success. I think we’ll also see in 20 years from now, the alumni who are coming through the program now, will believe it’s more successful and better for them because it gives them more depth of study in a few fields that I think will allow for the life changes that will come about. You’re 40 or 50 and have been out of college for a while and life happens and you say, ‘Hey, maybe I want to do something else.’ The LENS program is helping students prepare for that and prepare for the uncertainty that they don’t even know is coming.
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UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
You have implemented information-sharing platforms such as President’s Standup and faculty discussion groups. How have these programs enhanced campus culture? Sometimes rumors or myths or mis-perceptions cost a lot of energy on a campus, especially a small campus where people not only work together, but they socialize together, go to church together. If we create systems, processes, discussion groups, if we’re able to implement ways for people to get good, accurate information in a timely manner, maybe there’s a little less energy wasted in worry, a little less energy spent on things that will never come to pass. I think it also allows for ideas to bubble up from anywhere. Yes, we have a corporate structure, but sometimes ideas come from unlikely places. So, I think it’s important that we create enough entry points for those ideas to come from anywhere. Each semester you teach a leadership class for freshmen. What do you enjoy about that? I enjoy it because for a couple of hours each week, I walk into a classroom, the door closes, and my focus is solely on the 20 or 25 freshmen sitting there. Yes, there’s time-prepping and there’s time grading, but when it’s class time, there isn’t multi-tasking. They expect, demand, as close to my undivided attention as possible. And, it’s rejuvenating to work with 18 year olds. Now at the same time, it’s a little humbling or even humiliating when some of my cultural references have absolutely no weight or recognition. Some of the things I’ll have to explain when I see blank stares looking back at me. It initially happened because of Covid. Folks had asked me to teach seminar and leadership for the freshman class, specifically those who have been awarded a Frontier Scholarship, and I always said I can’t because of my travel schedule. I always felt like I would have to cancel too many classes. Then Covid happened and a few members of staff said you can’t use travel as a reason. I found that I really enjoyed it and when travel picked back up, I decided that I’d schedule travel around it. How would you say the Covid pandemic changed you as a manager and leader? Others, namely a couple of our senior faculty, began saying, maybe a year into Covid, that Covid was changing me for the better. The first time I heard it, it frustrated me and I wanted to push back on it. But I think they’re right. Especially from a management standpoint, it forced me, and many of us, to let go of some things that, while maybe were important, didn’t need to occupy as much time, space and energy as they were occupying. And, as we’ve moved beyond Covid, I’ve found myself evaluating things a little bit differently; that maybe I’m not going to let ‘X’ back onto the plate. The question I’ve asked often is ‘Why is that at the President’s Office or why is that at a VP level?’ Not from a blame standpoint, but how do we make sure everyone has as much authority and responsibility as their position demands, and/or as their personality and work ethic can handle. Not every position has to be the same. I’ve often questioned, ‘What does the nature of work look like?’ Some things we were doing in Zoom. Some things we did better that way. Standup is an example 6 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 3
of that. We went from 20 people face-to-face to more than 100 people online. If allowing us to stay on Zoom for those types of things allows more participation, let’s do it. If we think about most employees in higher education, or at Ozarks, as multi-decade employees, how do we think about evaluations … We have major life events that impact our ability to work—the birth of a child, the care of a parent, our own health. If we look at these at multi-decade relationships, might we be more forgiving at the low points and more celebratory at the high points. What lasting impact do you think Covid will have on Ozarks? It might be too early to tell ‘lasting,’ but I do think it reminded people that resilience is built into the DNA of this institution. And that there’s something in that that also recruits people here that are the type of folks who will lean a shoulder into the wheel; that are the type of folks that want to see the promise and the opportunity and how we do something, as opposed to why we shouldn’t. I think there will be some great conversations a few years from now on those lasting effects. I think the role of technology in the classroom might be one of them. That it’s not so didactic, online vs. face-to-face. For some of our faculty and staff, we were forced to use technology differently and we can’t undo that. It’s now another tool in our tool box. What do you see as the biggest challenge for Ozarks over the next decade? Managing the cost; it is resources. How do we continue to provide high quality education in an increasingly competitive environment? We’re seeing schools close at a rate that we haven’t seen before. As schools face pressure, they become illogical actors in the market, like give financial aid that they don’t have. And if our students are getting amazing financial aid packages from other institutions, why wouldn’t they accept them? And, then if other institutions are behaving that way, it has an adverse effect on us. Some talk about it as a race to the bottom or a race to mediocrity. It’s how do we stay true to our mission, to our vision, and how do we continue to serve students and to be good stewards of the amazing resources we have. The University has invested in several downtown businesses in recent years. Describe the impetus behind the downtown revitalization and why is that an emphasis for you and for the Board? It’s probably three-fold: The recruitment and retention of faculty and staff, vibrancy for the retention of students, and it’s a good, sound investment. This institution has been a part of this community since 1891; we are an anchor institution in the city of Clarksville. I think it’s important that we behave that way so that others are confident in our community as well. If we are seen as investing, if we are seen as believing the best is yet to come, hopefully others will also see that. That’s not from a deficit position, but a position of strength. Clarksville and Johnson County is an amazing place to be. But can we believe that it will be better tomorrow? I think we can. And then
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we started looking at things like, we have faculty living far from campus. What would it look like if we created the home-buying program to encourage them to live local. We saw some pressures on the housing market, which is why we created the buy-back program, knowing that time is not our enemy when it comes to the housing market. If we have one of our faculty or staff members having trouble selling their home, we can hold that property, rent it for a couple of years, and sell it when the market rebounds, so that the faculty or staff member doesn’t take a big loss on it. So far that has held out to be true. The other piece of the investment is where our students, faculty and staff wanted services that weren’t already being provided. Ultimately, it created jobs and employment for our students. We can’t be in everything, but in those areas where we can do and do well, we’re going to step into that space. And if others think that has helped serve as a catalyst for some of the other revitalization downtown, then that’s cool. I think it’s been a pretty good team effort between us, the Chamber of Commerce, the city of Clarksville, elected officials and private businesses. It’s also a part of the University’s investment portfolio, part of our long-term investments. If things are going well down there, then our investments are doing better. How do you think you’ve evolved as a leader over the past decade? I think I’ve mellowed. I’m not quite as intense as I was in my first couple of years, though I can still get pretty intense. It’s sharpened my view of inter-generational equity. As we think about what we do for today’s students, or what we did for yesterday’s students or what we can do for tomorrow’s students, it’s sharpened that focus on how do we not only maintain but how do we continually improve for the future, whether that’s improving quality or accessibility or how do we bring the price down for students without adversely affecting quality. Personally, when I started I was young, in my early 40s, when the board appointed a pretty green administrator to be in this role. Looking back over the past decade, I can say, wow, we’ve done some pretty good work. The average tenure for a university president is around the 5-year mark and I’ve done times two here. There have been a lot of conversations about what happens next. It’s generally public that I’m going to take a little bit of a break in the spring. A sabbatical is a word used with faculty quite a bit, I’ve been encouraged to take a sabbatical in the spring. And then return with what’s next? I don’t know that I have a second presidency in me, unless that second presidency is here, and that’s my mindset going into the next year; to take some time to reflect on the last decade and then keep moving forward without moving. With all three children now in college, you and your wife, Holly, are empty-nesters. What will that be like? The twins were seven when we arrived here 10 years ago and they went off to college this fall. So, there are a lot of opinions on what it means to be an empty-nester. I’m not sure you can be an
empty-nester when you have several hundred incoming freshmen. But Holly and I are going to be empty-nesters, and that’s one of the reasons we decided to time the sabbatical when we did. The twins are starting college and we will get the fall semester up and running, do December Commencement and then that’s when the sabbatical will start. It will be focused on family and will be focused on some family planning. I’ve got some little black books that I always write random thoughts in and I now have about 20 of those books. I’m going to spend some time reading them and looking at the thoughts and ideas that I’ve written down over the last decade, and ask, which of them might not be random anymore, which of them might need some prime time, and then bounce them off the Board of Trustees as they set a trajectory for the next 5-10 years. With the University closing in on its 200th anniversary in 2034, what are your thoughts of this fast-approaching milestone? If someone would have told me a decade ago that I might see that, I might have laughed at them, but maybe I’ll see that. I don’t know what significance that holds as an institution, but I think it merits some conversations: what does it mean to turn 200? What do we want to look like when we do? Those are some of the questions that I’m going to focus on during my sabbatical. Over the past decade, what accomplishment or achievement are you most proud of? I have two. Growing the enrollment above the mark that had been set and the second is the Wilson Science Center. What would you say energizes you when you wake up? It’s handing people diplomas. Graduation is always my favorite time of year. Knowing that we serve a group of students who, but for us, may not have a degree, is very energizing. Yes, some of our students were going to get a degree no matter where they went to school, but for many of our students we are their bridge to a better life. We get to be in that space; we get to be in that nexus point, for four years. That’s pretty cool to be able to play a part in putting them on that track. How does it make you feel to visit with Ozarks’ alumni from all over the world and to hear their stories about the University? The most common theme is, they’ll start talking about a person. They’ll talk about a faculty member, a staff member, their manager from a student job, a coach and how that person cared about them, how that person poured into them. And it’s almost universal. Yes, they valued their education and their courses, but at the end of the day the stories are almost always about a person and their relationship that they built. How that plays out on campus is our intense desire to recruit the types of faculty and staff whowant to maintain that culture.
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Q&A UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
Get to Know DR. PIROSKA BOROS Dr. Piroska Boros, assistant professor of health science, joined the U of O faculty in the summer of 2020 following completion of her Ph.D., in health and human physiology from the University of Iowa. A native of rural Hungary, she became a first generation college graduate when she earned a degree in recreation management and health promotion at University of West Hungary. Upon a recommendation from her academic advisor, Boros took part in an international exchange program with the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). There she earned a master’s degree in kinesiology while also conducting research in both sport psychology and exercise physiology and presenting her work at international conferences both in Hungary and in the U.S. As a Ph.D. student, she was involved in research studying physical activity and bone development, which led to an interest in studying age-related changes, specifically in muscle and bone structure and function, and how these changes relate to movement mechanics, and performance of every-day activities. Outside of academia, she has a life-long love of horses and horseback riding. Describe growing up in Ikrény, Hungary: Ikrény is a village in the west part of Hungary. It used to have a population of around 1,000 while I was growing up. Since the 1990s, new neighborhoods have been established and the population has almost doubled. Ikrény is about a 10-minute drive from the county seat, Gyor, which is 130,000 population. But I did not get to go to Gyor often until starting high school there. I am the youngest of three sisters. Looking back on my upbringing, my parents and Ikrény itself, created this bubble of idyllic living, because no one was talking about how policies and politics disabled the growth of wealth for individual families. My parents worked locally and everybody knew them and through them us. I grew up in a very cohesive community. We felt safe playing outside with the neighbor kids. There was not a lot of organized after-school activities, and our parents worked, so it was the older kids watching after the younger ones until the parents got home. We killed a lot of time playing badminton on the low-traffic street in front of our house. Our house was on a street at the edge of the village and behind that a wooded area, where I spent much of my childhood free time observing plants and animals – this was a time when I used to think I’d be a biologist when I grew up. When and how did you first get interested in health and recreation? As I recall, I have always had two major interests: science/nature and sports, and of course horses. We had lots of books at home and I loved reading Gerrald Durrel’s and Sir David Attenborough’s 8 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 3
books. I was fascinated by nature and could spend many hours just observing animals in the meadow and woods behind our house. I always said I would become a biologist when I grew up. Often my mom had to come and get me because I did not hear her voice calling me—I was busy climbing trees and just observing nature. I would say I was a tomboy. My father instilled in me a deep love of physical activity. He was an avid water sports person. He built his own kayak and he somehow got us into windsurfing and paddle boarding even before it became a thing. He also took us ice skating at the nearby canals during winters. When I was a teenager, he saw an advertisement in the newspaper about kite-surfing lessons that he wanted to try out. As pretty much everywhere he went, I naturally tagged along. It was also my dad who got us into horseback riding when the local company he worked for purchased a few riding horses. My sisters and I then started taking riding lessons, and I was immediately hooked. These early influences, naturally led me to health and recreation. However, I did not hear the call for quite some time. I just thought that like my dad, physical activity is something that people do to have fun and not to build a career upon. It wasn’t until my late 20s when I first completed a massage therapist school and then actually found a higher education program in health that I realized that now there are actual career opportunities in health outside of medicine. Describe your journey to becoming a first-generation college graduate: After high school, I explored a few different universities and majors. Because of my horse riding background, I thought an agriculture major would fit me great. I had to realize though the hard way that I was not very disciplined when it came to studying at the collegelevel. I was much more disciplined in my work around horses, but to my regret, not for my classes. Unfortunately, universities then did not have a good student support system like Ozarks has that would go after students who were not meeting requirements. So, I left that university after an unsuccessful semester, and tried a different major, and different university in tourism. It was a very popular major then, but I still did not have the discipline, nor the interest, to complete this program. I started working instead. I had many different random jobs, from being an afternoon teacher’s aid, to a bartender at a local bar. I was also an exercise rider, a customer service representative at a home store and sold cars.
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I would call this era of exploration of what the heck I want to do with my life. I eventually became a licensed massage therapist, and a licensed group fitness instructor. When I was 28, I lost my dad due to a severe hemorrhagic stroke. I was quite lost then for a while. He was my buddy. One of his old friends suggested that I should join the local women’s soccer club and have some fun with them. I realized that some of my grade school classmates were on the team, so I started playing soccer with them, which eventually got me back to playing sports competitively. It also helped me to find myself again after my dad’s passing. Due to the influence of some friends and my mom, I eventually started an undergraduate degree again. I figured out that the local university had a program in health promotion and recreation management, and the program coordinator was Dr. Ferenc Ihász, whom I have known already as he was one of the instructors for the massage school. I called him to acquire more information about the program, and all he said is ‘Apply! This is your place,’ so I did. Even though I was a part-time non-traditional student, I was able to get involved in undergraduate research in Dr. Ihász’s sports science laboratory. He invited Dr. Kevin Finn from University of Northern Iowa for a research collaboration and to co-teach a two week-course in exercise physiology, which was taught in English. I enrolled in this elective course and through this course and my involvement in laboratory work, Dr. Finn and Dr. Ihász asked me if I would like to participate in a student exchange program and spend one semester at UNI. You’ve done extensive studies on age-related changes in muscle, bone structure and function, and how these changes relate to movement mechanics and performance. What advice would you give older adults in this area? I definitely encourage older adults to engage in more physical activity. The federal recommendations for older adults are the same as for adults, with the overall message of being as physically active as their abilities and existing chronic conditions allow. Research shows that regular physical activity can reduce the risks of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, such as type II diabetes, certain types of cancers, and are great to preserve muscular and bone health. Muscle and bone mass typically peaks in mid to late 20s. After that there is some maintenance period, but with the normal aging process, and due to lifestyle choices, we start to lose muscle mass which accelerates after the age of 60. Physical activity aids in reducing the rate of loss in muscle and bone mass and function. It also helps to preserve balance, and economical movement mechanics. The current federal physical activity recommendations for older adults, based on extensive research, is to include in their weekly physical activity balance training, muscle-strengthening, and endurance activities. They should also understand how their chronic conditions, if any, affect their ability to engage in regular physical activity. Sometimes this means working closely with the caring physician and an exercise professional. In terms of the amount of physical activity, the minimum federal recommendations are 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week, ideally spread out throughout the week, and minimum two days of muscle strengthening activities targeting the major muscle groups. The former promotes cardiovascular and metabolic health, and the latter promotes muscular and bone health, balance, and metabolic health. We train our health students to understand the physical activity needs and risks for different populations to become well-rounded exercise professionals.
How do you believe health science majors benefit from the LENS curriculum at Ozarks? Health science is an inherently interdisciplinary field which makes it a good match to many other programs within our LENS curriculum. For example, students who have an interest to become fitness professionals can benefit in matching their HSC major with entrepreneur or marketing programs, and art, which would enable them to appropriately promote their skill-sets with well-designed, eye-catching marketing materials to their target population. Another good match is a public health focus health science major paired with history, Spanish, sociology, political science or economics to better understand determinants of health and health behaviors, the infrastructures that influence them, and build a career on reducing health disparities. When it comes to human performance and sports sciences, HSC with an exercise science focus matched with theater or music and athletic coaching, education, or media production can also provide a wide range of skill-set to students interested in career opportunities in sports. What are some of your hobbies or interests outside of work? I like to explore new things and some stick with me for life. I get my horse-fix in the summers visiting my friend’s farm in Northern Iowa. I have always been intrigued with functional pottery, and I own several pieces from different artists. Through the university’s tuition waiver for one class per semester policy, I was able to enroll in Brandy Russell-Green’s Ceramics II class in the Spring 2023 Semester, where I was introduced to throwing on the potter’s wheel. I have to say that I found a brand new hobby in making functional pottery. I inarguably spent a lot of my time, outside of my job duties, in the studio figuring out how to form a piece of clay into something that is functional but also pleasing to the eye. The process is extremely therapeutic for me. I think my brain was hungry to explore the regions responsible for creativity that has for years been overpowered by the analytical functions. My favorite form is always the next one that I figure out how to make. I am enrolled in Advanced Ceramics with Brandy in the Fall to learn more about working with clay. Outside of these, I have a family of three dogs and a cat. You can often find me walking my three dogs on Spadra trails, or in Cline Park, or on the summit trails of Mount Nebo. All of these things help keep me out of trouble.
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University Begins Construction on $10.8 Million Sports Complex New Baseball, Softball and Soccer Fields to be Ready by 2024
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niversity of the Ozarks began construction in October on a new $10.8 million athletic complex that will include new fields for baseball, softball and soccer. Partial funding for the project was made possible through a $6.2 million gift announced earlier this summer from Mr. and Mrs. Thomas D. Wilson of Tulsa, Okla. The University will fund-raise for the remainder of the project’s cost. The complex will be located where the current fields are and will include new turf fields on all three playing surfaces, new lighting and bleachers on all fields as well as new locker room, press box and bathroom facilities. “Student-athletes are an integral part of not only our campus community, but of the overall college experience at Ozarks,” said U of O President Richard Dunsworth, J.D. “The Wilsons’ amazing support, along with that of many others, is a caring affirmation of what these young women and men mean to the University.” Mammoth Sports Construction, LLC, based in Meriden, Kan., will build the complex, which is expected to take about a year to complete. The softball and baseball fields are expected to be completed by February, in time for both programs to play on the
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fields for the spring 2024 seasons. The soccer field will be ready for the men’s and women’s programs to compete on in fall of 2024. “I was a student-athlete at a small college, so it means a lot to be able to stretch every dollar for them,” said Mammoth Founder and CEO Jake Farrant. “Mammoth is changing the nature of the design/build process so departments and donors have complete peace of mind.” Mammoth is a modern master build firm that consults, creates, and constructs sports projects of every size. Past projects include the NFL, Big 10, SEC, Big 12, and thousands of small colleges and high schools. “We’re glad to be able to show our friends at Ozarks where every penny of their project is going through transparent pricing, together with dynamic design renderings that help them visualize exactly how the completed project will look,” said Mammoth Director of Sports Design Matt Keys. The new softball and baseball complex will be named in honor of the Wilsons. The new baseball field will continue to be
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New Shooting Sports Complex Planned University of the Ozarks is joining forces with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) and the city of Clarksville to build an estimated $13 million Olympic-level shooting sports facility in the city. The announcement was made in July by Game and Fish Director Austin Booth at the commission’s regular monthly meeting in Little Rock. The facility would be located on a 140-acre parcel owned by the University just south of Interstate 40. The project has already raised nearly $5 million in commitments and a fundraising campaign is under way by the University to raise the remaining amount. The complex would be open to the public and include sporting clay courses and fields for skeet, trap and bunker as well as a pistol and rifle range. There will also be an archery field. The complex would include a clubhouse, spectator areas, picnic areas and pavilions. The University has already contributed more than $2 million in land acquisition, site development and governmental authorizations to the project. AGFC plans to contribute up to $2 million in matching funds to the project and the city of Clarksville has committed $1 million. “The University is taking the initiative to raise an additional $8 to $10 million to build a premiere, world-class shooting facility in the Arkansas River Valley,” said University President Richard Dunsworth. “The city has given us a green light; the county has given us the green light; we’ve done the public hearings; we’ve done the environmental tests; we’re ready to build, except for the funding. That’s the next step and we’re excited and ready to begin the fundraising stage.” The complex would be the home course of the University’s men’s and women’s shooting sports teams as well as local youth and high school shooting programs. The University established the state’s first board-sanctioned, competitive collegiate shooting program in 2010. Since then the teams have won seven individual and team national championships in sporting clay. Dunsworth said the University plans to create a
collegiate archery program once the facility is completed. “Clay target shooting and archery are among the fastestgrowing sports in the country, from youth on up to the collegiate level, and we’re excited about the opportunity to have one of the premiere shooting complexes in the region right here in Clarksville,” Dunsworth said. “It’s going to help us in recruiting and retaining students, it’s going to help the Game and Fish with growing shooting sports in this area, and it’s going to help the city of Clarksville with tax revenue, hosting events and bringing in visitors. It’s a win-win scenario all the way around.” The facility would be managed jointly by the University and the Game and Fish Commission. Dunsworth said discussions on future phases of the complex have included plans for bike trails and RV parking with hookups. Dunsworth said the fundraising initiative would include naming-right opportunities for donors and that construction would begin once the University raised an additional $8 million.
Continued from Page 10 named Lonnie R. Qualls Field in honor of the late, long-time Ozarks baseball coach and alumnus. The new sports complex represents the second phase of a concerted effort by the University to upgrade all its varsity and intramural athletics facilities. The news also comes on the heels of a recent announcement by the University that it will join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, beginning competition in the SCAC in the 2024-25 school year. The upcoming 2023-24 season will be Ozarks’ last in the American Southwest Conference. Ozarks competes at the NCAA Division III level. “What an exciting time for Ozarks athletics… new softball, baseball and soccer facilities just as we prepare to begin competition in a new athletic conference,” said Athletic Director Jimmy Clark. “We are always proud to host our fellow competitors, but it will be especially exciting to have them on our campus next
season and beyond. We feel like our new conference affiliation combined with the new complex will enhance the lives of our student-athletes.” TODAY, FA LL 2023 /// 11
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Six Employees Announce Retirements Six U of O faculty and staff members with more than 150 years of combined experience at Ozarks have recently retired from the University. Dawn Dvoracek, director of leadership gifts and church relations, retired in June after 30 years at Ozarks; Connie High, director of the Student Support Center, retired in July after 22 years; Dr. Greta Marlow, professor of communication, retired in June after 33 years; Dr. Matt Myers, professor of mathematics, retired in May after 21 years; Karen Schluterman, director of human resources, retired in June after 33 years at Ozarks; and Eddie Wood, grounds foreman, retired in August after 20 years. A native of Michigan, Dvoracek joined Ozarks as a temp in the Office of Financial Aid shortly after she and her family moved to Clarksville in 1993. She was given a permanent position in the business office in January of 1994. She moved to the Office of Advancement in 2001, first serving as gift records coordinator before moving to director of church relations. She also played a role in three of the University’s largest capital campaigns that raised more than $173 million during her time at Ozarks. “It has been an honor to work with some wonderful leadership who truly helped transform the University,’ she said. High led the University’s Student Support Services (SSS) and TRIO programs since 2011. “I love the start of the fall semester. I’ll miss the excitement and buzz that that time brings to campus,” she said. Marlow, who first became familiar with the University at age 5 when her father, Dr. Noel Rowbotham, was hired to teach physics, would go on to graduate from Ozarks in 1984 and then later teach at her alma mater. She returned to Ozarks in 1990 as an adjunct professor, starting a 33-year teaching career at her alma mater that was interrupted only by one year away at the University of Kansas working on her Ph.D. “Probably the thing I will miss the most is seeing students develop and grow,” said Marlow, who won the University Bagwell Outstanding Professor Award in 1998. Although I won’t miss committee meetings, I will miss the other faculty and staff.” Myers, who earned his doctorate from Mississippi State University, was hired as an assistant professor of mathematics at
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Ozarks in August of 2002. He was promoted to associate professor and granted tenure in 2008 and was promoted to full professor in 2014. “I chose to work at U of O because I wanted to do more than just teach mathematics,” Myers said. “I wanted to have an overall impact on students’ lives by fostering a love of learning, and helping guide them into careers that would contribute to a fulfilled life.” Schluterman’s 33-year career at Ozarks started as a secretary in the Business Office and culminated as the director of human resources. She earned a degree in business from Ozarks in 2003 and became the University’s first director of human resources in July of 2016. “I am just happy that I was offered a position at Ozarks 33 years ago and it has been the most rewarding career for me,” said Schluterman, the recipient of the 1997 Alvin C. Broyles Outstanding Support Staff Award and the 2020 Alvin C. Broyles Outstanding Staff Award. “I have so much respect for so many people who I had the opportunity to work with and the
High
Myers
Dvoracek
Marlow Schluterman Wood close relationships we formed. I had great leadership and supervisors and worked with people in all areas who influenced me and I learned from them day in and day out.” Wood started at Ozarks as a grounds helper in March of 2003 and was promoted to grounds foreman in February of 2004. “It’s been a good 20 years,” Wood said. “I’ve seen a lot of changes and have had the opportunity to work with a lot of good students and staff. I’m glad I had the chance to work at Ozarks.”
Soccer Teams Visit France
The men’s and women’s soccer teams traveled to France in August. During the 13-day trip, the student-athletes had the opportunity to engage and interact in service projects with local under-served youth as part of summer soccer camps. They also visited and toured several historical and iconic sites throughout the region. In addition, the teams began preparations for their upcoming 2023 season by watching and training with professional teams and scrimmaging against local teams.
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University Receives 10-Year Accreditation University of the Ozarks was notified by the Higher Learning Commission in January that its accreditation is reaffirmed for the next 10 years. At its meeting on January 10, the Institutional Actions Council of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) “continued the accreditation of University of the Ozarks with the next Reaffirmation of Accreditation in 2032-33.” The HLC is one of six regional entities recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. HLC accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in the United States. To meet the HLC’s high standards, Ozarks demonstrated its quality in five areas: mission; integrity; teaching and learning – quality, resources and support;
teaching and learning – evaluation and improvement; and institutional effectiveness – resources and planning. “We are pleased and honored that University of the Ozarks has received full reaffirmation for the maximum period, 10 years, from the Higher Learning Commission, the largest and most diverse accrediting organization in the country,” said U of O President Richard Dunsworth, J.D. “Over the past two and a half years, the University has conducted a self-study and submitted a report to the HLC. In September, the HLC conducted a site visit with five professionals from other member institutions. The reaffirmation process highlighted our strength as a missiondriven, student-focused University that offers a high-quality, private education.” As part of this accreditation process,
Ozarks developed an assurance argument document with several hundred items of supporting evidence for evaluation. Dr. Gloria Arcia, vice president for finance and administration, and Dr. Steve Oatis, associate vice president for academic affairs, served as co-chairs of the Self-Study Committee as well as criteria committee chairs. Other criteria committee chairs included, Larry Isch, director of public and media relations; Rebecca Lester, director of grants and major gifts; Dr. Brian Hardman, professor of English; and Dr. Joel Hagaman, associate professor of psychology. The next comprehensive HLC review of Ozarks is scheduled for the 2032-33 academic year. Ozarks will provide HLC with an interim progress report in 2026-27 that will include an update.
New Faculty and Staff
The University welcomed more than 30 new faculty and staff to campus on Monday for New Employee Orientation to kick off the 2023-24 academic year. Among the new employees who have joined Ozarks within the past 12 months include (seated, from left) Katrina Twitty, assistant professor of music; Rosa Torres, director of human resources; Crystal Buchanan, marketing coordinator; Kristi Spittler Brown, assistant professor of mathematics; Lisa Johnson, major gifts officer; Amanda Demoret, academic services coordinator; Sara Warren, administrative assistant for academic affairs; Morgan Douglas, admission counselor; Chona Archer, OAS office coordinator; Hayley Rotunno, OAS student accounts coordinator; Dr. Samira Musleh, assistant professor of communication studies; and Dr. Filiz Guneysu Atasoy, assistant professor of communication studies; (second row, from left) Dr. Minami Nishioka, assistant professor of history; Tony Skiles, head cross country coach; Robert “Rowdy” Yates, assistant baseball coach; Dr. Janie Diels, vice president for academic affairs; Michael Fitzpatrick, international admission counselor; Parker Howell, assistant wrestling coach; Nathaneal Rankin, assistant wrestling coach; Eric Kremers, adjunct instructor in natural science and mathematics; Dallas Brose, head athletic trainer; Matt Bewley, director of career services; (back row, from left) Audra Kimball, director of foundations and major grants; Abby Mork, community coordinator and assistant softball coach; Jon Langlois, instructor of business and coordinator of auxiliary housing; Dr. Bill Gorton, associate professor of political science and philosophy; Tom Justice, admission counselor; Dr. Whitney Hunt, assistant professor of sociology; Dr. Darrin Hunt, assistant professor of biology; David Beck, head strength and conditioning coach and instructor of exercise science; Jimmy Phillips, director of residential life; and Russell Jones, instructor of broadcast/video/ multimedia storytelling.
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ABBY LEWIS (LEFT) and KNEISHA MCDONALD were the recipients of the 2023 Hurie Award, presented to the outstanding member of the graduating class. Lewis is a health science major from Greenbrier, Ark., who was a member of the women’s soccer team and who was also named the Outstanding Student in Health Science. McDonald is a biology major from Nassau, The Bahamas, who was named the Outstanding Student in Biology. The University’s annual outstanding faculty and staff awards for 2023 were presented to (from left) DR. JAVIER TAYLOR,
DR. EDWARD ARDENEAUX, MONICA FRIZZELL, ADRIANA GIRALDO AND DR. BRIAN HARDMAN.
The awards were presented during the Board of Trustees Faculty/Staff Awards Banquet in April. Taylor was presented with the President’s Above and Beyond Award.
DODY PELTS, vice president for student success, was
named an “Outstanding First-Year Students Advocate” by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, along with co-sponsor Cengage. Pelts was one of 10 recipients from throughout the country to earn the national honor that “recognizes educators involved in highimpact practices for first-year student success.” Pelts received the award at the organization’s annual conference in February.
CRISTHIAN RODRIGUEZ was honored in March by the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) with a national award for his weekly campus radio show “Latin Fusion.” Rodriguez’s show received the “Best Foreign Language Program” among the country’s colleges and universities. The award was presented at the IBS 83rd annual media awards ceremony in New York City. The 2023 Ozarks graduate from Honduras launched the show in September 2022.
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SOLANGE V. AVALO a rising senior from Masaya,
Nicaragua, self-published a black and white photography book in the Spring. The book is titled, “Yo Plural: Laberintos Múltiples de Nuestros Pasos” (I Plural: Multiple Labyrinths of our Footsteps), which Avalo described as a sentimental tribute to historic Monimbó, an indigenous community within Masaya. The book derives from more than 5,000 photographs and 200 video interviews that Avalo conducted during the summer of 2022.
CONNOR KLEIN ’23, an art and business major from Bentonville, Ark., won the Best in Show honors during the 2023 River Valley Arts Center Collegiate Competition in Russellville, Ark., in March. Klein said his winning artwork, Sea Sick, took about 20 hours to complete and was inspired by his passion for fishing. Klein won a cash prize and a solo exhibit at the center for winning the top prize at the annual competition.
DR. JANIE DIELS was named the University’s new vice president for academic affairs in April. Diels most recently served as interim provost at Alma College in Michigan. She was also associate provost at the college as well as an associate professor of communication and new media studies. A native of Wisconsin, Diels earned her undergraduate degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison before receiving her master’s and Ph.D. from Cornell University in New York.
DR. DANIEL FUDGE, assistant professor of political science, was selected in August to attend the prestigious Leadership Arkansas XVIII. The Leadership Arkansas program was established in 2005 and is presented by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Industries of Arkansas. The nine-month program included 53 men and women in various fields and professions from throughout the state in its 18th class.
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PRAYERS THAT STICK By Rev. Jeremy Wilhelmi University Chaplain In the fall of 2016, I began serving as chaplain at the University. That November, I launched the first Spirituality Center in the lower level of, at the time, the newly renovated Munger-Wilson Memorial Chapel. The Spirituality Center was 16 or so stations with various ways to engage with prayer, scripture, and reflection. Along with the great open space that the lower level provides, the prayer room can also be found there. Inside our new prayer room was a bench with some kneeling pads, two rocking chairs, and a side table. The space was fairly new to the campus community since it was only dedicated about six months prior, so I wanted to give them a chance to visit the space, including the prayer room. However, I was nervous to do anything with the space because it was so nice and me being the new chaplain on the block unsure what things I might do that could potentially ruffle any feathers. So the Spirituality Center did have a station in the prayer room, but it was very simple. However, I knew our prayer room needed something more. Then I got inspired. That following January, I took a small group of students to a conference. Adjacent to the conference was a small college and they had an outdoor covered prayer room alongside a creek. When I went into the room I noticed there were a few notebooks and all these pieces of paper stuck between the wood pieces that made up the wall. The notebooks were filled with prayers; and sure enough, those pieces of paper stuck in the walls were prayers as well. (Reminding me of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.) Our prayer room needed to be surrounded with prayers as well! Still being a very pretty (and new!) space, I had to decide how to make something similar without damaging the space. I noticed I had some sticky notes in my office and knew they wouldn’t mess up the still freshly painted walls. So, I posted my first prayer on the wall. Then, I put together a small basket with pens and sticky notes, and added a notebook and an instruction page on the small table and off it went. While it took some time for it to catch on, the addition has been embraced.
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As I walk in this space now, it reminds me that life has happened on our campus in all of its beautiful, heartbreaking, joyful, and dark moments. Hundreds of prayers cover the walls of the prayer room for anyone to read or add their own. I see prayers remembering staff and faculty we’ve lost. I see prayers being lifted up of family and friends back home who were met with natural disasters and civil unrest. I see prayers talking about the struggles in relationships. We have a sticky note prayer lifting up a couple who was married. But since that prayer was placed, that relationship has ended, yet the sticky note prayer still remains. I see the worries our students have of paying tuition, struggling to focus on classes, desiring motivation, even asking for forgiveness for a wrong they have done. I also see a couple of blank notes on the wall as well — some prayers are even hard to write out. I see repeat visitors to the prayer room — one prayer starts, “Hi God, I’m here again.” At the same time, the prayer room is filled with words of gratitude and joy. Prayers are lifted for people who have supported them in their college years. Prayers that they accomplished something they didn’t think they could do. We often talk about the college years being some of the best years of our lives. If, by that, we mean that the college years are rainbows and lollipops all the time, then that statement isn’t true. However, if it means that in these years we get a taste of the spectrum of the human experience, then yes it is. And while our students are getting a taste of the human experience, the prayer room reflects to our campus community that they are not alone. The prayer room has also been a catalyst for theological reflection. Should only certain types of prayers be allowed? Does the chaplain have the power to remove a prayer that isn’t in line with our Reformed Tradition? What happens when someone complains about a prayer they read? Sure enough, that happened. Someone came to me letting me know that someone put a prayer on the wall of something they disagreed with. I told that person I understood their concern. It’s not something I would have prayed for either, but
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that was for God to work though. After considering this, that person put a prayer right next to that prayer lifting up the exact opposite. In my view, God can handle them both. Plus, what a visual it represents about the religious and theological diversity we have on campus. At Ozarks, all are welcome to freely express what they believe. The prayer room is a tangible reflection of this. At some point, the stickiness wears out and the prayer falls to the floor. That’s my signal that God is done with that prayer and it makes room for new prayers. As with anything, even our prayers have seasons. Some prayers are only needed to be said for a time, while others remain consistently present. It started off as a blank wall, but over the past seven years it’s told a story. I’ve often thought that prayer is something we do. But what the prayer room has shown me is that it’s not just something we do, but something we’re surrounded by. I stand in that room surrounded by prayers. As I stand there, humbled and feeling the weight of the prayers of our campus, I am reminded that the prayer room tells the story of Ozarks and the privilege we have to journey alongside our students in this formidable time in their lives — maybe the best time of their lives depending how one defines it. It certainly changes my view as I’m passing by students between classes in the mall saying, “Hello,” or eating with them in the dining hall, watching them compete in athletics, hanging out in the student center, or seeing them study for classes. No matter where we are on campus, we are surrounded by prayers. As our campus community continues to use our prayer room, as less of the wall is seen and more notes are stuck there, what I hope “sticks” with them is that God does truly hear our prayers and that others are also praying for them each day. I pray that sticks with them each day they are here at Ozarks. I pray too that as they leave the prayer room, knowing they are surrounded by prayers, they might sense that call to continue the good work of becoming a more compassionate, loving and supportive campus.
PH ILA N TH R OPY
Mabee Foundation
Gift Recognizes 75th Anniversary of Foundation The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation of Tulsa, Okla., has made a $1.5 million gift to University of the Ozarks to create an endowed scholarship fund for students. The gift was made in conjunction with the Mabee Foundation’s 75th anniversary. The scholarship will support full-time students who come from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Missouri or Kansas and who have a minimum 3.0 grade point average. The Mabee Foundation has supported U of O since the 1950s when it provided funds for the University’s Mabee Gymnasium. The foundation has also supported the University’s Mabee Administration Building, Mabee Residence Hall and Wilson Science Center. “We are extremely grateful to the Mabee Foundation for investing in the success of Ozarks’ students through the creation of the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Endowed Scholarship Fund,” said University President Richard Dunsworth. “For more than 60 years, the Mabee Foundation has blessed this University through an impressive legacy of philanthropy and collaboration and this scholarship is another testament of the foundation’s desire to enrich the lives of others. University of the Ozarks has a proud and rich history of serving disadvantaged and first generation college students and scholarships like these allow us to continue our
Scholarship Endowments
Sisters (above photo) Alice King Kutz (left) and Kathryn King Kish recently established an endowed scholarship for science majors in memory of their parents, Dr. William Ernest King ’41 and Maribeth Mallory King. Dr. King was a long-time physician in Russellville, Ark., and a former University trustee. In August, Vernon McDaniel ’55 (left photo, on right) of Ozark, Ark., created a scholarship endowment for communication students. McDaniel is a former journalist and mayor of Ozark. (See page 29).
mission of preparing students who come from diverse economic backgrounds. The Mabee scholarship endowment will help remove financial barriers for students, facilitate on-time graduation, and assist in reducing student debt burden.” The scholarships will be worth at least $10,000 annually and will be awarded to as many as seven students “who demonstrate the characteristics associated with John and Lottie Mabee, such as a strong work ethic, volunteerism, generosity, integrity, honesty, humility and charity.” The Mabee Foundation was formed in 1948 by Missouri natives and Oklahoma residents John and Lottie Mabee. John, who did not complete high school, and Lottie were hard workers, innovative entrepreneurs and shrewd investors. Starting with nothing, they built an impressive business and were gracious and generous as they shared their financial blessings with others through various forms of philanthropy. John and Lottie, who had no children, formed the Foundation in 1948 and ultimately both left the bulk of their estates to the Foundation.
P.E.O. Chapter Q Supports Scholarships
P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) Chapter Q of Clarksville in February made its annual $500 gift for student scholarships to the University. Among those who attended the ceremony were (pictured seated, from left) Cindy Isch, Chapter Q president, and Richard Dunsworth, University president; (standing, from left) Melinda Gould ’80, Kay Pitts ’70, Carol Martin, Susan Miller, Kursty Boydston-Mathis ’12, Dawn Dvoracek, Linda Castleman, Dr. Jane Cater, Paula Duncan, Joe Ann Young ’57, and Pam Cockrum ’71. Boydston-Mathis, Gould, Young, Pitts and Cockrum are all graduates of the University. Dvoracek is the director of leadership gifts and church relations at Ozarks and Cater is a retired professor of communications. P.E.O. Chapter Q was established in 1938 and has been supporting student scholarships at Ozarks for more than 80 years. The chapter provides an annual scholarship to an incoming female freshman student with a minimum of a 3.0 high school grade point average with preference given to a resident of Johnson County, Arkansas.
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“For mom. Thank You Jesus.” Those are the words that Hayley Rivett whispers to herself every time she steps into the batter’s box. The senior-to-be softball standout from Berryville, Ark., was one of the top hitters in the American Southwest Conference (ASC) last year. “Those words help me hear my mom’s voice again,” Rivett said. “They calm me down and allow me to focus on doing my job.” Rivett’s mother, April, passed away in February of 2022, and the softball field is the one place where she feels close to her. She keeps a photo of her mother in her wristband and looks at it every time she takes the field and every time she’s in the on-deck circle. “My mom always told me to ‘Be the Light’ and that’s what I try to do when I step on the softball field,” Rivett said. “She wanted me to be confident and to be a shining example to others on what we can do through God. When I think of those words, I try to be vibrant through Him and through my mother.” Rivett, who transferred to Ozark from North Arkansas College before the 2023 season, put together one of the most impressive offensive seasons in women’s softball history at Ozarks. She led the ASC in home runs with eight and was third in slugging percentage (.647). She led the team in nearly every major offensive category, including batting (.343), hits (35), RBIs (26), on-base percentage (.385) and runs (17). Her eight home runs are the third-most in a single season and her RBI total is the fifth-highest in program history. She also played stellar defense from her shortstop position on her way to earning All-ASC Third Team honors. Rivett opened the season going 10-of-12 with ten RBI in the first three games. In the first game of the season, she went 4-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI. “Before the first game of the season, our coach gave us a motivational card and the quote that was on my card was from my mom, ‘Be the Light,’” Rivett said. “That just got me in the right frame of mind and got me pumped up. I ended up having a great first game.” She ended the season with seven multiple-hit games. She drove in four runs in game one against Sul Ross State and was named ASC Hitter of the Week once during the season. “Hayley is one of those players that every coach wants in their program,” Eagle Coach Denise Godwin said. “She is one of the hardest-working athletes I have ever had the pleasure of coaching. She is a naturally gifted athlete on the field and in the weight room. Her natural physical strength is part of what makes her a great hitter. Defensively, she moves well and will do whatever it takes to make a play. She is what I would describe as a ‘gamer,’ which is just someone who eats, sleeps and breathes the game.” Rivett, who started playing softball at age 5, also played basketball and volleyball in high school but, knowing she wanted to play softball in college, focused on softball during her senior year. She said her approach to hitting is pretty simple. “I just try not to do too much and try to focus on my mechanics,” Rivett said. “I go up to the plate with the attitude that I have a job to do and I want to produce for my teammates. I know they have my back if I don’t come through and I want to have their backs.”
I go up to the plate with the attitude that I have a job to do and I want to produce for my teammates. I know they have my back if I don’t come through and I want to have their backs. — Hayley Rivett
A self-described workout junkie, Rivett’s power and explosiveness is derived from hours in the weight room. “I think her natural strength and athleticism is part of what makes her a good hitter,” Godwin said. “You take one look at her swing, and you know that she is going to cause some damage.” Rivett’s all-out, aggressive style on the field has led to numerous nagging injuries throughout the year. “Hayley plays the game so hard, she gets a lot of bumps and bruises and she has persevered through it all,” Godwin said. “She lays her body on the line every day for the sport, and there is hardly anything that will stop her.” Rivett calls it her stubborn streak. “I just don’t want to leave the field and I’ll try to play through the little injuries if I can,” Rivett said. “I’m just stubborn that way.” Rivett is majoring in physical education and hopes to be a softball coach one day. “I want to help young players develop and find a love for softball like I did,” she said.
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EAGLES ATHLETICS
Athletes of the Year Named for 2022-23
Athletic Program Joins SCAC Starting in 2024
Brose Named Head Athletic Trainer
The University named its male and female athletes of the year during its annual Athletic Celebration Award Ceremony in May. The 2022-2023 Female Athlete of the Year awards were given to Rewa Chababo and Hayley Rivett. The 2022-23 Male Athlete of the Year awards were given to Jake Dado and Charleus Emmanuel Ritch. Chababo, a freshman member of the wrestling team, was the program’s first national championship qualifier after a standout rookie season. She placed second at regionals and placed third at the Missouri Valley Open, the third largest women’s collegiate tournament in the country. A native of Houston, Texas, she earned Scholar All-American from the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Rivett, a junior member of the softball team, was among the most productive offensive players in the American Southwest Conference, leading the ASC in home runs with eight, and ranking among the league’s top-10 in RBIs with 26. Dado, a junior member of the wresting team, was nationally ranked for most of the 2022-23 season and proved to be among the nation’s best in his weight class (141). Ritch, a senior member of the soccer team, was among the top offensive players in the ASC. The three-time First Team AllConference player ranked second in the ASC in goals with 10 and points with 24. Ritch was the team leader in goals and finished his career third at Ozarks in career game-winning goals (10).
The University’s athletic department has accepted an offer of membership into the NCAA Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) effective the 2024-25 academic year. Ozarks will join American Southwest Conference (ASC) member institution Concordia University Texas as the SCAC’s newest additions, bringing the total number to 10 in the fall of 2024. Ozarks was a co-founding member of the ASC in 1996 and will now reunite with former ASC institutions Austin College, University of Dallas, Schreiner University and Texas Lutheran University. Ozarks has been an affiliate member of the SCAC in men’s and women’s swimming since 2017. The SCAC is currently comprised of Austin College in Sherman, Texas; Centenary College in Shreveport, La.; Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Col.; University of Dallas in Irving, Texas; Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas; Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas; University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas; Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas; and Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Southwestern University and Trinity University have announced a move to the Southern Athletic Association beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year. Also, the athletic department announced in August that the men’s and women’s wrestling teams would join the NCAA Division III St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) as an affiliate member effective the 2023-24 year.
Dallas Brose returned to Ozarks in August as the head athletic trainer. He previously worked as the assistant athletic trainer at the University from 2018-2022 and will take over for Chad Floyd, who resigned to pursue other career opportunities. “We are excited to have Dallas back at Ozarks,” said Clark. “He built a great rapport with our student-athletes and coaches during his time here. We feel fortunate to have someone like Dallas on our staff and look forward to him maintaining the same high-level of athlete care.” Brose spent the 2022-2023 academic year at Oklahoma Baptist University. He was also a graduate assistant of sports medicine at Fresno Pacific University for two years and was an assistant athletic trainer at Cowley College for three years. A native of Tulsa, Okla., Brose earned his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from George Fox University and his master’s degree from Fresno Pacific. “I first want to acknowledge the legacy of Chad Floyd -- he gave 22 years of his working life to this University, and had an unmatched work ethic,” said Brose. “With the support of our Ozarks community, I will do the best I can to meet the needs of our student-athletes, and find a way to excel in my new position.” Floyd served Ozarks for 22 years. “We thank Chad for his many years of service to our students,” said Clark. “Chad has been a mainstay of our university and has helped countless student-athletes over the years.”
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E A G L E S HALL A T H LOF E TFAME ICS SPORTS
Three alumni were selected to be inducted into the University of the Ozarks’ Sports Hall of Fame for the Class of 2023 during Homecoming in September.
VICKIE ALSTON ’86
Basketball
Vickie Alston ’86 was a standout on the women’s basketball team from 1982 to 1986, helping launch the new program into the upper tier of the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference in the mid-1980s. After leading her hometown Clarksville High School team to a girls overall state championship in 1980, Alston’s all-around game helped Ozarks compile a 61-44 record over her four seasons, including a 20-5 record during the 1982-83 season. She is 12th in the school’s career scoring books (1,165), 14th in career rebounding (599) and ninth in career assists (246). She is one of four players in program history to rank among the top-15 in career points, rebounds and assists. She was All-AIC Honorable Mention in both 1985 and 1986 and earned NAIA All-District 17 honors following her senior season. Alston currently serves her alma mater as director of information technology.
JACK JONES ’79
Coaching
Jack Jones ‘79 is one of the winningest coaches in Ozarks history, compiling a 369-285 (.564) record in 25 seasons as head women’s basketball coach from 1979 to 2004. Jones won at least 19 games six different seasons and was named NAIA District 17 Coach of the Year in 1994 after leading Ozarks to a 25-6 record. He was named American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1997 after leading the Eagles to a co-championship in the league’s first season. The Eagles’ 25 wins remains the most in a single season for the women’s basketball program. During his record-setting coaching span, Jones led the program to 17 post-season appearances, had 15 winning seasons and coached more than 30 All-Conference players. Jones played basketball at Ozarks in the mid-1970s and served one year as an assistant women’s basketball coach before taking over the program in 1979. An early advocate for collegiate women’s sports, he also served as athletic director and golf coach at Ozarks. He is currently an assistant professor of sports management at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Kansas.
GEORGE “BUBBA” TERRY ’32
Coaching
The late George J. “Bubba” Terry ‘32 was a three-sport standout at College of the Ozarks from 1930-32. He was born in Newport in 1909, and his 1927 Batesville High School basketball team won the state title and was the runner-up in the National Tournament at Chicago. He received letters in football, basketball, and baseball at George Washington University in 1927-30 before transferring to Ozarks. Terry later coached at Sloan Hendrix Academy in 1933; Pine Bluff in 1934-38; Greenville, Mississippi, in 1939-42; and was the Pine Bluff head coach from 1946-54. After his Pine Bluff High School football teams went 49-12-6, which included a state championship in 1951, Terry worked as an assistant coach at Louisiana State University, West Point, and University of South Carolina. He also coached in the Canadian Football League, where he helped Ottawa to a Grey Cup Championship in 1960. He helped LSU win the 1958 national title and head coach Paul Dietzel called Terry “the finest football scout and perhaps the best defensive coach I’ve ever seen.” After Terry’s death, University of South Carolina named its spring sports facility after him. He was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1976. TODAY, FA LL 2023 /// 23
Don’t be afraid to fail because there are lessons that come from each experience. And, always remember, you are enough.” — Reginald Brasfield ’04
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SALES AND SERVICE Q & A WITH REGINALD BRASFIELD ‘04 2004 U of O graduate Reginald Brasfield is making a positive impact in Northwest Arkansas in both the business world as a senior national account manager for a major corporation and in the non-profit sector as co-founder and CEO of the community service enterprise, Voice of Diversity.
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W
hile earning his business management degree from Ozarks in the early 2000s, Reginald Brasfield ’04 was actively involved in college life. He was a two-sport standout in basketball and tennis while also participating on the Student Foundation Board, Phi Beta Lambda and the Knitting Club (political science). During his senior year, he was named to the Who’s Who Among Colleges and Universities. After graduation, Brasfield moved to Northwest Arkansas where he began an impressive career in supply chain, analytics and retail sales management for a number of Fortune 500 businesses and corporations, including Walmart, Dr. Pepper Snapple, Philips Consumer Lifestyle and Element TV. Over the course of the last two decades, he has led teams focused on retail partnerships with national and regional retailers in the U.S. Brasfield currently serves as senior national account manager for Belkin International. In 2013, he co-founded Voice of Diversity, a nonprofit organization focused on education, entertainment, and growing the local business community. He has also been involved in various non-profit and community service initiatives, including youth sports, Cystic Fibrosis, Children’s Advocacy Center and school mentoring programs. In 2012, he was selected by a local publication as one of Northwest Arkansas’ Most Influential Professionals. Brasfield, who serves on the University’s Alumni Board of Directors, lives in Cave Springs, Ark., with his wife, Zoe. He has four children, stepson, D’Trevian; son, Reginald Jr.; stepdaughter, Camille; and daughter, Zara. DESCRIBE YOUR JOB AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS SENIOR NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER AT BELKIN INTERNATIONAL: As the senior national account manager for Belkin, I’m responsible for managing and growing our mass retail business. I am in charge of developing new company strategies that foster category growth at Walmart Inc. and Sam’s Club. In addition, my role includes developing and guiding internal cross-functional teams’ work to support customer initiatives. I participate in hiring, training, and leading sales analysts and national account analysts. WHAT IS A TYPICAL DAY LIKE FOR YOU AT BELKIN? I start the day by reviewing sales performance, inventory, industry trends for each of the items in the Walmart portfolio. A typical day consists of meeting with the internal cross-functional teams. These meetings are focused on building action plans to support business growth and resolve challenges. I speak with the Walmart merchants about their goals and offer products that I believe align with the overall success of the category. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY HAS BEEN THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN/RETAIL SALES FIELD? The key to success in supply chain/retail sales is communication and paying attention to details. Being able to communicate, whether written or verbal, plays a major part in the results. Supply chain/retail sales require building relationships, presenting products, and navigating countless situations. It is important to be knowledgeable about as much of the business as possible. There are benefits in being able to speak clearly and intelligently to subject matter experts on both internal and external crossfunctional teams. 26 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 3
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A SOON-TO-BE BUSINESS GRADUATE? My advice is to first and foremost find your passion. Be bold. Find something you enjoy because doing so brings a level of joy that is greater than money can buy. Don’t be afraid to fail because there are lessons that come from each experience. And, always remember, you are enough. GROWING UP IN THE SMALL, RURAL SOUTH ARKANSAS TOWN OF GOULD, DESCRIBE HOW YOU ENDED UP ATTENDING OZARKS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: I attended the U of O because my childhood best friend and godbrother, Rupert Moore, asked me to come to Ozarks with him during one of his lowest moments. His father unexpectedly passed away during my senior year of high school, which was devastating. My godbrother was a year removed from high school and not in college, so when he asked me to consider the U of O it meant the world. I wanted him to go to college and I wanted to be there to support him. I was planning to attend another university, but after applying and being accepted, I decided instead to attend the U of O, basically at the last minute. The first day of orientation was my first day to ever see the campus. I chose family. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TRAITS YOU GAINED DURING YOUR TIME AT OZARKS? The most important trait I gained at the U of O was a sense of inclusiveness. Although I experienced some challenges during my years of college, there were many great people who welcomed me into their lives. These actions showed me, as African American from a small, segregated community, that not everything was black or white. I grew as a student and person because of the love that was given to me. WHAT CLASS OR PROFESSOR AT OZARKS MADE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU? The most impactful professor for me was Dr. Stewart Dippel. He was always engaged with the students and gave not only great academic lessons but also life lessons. I joined the Knitting Club,
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which Dr. Dippel and his wife led from their home. This was a different experience, but gave me the opportunity to spend more time with the Dippel family. The experience was amazing and I grew a lot from my interactions with Dr. Dippel. HOW DO YOU BELIEVE BEING A STUDENT-ATHLETE IN TENNIS AND BASKETBALL AT OZARKS HAS BENEFITTED YOU IN YOUR CAREER? Being a collegiate two-sport student-athlete at the U of O taught me many things. I learned how to better manage my time while putting in long hours of training, traveling, and competing. Teamwork and communication were also a big part of playing sports, which has benefitted me in my ability to be on teams in corporate America. After starting my career, I had to be able to deal with long hours, work in teams, communicate, and deal with adversity. My experiences as a student-athlete made it easier for me to accomplish the set goals. YOU’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN NUMEROUS NON-PROFIT AND COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO YOU? I was raised by a mother who taught me to love and support others. Volunteering is important to me because it allows me to give back to the community. My passion is being able to pour into the improvement of the youth and less fortunate population. My involvement allows me to be actively engaged with the processes and projects not just a person weighing in for others to do the heavy lifting. A quote that spoke to me when starting my career was by John Maxwell which said: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” DESCRIBE THE VOICE OF DIVERSITY INITIATIVE AND THE NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY RADIO STATION KDIV, FM-98.7: In 2013, I founded Voice of Diversity nonprofit to be a platform that unifies the community and addresses issues sometime misrepresented about marginalized people. There were and continue to be opportunities to educate the community while making it a place where different races and cultures feel welcomed. In 2016, our organization launched KDIV 98.7FM, a non-commercial community radio station. This was the first urban format radio station in Northwest Arkansas. The inspiration behind the radio station was to have a media platform that could educate, entertain, and assist local businesses, with a consideration of minority businesses. WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL GOAL OF THE RADIO STATION AND HAS THAT CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? The original goal for the radio station was to be a voice for minorities in the community. It was to be a source that helped bring a sense of inclusiveness for people of color. The goal has not changed, but has evolved into a platform used to add support around hunger relief, youth development, and nonprofit support. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT DAY-TO-DAY ROLE WITH THE RADIO STATION? I am the executive director of the organization, which is 100 percent volunteer. My day-to-day role is to assist with the radio programming and technical aspects associated with being on
the air. In addition, I actively participate in all initiatives in the community. There are no areas that don’t require involvement on my part, whether in person or electronically. DESCRIBE THE ANNUAL COMMUNITY COOKOUT INITIATIVE AND WHY THAT’S SO IMPORTANT TO YOU: The Voice of Diversity Community Cookouts are some of the most humbling and selfless acts that the organization puts on. Each year the team reserves a park closest to the highest population of people suffering from homelessness and lower income. This is purposely done to make it easier for families who are without transportation or the means to travel. The event is open to the entire NWA community and is free. Volunteers come out to cook, serve food, and play games. We have a DJ, bounce houses, and other fun activities. Our team also chooses a cause such as a local pantry or school that we ask those who can to donate either supplies or canned goods. Those donations are provided to the partnering organization so that more can be done for those in need. This is important to me because I understand first-hand struggles and want to be a positive part of making the community better. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHO WANTED TO START THEIR OWN NON-PROFIT OR SMALL BUSINESS? There is a lot of work that comes with starting a nonprofit or small business. It is important to be committed to the mission and understand that it can take time to see the fruits of your labor. Don’t be discouraged when things are tough. Make sure you plan and do research so that your efforts are not wasted. Look for partners that have a passion that aligns with your mission. WHAT DO YOU DO TO RELAX OR RELIEVE STRESS? I ride motorcycles, workout and spend time with family to relax. Each of these things give me a different level of appreciation and helps relieve stress. Many times, the motorcycle is the outlet that allows me to get back to center because I can’t think about other things while riding. I’m forced to pay attention to the things around me at that moment and nothing else. WHAT IS SOMETHING ABOUT YOU THAT MIGHT SURPRISE PEOPLE? I am PADI certified to scuba dive. TODAY, FA LL 2023 /// 27
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2023 Alumni Award WINNERS The University of the Ozarks Alumni Association recognized four of the University’s distinguished graduates with its 2023 alumni honors during the Ozarks Awards Ceremony during Homecoming in September. Alumni Merit Award
Alumni Achievement Award
MICHELE BROWN ’81
FARIDAH HAMEED ’86
Michele (Wadley) Brown of Lamar, Ark., has inspired countless youth to enjoy, understand and appreciate fitness throughout her career. She taught in the Lamar Arkansas School District for more than 20 years, where she won numerous awards for her teaching abilities. She has also written numerous grants for Lamar schools and the city to help acquire fitness and wellness equipment and facilities. While a student at Ozarks, Brown lettered in basketball and track at Ozarks. In 2023, Brown was named by the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas and Soiree magazine as one of the Top 100 Women of Impact in Arkansas out of more than 600 nominees. She currently serves as president of the Lamar School District. She has also served on the board of directors for the Arkansas Senior Olympics and has participated in track and field in the Senior Olympics at the state and national levels for more than a decade.
Faridah Hameed of Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, graduated from Ozarks with a degree in mass communication, which has led to a journalism career that included print, TV, radio and digital media. For more than 25 years, Hameed worked for some of the biggest companies in Malaysia in the fields of journalism, public relations, public issue communication, crisis communication, corporate branding, and web content development. She started her career as a current affairs/investigative journalist for the country’s oldest urban-centered newspaper, where she covered breaking news, investigative stories, national general elections as well as human interest stories. She then moved to public relations in the hospitality industry where she was a publishing and communication strategist on national and international campaigns. Today, Hameed is a much sought-after speaker, trainer and coach, specializing in leadership and business communication.
Young Alumni Achievement Award
Young Alumni Service Award
STEPHEN HOUSERMAN ’17
CORY J. MAAG ‘21
Stephen Houserman serves as the economic development director for the City of Clarksville. Raised in Upstate New York, Houserman served eight years in the United States Marine Corps, first as a logistics chief and later as a sergeant of the infantry. He graduated from U of O in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics. As a student, he attended TFAS Institute on Economics and International Affairs at George Mason University, with an internship at the Marine Corps Times. During his time at Ozarks, he met his wife, Elly, and they have three children. He served as director of communications for the Republican Party of Arkansas before returning to Clarksville in 2019 to oversee economic development efforts. He and Elly spend their time raising their three children on their small homestead in Johnson County. 28 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 3
Cory J. Maag of Clarksville, who graduated from Ozarks with majors in accounting and business administration, serves as an investigator with the United States Department of Labor. He worked in banking until he started a career in public service during his senior year with USDA Rural Development in Fort Smith, Ark., originating mortgages for low-income families and servicing commercial loans for community facilities and rural utility programs. After graduation, Maag transferred to the U.S. Department of Labor as a wage and hour Investigator in Little Rock, Ark., and now Fayetteville, Ark. Outside of work, Maag is an animal welfare advocate, volunteering with Needy Paws Animal Shelter. He also volunteers his time with the University by participating in career and resume workshops and fundraising efforts as well as speaking at leadership club meetings.
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2023 Donor Award WINNERS The University of the Ozarks Office of Advancement and Alumni Engagement presented its 2023 philanthropy and friends awards during the Ozarks Awards Ceremony during Homecoming in September. Alumni Legacy Award VERNON MCDANIEL ’55 Vernon McDaniel, who graduated from then College of the Ozarks in 1955 with a degree in sociology and political science, has supported Ozarks for more than 35 years and recently established the Vernon McDaniel Endowed Scholarship for communication majors (see page 19). Following graduation from Ozarks, McDaniel went on to earn a master’s degree in social welfare and journalism from Florida State University. He later served Ozarks as an associate professor of journalism as well as director of public relations. He has also taught journalism at colleges in Kansas and Missouri and served as the mayor of Ozark for 12 years. McDaniel currently heads the Salvation Army Service Unit in Ozark, volunteers at the Ozark Museum, and works part-time at the city’s newspaper, The Spectator.
Pay It Forward Champions Award BRYAN AND SHANNON (CARLISLE) ‘91 HUGGINS Bryan and Shannon Huggins have supported Ozarks for more than 25 years. After graduating from Ozarks in 1991, Shannon went on to earn a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Texas Woman’s University and currently serves as senior vice president for Dallas-based Methodist Health System. Bryan is a district business manager for Kennametal, an international productivity solutions company for the metalworking and manufacturing industries. The couple have been married for 30 years and have two sons, John (26) and Daniel (24). Bryan and Shannon have both served their community through various civic, educational and church volunteer roles. Shannon has recently completed two terms on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, including as president, and currently serves on the University’s Board of Trustees.
Emerging Philanthropist Award DR. JESSALYN HALSTED ‘08 Dr. Jessalyn Halsted, an optometrist in Northwest Arkansas, has supported the Ozarks Annual Fund for nearly a decade. Born and raised in Harrison, Ark., Halsted graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors from Ozarks in 2008. She was a collegiate athlete at Ozarks, starring in both soccer and tennis. She earned her doctor of optometry degree at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis. Halsted completed clinical externships at Vision Enhancement Clinic and the Missouri Eye Institute, both located in Missouri. She currently practices in Rogers, Ark., at Jeffries Eye Associates. Halsted is married to Alex Gossett, a fellow 2008 Ozarks graduate, and they have two sons.
Community Champion Award CITY OF CLARKSVILLE The City of Clarksville received the Community Champion Award, which was established in 2019 and presented to an individual or company that has worked “cohesively with University of the Ozarks to move the University and community forward together.” The city has collaborated with the University in numerous recent projects, including a downtown restaurant, a recreational shooting range, crosswalk flashing signs on campus and lighting on the perimeter of campus to help increase the safety of students and staff.
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HOMECOMING 2022
A Look Back
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CLASSNOTES Kenneth “KP” Heidelberg ’84 is living in Bentonville, Ark., where he works for the Benton County Senior Activity Center and Bentonville Schools, K thru 5. He is retired from the U.S. Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service and Anheuser Busch, Special Events, which consisted of Thunder Basketball, OU Football and all Concerts in Oklahoma City, where he lived from 1984 to 2018. He has two adult daughters, both of whom graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma. Tom Justice ’89 joined his alma mater as an admission counselor in May. Justice, who played baseball while earning a degree in business administration at Ozarks, has spent most of the past 30 years living in Panama. He has more than 20 years of experience as a manager and operations director in the restaurant industry and more than 13 years of experience in
athletics as a coach, educator, counselor and director. He was the co-founder of JSC Youth Sports Academy in Panama and has served as a baseball coach and instructor for more than 15 years. “After living abroad in Panama for the past 30 years, I am grateful for the opportunity that the University has offered and to return to the community where life-changing moments started for me after graduating from Ozarks in 1989,” Justice said. “After careers in the corporate world, professional athletics and student development, I feel that I am ready to start another career as an admission counselor at Ozarks working with students and student-athletes.” Justice said he and his wife, Tita, “look forward to sharing our faith and cultural experiences learned from living in Panama.” He is also looking forward to being closer to his children, Michael Justice ’17, and Nicole England ’18, both U of O graduates.
127th Boston Marathon
At least two U of O alumni competed in the 127th Boston Marathon in April. Jacob Schulte ’02 (left) of Sherwood, Ark., and Jeremy Provence ’12 of Jacksonville, Ala., braved wet and cold conditions to complete the prestigious 26.2-mile race through downtown Boston. Provence, the head track and field and cross country coach at Jacksonville State University, completed his fourth Boston Marathon in a time of 2:32.11, which was good for 216th overall out of more than 27,000 runners. Provence won the Little Rock Marathon in both 2019 and 2020. Schulte, in his first Boston Marathon, ran a time of just over 4:30 and finished third in his para-athletes division. Schulte is married to Ozarks alumna Sharon (Hershberger) Schulte ’03. 32 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 3
Anna L. (Churchwell) Fulmer ’92 of Clarksville, has been selected by the U.S. Department of State to take part in a prestigious 10-month fellowship project training teachers and teaching English in the country of Morocco at Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) Tétouan. Fulmer is one of only 200 U.S. citizens selected for the 20232024 English Language Fellow Program. Jennifer Fisher ’93 of Bixby, Okla., was installed as the high priestess of Aba Court 4 Ladies of the Oriental Shrine of North America in April. She attended the organization’s grand council in San Diego, Calif., in May. Montye (Smith) Mickelson ’94 received the Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Educator of the Year award for the Missouri wing. On March 25, during the 2023 Civil Air Patrol Missouri Wing State Conference at the Lake of the Ozarks, she received recognition for the Aerospace Educator of the Year from Col. Thomas J. Martin during an awards ceremony. A teacher at Forsyth Middle School, Mickelson started a Civil Air Patrol afterschool program to increase awareness in Aerospace Education for students in grades 5-8. The program has around 30 to 40 students that participate.
The El Dorado School (Ark.) District announced the hiring of Makara Frazier ’19 as the head varsity girls basketball coach in July. Frazier was the varsity assistant coach at El Dorado last year. She was head girls basketball coach at her alma mater, Smackover, for the previous three years. “I’m very excited about getting to be a part of the program last year and now to go in and take over and be part of the standards and achievements in a bigger role this year,” said Frazier. In December 2021, she received her master’s degree from UA-Monticello.
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Carl Minden ’94, chief of police for the city of Bryant, Ark., since 2019, received the 2022 Saline County Officer of the Year Award from the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office. Minden also received the 2022 Chief of the Year Award through the Arkansas Police Chief’s Association. Minden served with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office from 1998 to 2019. Jack Thorp ’96 received the 2023 David L. Moss Memorial Award for Outstanding District Attorney in Oklahoma during an awards ceremony in July in Oklahoma City. Thorp serves District 27, which covers Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah, and Wagoner counties. Thorp was praised for launching a fentanyl program in which he charges drug dealers with first-degree murder for fatal drug overdoses. Thorp is a 24-year career prosecutor who has served as District 27 district attorney for the past six years. He grew up in Catoosa, Okla., and
served in the U.S. Navy from 1988-’92, before attending Ozarks. Thorp is married to Joy, who is the first assistant district attorney for District 12. The David L. Moss Memorial Award for Outstanding District Attorney is named in honor of legendary Tulsa County District Attorney David L. Moss, who died in 1995. It is awarded annually by the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association to recognize the state’s most outstanding district attorney. This is Thorp’s second David L. Moss Award; he previously received this award in 2020. Janna Fawcett-Harris ’99 was elected to the board of directors of the Museum of Automobiles in Petit Jean, Ark. She is the first woman to serve as a director on the board. She has worked in the transportation industry for the past 15 years. Sara Williams ’01 of Fort Smith, Ark., was named the 2023 Kimmons Middle School Teacher of the Year in May. She has sponsored both the Lego Robotics team and organized the ACT Aspire Testing Rally at the school. Williams will be taking a new position at CTE (Career and Technical Education) teacher next year within the school district. John Burgess ’06 has been living in Budapest, Hungary, with his family since 2018, where he has served as a missionary teacher at the International Christian School of Budapest. He recently was named the athletic director for the school, which
Dr. Brent Thomas ’91 was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Emporia State University in Kansas in December. A first-generation college student, Thomas began his career at Emporia State in 2006 after earning his Ph.D. in biological sciences from Mississippi State University and serving on faculty at University of South Carolina Upstate. “After serving ESU for about 17 years, I am both honored and excited to take on the permanent role of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs,” Thomas said. “Emporia is my home, and Emporia State University is my university. I care very deeply about ESU and our community and, I look forward to working with faculty, staff and students to ensure that ESU continues to adapt.”
Several alumni returned to campus during the Spring 2023 Semester to discuss their STEMrelated careers in a STEM panel for students. Among those who took part on the panel were (from left) Andrea Cooper ’12, a counseling manager with the U.S. Forest Services; Chris Dreidric ’08, a physical therapist in Little Rock; Kelsey Boswell ’21, a natural resource specialist with the U.S. Forest Service; and Whitney (Berg) Brown ’11, a counselor and former science teacher with the Scranton Public Schools.
Alumni Brick Plaza
Is your class represented in the Alumni Plaza? Will we find your name there? To learn more about our alumni brick tradition and to purchase a brick for you or one of your classmates, please visit: www.ozarks.edu/alumni. competes in the Danube Valley Athletic Conference with teams from Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria. Blake Rexroat ’06 accepted a new position in June as director of marketing at the Parker County Hospital District in Weatherford, Texas. For the past nine years, he had served as the director of communications and marketing for the City of Weatherford. He and his wife, Lauren, reside in Gordon, Texas, with their children, Allie, Wiley and Landry. Brandon Schluterman ’06, head girls basketball coach at Lamar (Ark.) High School, was named the head coach of the West team at the 2023 Arkansas High School Coaches’ Association All-Star Basketball Game in June. Schluterman led Lamar to the state championship game of Class AAA in 2022-23. Emma (Bottorff) Curry ’09 was recently promoted to senior social commerce program manager at Saatchi & Saatchi X in Northwest Arkansas. Bo Martin ’09, the boy’s head basketball coach at Bergman (Ark.) High School, was named to the West coaching staff of the 2023 Arkansas High School Coaches’ Association All-Star Basketball Game. Martin led his 2022-23 team to a 39-6 record, a conference championship and a state runner-up finish. Brandon Pierson ’09 passed the Oklahoma Bar Exam in April. He is a graduate of the Oklahoma City University School of Law.
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Sarah (Reeves) Frederickson, Ph.D., ’10 and her husband, Scott Frederickson ’11, live in Spartanburg, S.C., where Sarah is a professor of mathematics at Spartanburg Methodist College. Said Sarah, “Because of my experience at the U of O, I had the confidence to pursue my Ph.D. and become a college professor.” Jenava (Moreau) Harris ’10, the director of theatre in the Clarksville School District, was named the 2023 Gail Burns Theatre Educator of the Year Award at the 2023 Arkansas State Thespian Festival. The Gail Burns Theatre Educator of the Year Award is presented to a “deserving teacher who exemplifies the best qualities of a teacher within his/her building, district, and community.” Sabrina Goddard-Brandon, M.D. ’12 and husband, Jeremy, welcomed a daughter, Georgia Jo, to the family on Sept. 14, 2023. The family lives in Birmingham, Ala., where
Max Hilgendorf ’14 is pictured at the summit of Mount Katahdin in Maine, marking the completion of his thru-hike of the 2,194-mile Appalachian Trail in 2022. Hilgendorf left Springer Mountain, Ga., in April and arrived at the end of the trail in October. He averaged 1520 miles a day and carried a pack that weighed from 20-30 pounds. His trail name was Fisherman, “not because I carried a fishing pole in my pack, but because I accidently caught several fish in my water filter as I was filtering water on several occasions.” Hilgendorf is currently serving as the director of youth ministries at Lakewood United Methodist Church of North Little Rock. You can learn more about his hiking adventure on his Facebook page: Max on Trail. 34 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 3
Sabrina is an assistant professor with the University of Alabama-Birmingham Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. She also serves as UAB’s assistant trauma medical director. Goddard-Brandon attended the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine for medical school and completed her general surgery residency at UT Health San Antonio. Andrea Lagos Morán ’12 and her husband, Eduardo Modenessy, welcomed their first child, Siena Modenessy Lagos, to the family on March 9, 2023. The couple resides in Honduras. Mitchell Powers ’13, the head baseball coach at Clarksville High School, was named the 4AAAA Coach of the Year after leading the Panthers to an 18-6 season record and a district championship in May. Lakaen (Maddox) Schluterman ’11, recently accepted a new position as elementary school principal at Scranton, Ark. Last year, as a principal in Paris, Ark., she was named Logan County Educator of the Year. She and her husband, Cody, and children, Emery and Crew, reside in Subiaco, Ark.
David ’82 (left) and Marietta ’84 McGinnis celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on June 4, 2023. They were married in 1983 in Raymond Munger Memorial Chapel on campus. David retired in 2022 after 40 years of teaching and coaching at Springdale High School. Marietta retired in 2023 from JB Hunt Transport. They have one son, Will, who is following his father as a teacher and coach. Their granddaughter, Olivia, turned 10 in September.
Kara (Willbanks) Staton ’14 earned her doctorate in physical therapy from Harding University in May. After passing the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE), she accepted a job at RISE Physical Therapy in Northwest Arkansas. Dr. Jordana Andrews ’15, a doctor of physical therapy, is serving as the clinic manager at the Baptist Health Therapy Center in the Heights in Little Rock, Ark. She is an outpatient PT, primarily working with orthopedic injuries. After graduating from U of O, she attended University of Central Arkansas and earned her doctorate of physical therapy degree in 2018. Andrews began her career working in Conway for McMaster Physical Therapy, and then went on to work as a floater physical therapist for Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute. Andrews lives in Greenbrier, Ark., with her wife, Hannah, and their three dogs. Laura Calderon’15 and her husband, Carlos, reside in Guatemala City, Guatemala, where Laura works as a junior buyers for Cemaco, the largest retailer in the country.
Giselle Alfaro ’05, the owner of Giselle Theatrical Dance, or GTDance, a nonprofit organization in Little Rock, Ark., presented the company’s first major theatrical dance production, “The Jungle Book,” on Feb. 18, in Little Rock, Ark. The show, held in partnership with BDE Evolution, featured diverse top artists in the fields of Middle Eastern dance and music, Tahitian dance, freestyle, contemporary, tribal-fusion and ballet. Alfaro, a native of El Salvador who graduated from Ozarks with a degree in economics, said she decided to create GTDance during the Covid pandemic. “I realized that in Arkansas we didn’t have many opportunities to explore and experience cultural dances and I was inspired to do something about this,” Alfaro said.
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Fernando Salazar ’15 and Sarah Salazar welcomed a baby boy, Matthew Israel, to the family on July 30, 2023. He joins older siblings Alice and Isaiah. The Salazars live in Conway, Ark. Aaron England ’16 was hired this summer as a science teacher at Clarksville High School. He previously taught at Fort Smith Northside. Araon and his wife, Nicole Justice England ’18 reside in Clarksville with their son, Mathias. Irma Guzman ’16 is living in Houston, Texas, where she works for Helena Dumont, LP., a private equity asset firm. She previously lived in Japan for several years where she was a teacher. Ricky Scott ’17 was named a resource teacher at Elkins (Ark.) High School over the summer. He has been a special education teacher for five years and most recently taught at Huntsville, Ark. Lindsey Stehle ’17 accepted a position in July teaching first grade at St. Theresa’s Catholic School in Little Rock, Ark. She is pursuing a master’s degree in teaching elementary education at the University of Central Arkansas. Vadol Miller Jr., ’20 graduated from the UA-Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law in May with a juris doctorate. He passed the Arkansas Bar Exam in August and plans to pursue a career in criminal law and personal injury.
The Alumni Board of Directors met on campus in July. Among those who attended were (back row, from left) Cori Dyson ’97, Gary Perry ’74, Evan Castleberry ’17, Thomas Ross ’18, Reggie Brasfield ’04, Taylor Jacks ’12, Emily Towe ’12, Torie Parsons ’09, Alex Chandler ’12, Tyler Wilson ’11, Jeremy Provence ’12 (seated, from left) DeeDee Autry ’87, Jennifer Fisher ’93, John Cowart ’90, Lisa Gruben-Inness ’93, Andrea Cooper ’12, and George Pittenger ’91.
Adolfo Sotolongo ’20 is pursuing a doctor of occupational therapy degree at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in Florida. Rebecca Willems ’20 was promoted to associate director of admission at Ozarks in August. Willems has worked in the University’s Office of Admission since 2020. Haley Grace Clark ’21 graduated from Southwest Law School in Los Angeles in June. Clark graduated from an accelerated two-year program where she served as
communications chair on the Trial Advocay Honors Program Board of Governors. She also served as a peer mentor at the law school. She plans to pursue a career in civil litigation on the West Coast. Rikki Haase ’21, a student at Baylor Law School, in April was named Outstanding Student Achievement in Family and Juvenile Law as well as Outstanding Student Organization President for her leadership in the Women’s Legal Society. Bradley Thompson ’21 was hired in June as a CFI technician for the Fayetteville (Ark.) Public Library. He previously worked in the IT department at U of O. Vivien Wambugu ’21 graduated in May from the Duke University Global Health Institute with a master’s degree in Global Health. In July, she started a new position as a postgraduate associate at the Equity Research and Innovation Center (ERIC) at the Yale University School of Medicine.
Oark (Ark.) school teachers (from left) Sandra Allen ’90. Shelli Stewart ’94 and Stephanie Alderson ’18 were recognized by the Jasper School District this summer for their years of service to the district. Allen and Stewart have taught in the district for 25 years and Alderson has taught there for five years.
Brandon Carlson ’10 and his wife, Taylor, welcomed triplets to the family on Feb. 3, 2023. Willis Brandon, Hadleigh Pearl and Haven Janette joined the Carlson family in the early morning hours. The family lives in College Station, Texas, where Brandon works in facilities management at Texas A&M University.
Abby Asencio ’22 was promoted to vice president of the Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce in June. She started with the chamber as an intern in January of 2022 and was hired that summer as community relations director.
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Grace Dougan ’22 was recently named the new PE and health teacher as well as coach for basketball, volleyball and softball at Clarksville Middle School. She also recently earned a master’s degree in teaching from UA-Monticello. Last year she served as a coach in Gravette, Ark.
Honoring Coach Qualls
Angel Wyatt ’22 gave birth to a daughter, Akira, on Nov. 21, 2022. Wyatt is working at River Valley ABA Services in Clarksville as a registered behavioral technician. Morgan Douglas ’23 of Clarksville, was named an admission counselor at Ozarks in August. Odalis Garcia ’23 was hired in May by the Russellville (Ark.) Area Chamber of Commerce as the organization’s new director of marketing and communications. She handles duties such as managing the Chamber’s website, email, and social media platforms and creating marketing campaigns that engage local members.
CONNECT
Several former athletes attended the funeral service of longtime U of O coach and administrator Lonnie Qualls at First Baptist Church in Clarksville on March 3. Among those in attendance were (from left) Jerry Miller ’79, Mark Branscum ’77, Denton Tumbleson ’74, Sam Harpole ’82, Mike Jones ’77, David McGinnis ’82, Butch Ries ’78, Bart Talbot ’83, Dennis McKinney ’86, Jake Hudson ’84, Greg Sone ’88, Russell Wambles ’87, Phil Watts ’89, and Jerry Glidewell ’79.
ENGAGE
DISCOVER
The University of the Ozarks’ Office of Alumni Engagement invites you to Connect, Engage and Discover through a myriad of events, activities and volunteer opportunities. Here are a few ways to reconnect with Ozarks: ALUMNI EVENTS – Learn about upcoming alumni events, gatherings, and reunions in your area as well as learn what’s currently going on at your alma mater. ALUMNI AWARDS NOMINATIONS – Each year the University of the Ozarks Alumni Association recognizes distinguished alumni who have excelled in their fields and/or in their support of Ozarks. The awards presented are the Young Alumni Service Award, Alumni Merit Award, Young Alumni Achievement Award, and Alumni Achievement Award. If you would like to nominate an alum for one of these awards and learn about each award, please scan the QR code. ALUMNI BOARD APPLICATIONS – Do you want to be a part of the University of the Ozarks Alumni Association Board of Directors? To learn more about what the board does or to fill out an application, please scan the QR code. UPDATE YOUR INFORMATION – Stay connected to the University of the Ozarks Community. Receive alumni newsletters, features and information about opportunities to engage with the University and your classmates. Scan the QR code to learn more and/or update your information. FOLLOW OZARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA – University of the Ozarks has a number of social media platforms including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. There is also a special Facebook Alumni Networking group only for Ozarks alumni. To learn more or connect with Ozarks, e-mail Jake Holland, Associate Director of Alumni Engagement at jholland@ozarks.edu.
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RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE
Train Puts Relationship on the Right Track The first impromptu date for David Morris ’83 and Scarlett (Winfrey) Morris’ 86 was in the Spring of 1983 and included a theatre production, a train and a kiss. David was a soon-to-graduate senior at Ozarks and Scarlett was a freshman in April of 1983 when both were part of the University Theatre’s production of “By the Skin of Our Teeth.” Since it was David’s final theatre production at Ozarks, he was part of a curtain call following the last show that included meeting with family, friends and well-wishers in the foyer. “I stayed at the theatre until his mom and other family left to tell him that he did a great job and he asked me to run to Scranton with him,” Scarlett remembered. “We stopped for a train on the way back to Clarksville and he kissed me. When we stopped kissing, we looked around and there was no train in sight. There was a car behind us. They didn’t honk at us, but we could see them laughing. We started dating after that.” Morris had grown up in Oklahoma and his choice of colleges had come down to U of O and Oklahoma State, both of which had offered a choir scholarship. “I wound up going to Ozarks for two main reasons,” he said. “The first was the choir scholarship was bigger. That combined with the fact that I also was offered a scholarship from Ozarks for being a Presbyterian preacher’s kid made it a viable option. The biggest reason though was some sage advice from my eldest brother, Chuck, who attended Ozarks in 1969-70. He advised me that I would be so much better off at the smaller school where I would be a person, not just a number. That really spoke to me.” Scarlett had grown up on a mini-farm in Dyer, Arkansas, a small community in the western part of the state. “I knew that Ozarks was where I wanted to go to school, so I did not apply anywhere else,” she said. David and Scarlett said they both first noticed each other in the fall of 1982 as members of the University Chorale. “The first time we actually met was when a freshman boy asked this senior choir member if he could come to my house
David and Scarlett Morris (left photo) at their 1984 wedding in Munger-Wilson Chapel and during a recent trip to Scotland. The couple celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary in September.
to play guitar,” David said. “He brought his girlfriend with him. This is the first time I remember talking to her. The first time I saw her was when The Freshman Singers were performing for the Chorale. Scarlett had a solo and it was beautiful.” Scarlett said she was “pretty taken” by the senior. “Why would a senior pay attention to a little freshman girl like me?” she said. “I began to notice what a really nice guy he was. Dating for us was basically hanging out and playing music. We were poor folk back then, so we didn’t do much going out. We did go to the Dr. Hook concert at the baseball field, which was fun.” Their short time in choir together included one of David’s most memorable, if not embarrassing, moments. “The Chorale was performing at Subiaco Academy in their cathedral there and Scarlett and I were both section leaders,” David said. “The section leaders all had the song titles and starting pitches written on the back of our pitch pipes. I inadvertently skipped a song and started the wrong song. It caused Doc [Choir Director Michael Farrell] to stop us quickly. He then whispered, ‘Damn it Morris, what’s wrong with you?’ The acoustics in that cathedral are so awesome that I’m pretty sure everyone in there probably heard him.” With David expected to graduate in the Spring of 1983, Scarlett wasn’t sure where the relationship would go. “I thought we were done when he graduated, but he showed back up in the fall,” she said. “He said to get his music
minor. I always add ‘and a wife.’ David took me to meet his parents over Christmas break 1983. That was when he proposed.” The two were married in Munger-Wilson Chapel on September 1 1984. Scarlett, who completed a master’s degree at Stephen F. Austin State University in 1992, has taught music for more than 30 years, including 26 years in her current position at Kelly Middle School in Springdale, Ark., where she is also the director of music at First Presbyterian Church. David worked for Schwan’s Frozen Foods for 25 years and is now in his seventh year with the National Federation of Independent Businesses. The couple lives in Springdale, and have two children, Lacy Morris Hampton, a music teacher, and Jeremy, a web designer for Arvest Bank. Lacy and her husband, Alex, have two boys, Alexander, Jr., and Jack. Jeremy and his wife, Alli, also have two boys, Henry and Charlie. “Lacy and Jeremy are very musical; imagine that,” Scarlett said. “They sing together and call themselves ‘Common Roots.’ David and I are their roots. They have been nominated for best acoustic act for the Arkansas Country Music Awards. We are proud parents.” David and Scarlett have also served on the University’s Alumni Board of Directors and have been active supporters of the University since they left. And, when they return to Clarksville, they always make it a point to return to a particular place. “We go back to that train track and we always say, ‘This is where it all began,’” Scarlett said.
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WEDDINGS
Andrew Cummings ’14 married Jennifer Null on Oct. 8, 2022, in McKinney, Texas. Andrew works as a security/surveillance sales manager and is a Crossfit enthusiast. The couple lives in Dallas, Texas.
Grace Brown ’20 and Nathaniel Sebo were married on Nov. 5, 2022, in Magazine, Ark. The Sebos live in Clarksville, where Grace is a teacher for Johnson County Westside schools. She also coaches the U of O shooting sports team.
Brittney Dean ’21 married Jay-Ryan Woods on June 10, 2023, in Paneway, Ark. The Woods live in Jonesboro, Ark., where Brittney is a registered nurse with NEA Memorial Baptist Hospital.
Garrett Williams ’21 married Madison Clary ’21 on June 5, 2022, in Bella Vista, Ark. The Williamses reside in Fayetteville, Ark.
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Anaeli Rodas ’15 and Adam Joe were married on May 8, 2022, in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. The couple lives in Guatemala, where Anaeli works for International Justice Mission as a regional specialist for Latin America, working to strengthen public justice systems in several Latin American countries.
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Scharla Paryzek ’12 married Alex Folsom on May 7, 2022, in Lawrence, Kan. Scharla works as a CASA supervisor at Douglas County CASA, Inc., in Lawrence.
Michael Justice ’17 married Francesca Cannavo on June 17, 2023, in Panama City, Panama. The couple lives in Northwest Arkansas where Michael is a senior customer service and logistics export specialist with Tyson Foods.
Konnor Johnston ’19 and Alma Arredondo Lopez ‘19 were married on June 3, 2023, at Horsehead Lake near Clarksville. The Johnstons live in Tulsa, Okla., where Alma is a graduate assistant at OSU and Konnor is a teacher and coach at Catoosa Public Schools.
Hailey Ostrander ’19 married Wyatt Wolfe on June 24, 2023, in Muskogee, Okla. The Wolfes live in Sallisaw, Okla., with their son, Warren. Hailey is a teacher and coach in Alma, Ark.
Bryce Elder ’18 married Brooklyn Meinke on Feb. 24, 2023, in La Cygne, Mo. The Elders live in Kansas City, Mo., where Bryce works for Midland Genetics, coaches baseball and sings with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus.
Elizabeth Tate ’15 married Charles Tillman on Dec. 30, 2022, in Eureka Springs, Ark. The couple lives in Little Rock with their two daughters, Charlie and Ruby.
Chase Edwards ’20 and Rebecca Watkins ’20 were married on Nov. 12, 2022, in Sheridan, Ark. The couple lives in Iowa where Chase is an assistant baseball coach and Rebecca works in political research. TODAY, FA LL 2023 /// 39
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IN
MEMORIAM Maxine (Dean) Stecks ’52 of Little Rock died on Nov. 28, 2022, at the age of 92. She and her late husband, Dr. Don Stecks ’51, ran Tanglewood Drug Store in Little Rock for more than 30 years.
Dr. Hubert Ellis Spann ’51 of Benton, Ark., died on Aug. 3, 2023, at the age of 96. He was a veteran of World War II and a former pharmacist in Jackson, Tenn. Lt. Col. (Ret.) Darrell “Dutch” T. Holland ’52 of Kansas City, Kan., died on Feb. 1, 2023, at the age of 92. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1954-1980. Bill J. Alexander ’55 of Long Beach, Calif., died on April 3, 2023, at the age of 90. He was a retired teacher, coach and YMCA director. Marshall N. Chrisman Jr, ’56 of Ozark, Ark., died on Dec. 5, 2022, at the age of 89. He was a former construction owner, a tug boat captain, pilot, and state representative. Claude Eubanks ’56 of Fort Smith, Ark., died May 27, 2023, in Little Rock at the age of 88. He was a retired teacher, coach and superintendent. Frances Ann DuVall ’57 of Van Buren, Ark., died on May 22, 2023, at the age of 88. She taught vocal music for over 30 years, serving initially at Van Buren (Ark.) High School, then Kimmons and Ramsey junior high schools in Fort Smith. Charles Richard Callahan ’58 of Clarksville died on Feb. 16, 2023, at the age of 88. He was a U.S. Army Veteran and a funeral director in Clarksville.
Donald Duane Peters ’60 died on Aug. 2, 2023, in Van Buren, Ark., at the age of 84. He was a former high school coach in Eureka Springs, Alma, Pine Bluff and Clarksville; a high school basketball official; and co-owner of the River Valley Sporting Goods store in Clarksville. Lee R. Ragon ’61 of Denver, Colo., died Oct. 22, 2022, at the age of 83. He taught in Denver public schools for 32 years and also served the American Red Cross as a life guard and administrator for more than 50 years. Ronald “Ron” King Laster ’64 of Clarksville, died Dec. 28, 2022. He was retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. George Thomson Patterson ’64, age 80, of Knoxville, Tenn., died on Jan. 7, 2023, at the age of 80. He was a former member of the Air National Guard and a long-time manager in the hotel/restaurant industry. John Joseph “Joe” Kremers ’65 of Clarksville died on Feb. 25, 2023, at the age of 83. He was a National Guard Veteran, a parts salesman and a nationally known insect collector. Carroll Odus Cookson ’66 of Puxico, Mo., passed away May 1, 2023, at the age of 88. He was a long-time basketball coach in Arkansas and Missouri and had a career record of 524-128. He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
Charles Frank Groskopf ’66 of Hartman, Ark., died on June 25, 2023, at the age of 79. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War and worked for over 30 years at the Jerry Lingenfelter ’58 of Baltimore-Washington International Airport Claremore, Okla., died on (BWI). After retiring, he moved back to May 2, 2023, at the age of 87. He was a music teacher Arkansas in 2001 and worked for awhile as a builder in construction before accepting a in Claremore for 27 years. He is survived by his wife of job with the Clarksville Housing Authority as more than 60 years, Laticia MOD Coordinator for eight years. (Voss) Ligenfelter ’61.
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Jimmy “Jim” Harold Lewis ’67 of Clarksville, died on Nov. 11, 2022, at the age of 78. He was a retired coach and insurance agent and served as a high school and college basketball referee for 31 years. He was inducted into the Arkansas Officials Association Hall of Fame in 2002. Sharon Marie Bailey ’69 of Clarksville passed away on Feb. 26, 2023, at the age of 84. She was a former homemaker, real estate agent, Tupperware sales representative and worked in various positions at Clarksville Public Schools. Brenda Kay (Wheeler) Dubois ’69 of Danville, Ill., died on Nov. 20, 2022, at the age of 74. She was an educator in Danville for more than 30 years. Carl Gregory Mashburn ’69 of Little Rock, died on Feb. 14, 2023, at the age of 75. He served as president and co-owner of Re/Max Affiliates Realty for more than 20 years. Thomas Robert Richardson ’69 of Clarksville died on Aug. 14, 2023, at the age of 84. He was an Army National Guard veteran and former school teacher and administrator. Curtis Gdean Umholtz ’70 of Altus, Ark., died on Jan. 19, 2023, at the age of 73. He was a retired mathematics teacher and electrician. Edgar “Eddie” Carter ’71 of Pasadena, Texas, died on May 1, 2023, at the age of 73. He was a former salesman in the specialty metals business in Texas and Louisiana. Susan D. Claunch ’71 of Scranton, Ark., died May 4, 2023, at the age of 73. She was a retired teacher in Clarksville and Lamar school districts, as well as Forrester-Davis Development Center.
ALU MNI /// IN MEMOR IA M
John Kevin Mueller ’71 of Siloam Springs, Ark., died on Oct. 25, 2022, at the age of 73. He was a retired educator and served as principal of the Heber Springs (Ark.) Elementary School for 33 years before retiring in 2015.
Lonnie R. Qualls ’55
Roger D. Pannell ’74 of Clarksville died on Jan. 4, 2023, at the age of 76. He was an Army veteran. David Roy Lasater ’75 of Clarksville died on Jan. 6, 2023, at the age of 70. He was a National Guard Veteran, a member of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, and worked in the insurance business. Freda J. (Dehart) Tounzen ’78 of Fort Smith, Ark., died on Oct. 3, 2022, at the age of 75. She was a retired social worker for the Department of Human Services. George “Chicken” Tate, Sr., ’83 of Clarksville passed away on March 25, 2023. Kenneth “Kent” Lawrence Douglas ’84 of Maumelle, Ark., passed away on Oct. 23, 2022, at the age of 60. He taught business and finance for more than 30 years at several universities, including John Brown University, Webster University, Arkansas Tech University and Central Baptist College. Paula Rae Armbruster (Pendergrass) Lloyd ’84 of Fort Smith, Ark., died on June 13, 2023, at the age of 86. She was a retired English teacher and taught at Maryville University in Saint Louis, Mo., and Kimmons Junior High in Fort Smith. Raymond Robert “Butch” Gross ’85 of Barling, Ark., died on Nov. 22, 2022, at the age of 59. He was in the steel construction business. William “Willie” Boroski ’86 died on July 18, 2023, in Georgetown, Texas. Dr. Marty Joe Harderson ’86 of Clarksville, died on Feb. 1, 2023, at the age of 62. A native of Hartman, Ark., he was a long-time dentist in Clarksville and served on numerous mission trips. Frank J. Hilton, Jr. ’89 of Clarksville died on Oct. 24, 2022, at the age of 82. He was a member of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Clarksville and a manufacturing engineer.
Ozarks lost a treasured member of its University family on Feb. 23, 2023, with the passing of long-time coach and administrator Lonnie R. Qualls ’55 at the age of 91. A native of Clarksville, Qualls had a stellar athletic career at Ozarks. In football, he compiled 2,106 career rushing yards and scored 182 points during his playing career (1951-54) and earned first-team all-AIC honors all four years, including the AIC’s Back of the Year award in 1954. Qualls received letters from the St. Louis Cardinals -- the baseball and football teams -- but he had to turn them down after a kidney problem was discovered during his senior season at Ozarks. He then turned to coaching, where he led Clarksville to a pair of undefeated seasons and three district titles, as well as being named the West team head coach during the 1960 All-State football game. He then went to Ozarks and held teaching and coaching positions for 29 years, and he coached football, baseball, tennis, bowling, soccer and cross country during his tenure before his retirement in 1990. He was named the NAIA District 17 Baseball Coach of the Year in 1976, and he was one of the first inductees of the Ozarks Hall of Fame in 1990 before the University named the baseball field after him in 2005. He is survived by his wife of more than 65 years, Levada (Mathis) Qualls ’55. Daniel Timothy “Tim” Greer ’90 of Little Rock, died on June 4, 2023, at the age of 61. He was a marine biologist and worked for several state and federal agencies. Kendall Jackson ’92 of Lonsdale, Ark., died on July 28, 2023, at the age of 45. Crystal Dawn Clark ’93 of Clarksville died on Feb. 27, 2023, at the age of 64. She was a school teacher. Anita Sue Maine Ashlock ’94 of Greenbrier, Ark., died on Dec. 21, 2022 at the age of 65. She was a retired teacher. Steve Allen Sisk ’94 of Clarksville died on Jan. 22, 2023, at the age of 68. He coached
basketball at Clarksville High School for 21 years and helped the Panthers win four state championships. George Frederick “Fred” Koontz of Lincoln, Neb., died on Nov. 14, 2022, at the age of 96. He was a former drama and speech professor at Ozarks. Josephine Schreiner Ward of Clarksville died May 8, 2023 in Fayetteville, Ark., at the age of 96. She was a former assistant registrar at Ozarks for 30 years, retiring in 1992. Janet White Doak of Pasadena, Calif., died on April 3, 2023, at the age of 91. She was a former member of the Board of Trustees. TODAY, FA LL 2023 /// 41
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
MEMORIALS AND HONORARIA George R. Fell, II ’54 *Lonnie Qualls ’55 and Levada Mathis Qualls ’55 Marge Figliulo Maura Figliulo Howerton ’80 and Bradley Howerton Ida Agee Sally Geyer Mary Barnsley Martindale ’63 and Rick and Sherée Niece Kenneth Martindale Dylan Hill ’15 Charles and Dorothy Angell Duane and Sharon Birdsong Cathy Angell and Ronna Biggs Bill Holder ’52 Barbara Angell Vogl and Rocky Vogl Jane Wilson Holder ’55 Martha L. Bagley Jerry Holder Jo Ann Dunn Choate ’57 Armeda M. Holmes ’68 Richard and Katherene Bagwell Chris Evans Bagwell Foundation Marilyn Horn Lee ’63 and Garry Lee Rick Bagwell Matthew Stewart Barbee Vickburg Irma E. Horne ’57 Sharon M. Bailey Roy Horne ’57 John Frost ’89 and Julia Frost Dickie Jones ’72 Stephen Werner ’81 and Diane Werner Pamela Shrigley Jones ’71 Raymond Bean and Lorena Bean ’41 Sidney L. Kern ’72 Arvid Bean ’78 and Karen Qualls Hilton ’80 and Sharon Jones Bean ’78 Pat Hilton ’74 Theodore “Taz” Beard ’15 Larry and Cindy Isch Cole Clementson ’15 Pamela Shrigley Jones ’71 Emily Gorham ’15 Rena Sue Laster ’70 Wesley Needham ’18 Ann Patterson ’75 and Max Snowden Sara Sisemore Woodard ’15 and W. Ernest King, Jr. ’41 Phillip Woodard ’09 Kathryn King Kish Daniel A. Benton Sylvia K. Kinnear ’66 Vickie Benton ’98 and Dwight Benton James Duff ’63 and Susan D. Claunch Sue Kauffeld Duff ’63 Edna Elkins Patterson ’67 and Sharon Kline John Patterson Laurie Warren Bill Crowder ’56 David R. Lasater ’75 Vernon McDaniel ’55 Karen Qualls Hilton ’80 and Rick and Sherée Niece Pat Hilton ’74 Eula B. Crowell ’60 Pamela Shrigley Jones ’71 Betty Maples Michael Shannon McBee ’89 and Rita F. Daniel ’55 Lori McBee Roy Horne ’57 Ann Patterson ’75 and Max Snowden Rick and Sherée Niece *Lonnie Qualls ’55 and Mr. and Mrs. Albert Tounzen ’78 Levada Mathis Qualls ’55 Donna Hogge ’78 and James Hogge Darrell Williams ’76 R. Louis Dewett ’57 Ronald K. Laster ’64 Mary Holloway Dewett ’58 Len Bradley Janet W. Doak Wesley and Nelda Branstine Clark Rick and Sherée Niece Gray ’79 and Debra Gray Brenda K. DuBois ’69 Robert Iden Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Mike and Sandra Jacobs Shawn Spencer David Land Arnold L. Dunn ’60 Joel Laster Jo Ann Dunn Choate ’57 Maribeth Laster Frances A. DuVall ’57 Pat Voeller Laster ’64 Jerry Duncan ’58 and Richard Lee Dorothy Boyd Duncan ’58 Rick and Sherée Niece Jack Edmisten George and Betty Overbey Donnie and Karla Harkreader *Lonnie Qualls ’55 and Ralph E. Ehren ’55 Levada Mathis Qualls ’55 Betty Hodges Ehren ’53 Arynn Rasmussen Elizabeth Eisenmayer ’00 Susan Smith Dodson Kurt McChesney ’81 and Loyce Ann Bean Taylor ’72 and Ursula McChesney Harve Taylor, III Liz Esch ’93 Becky Waterfield Twilla M. Case ’93 Jimmy H. Lewis ’67 Kristi Herrera ’93 Larry and Cindy Isch Stacy Strickland
Aug. 1, 2022 through July 31, 2023
MEMORIALS
42 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 3
George E. Loss ’54 *Lonnie Qualls ’55 and Levada Mathis Qualls ’55 William P. Lytle James Lynn ’64 and *Erma Lynn Dallas D. Maples ’69 Jo Ann Dunn Choate ’57 Bernice McFerran Kenneth McFerran ’63 John K. Mueller ’71 Blaine Caldwell ’69 and Cathy Sekowski Caldwell ’69 James R. Murray ’75 Dorothy J. Murray and Richard Murray Sherry Muston Rick and Sherée Niece Ralph H. Newkirk ’82 Thomas Konen Rick Otto Cara Rowbotham Flinn ’85 Larry Isch and Cindy Isch Rick and Sherée Niece Tommy E. Owens ’70 Glenda Dennis Owens ’71 and Steve Owens Roger D. Pannell ’74 Karen Qualls Hilton ’80 and Pat Hilton ’74 Edward Myron Parker Tommy and Judy Parker Susie Maude Pittman ’39 Anonymous Patricia Porter Thomas Porter ’69 Ethel J. Powell ’79 Peter and Connie Bradish Lonnie R. Qualls ’55 Linda Alston ’79 Anonymous Sue Tolbert Bennett ’56 and William Bennett Len Bradley Jo Ann Dunn Choate ’57 Jack Edens, Jr. ’55 and Sharon Edens Steve and Dorinda Edmisten Pat Farmer Jerry Glidewell ’79 and Cynthia Glidewell Melinda Wish Gould ’80 Cory Hamma Robert and Polly Hardin Donnie and Karla Harkreader Sam Harpole ’82 and Cynthia Harpole Harlene Henson Jane Wilson Holder ’55 Roy Horne ’57 Larry and Cindy Isch Michael Jones ’77 and Stacy Jones Pamela Shrigley Jones ’71 Steven Kelley ’82 and Melanie Kelley David King ’54 Mira Ann Ingram Leister ’63 and Marvin C. Leister, Jr. Michael Shannon McBee ’89 and Lori McBee Marietta Thompson McGinnis ’84 and David McGinnis ’82 Jeffrey Mixon ’97 Rick and Sherée Niece
MEMORIALS /// H ON OR A R IA
George and Betty Overbey Ozark Insurance Services Inc Gilbert Parks, Jr. and Susan Burden ’67 Ann Patterson ’75 and Max Snowden Edna Elkins Patterson ’67 and John Patterson Dody and Jeremy Pelts Don Pennington ’68 Laura Pittman ’79 Kay Kirby Pitts ’70 Pridgin Family Brewery Bryan Qualls ’95 and Laura Qualls Levada M. Qualls ’55 Boyd Rothwell Noel Rowbotham ’61 and Charlotte Woodard Rowbotham ’63 William Shrigley, Jr. ’69 and Mary Jo Shrigley Loyce Ann Bean Taylor ’72 and Harve Taylor, III Hilda Turner Russell Wambles ’87 and Rebecca Crossen Wambles ’86 Jonnie Tolbert Westbrook ’63 and Kent Westbrook Darrell Williams ’76 Ted Young ’58 and Joe Ann West Young ’57 Michael A. Rail ’80 Sue Rail Wilkerson ’82 and Danny Wilkerson Richard C. Rail ’59 Rick and Sherée Niece William Rail ’52 and Maxine Phillips Rail ’52 Ruby Reynolds ’48 James Lynn ’64 and *Erma Lynn Lewis Rogers ’34 Bob and Colleen Rogers Brad Sharpe ’88 Blayne Sharpe Steve A. Sisk ’94 Len Bradley Karen Qualls Hilton ’80 and Pat Hilton ’74 T. L. Smith James Lynn ’64 and *Erma Lynn Curtis Lee Spence Lance Spence ’91 and Virginia Spence Donald W. Stecks ’51 Dana C. Abraham David and Betty Adams George and Marcy Bujarski Mona Copeland Bart Easterly Gregory and Janet Hartz Highland Valley United Methodist Church Larry and Cindy Isch Ruben Johnson, Sr. ’52 and Charlotte Newsom Johnson ’52 Stevie and Linda King Brock and Nancy Lewandoski Gary and Linda Long Jim Morse Rick and Sherée Niece Earl and Maryetta Padgett Susie Painter Mary Parse Ann Patterson ’75 and Max Snowden David and Mary Pickering *Lonnie Qualls ’55 and Levada Mathis Qualls ’55 William Rail ’52 and Maxine Phillips Rail ’52
Royce and Connie Staley Katherine Stanick Beverly Sullenger Linda Swain Brenda Ward Maxine D. Stecks ’52 David and Betty Adams Gregory and Janet Hartz Mary Lynn Laning Brock and Nancy Lewandoski Rick and Sherée Niece Ann Patterson ’75 and Max Snowden Linda Swain Martha “Marti” R. Swanson Sammy Manning ’71 and Virginia Figliulo Manning ’74 Joanne L. Taylor ’60 Mitzi Carol Link The Wiley Lin Hurie Scholarship Frank and Reba Parks Jake Tull ’10 David and Selena Overholt Pat Overholt Mary Ellen Richards John and Martha Tull Sue Tull Wanda J. Walker Holly Kuykendall Josephine S. Ward Len Bradley Clarksville-Russellville Ins. Agency Ozark Insurance Services Inc Ann Patterson ’75 and Max Snowden Edna Elkins Patterson ’67 and John Patterson Don Pennington ’68 Laura Pittman ’79 Floyd V. Wilde Sammy Manning ’71 and Virginia Figliulo Manning ’74 Bruce Williams Williams ’43 Tracy Julian Williams Deborah D. Williams ’81 Nathan Williams ’07 and Randa Williams Dean A. Wimp ’73 Donna Wolfe Wimp ’73
Michael and DeLila Rasmussen Loretta Figliulo Salazar ’78 and Felix Salazar Brett Hays ’06 Harold and Pam Hays Ray Hobbs ’77 Kathleen Lawson Roy Horne ’57 Vernon McDaniel ’55 Kathryn King Bost ’43 Don Pennington ’68 Ann Patterson ’75 and Max Snowden Lisa Carlton Jay and Sarah Patterson Lisa Carlton Duffy Porter Lloyd and Roberta Collins Dawn J. M. Schull Dvoracek Anonymous Barbara Angell Vogl and Rocky Vogl Rick Bagwell John Barkett Sergio Carrasco ’98 and Nelly Carrasco Matthew Carroll ’15 Lorraine Darnell ’56 Susan Smith Epperson ’62 and Jon Epperson Jesse and Bertha Gonzalez Jane Wilson Holder ’55 Larry and Cindy Isch Rebecca and John Lester Cory Maag ’21 Alex Meza ’99 Rick and Sherée Niece Doug and Susan Pfeifler George Pittenger ’91 and Loraine Pittenger R. Scott Placek Blake Rexroat ’06 and Lauren Rexroat Tracy Julian Williams Deborah Sisson Barbara Sisson Wirt and Torpy Skinner Thomas and Linda Skinner Scout Snowden Aug. 1, 2022 through July 31, 2023 Lisa Carlton Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 Darrel Wheeler, Jr. ’75 and Sharon Wheeler *Don Stecks ’51 *Bill Alexander ’55 and Linda Alexander David and Betty Adams Ray and Orvalene Holbrook Talley Wedding Anniversary David Michael Bondy ’22 Dewey Talley ’60 and Susan and J.D. Bondy Donna Killgore Talley ’60 Katie Bradley Loyce Ann Bean Taylor ’72 and Lisa Carlton Harve Taylor, III Beth Patterson Duvall ’65 Mitzi Carol Link Lisa Carlton Darrel Wheeler, Jr. ’75 Rebecca Wheeler Edwards ’01 Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Shawn Spencer Shawn Spencer Sharon Goze Wheeler Khay Faught ’89 Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Olivia Graham Shawn Spencer Lance and Valerie Fetters Darren and Larry Wheeler-Stepp Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Shawn Spencer Shawn Spencer John Figliulo Jeremy Wilhelmi John Manning ’03 and Rebecca and John Lester Marjorie Manning
HONORARIA
TODAY, FA LL 2023 /// 43
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
A FINAL WORD
FROM DR. GRETA MARLOW
A Lifetime of Lessons Gleaned From Textbooks (Editor’s Note: Dr. Greta Marlow, professor of communication, retired in June following a 33-year teaching career at her alma mater.)
For the past year, I’ve been slowly clearing out my office in preparation for retirement. I started by emptying the file cabinets of extra copies of class exercises, followed by relocating personal items to my home office. It wasn’t until the last few days of this semester that I began to get serious about clearing the bookshelves. One reason is I dreaded trying to find a place for all those books at home. I’m nearly out of bookshelf space anyway, so I couldn’t bring them all. I also had a conversation with my dad (who also retired from Ozarks) in which he said something to the effect of, “I really shouldn’t have kept all those books. I haven’t opened the physics books from my doctoral program in years.” There’s a lot of wisdom in those words—I’m not likely to pick up Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations as an evening’s entertainment, or PR: The Practice and the Profession, either. Yet there was still a compulsion to hang on. I finally came to the conclusion that it’s not the physical book that matters. What matters is what I learned, whatever I took from the book that has shaped my mind and my worldview. That I have with me always, even if I no longer have a copy of the book. As I emptied shelves on those final days of the semester, I tried to distill what stands out to me about each of the sections, and if you’ll indulge me, I’ll share some of it. • • •
• • •
Communication Theory—We create our social reality, through communication. I used to joke (but not really) with my students that communication is the “mother of all disciplines.” Public Speaking—If you are prepared, you can do it. Public Relations—Think about your audience in every stage of the process. “People don’t do what you want them to do just because you want them to do it” (a direct quote from Wilson and Ogden’s Strategic Communication Planning that I said in every class every semester, haha). Journalism—Your story is only as good as your sources. Don’t trust the first thing you hear; verify. Argumentation—Have solid evidence to back your claim. No one will (or should have to) take your word for it. Interpersonal Communication—Treat other people like they matter. When you have a choice to confirm someone else rather than disconfirm or disregard, choose confirming communication.
There were also miscellaneous books like The Feminine Mystique and The Country Music Message and Rick Niece’s Sideyard Superhero. My takeaway from those books is—human beings are interesting, with such a fascinating diversity of stories. In the end, I brought home the ones I just couldn’t part with. I sent a few to other faculty I thought might get some use from them, and I set up a giveaway table for students who are building their own libraries— physically, but more importantly, in their minds.
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SCAN
2023-2024 WALTON ARTS & IDEAS SERIES The Walton Arts & Ideas Series is made possible through an endowment by the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. All WAIS events are free and open to the public.
STEVE UZZELL, National Geographic Photographer
In his presentations, Uzzell uses his striking photographs as illustrations of his metaphors about possibility and creativity. He inspires audiences to take advantage of his experience and vision to make any venture an adventure.
ALICE DRIVER, Arkansas Author and Journalist
A writer from the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas who writes for The New Yorker, National Geographic, and The New York Review of Books. In 2023, Driver won a James Beard Award for Investigative Reporting.
MIRANA MIDDLE EASTERN DANCE, Dance Company
A member of The Arkansas Arts on Tour, the company is recognized nationally and known to provide quality dance performances that are unique but maintain the traditional elegance of its origin.
TUESDAY
OCT 17 7PM |
ROGERS CONFERENCE CENTER
THURSDAY
NOV 2 7PM |
ROGERS CONFERENCE CENTER
THURSDAY
FEB 8 7PM |
SEAY THEATRE / WALTON FINE ARTS CENTER
MONDAY-FRIDAY
MYSTICAL ARTS OF TIBET, The Symbolism of Mandala Monks of The Mystical Arts of Tibet from Drepung Loseling Monastery will create a Mandala sand painting and present a pair of public lectures.
MAR 4-8 7PM |
WALTON FINE ARTS CENTER
THURSDAY
DR. ERIN MACDONALD, Hollywood Science Consultant A science consultant on such shows as Star Trek Universe, Macdonald will present a lecture titled, “Representation Matters: How STEM in TV and Movies Led Me to Hollywood.”
APR 4 7PM |
ROGERS CONFERENCE CENTER
1834 SOCIETY TODAY, FA LL 2023 /// 45
OZARKS ANNUAL FUND 479.979.1304
Your support of the Ozarks Annual Fund helps ensure that U of O students receive the scholarship assistance and resources to achieve their educational and career goals on their way to living a full life. SUPPORT