V O L U M E 4 0 /// FAL L 2 0 2 1
U N IV E R S I TY
OF
T H E
OZARKS
TODAY
CELEBRATING The Class of 2021
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
CONTENTS 2 Class of 2021
6 Climbing Higher
18 Title Town
University celebrates largest graduating class
Ultra-successful campaign benefits students, facilties
Men’s basketball, soccer capture conference titles
ON THE COVER: University President Richard Dunsworth smiles for a photo with 2021 graduate Vivien Wambugu of Tulsa, Okla., and her proud parents, Rev. Wambugu Gachungi ‘07 and Faith Wambugu, following the Spring 2021 Commencement in May.
The 2021 men’s soccer team poses for a photo with former members of the Eagles program during the annual Alumni Soccer Match, held in August of 2021 at Hurie Field. The members of the 2020-21 team also received their American Southwest Conference championship rings during the event. (See page 19)
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....................................Vice President for Finance and Administration Jeff Elwell, Ph.D.............................Visiting Vice President for Academic Affairs Amy Lloyd.....................................Interim Vice President for Marketing & Enrollment Lori McBee....................................Vice President for Advancement & Alumni Engagement Dody Pelts.....................................Vice President for Student Success
VO LUME 4 0 /// FA L L 2 0 2 1
VOLU M E 40 /// FA LL 2021
22 Songbird for Justice
28 Sports Hall of Fame
36 Alumni Profile
Zilphia Horton ’31 left mark as champion for civil rights
Seven alumni selected for induction into Hall of Fame
PRODUCTION STAFF
UNIVERSITY DIRECTORY
Larry Isch, Editor Director of Public and Media Relations Sidni Carruthers Marketing Communications Coordinator Phyllis Parsons Graphic Design and Brand Coordinator Vinnie Tran Graphic Design and Photography Coordinator
Admin Services........479-979-1208 Admission................479-979-1227 Advancement...........479-979-1230 Alumni Engagement.479-979-1234 Athletics...................479-979-1407 Ozarks Exchange.....479-979-1323 President’s Office.....479-979-1242 Public Relations........479-979-1433
PHOTO CREDITS
Vinnie Tran, Josh Peppas
Alumnus Ruben Aleman ’94 is serving his home country
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 2021 OZARKS CELEBRATES LARGEST CLASS University of the Ozarks celebrated its largest graduating class in its 187-year history during the 2021 Spring Commencement ceremony that was held on May 15, 2021, on the Hurie Soccer Field. It was the first in-person graduation ceremony for the University since December of 2019. The Class of 2021 included a record 148 graduates. In addition, approximately 25 graduates from the spring Class of 2020 chose to participate in the event since the University had to cancel last year’s ceremony due to the Covid-19 pandemic. University President Richard Dunsworth praised the graduates for their resilience. “A lot has happened since you took your first class at Ozarks,” Dunsworth said. “We have graduates today who are graduating at 20, having completed a degree in three years. We have a graduate today who began his education 30 years ago and is completing at age 52. We have had engagements, weddings and children. And, then there’s the issue of a world-wide pandemic while you were trying to go to college. To say much has changed since you began college is, needless to say, an understatement. We applaud you for your dedication, persistence and the passion to achieve your goals.” U of O alumnus Ray Hobbs, the retired chairman and CEO of Daisy Outdoor Products in Rogers, Ark., served as the keynote speaker. A native of Clarksville, Hobbs graduated from Ozarks in 1977 before embarking on a long career in the business sector. Hobbs spoke to the graduates about the importance of integrity. “Don’t be a different person in different circumstances. In other words, integrity matters at all times,” he said. “Integrity is about doing what’s right when no one is looking. We are living in
2 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
unprecedented times. The critically important constant is you, your character and your integrity. I like the quote by President Abraham Lincoln: ‘I like to see a man proud of the place he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.’ You should be proud to be a graduate of University of the Ozarks. You should live your life so that this University may be proud that you are one of its graduates.” Senior theatre and environmental studies major Petron Brown of The Bahamas was selected to provide the welcoming remarks on behalf of the senior class. Brown quoted author James Baldwin in concluding his talk. “Go out into the world and know that you can ‘change the standards of society. Know that just as American history is no longer larger than anything anyone has ever said about it, so is the world larger, more daring — and that it belongs to you. Know that you don’t have to be bound by any given administration, any given policy, and given morality; and that you have the right to examine everything. Never make peace with society.’ ” Among the Class of 2021 members who graduated with Summa Cum Laude (4.0 grade point average) honors were, Petron Brown of The Bahamas; Haley Clark of Tulsa, Okla.; Meline Clerisier of The Bahamas; Daniel Cloud of Russellville, Ark.; Tanesha Collie of The Bahamas; Max Eloge of Haiti; Ronald Flores Argueta of El Salvador; Laura Gochez Sanchez of El Salvador; Elodie Jabouin of Haiti; Megan Madden of Flower Mound, Texas; Perla Sofia Osorio Ruiz of Mexico; Alec Severe of Haiti; Josh Stephens of Springdale, Ark.; Bradley Thompson of Keota, Okla.; Sarah Vardal of Hot Springs, Ark.; and Madeleine Windel of Deer, Ark.
C A MPU S /// N EW S
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 3
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
Mercies & Miracles A JOURNEY OF
A
journey of mercies and miracles. That’s how University of the Ozarks graduating seniors Aye Aye and Paw Moo Lar described their pathway from a refugee camp in Thailand to college graduates. Aye (pictured, left) and Lar were among 148 graduates from the University’s Class of 2021 who walked across the stage on May 15 to receive their college diploma. But their story is unlike any other. The two close friends are Karen, an ethnic group from Burma (Myanmar), many of whom fled the country due to religious and ethnic persecution. For more than 20 years many Karen have migrated to Thailand, settling in United Nations refugee camps on the Thailand–Myanmar border. Aye and Lar were born in separate refugee camps in Thailand and spent their early years there before relocating with their families to the United States as teenagers. They are among a community of
4 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
about 700 Karen people who now make Clarksville their home. Aye, who moved to Clarksville from Thailand at the age of 17, graduated with a major in elementary education and, impressively, with Cum Laude honors, a cumulative grade point average of between 3.25 and 3.49. Struggling with English and a new culture, Aye remembers times of total frustration in both high school and in her early years at Ozarks. “Learning English has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life and I am sometimes amazed how far I’ve come,” Aye said. “It was completely overwhelming at times, but I was determined to not give up. I remember several times at school going into restroom and just crying because I was so frustrated. I would just let the stress out and then go back and try harder.” Lar, who graduated with a degree in business administration, moved with her family from Thailand to Nashville, Tenn., in 2015,
C A MPU S /// N EW S
and then to Clarksville two years later. She said that learning English hasn’t been the only struggle. Trying to navigate higher education as a first-generation college student has also been a challenge. “When you’re the first in your family to go to college, you can’t ask your parents how to do this or that,” Lar said. “Sometimes you feel like you have to figure everything out on your own and it can be a lonely feeling. That’s where our professors and staff and even classmates helped us so much.” Lar remembers one of her first classes at Ozarks where the professor handed out a course syllabus, something she had never heard of. “I ended up just throwing it away and not paying attention to it because I didn’t realize what it was,” she said. “During the next class, the professor said we were having a test. That caught me by complete surprise because he hadn’t said anything about a test. My classmate told me it was on the syllabus. I learned the importance of a syllabus the hard way.” Aye and Lar were among the first five Karen students who enrolled at Ozarks in 2017. They were the only two remaining from that first class of Karen students. “There have been several Karen students from our community who have started college, but we were the first to graduate from college and that’s something we’re very proud of,” Aye said. “I’ve had a lot of people, including some of my high school teachers, that tell me how proud they are. I think the entire Karen community is proud of us. It’s a great feeling to be able to show others what can be done with a lot of hard work.” Growing up in a refugee camp without electricity or running water made the two students appreciate the opportunity to further their education. “When I think back about that little girl in the refugee camp, I would never have thought I would be where I am today,” said Lar. “That little girl doesn’t have a future at all; no opportunity to improve herself. But I got the opportunity to come here and study and now I’m a role model for other young Karen students. It’s all kind of hard to believe.” Aye remembers long nights of studying to get through her classes at Ozarks. “Most nights I would not get to sleep until midnight,” she said. “Assignments that might take other students an hour to do took me five or six hours. But it seemed like each time it would get a little easier and seeing that improvement kept me going.” The two students said they were thankful that Ozarks gave them an opportunity to earn a college degree, and credited the University’s support system, especially the Office of Student Support Services, for helping them navigate college. “I will never be able to thank the University enough for accepting us as we were and for giving us an opportunity to get
an education,” Aye said, “The professors, the staff, the Student Support Services, they all helped us in so many ways. I can’t tell you how many times we would go to Ms. Connie High’s office to get help or just to have someone to talk to. Everyone was so very patient and willing to help us reach this point.” Both Aye and Lar have younger siblings and they hope their journey to a college degree is an inspiration to their families. “I have younger sisters who are 17 and 11 years old and they are talking about going to college,” Aye said. “My parents and I are always talking about college to them and getting them ready for that next step. I’m proud that I can be an example for them and show them that it can be done.” Lar’s 17 year-old sister is planning to attend college next year. “I’m excited that it will be easier for her than it was for me,” Lar said. “I know that I will be able to answer some of her questions about college and to help her along the way. That’s a good feeling.” Aye wants to pursue a career in education and Lar would like to become an administrator for a business or organization. They are both determined to pursue a career of service, helping not only their fellow Karen citizens but other underserved populations as well. “When I think about all the people who helped us along the way, I want to be able to help pay that back by doing the same thing,” Lar said. “I want to use my business degree to help those who might not understand English very well to get through the different processes, whether that’s at the hospital or at a business or organization.” Said Aye, “I want to be the kind of teacher that I had who helped me so much. I want to be a role model for other young students like me who have to overcome so much to succeed. I just feel extremely blessed to be in position where I can now help others see what is possible.”
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 5
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
CLIMBING
6 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
C A MPU S /// N EW S
HIGHER! The Climb Higher Campaign raised more than $73 million for student scholarships, academic programs and campus facilites, such as the newly renovated and expanded Thomas and Frances Wilson Science Center (pictured) that is expected to be completed in January of 2022.
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 7
U
niversity of the Ozarks has raised more than $73 million in gifts and commitments in its seven-year Climb Higher: A Campaign for Students, shattering the campaign’s initial goal of $55 million. The most ambitious and successful fund-raising campaign in the University’s 185-year history concluded on April 14, 2021. The campaign raised a total of $73,163,969 for student scholarships, academic programs and campus facilities. The University community celebrated the successful close of the campaign with the release of a series of celebratory videos and announcements as well as events for the campus and alumni. “This is truly a time to celebrate one of the most remarkable times in the history of this amazing University,” said U of O President Richard Dunsworth. “To be able to not only meet our goal, but to exceed it by $18 million, and amid a world-wide pandemic, is a monumental achievement that is shared by the entire Ozarks community: students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and community members. The incredible generosity and outpouring of support from Ozarks alumni and friends around the world is indeed inspiring.” Begun on July 1, 2014, the campaign engaged over 4,200 donors who made more than 16,000 individual gifts. The gifts ranged from $1 to nearly $28 million and more than 1,400 alumni contributed, ranging in class years from 1937 to 2021. Supporting student success was a major emphasis of the campaign and almost half of the money raised — $36 million — will go directly to scholarship support for students. “Scholarship support for our students is so vital because 100 percent of our students rely on financial aid,” Dunsworth said. “Since the campaign began, dozens of newly named scholarships have been established. This type of support has helped us keep our tuition nearly 40 percent below the national average for a private four-year 8 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
college in the United States and has helped us lower the student loan debt of our graduates. This emphasis on making an Ozarks education accessible and affordable ties directly into the University’s mission.” One of the signature projects of the campaign is the expansion and renovation of the Thomas and Frances Wilson Science Center, the largest single capital construction project in University history. Currently under construction, the science center project includes a complete renovation of the existing 29,000-square-foot facility, which was built in 1969, as well as an 18,000-square-foot addition on the west side. The science center is expected to be completed by January, in time for the Spring 2022 Semester. Other major initiatives under the campaign included renovation of Munger-Wilson Memorial Chapel, construction of the new Alexander-Boreham Tennis Center, renovation of MacLean Residence Hall, establishment of the Dr. Helen McElree Faculty Enrichment Endowment for faculty development, the Julia Anne and Virginia Rose Hicks Mathematics Professorship Endowment, the Frontier Scholarship program for underserved student populations and additional student enrichment funding. The campaign included 2,647 first-time donors to the University, according to Lori McBee, vice president for advancement and alumni engagement. “A campaign of this magnitude is always a challenge but because of the investments by our donors and an advancement team that is equipped to match gifts where there is need, this was made possible,” McBee said. “Thank you to all of our alumni and friends who have supported the University of the Ozarks, and thank you to our trustees, staff and volunteers. You are making a difference that extends even beyond this campus and into the future.”
The Climb Higher Campaign, completed on April 14, 2021, was the most ambitious and successful findraising campign in University history and raised funds for (pictured clockwise from above left) renovations of the Wilson Science Center, Munger-Wilson Chapel and MacLean Residence Hall, the Alexander-Boreham Tennis Facility and student scholarships.
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 9
Q&A UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
Q Get to Know TRAVIS CARRUTHERS
Travis Carruthers was named the 18th head coach of the men’s basketball program at Ozarks on April 25, 2017. The Georgetown, Texas, native was a standout collegiate point guard at NCAA Division III University of Texas-Dallas where he led the Comets to an American Southwest Conference championship and set career records in assists (411), free-throw percentage (.878) and 3-point shooting percentage (.385). He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at UT-Dallas, where from 2007-2015 he helped the Comets to four NCAA III Tournament berths. From 2015 to 2017, he coached at fellow-ASC school Howard Payne University as the associate head coach. In only his fourth season at Ozarks, Carruthers led the Eagles to the 2020-2021 conference championship in April, the program’s first title since joining NCAA Division III in 1997 (See page 18). Carruthers was named the 2021 ASC East Division Coach of the Year for his efforts in leading Ozarks to its first league championship in more than 30 years. Carruthers and his wife, Sidni, were married in February of 2017 and have two children, Pierce, 3, and Lewis, who was born in April. Sidni is the marketing communications coordinator at Ozarks.
When did you know you wanted to go into coaching and what appealed to you about the profession? My freshman year of high school. I had three great coaches that pushed me, were great teachers of basketball and life, and loved me hard. First and foremost, I really enjoy sports and competition; along with people. For the most part, I’m very social and having that common denominator, sport and competition, was so easy to form bonds. My longest, lifelong friends are all from basketball. After that, I enjoyed learning the “why’s” to game and practice planning. Lastly, the psychological aspect of team sports is fascinating to me. I have a math based/analytical brain. I always thought I’d be a high school math teacher and coach junior high or high school. I had no envisions of coaching college basketball until I was offered the assistant job at UTD. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else.
What is it about NCAA Division III model that fit you as a player and now as a coach? As a player, I was a diligent student and tested well. I knew I could, and wanted to, play college basketball. Then, it was all about fit. And Terry Butterfield and I fit well. He coached me hard, held me accountable in all aspects but was always there for me when I needed him. As a coach, I really enjoy the student-athlete aspect of D3. We play in a really good conference and we will have goals to 10 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
compete at the top as long as I’m at the helm, but it’s so much more than basketball. I don’t know if that’s unique to D3, but we have zero athletic scholarships, so we attract student-athletes that have an ultimate goal of graduating from college to be prepared for their first job and becoming great husbands and fathers.
&
Describe the type of student-athlete and young man you like to recruit and be a part of the basketball program? I look for three common atributes in my student-athletes: First, extremely hard working. They have to have that motor that burns for everything in life: academics, athletics and relationships. If they don’t have that, we have a hard time getting along. Secondly, selfless, team-first guys. No matter if it’s my best guy or last guy on the bench, I want them to be their teammates’ biggest cheerleader. I want guys slapping each other on the back after a big game, sprinting over to help a guy off the floor, and encouraging when it’s not someone’s day. Third, I want winners; guys that know how to perform when the lights are brightest. Know that in life there will be lots of speed bumps, but we can’t turn them into road blocks. A lot of this is taught throughout their time here, but if they have these baseline qualities, we’ll go further and achieve more. Also, physicality, size and skill helps. We run a five-out offense and I like to have the option of switching all five, so having five guys on the floor that defend, shoot and handle the rock are important for me. The 2021 group of seniors was 3-22 as freshmen. How did that group go from three wins to conference champions? That’s a great question...lots of hard work, lots of team conversations about not being swallowed up by results but focusing on what we controlled. We failed a lot. I failed a lot. We had to learn who we were and how we were going to be able to make it work. Again, lots of failure, self reflection and hard work. The core of the group has been here 3-4 years and we brought in a great recruiting class this past year that I’m hoping can build on what we’ve accomplished. I can’t say enough about the two assistants I’ve had- Blake Arbogast and Thomas Orr. They both have been instrumental in the recent results.
How would you describe your coaching style? I think that’s a very tough question to answer because I want to answer it in a more indirect form. Coaching is so much more about relationships, but I’ll keep this about basketball. The foundation of
C A MPU S /// N EW S
my coaching style is hard work and preparation. I want to be the toughest and hardest working team each time we touch the floor-I feel we control that. Also, I want to be the most prepared team and also, the hardest to prepare for. In what particular ways have you grown as a coach and leader since your time at Ozarks? In a more specific time frame, when COVID more or less shut down our world, that gave me a lot of time to reflect about where I was coming up short and what I needed to do to get better. It came down to one specific thing: connecting with my guys. Simply put, I didn’t do a good enough job of seeking out relationships with them, telling them how much I loved them and showing them what I would do for them. I’m not perfect in this aspect, but I feel like I’ve grown in that role and will continue to. Some of that has to do with knowing your team and what roles each person needs to have in order for the team to succeed. A lot of that is having the players that will play a lesser role, such as not shooting as much, accepting that and excelling in that role. For example, Seth Duke. He came to me last spring and was very dissatisfied with how the season played out, specifically how the team was, from a culture standpoint. I loved hearing from him because he spoke from the heart and he was right. I challenged him to do something about it. “Be the bridge! We need a bridge.” That’s exactly what I said to him. Seth personified what the team was this year: selfless and tough. He was the bridge. At no time did he ask for credit. He came in every day, ready to work and sacrificed personal success for the team.
A
&
At what point did you have a feeling that last year’s team could be something special and why? I can point to a lot of moments, but a few stand out. First off, I didn’t have an assistant this past year and I was quarantined, then tested positive for COVID and my team practiced without a coach for eights days preparing for our ASC opener. I FaceTimed with them before and after every practice and they were a better team when I returned. Our leadership really shined. Secondly, we were about to go to Marshall, Texas, to play East Texas Baptist who at the time was number one in the division and had already beaten us on our home court. We had a terrible practice on Tuesday, before leaving Wednesday and I challenged our leaders to step up and take responsibility. They did. We had our best game of the year at that point and won a tough game against a hostile crowd. Last, and most glaring, was when we lost at UT-Dallas which ended up as our last loss of the season. We battled tough and their All-American got 22 foul shots to our 17 as a team and we lost a tough game against one of the best teams in the south year in and year out. I looked at my guys in that locker room and they were ready to play again. They would have played another 40 minutes, right then and there. Three days later, we had UTD in the Eagles Nest and beat them for the first time in 12 years. We were tough and together. The guys had each other’s back and no one pointed fingers at one other, it was a ‘pick your head up, we gotta get back to work’ mentality. Describe from the head coach’s perspective what the week of ASC Tournament games at Ozarks was like? There’s absolutely no way to accurately articulate what that week was like. I really enjoyed the way my guys were proud of their accomplishments but relished in the opportunities at hand. At no time did I think, ‘well, we’ve peaked’...we were really good, we knew
it and were ready to prove it. My hope is the students that were able to be a part of what Mabee Gym was for those three nights remember that for the rest of their lives, it was an unbelievable atmosphere. I could go on for hours about that week. We were the toughest team and we were the most prepared team. We met at 11:30 p.m. to prepare for the Louisiana College game, four hours after we had just won our semifinal game at the buzzer. If you watch the first half of the ASC championship game, my guys were bought in to it. LC scored zero points off their sets and only 26 in the entire half. Also, I really appreciated {AD} Jimmy Clark and the rest of the administration for putting on the tournament and just letting me coach. I know it was a huge undertaking, but I never felt stressed about anything non-basketball. How does winning the school’s first basketball conference championship in more than 30 years change you and how does it change the program? It doesn’t change me at all. It changes our expectations as a program. We consistently talk about raising expectations. After we beat LeTourneau in round one of the ASC tourney, my guys were yelling, ‘Culture-Setters!’ My hope is, we can open more doors recruiting wise with the recent success. From my experiences, winners like to be around winners. The saddest day was that Tuesday after the championship game because I didn’t see all of my guys together for the first time in three or so months. What non-basketball activity or hobby helps you de-stress? Most of my time is based around my family and having fun. I feel like there’s so much in this world that I don’t control, I’m going to do my best to control the things I do. My attitude being the number one. I had a trainer ask me one time how I was always in a good mood no matter what time it was and do I wake up happy every morning? I answered, it’s easy to wake up on the right side if you put the left side of the bed against the wall. I want to have fun in everything I do, even if it’s hard. I run and lift weights almost every day. I love golf, but don’t play as much as I’d like. I really enjoy playing great courses. I’m a quality over quantity guy and have found some gems here in Arkansas. I also love to eat and cook. One of my old buddies, Leo, who has since passed used to say, “Every day is a holiday and every meal is a banquet.” What a great way to look at life!! TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 11
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
Rev. Blackburn to Lead New Ministry Program The Rev. Phillip Blackburn of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Smith, Ark., has been named the director of the new Thriving in Ministry program at University of the Ozarks. Established through a grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., the program supports pastors of rural and minorityserving Presbyterian Churches throughout Arkansas. The program is based out of Munger-Wilson Chapel on the Ozarks campus. Blackburn will remain co-pastor with his wife, the Rev. Tasha Blackburn, at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Smith. He began his duties with the Thriving in Ministry program at Ozarks in April. “I am proud to work with University of the Ozarks to help congregations in the Presbytery of Arkansas think anew about their ministry and work in their communities,” Blackburn said. “The generosity and vision of the Lilly Endowment for Religion offers us new pathways to think about rural ministry and I can’t wait to get started.” The Thriving in Ministry program is designed to assist and support rural pastors in areas such as launching new churches, serving communities of color, and serving small membership churches. In essence, Blackburn will serve as the “pastor to the pastors.” “We are excited and grateful to have Rev. Blackburn take the reins of the Thriving in Ministry program,” said U of O President Richard Dunsworth. “Phil brings a wealth of experience coupled with an unwavering commitment to his colleagues throughout the Presbytery of Arkansas. I look forward to reflecting on the program in a few years and celebrating the journey.” Blackburn said he will strive to “collaborate with congregations to consider the work to which Jesus is calling them.” “I believe we will be able to ask interesting questions and devise innovative ministries to empower congregations, regardless of location, size or resources, to take a step forward as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to each other and in their communities,” Blackburn added.
12 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
Raised in Oklahoma City, Blackburn graduated in 1997 from the University of Kansas with degrees in history and religious studies. He received a Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2001, and a Master of Theology from the University of Edinburgh (UK) in 2002. He served for two years as a Lake Fellow in Parish Ministry at Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis before serving eight years as the solo pastor of
the First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Ill. Since 2012, he and Tasha have served as co-pastors of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Smith. In addition to his ministry in Fort Smith, Blackburn has served as board chair of the Donald Reynolds Crisis Intervention Center from 2014 to 2015. He has also served on the board of Next Step Homeless Services and is a current board member of the United Way. Earlier this year, Ozarks received a $997,322 grant from the Lilly Endowment to establish the Arkansas Presbytery Thriving in Ministry Consortium program on campus. The program’s purpose is to “help pastors thrive in congregational leadership and thus enhance the vitality of the congregation they serve.” The Lilly Endowment’s Thriving in Ministry initiative supports a variety of religious organizations across the nation as they create or strengthen programs that help pastors build relationships with experienced clergy who can serve as mentors and guide them through key leadership challenges in congregational ministry.
Sen. Boozman Visits Campus
U.S. Senator John Boozman (right) of Arkansas visits with U of O students A.J. Post and Ellery Doyna of the Greystone program during the senator’s visit to campus in August. Boozman and his staff met with University President Richard Dunsworth and members of the Greystone program to learn more about the preparatory school that prepares students for nomination, appointment and success at one of the five U.S. Service Acadamies.
C A MPU S /// N EW S
Thomas ‘12 Tabbed as New Dean of Students University of the Ozarks named alumna Terri Thomas as its new dean of students in July. Thomas has served as the assistant director of academic success at Hendrix College. She is passionate about creating equitable opportunities and improving curricular and co-curricular experiences for students. After graduating from U of O in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication, she served as an AmeriCorps member with City Year New Hampshire and as a Team Leader with City Year Providence. “During the nine years I have been away from University of the Ozarks, I have never experienced an institution that goes above and beyond to foster young adults to reach their highest potential like this one
Board Votes to Freeze Tuition University of the Ozarks’ Board of Trustees voted in February to freeze tuition for the 2021-22 academic year, the seventh time in the last nine years that Ozarks has not raised tuition from the previous year. Since 2013, total tuition at Ozarks has risen just five percent, compared to a nearly 30 percent national average increase in tuition at four-year colleges over the past decade. “We know that many families continue to struggle in our current economic conditions and the University and the Board felt it was imperative to freeze tuition during these difficult times,” said U of O President Richard Dunsworth. “Our students and their families have had to face many challenges in recent months and a tuition increase for next year shouldn’t have to be one of them.” U of O’s tuition of $24,950 is nearly 35 percent less than the national average of $37,650 for a private, four-year university, according to The College Board’s Trends in College Pricing 2020. Not raising tuition also runs counter to national trends in higher education. According to The College Board, the national average tuition increase has been 28 percent for four-year private and public universities since 2011.”
does,” Thomas said. “I am happy to return and be a part of this life changing institution again.” Thomas earned her master’s degree in higher education from Florida State University in 2017. During her time there, she worked in the Center for Leadership and Social Change, Disability Resource Center, Student Government and Residence Life. “Terri Thomas will bring a wealth of experience to the Student Life team,” said U of O President Richard Dunsworth. “Her commitment to student development, diversity and inclusion, and academic success will help to advance our retention initiatives through the student experience. Terri will be a key player supporting Ozarks’ enrollment growth and growth in students
from diverse populations.” Outside of work, Thomas enjoys volunteering with Junior League of Little Rock, traveling, salsa dancing, and practicing yoga.
50-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The Jones Learning Center will celebrate its 50th anniversary during the 2021-22 academic year. The center was established in 1971 at Ozarks under President Don Davis and with the help of Ben D. Caudle, a Tulsa, Okla., dentist and Ozarks trustee who championed a center that would help students with learning differences. The Ben D. Caudle Learning Center was one of the first of its kind in the country and was created nearly 20 years before the American with Disabilities Act required colleges to provide services for students with learning disabilities. Since it opened its doors on the third floor of Hurie Hall in the fall of 1971 with three students and a full-time staff of one, more than 1,000 students have taken advantage of the services offered by the program. In 1989, the center moved from Hurie Hall to a new building, the Jones Learning Center, built and maintained from support by Northwest Arkansas philanthropists Harvey and Bernice Jones. Today, a staff of 10 not only continue the tradition of helping sutdents with learning differences earn a college degree, they have partnered with the Student Success Center to use the proven model of the JLC to help freshmen students with college success skills.
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 13
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
University Names Vice Presidents The University has announced three vice president appointments in recent months to join the executive team. Dr. Jeff Elwell was selected to serve as visiting vice president of academic affairs for the 2021-22 academic year, Amy Lloyd was named interim vice president for marketing and enrollment; and Dody Pelts was named vice president for student success. A former chancellor for the Eastern New Mexico University System, Elwell has nearly four decades of experience as a professor and administrator in higher education. He will also serve as the dean of the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts. Elwell joined ENMU as its 10th president on July 1, 2017, and became chancellor of the three-campus ENMU system in 2018. Prior to joining ENMU, he served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga from 2012-2017. A native of Southern California, Elwell earned his bachelor’s degree in English from California State University-Bakersfield, a master’s degree in communication/theatre from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and a Ph.D. in speech communication/ theatre from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He has served as a theatre professor at UT-Chattanooga, Auburn-Montgomery, East Carolina, University of Nebraska, Marshall University, Mississippi State University, Aurora University, Gardner-Webb College and Virginia Intermont College. An accomplished playwright, Elwell has seen more than 100 productions of 23 of his plays produced in professional, university and community theatres throughout the country. Lloyd has served as director of marketing and enrollment since 2020 and previously served as director of marketing from 2018-
Dody Pelts
Jeff Elwell
Amy Lloyd
2020. She joined Ozarks in 2017 as assistant director of digital marketing. She replaces Reggie Hill, who left in June for a vice chancellor position at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. A native of Magazine, Ark., Lloyd earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Arkansas Tech University as well as an MBA from Tech. She oversees marketing and enrollment operations at the University as well as athletics, admission and institutional research. Pelts joins the executive team in a newly created poisition that will focus on student rentention. She has served as the director of the Jones Learning Center since July of 2019. Prior to that she was assistant director of the JLC for 12 years. Pelts will lead the University’s efforts in student retention, persistence and completion. She will oversee Student Support Services, Office of Student Life, the Walton International Scholarship Program and the University’s counseling services.
Ozarks Ranked No. 1 Best Value in South by U.S. News Ozarks has been ranked the No. 1 Best Value in the South in the latest U.S. News & World Report’s annual college rankings. In the 2022 edition of Best Colleges, released in September, Ozarks ranked first in the “Best Value Schools” category among more than 120 regional colleges in the South. The value rankings evaluate the cost of attending a university relative to the quality of the institution and takes into account such things as the percentage of students receiving need-based financial aid and the average institutional aid those students receive. The magazine’s annual late summer publication that analyzes institutions of higher education also had Ozarks tied for fifth in overall rankings with Maryville College in Tennessee among South Regional Colleges — the 23rd consecutive year Ozarks has been ranked in the “top tier” among regional colleges in the South. Ozarks has been ranked among the top 10 in the 12-state South Region in each of the past 10 years. The overall rankings examine such criteria as academic reputation, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.
14 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
In addition, Ozarks was ranked 18th in the South Region in the category of “Social Mobility,” up from No. 27 last year. This category represents those colleges that are most successful “at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants. The vast majority of these federal grants are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000,” according to the magazine. “These rankings are testament to the work that our faculty, staff, administrators and trustees are doing to fulfill the mission of this University,” said U of O President Richard Dunsworth. “I’m especially proud of the recognition in the Best Value and Social Mobility categories because those rankings reflect our commitment to controlling costs and limiting student debt while also providing a high-quality and personalized educational experience.” The publication’s South Region consists of primarily undergraduate colleges and universities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia.
C A MPU S /// N EW S
STEM Career a Destiny for Manning ‘21 According to the National Science Foundation, African American women are significantly under-represented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professions, holding less than five percent of those jobs in the workforce. Recent Ozarks graduate Destinee L. Manning plans to help change that trend. Manning, a chemistry major from Memphis, Tenn., graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors in May. Soon after she headed to the University of Mississippi where she received a full scholarship and stipend to pursue a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical science with a concentration in medicinal chemistry. Manning said she has been interested in science as long as she can remember. “Since I was a child, I always asked my mom to sign me up for science fairs and go to science museums,” Manning said, “As a third-grader I would ask my mom in-depth questions about how cells work and she always laughed and said, ‘I don’t know baby, you should find out as you grow older.’ Well, here I am a decade and a half later, trying to explain to her how cells work.” It was an eighth grade physical science class that propelled Manning toward a career in the sciences. “My teacher at the time was hard on our class and she really pushed us to excel,” she said. “She made us learn the entire periodic table and balanced so many chemical equations. After eighth grade, I was inducted into the STEM program in high school. The program started over the summer at the University of Memphis
for seven weeks where we learned medical assistant techniques, built underwater rovers and became CPR certified. I enjoyed learning and competing in STEM events and this soon became my passion.” Manning said she hopes to “show others that pursuing a degree in STEM is not impossible and it is okay to strive for things outside the norm. You shouldn’t give up on your dreams just because it’s hard,” she said. “African American women have often been considered to be a less-educated group among minorities. I want to help change that, be the one percent in the statistics and show others that they can do it too.” Manning plans to work in the pharmaceutical industry with an eye on helping her community. “I want to learn more about my community, understand the problems in education and health and make a difference,” Manning said. “With my STEM degree, I want to create an environment in which people can trust medicine and fight debilitating diseases.” Manning said the most impactful class she has had at Ozarks was an Ethics, Religion and Culture course taught by Dr. Eric Dickman, assistant professor of philosophy. “He brought me a lot of awareness about social, political-relational and medical-individual models. This taught me that some mental health and physical health issues are society-related. This will help me become a better chemist by knowing that everything cannot be fixed by medicine alone.” Manning said her time at Ozarks also helped instill in her other valuable lessons outside the classroom. “Coming into Ozarks I did not want any friends or distractions. I only wanted to focus on my work and getting prepared for the next level,” she said. “I was very anti-social. However, over the years Ozarks has led to me having some wonderful friendships with classmates and professors. Ozarks has also changed me by helping me understand other points of view and why they believe what they believe. Ozarks helped me connect and understand my spiritual health as well by learning about other religions and deepen my faith through what God called me to do.”
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 15
1
1 2 3 4
2
CAMPUS
CASSIE BALLARD ’21, a 2021 Spring graduate, wrote and published her first book, “Do You Have a Minute?” in December of 2020. Ballard called the book a “self-refelcting journey on how she has used her Christian faith to learn and grow from various experiences and events in her young life.” The Cabot, Ark., native graduated in May with honors with a degree in business administration and English. She published the book through BookBaby, a self-publishing company.
REBECCA BAILEY, assistant professor of theatre (center), was presented with the 2021 Visonary Award for Arkansas by the National Sexual Assault Resource Center and the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ACASA) in the Spring. The award was presented by ASCASA officials Monnie Johnson and Kenny Smith to honor Bailey’s efforts to “bring awareness and community engagement to the issues of sexual assault.”
DR. YASSINE DGUIDEGUE AND DR. ISAAC HUNTER were named the Bagwell Outstanding Faculty
Award recipients for 2021. Dguidegue (left) is an assistant professor of sociology and has taught at Ozarks since July of 2019. Hunter is an assistant professor of psychology and has taught at Ozaks since July of 2018. The Bagwell Awards are selected by the administration through a nomination process by students, staff and fellow faculity members.
DEBBY MOONEY retired in June after a 38-year career in the Jones Learning Center. Mooney joined Ozarks in 1983, just one year after earning a degree in education from Ozarks. “I can’t imagine a more fulfilling career than working at Ozarks,” Mooney said. “Few people are lucky enough to say they have enjoyed going to work almost every day of their careers, but I have had this privilege. I have enjoyed interacting with the absolute best colleagues and students.”
16 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
5 6 7 8
headliners
DR. ALLISON FREED, director of teacher education and associate professor of education/science education at Ozarks, began her term as president of the Arkansas Association of Teacher Education (ArATE) in July of 2021. The Arkansas chapter includes members from all of the state’s colleges and universities. Freed and Ozarks will host the 2021 state conference in the fall and Freed will represent the state at the national conference in February.
PETRON BROWN ’21 was named in April as the 2021 Hurie Award recipient as selected by the faculty and given to the outstanding member of the senior class. The theatre and environmental studies major from Nassua, The Bahamas, graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors and served as president of the Black Student Association and the Planet Club. He was also a member of the President’s Advisory Council.
THE UNIVERSITY THEATRE PROGRAM was recognized for its 2020 production of “For Hurting Hands,” with a pair of national honors at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival’s National Awards Ceremony in May 2021. The production, which was written and performed by U of O theatre students, was awarded the prestigious Citizen Artist Award and senior PETRON BROWN ’21 received the Special Achievement in Performance Award.
GLORIA ARCIA, vice president for finance and administration, was selected by Arkansas Business magazine as one of three finalists for its state-wide CFO of the Year in Education award for 2020. Arcia, who joined Ozarks in 2019, led the University’s Covid-19 pandemic response team and the repopulation of campus in the fall of 2020. Before coming to Ozarks, she served Broward College in Florida as the college’s dean of business affairs for its South Campus.
3
4
5
6
7
8 TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 17
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
Men’s Basketball Team Uses Home Court Advantage to Capture First Conference Championship in 27 Years “I Believe That We Will Win!” “I Believe That We Will Win!” That iconic chorus by the boisterous Ozarks student section reverberated off the walls of Mabee Gymnasium in the waning seconds of the championship game of the American Southwest Conference men’s basketball tournament on March 15, 2021. When the final horn blared, the Eagles had defeated Louisiana College 7472 to capture the school’s first ASC basketball championship since joining the conference and NCAA Division III in 1997. What a moment it was when hundreds of Ozarks students stormed the court to congratulate their conquering heroes in one of the most improbable athletic championships in University history. Picked to finish last in the ASC East Division in the preseason polls, the Eagles shocked the conference by winning the division and hosting the conference tournament. The Cinderella season continued in the tournament as the Eagles used the home-court advantage and large purple-clad cheering sections to defeat long-time conference powers LeTourneau, Hardin-Simmons and Louisiana College within a six-day span to claim the program’s first league title in 27 years.
The unlikely championship season was spearheaded by the hard work and leadership of head coach Travis Carruthers (see page 10) and a gritty group of six seniors who stayed the course despite winning just three games as freshmen. Those seniors— Bryson Johnson, Zach Bobo, Tim Turpin, Seth Duke, Darnel Renelique and Lynden Gibson—formed the foundation of the team’s first men’s basketball conference championship since the Johnny Johnson-coached, Stephen Kennedy-led Eagles won the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference postseason tournament during the 1993-94 season. The Eagles not only had to overcome a strong conference schedule, they had to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic that forced them to cancel several games and miss weeks of practice early in the season. According to Carruthers, the team turned the negative into a positive. “I think the entire time away from each other really helped us appreciate the opportunities that were present,” he said. “We thanked God each day after practice and games for giving us the opportunity to compete together as a group. Every time we were
See Basketball on Page 20 18 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
GR EYSTON E
Eagles Soccer Team Continues Winning Tradition By Securing ASC Tournament Championship Title As a former Eagles player, men’s soccer coach Aaron Brueckner ’11 understands and appreciates the sport’s rich tradition at the University as well as anyone, and he made sure to convey that tradition and pride to his players at every opportunity. The 2020-21 Eagles lived up to that grand tradition in impressive fashion by capturing the American Southwest Conference Tournament Championship in April by defeating Concordia Texas 3-1 in the title match held at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. And, even though the Eagles have been regular participants in the postseason tournament, it was their first tournament title since the 2003 season. “Our players understand the guys who came before them, who gave their hearts, blood, sweat and tears in building this program,” said Brueckner, who starred for the Eagles from 2006 to 2009. “We talk all the time about what a great tradition those guys helped build and how we don’t want to be the ones to let that tradition down. They wanted to win this championship as much for those guys as they did for themselves.” With the start of the 2020 season pushed back to spring of 2021, the Eagles stumbled out of the blocks, dropping three of their
first four matches of the season. A 1-0 victory over non-conference rival Hendrix College propelled the Eagles on a run as they won seven of their final eight matches on their way to the conference championship. “This team came together and pulled off something so amazing,” said Brueckner, who was named ASC Coach of the Year. “We struggled early in the season but they kept grinding and working and believing in the process. They stayed together and believed in each other, and it was so fun to watch them battle. We definitely peaked at the right time.” The Eagles advanced to the championship match with a pair of thrilling victories in the tournament. First they defeated Mary Hardin-Baylor in a heart-stopping 4-3 penalty-kick victory at Hurie Field. Next they eliminated top-seeded Hardin-Simmons 2-1 on the Cowboys’ home turf in a hard-fought semifinals match. The defense came through to shut down a Hardin-Simmons team that had scored eight goals in its previous two matches. In the championship match against a favored Concordia team, the Eagles got goals from the Haitian trio of Charleus Emmanuel Ritch, Alain Claude and Lorflis Milford and used a strong defensive
See Soccer on Page 21 TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 19
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
BASKETBALL CONTINUED together, from the time we started practice in October until we were finally done celebrating late into the night March 15th after the championship, we had fun. This group was the most fun group I’ve ever been around.” Carruthers said the team also had a cohesion and chemistry that was hard to deny, helping the Eagles finish strong by winning 10 of their last 12 games after starting the season 0-3. The Eagles also found a way to win the close games, winning the three tournament games by a total of 13 points. “We talked every day about who we are more than what kind of basketball players we are,” said Carruthers. “That type of mindset carried us throughout the season. We are a tough group and a group that is together. They made the plays when they had to all season. We hung our hat on the defensive end and rebounding. They had a will to win, and when things got tight we got better. I’m happy for the guys. It’s really special to see the joy in their faces. It’s been a long season and the guys just gave me everything they had every day.” Carruthers, who would be named ASC East Division Coach of the Year, said he told his team to “embrace the opportunity” before the championship game with Louisiana College. “At any point, this season could have been taken from us so we’ve got to take advantage of what’s in front of us,” Carruthers said, “And boy, did we. I didn’t need to say one thing to those guys. They were prepared and ready. We had three values that we stuck to all season: First, value the basketball and each possession. We want great shots over good shots. Second, was to defend with purpose. Each player has a responsibility and each player must take accountability. We had to be physical on the glass. And third, be selfless and together. Those three things defined this team.” Johnson, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Katy, Texas., was the catalyst of the team, leading the way in scoring (21.0) and assists (5.5) and hitting numerous big baskets and free throws in clutch moments on his way to earning All-ASC first team and Tournament MVP honors. He scored 62 points in three tournament games, including a memorable 30-foot buzzer-beating three-pointer that knocked off Hardin-Simmons in the semifinals and gave Ozarks nation-wide notoriety as one of ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays
The six seniors (above photo) who led the Eagles to the ASC title were (from left) Seth Duke, Bryson Johnson, Zach Bobo, Darnel Renelinque, Tim Turpin and Lynden Gibson. Johnson (left) scored 62 points in three ASC tournament games on his way to earning Tournament MVP honors.
of the Day. “First, all glory to God, without Him we wouldn’t be here,” said Johnson. “It is surreal what this team was able to accomplish this season. It is the perfect Cinderella story for us seniors to finish out on our home court with a conference championship.” Other postseason honors for the eagles included, Bobo being named to the ASC All-East Division second team, junior forward Zach Byrd being named the ASC East Division Co-Newcomer of the Year and ASC All-East Division honorable mention honors and senior forward Darnel Renelique being named to the ASC East Division all-defensive team. Freshman forward Jacob Dukes was named to the ASC East Division All-Freshman Team.
Junior Zack Byrd (above) scored 19 points in the championship game, including five three-pointers. The Eagles’ championship run was spurred on by a large and boisterous Mabee Gymnasium crowd (left) made up up a large student section. 20 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
C H A MPION S
SOCCER CONTINUED effort to shut down the Tornadoes. The Eagles also got stellar outings from junior midfielder and Tournament MVP Drew Mott and senior goalkeeper Logan Valenstin throughout the tournament. “There is no closer family than this team and this University and we’re proud to be able to share this trophy with the entire campus and the alumni of Ozarks,” Mott said. “We had the most difficult road through the bracket and I am just proud of all the guys and so happy to come out on top. It’s truly incredible what can be accomplished when you pull together as one. These are my brothers for life.” It was the breakthrough moment that Brueckner and his players had worked long and hard for. In the coach’s previous four seasons at Ozarks, the Eagles had lost numerous heartbreakers in the ASC Tournament quarterfinal or semifinal rounds. “The guys put in the work and the camaraderie and team unity were unbelievable,” Brueckner said. “ This championship is a result of the daily grind in practice and believing in the process. They believed in each other with great confidence. It was so fun to watch. They deserve this and I am just glad to be part of it.” The Eagles had just four seniors on the roster and the melting pot of players included teammates from as close by as Clarksville and Russellville and from as far away as Haiti, England and Zimbabwe. “We just had great team chemistry and worked together better than any team I’ve ever been a part of,” said Valestin, a four-year starter for Ozarks who was named ASC Goalkeeper of the Year and first-team All-ASC. “It was quite remarkable to see everything come together like this.” Other conference honors included, Mott being named the
Senior goalkeeper Logan Valenstin (above photo) had several keep saves in the penalty kick victory over Mary HardinBaylor in the first round of the ASC Championship Tournament. Kyle Seymour and Loris Milord (7) (left photo) celebrate Seymour’s late-match goal in the victory over Mary Hardin-Baylor at Hurie Field.
co-Offensive Player of the Year, Midfielder of the Year and All-ASC first team; sophomore defender Kyle Seymour being named the TriDefensive Player of the Year and All-ASC first team; and freshman defender Colin Cosby being named the Defensive Freshman of the Year. Other players included on the All-ASC first team included junior defender Jonathan Julmiste, sophomore forward Ritch, junior defender Truman Hensley, junior forward Milord and sophomore midfielder Alain Claude. Also, the United Soccer Coaches announced in May that the Ozarks men’s scoccer coaching staff were the NCAA Division III USC West Coaching Staff of the Year for the 2020-21 season. In addition to Brueckner, the staff included assistant coach Stewart Mena and volunteer assistant Tanner Young.
The 2020-21 conference-champion Eagles (above photo) had just four seniors on the roster. Head Coach Aaron Brueckner ‘11, a former Eagle standout, (left) was named the ASC Coach of the Year while the Haitian trio (right photo) of Charleus Emmanuel Ritch, Loris Milord, and Alain Claude earned All-ASC honors. TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 21
A Songbird for Justice BY KIM RUEHL
Photos courtesy of the Highlander Research and Education Center.
22 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1 0
1931 Ozarks graduate Zilphia Johnson Horton (1910–1956) was a pioneer of cultural organizing, an activist and musician who taught people how to use the arts as a tool for social change, and a catalyst for anthems of empowerment such as “We
Shall Overcome” and “We Shall Not Be Moved.” Born a daughter of a coal mine superintendent in Paris, Arkansas, Horton’s contributions to the Highlander Folk School, a pivotal center of the labor and civil rights movements in the mid-twentieth century, and her work creating the songbook of the labor movement influenced countless figures, from Woody Guthrie to Eleanor Roosevelt to Rosa Parks.
TODAY, FA LL 2021 2020 /// 23
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
When I began my research into the life and work of the folksinger and labor organizer Zilphia Horton, a decade ago, I was able to piece together just a small handful of disconnected facts about her life.
S
he was born Zilphia Mae Johnson in Arkansas in 1910. Her father was a coal miner and she was influenced heavily by the Presbyterian minister and activist Claude Clossey Williams. A falling out with her family landed her at the Highlander Folk School, which itself was known for being the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement, though the school would not earn that reputation until around a decade after Zilphia died from accidental poisoning. She married school founder Myles Horton very quickly and eventually had two children. Due to her 21 years at Highlander, she is now remembered, among those who know her name, for being a catalyst for some of the most important songs of the 20th century: “Oh Freedom”/”No More Mourning,” “We Shall Not Be Moved,” and perhaps most famously, “We Shall Overcome.” In fact, it was the songs that drew me to her story to begin with. As a folk music reporter, I know well that young white women from the early 20th century are not typically celebrated for their studious folk song collections, nor for their contributions to folk music scholarship. Yet, I discovered that she was closely connected to some of the giants of the 20th century: Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, and Pete Seeger—but also Rosa Parks, Septima Clark, and Eleanor Roosevelt. I couldn’t resist wondering: Who was this woman, and what was she trying to do with these songs? More importantly, why wasn’t her name more widely known? My research took me to numerous archive libraries across the U.S., as well as into the homes and offices of her family and friends, and the people who are carrying her legacy forward, over the course of many years. I discovered that Zilphia Johnson was born in Spadra,
24 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
Horton as a music student at Ozarks in the early 1930s (above photo) and at the Highlander Folk School in the early 1940s (left).
Arkansas, on April 14, 1910. Her father, Robert “Guy” Johnson, had been born and raised on a farm outside of Clarksville and had only recently begun his work in a Spadra coal mine. Her mother, Ora, had been a teacher—a profession she loved but left once she started having children. Zilphia grew up in relative privilege, mostly at her maternal grandmother Floribell Howard’s house in Clarksville, not far from the College of the Ozarks. There, she was able to attend the public school and take classical piano lessons beginning at the age of eight, from a neighbor of her grandmother. In numerous ways—her ambition and work ethic, especially—Zilphia was her father’s daughter. But Grandmother Howard held an outsized influence over her as well. She filled Zilphia’s childhood with artistic projects and culinary adventures that awoke the young girl to the possibilities inherent in domesticity, sure, but also creative expression. Guy Johnson was an ambitious, hard-working miner. Relatives now claim he became instrumental in bringing strip mining to Arkansas. But when Zilphia was born, he was working as fireman. He would crawl into the mine dressed in wet wool, carrying a long pole with a candle on the end. He would light the candle and shove it ahead of him into the mine, to “fire” the pockets of methane gas that had collected overnight. It was an incredibly dangerous job and Guy Johnson had no interest in toiling forever there. During the years when Zilphia was living mostly with Grandmother Howard, Guy moved the family all over Arkansas and Idaho, chasing seasonal mine work, working his way toward management. By the time Zilphia was in high school, he owned shares in a few mines around Logan County, Arkansas. The Paris Logan County Coal Miners Memorial and Museum listed a couple of mines in the Paris Purity Coal network as the Guy Johnson Mines. Paris Purity was by then a well-established local company, selling its coal across Arkansas as well as in Missouri, Montana, and elsewhere in the region. In those days,
A SON GB IR D FOR J U STIC E
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Horton plays her accordian and sings on a picket line in the 1940s.
coal was so plentiful in Logan County, people could gather coal for their own fire by simply running their fingers through the soil. The United Mine Workers had organized a union at Paris Purity in 1899. Guy Johnson would have been a member, even as he worked his way up to management. The relationship between the UMW and the bosses was well-established and productive. Paris Purity miners were paid commensurate with labor laws of the day. So, it was disruptive when Claude Williams started talking to some of Guy Johnson’s miners about joining a different union: the Progressive Miners of America. By then, the Johnsons were living in the house on the hill, at 1816 Klan Road in Paris. The beautiful, sprawling single-story home with the Doric columns was designed by Zilphia’s mother, Ora, and was host to an array of social events among the middle- and upper-class people of the town. It was in the kitchen at Klan Road that Zilphia was photographed in 1928 as Queen of the Paving Jubilee—a position which saw her riding in style during a parade down the newly paved main street, during a days-long festival to celebrate this bit of modern progress. There were musical performances and street dances. In her portrait, young Zilphia, then aged 18, wore a velvet and ermine cape, a crown on her head. She was well-known and well-loved in the town of Paris, but she had a nagging wanderlust that seemed to be pulling her away from the path her parents expected of this popular,
Kim Ruehl is a writer, editor, and folk music advocate based in Asheville, North Carolina. Her 2021 book, “A Singing Army: Zilphia Horton and the Highlander Folk School,” is the first biography of the activist and musician who inspired thousands of working people and left a legacy that changed the world. She is scheduled to speak about her new book at U of O on April 7, 2022, as part of the Walton Arts & Ideas Series. Drawing on extensive archival and oral history research, as well as numerous interviews with family and friends, Ruehl chronicles Horton’s life from her childhood in Arkansas coal country, through her formative travels and friendship with Presbyterian minister Claude C. Williams, and into her instrumental work in desegregation and fostering the music of the civil rights era. Revealing these experiences as well as her unconventional marriage and controversial death by poisoning, “A Singing Army” tells the story of an all-but-forgotten woman who inspired thousands of working-class people to stand up and sing for freedom and equality. Ruehl once described Horton’s story as that of “a small town teacher who stood amid the segregated confusion of the McCarthy Era, and taught the revolution to sing.” Ruehl has written for Billboard, NPR Music, Seattle Weekly, and various others. She was also editor of No Depression — the roots music journal — for nine years. She was instrumental in bringing the magazine back to print as a quarterly journal, and ended her run there in 2017 as editor-in-chief.
talented young society girl. Guy’s mother had always regretted not being able to receive a college education, so she pushed her son to ensure one for her granddaughters. Thus, Zilphia enrolled in the fall of 1928 at the College of the Ozarks, where she chose to focus on music and drama. “She sang in an outdoor performance as Orpheus,” remembered her youngest sister Ermon Fay, “and carried Eurydice across the grass to backstage.” For most young women of her generation, college was not an option. Those privileged enough to attend saw the opportunity to meet a husband or gain training to become a secretary or teacher. But Zilphia was never interested in the typical way of things. She was interested in ideas. She studied Continued on Page 26
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 25
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
classical music with a keen interest not just in the beauty of its melodies but also the way the music lived in the world. She learned that classical composers such as Franz Liszt published essays about the responsibility an artist plays in society. The ideas of the musicians were as important to Zilphia as was the music they created. She could not have possibly predicted how important that interest would play in the rest of her life. Yet, after college, Zilphia returned to Paris and began looking for another way out. She spent one year teaching high school music in Salisaw, Oklahoma, but was not invited back when she told her class she thought the Bible story of Jonah and the whale was more metaphor than factual history. Back in Paris yet again, she played piano for the silent movies and landed a job teaching music at the high school from which she’d graduated, but none of this was terribly interesting to her. So it was with great relish that she learned about seasonal work at Yellowstone National Park, and applied for summer work there, as a maid. In the summer of 1933, Guy drove Zilphia to Kansas City, where she boarded the train for Montana. When she arrived at Yellowstone, she learned that there was a small orchestra that performed in the lobby of the hotel at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and it was missing a pianist. Zilphia wasted no time in auditioning and earning the position. The following summer, she returned to perform with the orchestra yet again, getting a taste of what her piano gift could do for her if she wanted to pursue performance. This time, her sister Elsie Newell came along to work as a maid, enticed by all the stories Zilphia told about her experiences in this otherworldly landscape. When Zilphia and Elsie returned from Yellowstone at the end of the summer of 1934, Guy could see that they had become even more close than they had been before they left. He could see the way Zilphia’s example played against Elsie’s impressionable perspective. He was concerned about Zilphia’s future, but even more concerned that she would
In 1935 Johnson married Myles Horton, the founder of the Highlander Folk School, and began working at the school shortly thereafter.
corrupt her sisters. There is lore that Zilphia tried to organize Guy’s mine against him in 1934, and that created an irreparable rift between her and her father which continued for the rest of their lives. It’s a salacious story, but untrue. Claude Williams was interested in organizing Guy Johnson’s miners into a new union—one with more local autonomy, that could negotiate a higher wage and push for more changes at the mine. Claude and Zilphia were indeed friends by then—Guy had urged her to attend his bible studies after she returned from Oklahoma, thinking it might give her some direction. But she more likely told Claude what he had already figured out about the union by mid-1934: His idea
Horton often inspired and galvanized audiences at workshops and meetings with her music.
26 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
A SON GB IR D FOR J U STIC E
wasn’t going to work. Meanwhile, the Presbytery had Claude relocated to a church in Fort Smith during the autumn of 1934. Thus, he wasn’t even in Paris when Zilphia was supposed to have been helping him with his effort. Besides, her sister Bonnie Guy told me in 2012, “She wouldn’t have crossed father like that. She didn’t have any reason to hold anything against him.” Sure, watching her father earn his way to the top was instructive for Zilphia, but perhaps not in the way that Guy might have hoped. His coworkers at the mines—eventually his employees—were people she saw work just as hard as her father and never get quite as far. She recognized the disparity, where her father saw only the pride of his own success. She had yet to explore why the hard-work-and-advancement formula worked for some and not others. But the ideas of Claude Williams certainly planted seeds in her mind about how different the world could be. Nonetheless, though Zilphia was becoming aware of the burgeoning labor movement, she was not yet inclined to participate in organizing. Instead, the rift that occurred between her and her father toward the end of 1934 was a result of his concern that she was in her mid-20s and unmarried, unmotivated by marriage, unmotivated by anything that he could discern. He was afraid she was becoming too much of a negative influence on her sisters. When he learned that she had been smoking in public, that was the final straw. He told her she needed to change her behavior or leave home for good. Zilphia was happy to have a reason to strike out on her own. She found welcome with Claude Williams’s family in Fort Smith. For a month, she slept on a cot in their living room. Claude tried to connect her with the Brookwood Labor Academy in upstate New York, guessing she could gain some education in organizing and perhaps then teach at a labor school for women, but the waiting list was too long. Some acquaintances reminded Claude that his old friend Myles Horton had just opened his school in Tennessee. Founded just two years, Highlander Folk School was in need of students and Zilphia was in need of a place to land. Highlander offered a convenient opportunity for her to find a new path, and she took it. Thus, in mid-February 1935, Zilphia Mae Johnson boarded a train from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Nashville, Tennessee. She was packed for a five-week workshop but met Myles and married him after just three weeks. For the rest of her life, she helped him build his vision of a transformative education center for adults. She used her musical talent, her charming and nurturing personality, and the ideas she’d gleaned from classical musicians about the role artists can play in society, to build the culture of a school which would eventually help shift American culture. Had she remained in Paris and married a local boy, Zilphia Mae Johnson would certainly have found a way to make a splash in her life there. But by all accounts, the life she led as Zilphia Horton at the Highlander Folk School was a
Zilphia Horton and “We Shall Overcome”
Zilphia Horton is often credited as being one of the most important catalysts for the popularization of the song “We Shall Overcome.” Indeed, when Pete Seeger copyrighted the song— chiefly to keep it from being used for commercial purposes in a way that would make the song lose its meaning and power— he attributed it to himself, Guy Carawan, Frank Hamilton, and Zilphia Horton. Zilphia learned the song in the spring of 1946, from members of the Food and Tobacco Workers union at Charleston, South Carolina’s American Tobacco plant. A young Black woman named Lucille Simmons would close every day during their five-month strike by leading the hymn she knew, which had been written by another young Black woman, Louise Shropshire. Zilphia immediately recognized the song’s potential as an anthem of empowerment and taught it to Seeger, who published it in his People’s Songs pamphlet. Zilphia continued to teach the song to every group she sang with, for the rest of her life. Among the people who learned the song from Zilphia was Guy Carawan, who stepped into her role at Highlander Folk School a few years after she died. It was Carawan who led the song during the organizing convention of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960, thus cementing its place in the Civil Rights Movement. Kim Ruehl
manifestation of her full personality. Few people in history have understood arts and culture in quite the way Zilphia Horton did, even fewer have been able to communicate that vision to thousands of people across so many years. Her work as Highlander’s first ever Culture Director influenced some of the most important folksingers of the 20th century, as well as some of the era’s most impactful figures in the struggle for freedom from oppression. Her name may have been spoken little in the decades since her death, but her influence has lived on.
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 27
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
E A G L E S HALL A T H L EOF T I CFAME S SPORTS
Seven alumni were selected to be inducted into the University of the Ozarks’ Sports Hall of Fame for the Class of 2021 during Homecoming in April.
PATRICK BAKER ’85
Track and Field, Cross Country Patrick Baker ‘85 of Clarksville was a star track athlete for Ozarks in the early 1980s. A native of Louisiana, Baker burst on the scene as a freshman in 1980, setting a school record in the 400-meter dash at a meet at Arkansas Tech with a time of 49.5 on his way to earning All-AIC honors that season. He later broke his own 400-meter record at the AIC Championships running a 47.6. Over the course of his career he won numerous 400-meter events and ran on several successful 800-meter relay teams for Ozarks. As a sophomore, he won the AIC 400-meters (48.01) and competed in the NAIA National track Meet in West Virginia. Baker was also a standout member of the cross country team during his time at Ozarks.
JULIE (RICHARDSON) BERNARD ’03
Tennis
Julie (Richardson) Bernard ’03 established herself among the elite women’s tennis players in program history. She was a four-time all-conference performer, earning American Southwest Conference All-East Division First Team accolades in 2000 and 2003. She was ASC All-East Division Second Team in 2001 and 2002. In her senior season she was named the University’s Female Athlete of the Year. That season, she led the team to the conference playoffs. Also a standout in the classroom, Bernard was a three-time ASC All-Academic Team member. Serving as a team captain all four years, Bernard was voted the 2003 ASC Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year. She owns the most career singles wins in program history with 25 and ranks third in program history in career doubles wins with 19.
MARCUS HAMPTON ’93
Basketball
Marcus Hampton ’93 was a star on the men’s basketball team in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was named to the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference All-Freshman team in 1989 after helping the Eagles win the AIC regular-season title with a 14-4 conference record. The 5-foot-11 guard from Pine Bluff, Ark., was named to the 10-man All-AIC team in both 1991 and 1992. He held the school’s career assist record for more than 25 years and is currently No. 3 in career assists (359) and 16th in career scoring with over 1,000 career points. He finished third in the AIC in assists per game (5.1) as a junior. He led the Eagles to an 18-11 record and a third-place finish in the AIC as a senior when he finished sixth in the AIC in assists per game (4.1) and eighth in free-throw shooting percentage (.759).
28 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
SPORTS H A LL OF FA ME
KARA (BARTHOLOMEW) JOHNSON ’07
Softball
Kara Bartholomew Johnson ’07 was one of the premiere players for the women’s softball program, starring for the Eagles from 2004-07. The fleet-footed outfielder still holds career records for hits (170) and stolen bases (74) and holds the program’s single-season batting average of .460 as well as single season records for hits (63) and stolen bases (29), all in 2007. She is second in career runs scored (91) and at bats (466) and is in the top five in career batting average (.365), games played (153) and games started (151). The four-year starter earned ASC All East Division second-team honors in 2004 and 2007 and was named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Region Team in 2007. During her career, she helped the Eagles average more than 15 victories a season.
BEVERLY (HOGREFE) MASSENGALE ’92
Basketball, Cross Country
Beverly (Hogrefe) Massengale ’92 was a multi-sport athlete excelling on the basketball court and cross country course. Massengale qualified for the NAIA Cross Country National Championships all four years at Ozarks, 1988-1991. During that span, she was named AllAIC each season, finishing among the top-10 in each AIC Championship race. Massengale competed at the 1991 NAIA Cross Country National Championships where she finished in the top half of the race. That year, her senior season, she ran a 19:14 at the 5K AIC Championships, establishing a program record that still stands today. In basketball, she was named AIC honorable mention her senior season. She made the AIC All-Freshman Team following the 1988-1989 season. She ranks sixth in program history in career assists with 266 and scored 827 career points.
CARL RAMSEY ’80
Coaching
Carl Ramsey ’80 was an outstanding high school girls basketball coach at Lamar (Ark.) High School for nearly 30 years. From 1980 to 2009, Ramsey compiled an overall record of 660227 (.744) and led the Lady Warriors to two state championships (1988 and 1991). He sent numerous players to the collegiate ranks and was voted the Conference Coach of the Year 10 times. Nineteen of his teams produced more than 20 wins. He also coached nine seasons at Ozarks before retiring in 2018. He won a combined 730 games at Lamar and U of O. He was the 2011 ASC East Division Coach of the Year and in 2020 was inducted into the Arkansas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
CHRISTIE (SHUFFIELD) SHOULDERS ’02
Basketball
Christie (Shuffield) Shoulders ’02 starred for the women’s basketball team at Ozarks from 1998 to 2002. She remains seventh in career scoring (1,264) and sixth in rebounding (706) and is one of only six players in program history to surpass the 1,000-point, 700-rebound mark. She still holds the school record for most blocks in a season (75) and a career (228). She was the 2001 ASC East Preseason Player of the Year and earned All-ASC first team honors in both 2000 and 2002. She was named to the ASC All-Academic team for three years. As a senior, she led the Eagles to a 19-7 record and an ASC East Division co-championship as she averaged 13.8 points and 9.0 rebounds a game. In 2002 she was named the University’s Female Athlete of the Year as well as the Hurie Award recipient as the most outstanding senior.
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 29
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
You Can Make a Difference! Lori McBee VP OF ADVANCEMENT & ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT
University of the Ozarks prides itself in being a unique place, different from any other university. That difference is evident as you walk around campus and see the interactions with faculty and students, students and staff, and in the diversity of our student body. The culture of uniqueness has been passed down from each class at the University for decades. Our alumni and supporters are integral in making sure that University of the Ozarks continues that legacy for years to come. Our alumni have said that they feel a
strong connection to the mission, values, community, and future aspirations for our University. Without our alumni, we would not be able to provide our current students with the many services that we offer them. These are the unique and personal services that help make this place so special to anyone connected to the University. Every student who attends Ozarks has been impacted in some way by scholarships and philanthropy. The resources that are donated to Ozarks allow our students to enjoy our student life programs, our vast library resources, our Innovation Hub, multiple scholarship programs, and many other educational and extra-curricular offerings. While we’ve been able to freeze tuition for the past four years and hold total tuition increase to only five percent since 2013, at the same time we have seen a decrease
in annual giving by about seven percent. Since 2017 the national average for alumni giving has also dipped to about eight percent, according to U.S. News and World Report. However, we strongly believe that Ozarks alumni and supporters can do more. As Ozarks grows and adapts, we are finding new ways to further the Ozarks Mission to “prepare students from diverse religious, cultural, educational, and economic backgrounds to live life fully.” We are excited about the opportunities that our students are given because of our donors, and we hope that you will join in helping students prepare to live life fully. I invite you to make a difference today by providing a donation to University of the Ozarks in support of our students. You can use your cell phone and click on the QR code on the back cover or go to our giving page on our website www.ozarks.edu/give.
Family, Friends Establish Hoing Scholarship Numerous U of O alumni as well as family and friends of Joe Hoing have created an endowed scholarship in memory of the long-time dean of students. Hoing, who died in 2019, served Ozarks as an administrator and instructor from 1984 until his retirement in 2014. He was dean of students at the University for 29 years, where he had a positive and enduring impact on hundreds of students. Nearly 40 alumni and friends have donated to the scholarship. Donors met the $20,000 threshold to establish a named endowment earlier this year. The University held an endowment agreement signing on Feb. 27 that was attended by Hoing’s son, Montana, his wife, Samantha, and their son, Carson. Samantha is an academic support coordinator in the Jones Learning Center. Dr. Pat Farmer, former Walton Professor of Theatre at Ozarks, and George Pittenger, a 1991 Ozarks graduate, represented the supporters of the scholarship by signing the endowment agreement. “Joe Hoing embodied the spirit of Ozarks,” Farmer said. “His love and concern for students were palpable. With publicity limited to social media and word of mouth, the fact that many individuals contributed to the scholarship is testament to his campus legacy.” 30 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
Among the requirements to receive the scholarship is that a student must have completed at least 30 earned credits with a 3.0 GPA or higher. The recipient should also be active in student life and be involved with community service in Johnson County, Arkansas. A native of Coal Hill, Ark., Hoing was a collegiate All-American football player before pursuing a career in education. He was a two-time recipient of the University’s Broyles Outstanding Staff Award.
“I’m grateful for Joe’s friendship,” Pittenger said. “He regularly showed his first priority was to the students with knowing the right thing to say whether it was a laugh or words of support. I’m glad that Loraine and I are able to help support the Joe Hoing Scholarship and that he will continue to help students as he always has.” For those who would like to contribute to the Joe Hoing Scholarship, please contact the Office of Advancement and Alumni Engagement at 479-979-1234.
PH ILA N TH R OPY /// N EW S
DONOR PROFILE:
Watkinses Happy to Support Alma Mater When Mark ’76 and Connie Watkins ’87 graduated from Ozarks, they both knew that they wanted to continue to serve the University in any way they could. Over the past several decades they have achieved that through their monetary support as well as in other ways. Their daughter, Rebekah, attended and graduated from Ozarks, and Mark served several years on the Alumni Board, including a stint as president of the board. During Mark’s time on the Alumni Board, the Watkins’ were able to witness “the impact Ozarks has nationally and internationally” and they “hope [their] small contribution of time and money would help to keep that influence alive.” Mark and Connie still live in Clarksville and love the opportunity to be able to participate in University events and see first-hand the positive impact that Ozarks has in the community. In addition to the positive impact in Johnson County, they both greatly enjoy the “friendships that have lasted throughout their lives” that were formed because of their time at Ozarks. In an effort to allow younger generations that same special experience, they have continued to donate to Ozarks in order to “make sure Ozarks will be viable now and in the future.” The Watkinses’ youngest daughter, Rebekah Yount, as well as her husband, Nick Yount, are also Ozarks graduates, both from the Class of 2001. This additional connection to Ozarks gave Mark and Connie an opportunity to see first-hand how their support continues to be used to further the mission of the University. Connie feels a strong desire to continue to give to Ozarks because “Ozarks helped me develop the knowledge I would need in my career and work life,” she said. “I want to give back to the institution that gave so much to me.” Connie used what she learned at Ozarks in her 29 years at the Clarksville School District. Mark worked for UPS for 33 years before his retirement. The Watkinses are now both retired in Clarksville. They have nine grandchildren
The Watkins family includes (front row, from left) Connie Watkins ’87, Rebekah (Watkins) Yount ’01, Codie Cadman, Angel Yount, (back row, from left) Charleigh Cadman, Brianna (Watkins) Cadman, Chase Cadman, Chris Cadman, Thomas Yount, Mark Watkins ’76, Nick Yount ’01 and Drew Yount.
and spend a lot of their time traveling and going to their grandchildren’s activities.
They also are involved in their local church and own a small farm.
Ballard ‘56 Establishes Scholarship
Bill Ballard ‘56 (seated, second from right) joined several family members and Ozarks President Richard Dunsworth (seated, right) in June in a signing ceremony of the establishment of the First Presbyterian Church of Benton Arkansas Scholarship Award. The endowment was created through the Texas Presbyterian Foundation and the scholarship will be awarded to U of O students from Benton. In 2015, Ballard established the Bill and Juanita Ballard Scholarship Endowment at Ozarks in memory of his late wife to provide support for students in the Jones Learning Center. Ballard is a former basketball coach and dean of men at Ozarks. He and Junaita were married for 38 years before she passed away in 2015. Family members joining in the ceremony included (seated, from left) Cyndy (Ballard) Styles ’81, Dorcas Holicer, Ballard, Dunsworth, (standing, from left) Kristen LeFlore, Ladd LeFlore, Landry LeFlore and Tony Ballard.
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 31
RIVETING
ROSIE
D
riven. Competitive. Relentless. Those are some of the adjectives that teammates, coaches and friends use to describe University of the Ozarks standout swimmer Rosemond “Rosie” Wade. The junior from Clarksville is the most decorated student-athlete in the history of the young swim program at Ozarks and is also one of the most accomplished swimmers in the region. Astoundingly, she owns or co-owns 20 of the 23 U of O women’s swimming records, including 15 individual records and five relay marks. “Rosie will do her absolute best to out-train and out-swim everyone she can,” said Ozarks Head Men’s and Women’s Coach David DeGeus. “She is extremely competitive and driven to be the best she can be.” DeGeus said Wade is a team leader who sets an example through her work ethic. She often trains with the men’s team in order to maximize her effort. “She pushes others to their limits physically and sets the bar high,” DeGeus said. “She owns or co-owns 20 out of 23 school records, so her teammates know they have to train as hard as her to break a school record.” One illustration of Wade’s drive and dedication is the fact that her favorite part of the season is the grueling winter training session when swimmers put in up to five or six hours a day in the pool or working out. 32 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
WADE
“There aren’t any classes so all we do is wake up, swim, go back to the dorm and eat breakfast together,” Wade said. “We might take a nap and maybe eat a quick lunch, lift weights, go back to the pool and work out again, come back and eat supper as a team and hang out until we go to bed. Then, we repeat it all the next day. It’s really a big bonding time for the team and I love just working out, eating and having fun with the team without thinking or worrying about anything else.” As a swimmer, Wade describes herself as intense, resilient, motivated and a hard worker. “My strengths lay in my endurance,” she said. “As both a sprinter and long-distance swimmer, it’s my job to keep up a fast pace, whether it’s less than half a minute or 19 or 20 minutes. I swim all strokes, but my weakest stroke is the breaststroke because the key to breaststroke is power in the kick and the glide. I always try to go too fast and I usually lose a lot of my power.” Wade said her favorite races are the 400-yard intermediate and the 1,650-yard, or mile, freestyle. She has finished in the top six in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships in both events in consecutive years. “I enjoy the 400 because it incorporates all four strokes and it levels the playing field,” she said. “It also relies on endurance because it is one of the longer distances. I enjoy the mile because it is a long and grueling race that not many swimmers want to take part in. The swimmers who do take part in it are either forced to by
their coach or they thoroughly enjoy it. The reason I like the more long distance races is because not many people want to swim them and the ones who do make for great competition. I enjoy competing against others, especially if it’s a test of strength and endurance. The longer distance also gives me time to get ahead of the competition or catch up if I fall behind.” Born in Nanjing, China, Wade was adopted at the age of 15 months old by Karen Wade of Clarksville, joining an older sister who she had adopted a year earlier. “My mom told me that I was adopted when I was younger and it really bothered me at first that my family gave me up,” Wade said. “I don’t remember much of it, so I just decided to accept that I was adopted by an amazing mother that loved me and wanted me. I got to the point where it didn’t bother me that people I didn’t even know didn’t want me. I was just thankful that I had a wonderful mother and sister.” Wade, who is the niece of Ozarks professor emeritus Dr. William Eakin, first got into swimming at age six when she started taking lessons. “From even the very beginning swimming just came natural to me,” Wade said. “My teacher asked why I was even taking lessons.” She began swimming competitively at age nine with the Clarksville Sea Dragons before progressing to a higher level of competitive swimming with a club team. It was there that she first met Coach DeGeus, who would later recruit her to swim at Ozarks, which had started its new swim program in 2016. “I liked the idea that I could help build a new program at the University and plus I was familiar with Coach DeGeus and knew that he could motivate me and push me to excel,” said Wade, who led her Clarksville team to the state championship as a senior. “I also knew Ozarks had a strong academic program and excellent financial aid.” A music major who often sings the national anthem before her swim meets, Wade has also excelled in the classroom during her time at Ozarks. She is an honors student and a two-time Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) All-Academic team honoree. “I chose to major in music because I’ve always loved music and I wanted my career to be associated with music in some way,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to teach a choir of my own since my junior year of high school.” Her minors are coaching and sustainable agriculture. “I chose athletic coaching because swimming has always been a part of my life,” she said. “I was the swim coach for the summer league team a couple years ago and fell in love with the job. Sustainable agriculture is important to me because I love gardening and I thought it would fun to learn more about it.” Already holding 20 school records, Wade isn’t about to rest on her laurels in the final two years of collegiate competition. “I feel proud to hold so many records, but I also see it as a challenge to grow better and faster because those times are the benchmark,” she said. “The way I look at it, those times aren’t as good as they could be. There’s always room for improvement and to get better. That’s our goal, individually and as a team.”
“From even the very beginning swimming came natural to me. My teacher asked why I was even taking lessons.”
RECORD-SETTING ROSIE
Rosie Wade owns or co-owns 20 of the 23 swimming records in the women’s program. These are the records and times she holds: 50 Free 25.86 100 Free 57.26 200 Free 2:03.22 500 Free 5:22.44 1000 Free 11:11.43 1650 Free 18:37.77 50 Back 30:06 100 Back 1:04.05 200 back 2:18.37 50 Fly 28.70 100 Fly 1:02.30 200 Fly 2:21.10 100 I.M. 1:04.35 200 I.M. 2:20.93 400 I.M. 4:58.19 200 Free Relay* 1:46.49 400 Free Relay* 3:54.66 800 Free Relay# 8:44.45 200 Med Relay^ 2:01.64 400 Med Relay& 4:27.96 *Wade, Wellborn, Coffin, Meals #Wade, Wellborn, Spillers, Coffin ^Wade, Vire, Wellborn, Meals &Wade, Wellborn, Frazier, Coffin
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 33
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
EAGLES ATHLETICS
Ozarks Names Gardner Athletic Program Adds Assistant Athletic Director Chi Alpha Sigma Chapter
Eagles Goalkeeper Valestin Earns Numerous Honors
LeRoy Gardner III was named assistant athletic director at Ozarks in June. Gardner will continue in his role as head women’s and men’s wrestling coach. Gardner arrived at Ozarks in June 2016 after serving as the head wrestling coach at University of Houston-Downtown from 2014 through 2016. Since his time at Ozarks, the wrestling program has seen significant success with three wrestlers qualifying for the NCAA III National Championship Tournament. Two of his teams were conference runner-up and he was named Conference Coach of the Year in 201819. Two of his wrestlers have been AllAmericans and three of his wrestlers have made the NWCA All-American ScholarAthlete Team during his tenure at Ozarks. Gardner started the women’s program at Ozarks last season in addition to serving as the head men’s coach. “I’m grateful to be able to serve this institution, our athletic staff, and these student-athletes in this new way,” said Gardner. “I’m really committed and enthusiastic about making this University and experience the best it can be. This is a special place and this experience is transformational for our students.” The Golden Valley, Minn., native and his wife, Suzanna, are the parents of one son. Suzanna serves as the strength and conditioning coach at Ozarks.
Men’s soccer senior goalkeeper Logan Valestin capped an impressive four-year career in the Spring by being named the 2020-21 American Southwest Conference Men’s Soccer Distinguished Scholar-Athlete. The Bryant, Ark., native was also named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-South Region Team and earned the University’s ASC Scholar-Athlete Medal of Honor following the Eagles’ conference championship season. Valestin produced an outstanding year in goal in 2020-21, earning ASC Goalkeeper of the Year and All-ASC First Team honors. Valestin ranked fourth in the ASC in goals against average (0.94) while collecting 22 saves in 12 starts. Valestin posted five wins and recorded three shutouts. At Ozarks, he ranks fourth in career saves (261), third in shutouts (16), third in wins (29), third in goals against average (1.18) and third in minutes played (5938). During his career, he was ASC Player of the Week and a member of the ASC All-Tournament Team. The biology major is a three-time member of the ASC All-Academic Team and was on the President’s List and Dean’s List. He plans to attend University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and pursue a career as a trauma surgeon and emergency medicine physician. He was a Magna Cum Laude graduate and had a cumulative grade point average of 3.71.
34 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
The University of the Ozarks athletic department has established a local chaper of the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society members. The newly instituted chapter at Ozarks included 37 student-athletes from the 2020-21 academic year who excelled in both the classroom and competition. Chi Alpha Sigma recognizes college student-athletes who receive a varsity letter in their sport, achieve junior academic standing or higher after their fifth full time semester, display good character and earn a 3.40 or higher cumulative grade point average. “It was a disruptive year for many of our student-athletes and teams as COVID brought unique challenges to their collegiate experience, but I think it is a testament to their dedication to have this many members in Chi Alpha Sigma” said Athletic Director Jimmy Clark. “I am proud of their perseverance. They could have made a lot of excuses. This shows we have many student-athletes who embody the true meaning of the word.” Chi Alpha Sigma is the first and only nonprofit organization that was established to recognize collegiate student-athletes who excel both on and off the field of competition. It was founded in 1996 by then DePauw University head football coach, Nick Mourouzis.
OZAR K S /// ATH LETIC S
Johnson, Haase, Mott Named Top Athletes In May the University’s athletic program named (pictured, from left) Bryson Johnson, Riki Haase and Drew Mott as the Athletes of the Year for the 2020-21 academic year. Johnson, a senior point guard from Katy, Texas, was nearly unstoppable on the basketball court as he averaged 21 points (fourth in ASC), 5.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists (second in ASC) and 1.7 steals per game en route to leading the men’s basketball program to its first ASC title in the NCAA III era. Johnson made the prestigious five-man All-Conference Team as well as All-East Division First Team. Johnson made national news when his buzzer-beater in the ASC Tournament made ESPN’s SportsCenter Top-10 plays. Johnson went on to earn ASC Tournament MVP and made the D3Hoops. com All-Region Team. Haase, a senior member of the softball team, posted an impressive offensive season for the Eagles as she led the team in batting (.384), doubles (8), triples (2), runs (13), slugging percentage (.589), hits (28) and total bases (43). The Argyle, Texas, native was a three-time member of the American Southwest Conference (ASC)
All-Academic Team. Additionally, she was a member of the NFCA/Easton All-American Scholar-Athlete Team. At Ozarks, she owns the eighth highest batting average in a single season. Mott, a junior forward on the soccer team, earned nearly every ASC individual award possible following a season in which he led the team to the ASC title. Mott was named ASC Offensive Player of the Year,
ASC Midfielder of the Year, All-ASC First Team and ASC Tournament MVP. Mott, a native of Arlington, Texas, ranked among the ASC’s top-5 in nearly every offensive category, including leading the league in game-winning goals (3). He was third in goals with five, third in assists with two and fourth in points with 12. He ranked sixth in the ASC in shots with 23. During the season, he earned ASC Player of the Week.
Watson Selected Women’s Basketball Coach Shauna Watson, who led Earlham College in Indiana to three conference tournament appearances in four seasons, was named the new head women’s basketball coach at Ozarks in August. A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Watson guided NCAA III Earlham College to the conference tournament three times during her tenure as head coach. She took over a program that had won a combined six conference games the prior two years, and in her first season, led the Quakers to its first-ever appearance in the post-season. Prior to Earlham, Watson spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Indiana Tech University aiding the NAIA program to a pair of 20-win seasons and a national tournament appearance. “I am thrilled to announce the hiring of Shauna Watson as our head women’s basketball coach,” said Ozarks Athletics Director Jimmy Clark. “From her success
as a student-athlete to her success as a head coach, Shauna is a proven leader and winner. She is passionate about the NCAA III experience and understands the impact it has. She is a high-level recruiter who completely changed the culture within Earlham’s program. We are thankful to have Coach Watson be a part of our staff and campus community.” As a player, Watson starred at NCAA III Hanover College (Ind.), leading the Panthers to a pair of NCAA III tournament appearances and conference championships. As a three-year starting point guard, she ranks second all-time in career assists at Hanover. She made the conference All-Tournament Team in 2015. “There are a lot of things about University of the Ozarks that I appreciate,” said Watson. “I value the Christian standards the university upholds. The people on campus are really friendly
and outgoing. And, the academics are outstanding here.” Watson received her bachelor’s degree in communication from Hanover in 2015 and her master’s degree in organizational behavior from Indiana Tech in 2016. TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 35
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
SCIENCE AND
36 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
ALU MN I /// FEATU R E
DIPLOMACY Q & A WITH RUBEN ALEMAN ‘94
Twenty-seven years after graduating from Ozarks with a degree in biology, Ruben Aleman is serving in a presidential cabinet level position in his home country of El Salvador. Aleman leads an agency with more than 4,000 employees that oversees the Central American nation’s critical water and sewer systems. TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 37
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
I
n September of 2020, U of O alumnus Ruben Aleman was sworn in as the president of the El Salvador National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers by that country’s president, Nayib Bukele. This high-cabinet government position oversees all drinking water and drainage systems in El Salvador. Aleman arrived at Ozarks in the summer of 1990 with one of the first classes of the Walton International Scholarship Program, which had been established just a few years earlier. At Ozarks, he excelled in the classroom majoring in biology, and graduating in 1994 with high honors. After a few years teaching on the high school level in El Salvador, he went on to earn a master’s degree in resources engineering for water and land at the University of Karlshruhe in Germany. Before joining President Bukele’s administration, Aleman spent 13 years serving as an environmental expert in El Salvador with the United States Agency for International development. Aleman, who speaks fluent German, Spanish and English, has been married to his wife, Issa Saldana, since 2005 and they have a son, Marcelo, who turned 5 in September. Aleman visited Ozarks in the Spring of 2021 for the first time since he graduated. He returned to campus to discuss a new partnership between the University and the El Salvadoran government to provide internship and research opportunities for Ozarks students.
Q WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP IN EL SALVADOR? I come from a middle income family. I was an applied student. My parents were Christians and it was a good base and a good legacy. Both of my parents had college degrees and I was educated under Christian values. When I was in high school, I received a half scholarship to attend a U.S. boarding school and went on to earn my high school diploma from Presbyterian Pan American School in Kingsville, Texas. It was a demanding boarding school, but it helped me learn English and it prepared me for Ozarks. HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT THE WALTON SCHOLARSHIP? When I returned home from boarding school in 1989, El Salvador was coming out of civil war. Friends at church let me know about a new full scholarship in the U.S., but I had to travel to Guatemala for the interview because of the political unrest in El Salvador. I went there and one of my advantages I had was that I had just studied English. It happened to be the last year that the Walton Scholarship was accepting someone with a diploma from a U.S. high school. Those two years at the boarding school were a big plus because my English had improved so much.
WHAT STANDS OUT ABOUT YOUR YEARS AT OZARKS? I remember the closeness with the faculty. They become your mentors, your tutors, professors but also your friends. The relationships were great between the Central American students and the U.S. students. I tell people that rural Arkansas was a great place to get a college education because there were really only three things to do: Number one study, number two study and number three study. So I was really a dedicated student by the end of the day and I think probably a lot of students hated me because I set the curve in a lot of classes. I remember having great teachers that really pushed me. I should have gotten a shirt that said, “I Survived Organic Chemistry with Dr. Elizabeth Gomez.” The biology class under Dr. Knight was also so very difficult and challenging, but I loved it. Those classes really pushed me to learn 38 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
more. As a senior I won the Most Outstanding Biology Student Award, so it paid off.
WHERE DID YOUR LOVE OF SCIENCE COME FROM? I’ve always loved science and I had initially planned to study medicine, but as I got closer to making that decision, I realized that I didn’t care for blood and that it may not be the best career for me. It was just natural for me to take science classes because that’s where my interest was.
&
DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DID AFTER GRADUATING FROM OZARKS IN 1994? My first job was teaching biology, chemistry and English back in El Salvador at a biingual school from 1994-1996. It was the most rewarding job in my life. I was 24 and I used as an example the relationships I had with my professors. I wanted to get to know my students and build relationships like I had with my professors at Ozarks. But it was criticized there because that’s not the way it had been done. I was criticized for being close to my students. To this day, I remain good friends with some of my former students. From 1996-98, I worked as a technician for a water company. That’s where I learned about sampling science and the ground rules of science of water. But in 1998 I said to myself, Ruben, you can do better than this, so I went to the German Embassy and applied for a scholarship and I got it. It was for a master’s degree in resources engineering for water and land for developing countries at the University of Karlshruhe in Germany. A few years later in 2008, the US embassy was looking for an environmental specialist. I ended up working there for 13 years, traveling all over Central America and South America. It was very interesting work. I was a project manager, managing grants and contracts. I worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and my clients were the ministry of environments across the region. HOW DID THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE AS PRESIDENT OF THE EL SALVADOR NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION OF AQUEDUCTS AND SEWERS COME ABOUT? In 2020 I got a call from the President Bukele and he asked me if I wanted to join his administration. I knew it was a great opportunity, but I had to think about it because it’s a political appointment and it
ALU MN I /// FEATU R E
has numerous challenges. But I decided I was up to the challenge. Life has given me so much, it was time to give back. On September 24, 2020, I became the president of the National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers. El Salvador has 14 states and 262 municipalities and we currently we have a presence in 153 of those municipalities. We cover most of the country and have more than 4,000 employees, so it’s quite an operation.
A
WHAT IS YOUR MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY? We are a team. You cannot work as an island. You must work as a team and that’s my leadership style. We succeed or fail as a team. I try to inspire people through working together and to recognize strengths and weakness in people.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING EL SALVADOR IN REGARDS TO YOUR POSITION? Water stress. To put it bluntly, there is more demand than supply. I would love for people to have water 24/7 but we need to make major investments in our infrastructure in order for that to happen. For decades water and sanitation were not at the top of the political agenda, but now it is. We are dealing with services that have not been prioritized and have not been maintained. I am dealing with preventive and corrective actions that should have been taken care of years ago. It’s a combination of lack of infrastructure, a deteriorating infrastructure and a lack of political commitment. This is a huge challenge for our country
&
WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES IN THE POSITION? A good friend of mine said, there are plenty of battles, but you have to pick the important battles. So we have settled on five primary strategic pillars, or goals, moving forward: Water supply, sanitation, water quality, energy efficiency and customer service. Those are my priorities and where we are focusing our energies. WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT OUR PLANET’S DRINKING WATER? There is no Planet B. There is no other option. We must take care of our Mother Earth. In El Salvador, and around the world, water resources are finite. There is not an endless supply. We need to take care of water from the holistic approach, an integrated water resource management. That’s what we need to tackle. We must become greener, take care of our water, be more responsible, and not waste water. It comes down to better water education. We must start educating our children on the importance of taking care of our water. We can’t take for granted that there will be clean drinking water forever. LOOKING BACK ON YOUR EDUCATION AT OZARKS AND YOUR CURRENT CAREER, HOW DO YOU BELIEVE IT HAS ALL TIED TOGETHER? I think that I received a very solid education base through Ozarks and it set my pathway to where I am today. Because of that education almost 30 years ago, I am where I am. That foundation allowed me to go on and get a master’s degree and then put that knowledge into practice. It has made the whole difference. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE WALTON SCHOLARSHIP TODAY, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? That scholarship has led to my own journey to self-reliance. I am truly that success story that Mrs. Helen Walton and the Walton
family had in mind; not just educate someone from Central America but educate someone who in turn will make an impact back in their country. I think I am the example of how, through education, that the Walton Scholarship can change a country for the better. The Walton program is well known across Central America and you can see the value that Walton Scholar alumni bring throughout the region. We are portraying and living the values and education of the Walton family. Twenty-seven years later I feel like I’m a true success story of the Walton Program. WHAT DO YOU HOPE THIS PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN OZARKS AND EL SALVADOR WILL BRING ABOUT? I see it as opportunity for students to get out there and get realworld experience. For our government, it will bring that young, creative, thinking-outside-the-box mentality to our agency. The cooperation between our agency and Ozarks will hopefully open other gates for other universities in El Salvador to contribute their knowledge and skills to helps is solve a lot of challenges that our country faces. I see this collaboration leading to research opportunities, internships and short and long-term exchanges. AS A TECHNICIAN AND SCIENTIST, HOW DO YOU HANDLE THE POLITICAL ASPECTS OF YOUR POSITION? I’m a political appointee, even though I’m more technical. I know I’m the new kid on the block, so it’s all new and challenging. I just try to do my best and always keep in mind that what I’m doing is for the best of El Salvador. I also truly believe in what our president is doing and the direction he is taking the country, so that makes it easier. But I know at the end of the day, I’m a political appointee and that my position can quickly change. WHAT DO YOU SEE IN YOUR FUTURE IN REGARDS TO YOUR CAREER? I don’t myself with a political future, I am definitely a water and sanitation guy. I’m not sure where my future will take me, but I want to continue to contribute in those areas. TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 39
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
Donor Award WINNERS University of the Ozarks’ Office of Advancement and Alumni Engagement will present its philanthropy and friend awards for 2021-22 during the Ozarks Awards Ceremony, scheduled to be held in April 2022 as part of Homecoming. Community Champion Award ARKANSAS VALLEY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE CORP.
Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative Corp. (AEVCC) is a recipient of the Community Champion Award for its commitment to supporting education and for being a strong advocate for Ozarks and its students for six decades. AVECC has been supporting student scholarships at Ozarks since 1961 and has provided more than $50,000 in support to the University during that span. AEVCC regularly supports the Wallace M. Milton scholarship fund. Milton served as AVECC’s superintendent in 1937 and later served as general manager. The Wallace M. Milton scholarship fund was established in memory of Milton following his death in 1976. The scholarship is awarded to a U of O student from the AVECC region. U of O alumnus Philip Taylor ’85 (left) serves on the AVECC board.
Community Champion Award ARVEST BANK
Arvest Bank is a recipient of the Community Champion Award for their exemplary and consistent support of Ozarks and its students and for their work to move the University and the community forward together. Arvest employees prepare and serve grilled food during Homecoming, provide financial education workshops for international students, participate in University career fairs, works with the U of O Alumni Board with financial information and provided goody bags and hand sanitizers to Ozarks students who are in COVID quarantine. The bank also provided the University a large tent that can be used during such events as orientation, homecoming and campus concerts.
Community Champion Award BEN POWELL ’00
Originally from Dallas, Texas, Ben Powell started building his landscaping business when he arrived in Clarksville as a 19-year-old student in the fall of 1995. After graduating from Ozarks in 2000, Powell expanded his landscaping business and in 2010 he started Ben Powell Construction (BPC). In addition to BPC, he is the owner operator of Motion Fuels and Wrecked Canoe Bar and Grill. Powell has supported and advanced the University through his construction company’s work on numerous projects, including the Alexander-Boreham Tennis Center, the River Valley Medical Center and the Seay Student Center food court. He has three children, Sylvia, Harry and Ari Jane, and he and his partner, Krista Debuhr, live in Clarksville.
Emerging Philanthropist Award DAVID PRIDGIN JR. ’07
David Pridgin Jr. ’07 is the recipient of the Emerging Philanthropist Award, presented to an individual under the age of 40 with a record of exceptional generosity in support of the University’s mission. Pridgin has supported the University’s annual fund for 16 years, including 14 consecutive years. A mathematics major and basketball player at Ozarks, Pridgin is employed by Entergy-Arkansas Nuclear One as a chemistry specialist. He also serves as the head brewer of the family-owned business, Pridgin Family Brewery in Scranton, Ark. He and his wife, Ashleigh, have three children: Adrian, Vivienne and Eden. His parents, David ’71 and Reba ’81 Pridgin, and sister Kari Tedford ’05 are all graduates of Ozarks. He also has a niece, Emily, and nephew, Ethan, who currently attend.
Emerging Philanthropist Award NATHAN WILLIAMS ’07
Nathan Williams ’07 of Little Rock, Ark., is the recipient of the Emerging Philanthropist Award, presented to an individual under the age of 40 with a demonstrated record of support of the University’s mission. Williams has supported his alma mater since 2009 and was instrumental in the establishment of the Debbie Williams Memorial Endowment Scholarship in memory of his mother and the long-time Jones Learning Center coordinator who died in 2017. Williams is a chemical hygiene officer and environmental programs manager at UAMS. He and his wife of 14 years, Randa, have two sons, Ethan and Owen. Both of his parents, Darrell ’76 and the late Debbie Williams ‘81, and his sister, Katilyn Lanier ‘12, are all Ozarks graduates. 40 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
ALU MNI /// H OMEC OMIN G
Alumni Legacy Award BILL BALLARD ’56
A long-time supporter of Ozarks and a previous member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, Bill Ballard of Benton, Ark., will receive the Alumni Legacy Award in honor of his unselfish support of the University and its mission. A retired basketball coach, educator and administrator, Ballard and his family established The Bill and Juanita Ballard Scholarship Endowment in 2015 in memory of his wife of 38 years. He also created the First Presbyterian Church of Benton, Arkansas, Scholarship Award through the Texas Presbyterian Foundation. Ballard served numerous years on the alumni board, including a tenure as association president. A former baseball and basketball standout at Ozarks, he coached basketball at his alma mater before helping establish the basketball program at UA-Little Rock. He was inducted into the U of O Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
Alumni Legacy Award CLEVELAND BRANSCUM ’63 AND BARBARA (HAYNES) BRANSCUM ‘63
Cleveland “Cleve” and Barbara Branscum of Belleair, Fla., are the recipients of the Alumni Legacy Award in recognition of their unselfish support of the University and its mission. The Branscums, who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in August, met as freshmen at Ozarks and were married in August prior to their junior years. Cleve was a basketball star and Barabra a cheerleader at Ozarks, where they were named Homecoming king and queen in 1962. After graduation, Cleve went on to coach basketball at several universities before going into private business and real estate investments. Barbara taught English for many years in Arkansas and Florida and also became active in arts and lineage societies. Cleve said Ozarks “inspired two youngsters to lead rewarding, fulfilling and meaningful lives.”
Pay It Forward Champions CALLIE (HARMON) DANIELS ’89 AND KURT DANIELS
Callie (Harmon) Daniels ’89 and her husband, Kurt, of Foristell, Mo., will receive the Pay It Forward Champions honor for making a difference in the lives of others through leadership, unselfish giving and direct financial support of the mission of Ozarks A professor of mathematics and department chair at St. Charles Community College in Cottleville, Mo., Callie is a Pearson author who writes college-level mathematics textbooks for students across the nation. She has earned the Emerson Award for Excellence in Teaching as well as faculty of the year honors at St. Charles Community College. She holds master’s degrees in applied mathematics and secondary education. The Daniels have two sons, Clayton and Grady.
Pay It Forward Champions EDNA (ELKINS) PATTERSON ’67 AND JOHN PATTERSON
Edna Elkins Patterson ‘67 and her husband, John, will receive the Pay It Forward Champions Award for making a difference in the lives of others through leadership, unselfish giving and direct financial support of the mission of Ozarks. The long-time Clarksville residents established The Edna Elkins Patterson and John S. Patterson Education Scholarship in 2018. After graduating from Ozarks in 1967 with a degree in elementary education, Edna served more than 35 years as a teacher and media specialist, including 32 years in Clarksville elementary schools. She also taught in Van Buren, Ark., and Springdale, Ark. The Pattersons, have been married 53 years. John retired in 2007 after serving as a circuit court judge in Franklin, Johnson and Pope counties. The Pattersons have two children, Page Patterson Hardin and Penny Patterson.
Pay It Forward Champions GEORGE PITTENGER ’94 AND LORAINE PITTENGER
George Pittenger ’91 and his wife, Loraine, of Midlothian, Texas, will receive the Pay It Forward Champions award for for making a difference in the lives of others through leadership, unselfish giving and direct financial support of the mission of Ozarks. The Pittengers established the Loraine and George T. Pittenger Scholarship Endowment and were also instrumental in creating the Joe Hoing Scholarship, in memory of the long-time dean of students. After graduating from Ozarks in 1991 with a degree in communications, George worked at a small college in Texas before returning to Ozarks in 1999 where he worked in the advancement and student life offices. The Pittengers were married in 2011. George works as a licensed professional counselor in Texas, and has been a member of the University’s Alumni Board. The Pittengers have one son, Kerwin. TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 41
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
ALUMNI AWARD WINNERS The University of the Ozarks Alumni Association will recognize four of the University’s distinguished graduates with its prestigious alumni honors during the Ozarks Awards Ceremony, scheduled as part of Homecoming in April 2022. Alumni Achievement Award
Young Alumni Service Award
RUBEN ALEMAN ’94
NENA EVANS ’16
In September of 2020, Aleman was sworn in as the president of the El Salvador National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers by that country’s president, Nayib Bukele (See page 36). This high-cabinet government position oversees all drinking water and drainage systems in El Salvador. A former Walton Scholar at Ozarks, Aleman majored in biology and graduated with honors from Ozarks. After a few years teaching high school, he went on to earn a master’s degree in resources engineering for water and land at the University of Karlshruhe in Germany. Before joining President Bukele’s administration, Aleman spent 13 years as an environmental expert in El Salvador with the United States Agency for International development. Aleman, who speaks fluent German, Spanish and English, he and his wife, Issa Saldana, have a son.
Evans is the gardening and nutrition manager for the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, a non-profit organization that serves several Northwest Arkansas counties by providing an affordable and credible food source to their partner agencies serving the hungry. In her role, she manages the organization’s organic teaching garden in Springdale, its community garden in Fayetteville, the partner garden program, and all of the nutrition programming with the public and our partner agencies. A native of Bergman, Ark., Evans graduated from Ozarks with Summa Cum Laude honors with a degree in environmental studies. As a student at Ozarks, Evans was named the state’s 2014 Student Conservationist of the Year by the Arkansas Wildlife Federation for her efforts with conservation on the Ozarks campus. She also helped establish the University’s Food for Thought Garden.
Alumni Merit Award
Young Alumni Achievement Award
SYLVESTER BENSON ’67
IVAN BUSTILLO ’17
After graduating from Ozarks, Benson went on to a 35-year career as a high school teacher and administrator in Kansas, including 31 years in Manhattan. He retired as a principal in 2001. Originally from Hugo, Okla., Benson played basketball at Ozarks from 1963-67. When he joined the Ozarks team in the fall of 1963, he became the first African-American to play intercollegiate sports at a predominately white college in Arkansas. He has been an active member in the University’s Alumni Association for many years and served on the University’s Board of Trustees from 2010 to 2019. He was elected to the Ozarks Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He and his wife Patsy, a 1965 Ozarks graduate, have three children.
Bustillo is CEO and co-founder of Contentivo, a video production company based in El Salvador and specializing in 360-degree photography and video. The company has worked with such brands as Porsche, Isuzu, Banco Promerica, Academia Europea, and more. A radio/television/video major at Ozarks, Bustillo is a popular social media comedian and blogger in his home country of El Salvador. Known as “Little Viejo,” Bustillo has more than 4.5 million followers on social media. As a student at Ozarks, Bustillo won the prestigious Student Pillar of Excellence Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Mid-America chapter for his short film, “Upside Down and Backwards.” In 2020, he married Paulina Ojeda ’19.
42 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
ALU MNI /// C LA SS N OTES
CLASSNOTES KATHRYN (KING) BOST ‘43 of Little Rock, Ark., celebrated her 100th birthday in August. She was recognized by Al Roker on the NBC Today show in its Smucker’s notable birthday milestone segment. JAMES STEWART ’68 and FLORINE (ROBBINS) STEWART ’68 are retired and living in West Point, Miss. Both James and Florine are retired educators. They celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary in August. DONALD KESSLER ’70 of San Diego, Calif., is retiring in December of 2021 after 50 years as an athletic trainer. He has spent the past 11 years as the athletic trainer at BUD/S with the U.S. Navy SEALS program. DON BERRY ’71 of Springfield, Mo., was inducted into the Missouri Sorts Hall of Fame in February for his success with Don Berry’s Fishin’ Radio Show on 96.9 FM in Springfield. A retired coach, teacher and high school administrator, Berry has hosted the radio show for 21 years. He also enhanced the company with ReSpoolin’ Magazine, started Berry’s Outdoor Web TV and, in 2007 established Ozark Mountain Team Trail, which has paid back more than $1.5 million in earnings to fishing tournament anglers. Berry also has
competed in local, regional and national fishing tournaments. WILLIAM “CARL” UNDERWOOD ’74 and ROSEMARY (SMITH) UNDERWOOD ’75 are retired and living in Charleston, Ark. Carl is a retired teacher and elementary school principal and Rosemary is a retired teaching specialist, both in the Charleston School District. The Underwoods celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary in 2021. Their son, Josh, is a 2004 graduate of Ozarks. DR. ROBERT HILTON ’81 recently joined the Missouri Southern State University faculty as an assistant professor of management. MSSU is located in Joplin. LARRY MOORE ’81 of Clarksville was inducted into the Arkansas Officials Association Hall of Fame in July. Moore, a retired teacher, has officiated basketball on the high school and college levels for 35 years and worked 12 state high school championship games. STAN FLENOR ’85 retired as the head boy’s basketball coach at Alma (Ark.) High School in May after a 30-year career. Flenor won 457 games at Alma and led the team to state titles in 2005 and 2011.
DR. DAVID BRATCHER ’89 was appointed in July as the chief operating officer of MGP Ingredients, Inc., in Kansas, a leading provider of distilled spirits, branded spirits, and food ingredient solutions. Bratcher recently joined MGP as president of brands in connection with MGP’s acquisition of Luxco, Inc. Prior to the acquisition, Bratcher served in a steady progression of leadership roles for over 20 years at Luxco, including serving as president and chief operating officer since 2013. He earned his master’s degree in business administration and his doctorate in management and business administration from Webster University in Missouri. SHIRLEY KIEFER ’90 announced her retirement in August as principal at St. Joseph Catholic School in Paris, Ark. Kiefer has served in education more than 30 years, including at Trinity Catholic Junior High in Fort Smith and at Subiaco Academy in Arkansas. She retired in 2018, only to return to St. Joseph School as principal for the past three years. Over the last 30 years of her career in education, Kiefer has experienced numerous high points that have always revolved around the success of a student. “Without exception, each has been a time where students were successful, that’s incredibly gratifying. Life brings challenges, and that is no more true than in education,” said Kiefer.
Continued on Page 44
Myers Sain ’94 Authors Debut Book “Dark and Shallow Lies,” the debut book from GINNY MYERS SAIN ‘94 of Tulsa, Okla., was released in September 2021 by Razorbill Books/Penguin Teen. Described as a chilling, supernatural thriller, the young adult novel centers around the “disappearance of a teenage girl from LaCachette, a tiny town deep in the Louisiana bayou, nicknamed the Psychic Capital of the World. Her best friend Grey returns to find answers and it seems like everyone has something to hide, which begs the question - how do you keep a secret in a town full of psychics?” In a review of the book, Publisher Weekly said, “Myers Sain’s dream pose conjures a mythical Southern Gothic atmosphere.... Taut pacing builds sustained terror on the page with each successive suspect in this formidable debut.” Author Jessica Goodman said the book was, “Haunting and arresting, this is one stunning debut. Ginny Myers Sain has written a totally engrossing small-town mystery about what happens when you finally dig up long-buried secrets.”” After graduating from Ozarks, Sain spent 17 years in various positions at the University, including as director of the Walton Arts & Ideas Series. Her website is ginnymyerssain.com.
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 43
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
ANNA (CHURCHWELL) FULMER ’92 of the Clarksville School District received the 2021 Celebrate Literacy-Educator Award by the Arkansas Literacy Association in July. The award is given to an educator who has made significant contribution to literacy within their community. Fulmer, who is the district migrant education program director at Clarksville, was recognized for her work in utilizing literacy to serve English as a second language and migrant students. STEPHANIE (CRIBBS) BARR ’00, a teacher in the Harrison (Ark.) School District, was named the recipient of the district’s Parsons-Burnett Scholarship Grant. The scholarship was one of 12 in the state awarded annually by the Arkansas Teachers Association. Barr, who teaches special education, plans to use the funds to pursue an advanced degree in curriculum and instruction for special education. In awarding the scholarship, Barr’s supervisor said, “Stepahnie is a rock star go-getter. She provides educational instruction to students 9-12 in a selfcontained environment. On top of that she has spearheaded the WOW (World of Work) program. She’s made real life experiences
for students with disabilities. She’s connected them with their interests.” KENDRA AKIN JONES ’01 recently accepted a position as assistant general counsel – environmental for United States Steel Corporation. She previously served at Tyson Foods as general counsel sustainability & environmental. Jones and her family live in Springdale, Ark. RYAN MARSHALL ’01 was named the new athletic director for the Beebe (Ark.) School District in April. Marshall recently completed his 11th season as the boys basketball coach at Beebe. In 11 seasons as head coach, Marshall led the Badgers to the postseason five times, including a trip to the state semifinals. Marshall graduated from Beebe in 1996 and just completed his 20th year of coaching. He said he has always wanted to move into an administrative role. He earned a master’s degree in sports administration in 2016. “Coach Marshall is a very strong communicator, highly organized and connected to our community,” said Chris Nail, superintendent of the Beebe School District. “He presented a vision for our athletic program moving forward that
includes increased student participation and an emphasis on developing great people. We know he will be a great fit and will lead our athletic program in the right direction.” BRIAN HELLERD ’02 was named the new boys basketball coach at Life Way Christian School in Centerton, Ark., in August. He has a master’s degree in sports administration from the United States Sports Academy in Alabama. JOHN MANNING ’03 was named the new principal of Deerpark Middle School in Round Rock, Texas, in July. Manning has served as the assistant principal of Pearson Ranch Middle School since 2017. During that time, he led the creation of Pearson Ranch’s Equity Task Force to advance learning, reflection, and creating an accepting environment to directly address equity for students and staff on the campus. He has a total of 17 years of experience in education, with 14 of those as a classroom teacher. Three of those years as a classroom teacher included serving as the Math Department Chair at Westwood High School. Manning earned a master’s in
Waters ’04 Receives Promotion
WADE WATERS ’04 earned a promotion in September to assistant state forester over fire management and emergency response operations, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s (TDA) Division of Forestry 44 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
announced. Waters has nearly 20 years of extensive experience in forestry and wildland fire management and has served as the Division of Forestry (TDF) fire chief since 2018. He earned an Excellence in Service award from Governor Bill Lee in 2020. As assistant state forester, Waters will manage all aspects of the Division of Forestry’s wildfire responses in coordination with local, state, and federal partners to minimize risks to life and property while ensuring the safety of employees. Before coming to Tennessee, Wade worked for the U.S. Forest Service, as a regional fire management coordinator for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and as a supervisory forestry technician engine captain for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He resides in Williamson County, Tennesee, with his wife and their two children.
MILDRED (OWENS) JOHNSON ‘79 of Fort Smith, Ark., was recently recognized by her hometown for her volunteer work at the city’s Miss Laura’s Visitor’s Center. Johnson, who turned 91 in August, was honored for volunteering 5,000 hours. The mayor of Fort Smith signed a proclamation naming July 28, as Mildred Johnson Day. “It’s fun to meet people,” Johnson said. “I’ve met people from China, who came along with interpreters. I’ve met people from every state and I don’t know how many foreign countries.”
ALU MNI /// C LA SS N OTES
management and administrative sciences from University of Texas at Dallas after graduating from Ozarks. DR. JUAN CARLOS GARCIA-PINA ROSETE ’04 has been hired as an assistant professor of management at University of the Ozarks, beginning the Fall 2021 Semester. Garcia graduated from Ozarks in 2004 with a degree in business administration and management with Cum Laude honors. He has taught in Mexico for the International University of La Rioja in Spain since 2020. “I’m always blessed by great opportunities and being able to come back to Ozarks is a true blessing,” Garcia said. “Ozarks gave me a great education, now I can give back to my beloved alma mater and contribute to future generations of great Ozarks students.” Garcia earned a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the Universidad Regiomontana in Monterrey, Mexico, before achieving his Ph.D. in business administration from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain in 2019. He served as a visiting research scholar at Oklahoma State University in 2017 and also has experience in the private sector as a finance and treasury manager and financial planning officer for various companies and agencies. Garcia and his wife, Alejandra, were married in March of 2021. JOE PENNINGTON ’05 and ANA CAROLINA (GARCIA) PENNINGTON ’08 welcomed their first child, Michael Joseph Pennington, to the family on Feb. 24, 2021. The family lives in Northwest Arkansas where Joe is a senior manager in crisis management at the Walmart Emergency Operations Center and Ana is senior foundation coordinator at Mercy Health Foundation. LUC GODIN ’06 was named the men’s head tennis coach at University of Louisiana in Lafayette this past summer. Godin, who spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach at Tyler Junior College in Texas, served as associate head coach for the Ragin’ Cajuns men’s program from 2017-20. Prior to arriving in Lafayette, he coached at University of Arkansas, Northwestern State and Drury.
Alumni Board of Directors
The University’s Alumni Association Board of Directors met on campus and via Zoom in July. Those who attended the meeting included, (seated, from left) JENNIFER FISHER ’93, PAULETTE (NIEUWENHOF) FREEMAN ’80, LISA GRUBEN-INNESS ’93, ELIZABETH (THAMES) ALLCON ’91, JESSALYN HALSTED ’08, (standing, from left) DAVID MORRIS ‘83, SCARLETT (WINFREY) MORRIS ’86, LOSCAR MEJIA ’01, DEEDEE (CORBIN) AUTRY ’87, DANIEL SIGALA ‘02, JACOBI (HAMPTON) CRISLER ‘06, EVAN CASTLEBERRY’17, SHANNON (CARLISLE) HUGGINS ‘91, WENDY (BALLINGER) BLACKWOOD ‘90, IRENE GILLESPIE ’70, EMILY TOWE ’12, BRITTANY BRANTLEY ‘13, TAYLOR JACKS ’12, MEREDITH JAMES ‘93, CYLESTE COPPAGE ‘97, NAOMI LEE ’85, (on screen, clockwise, from left) SONIA GONZALEZ ‘00, BRIAN HENDERSON ’02, FERNANDO GALINDO ’96, SAM BALLARD ’09 and DANIEL VALENCIA ’17.
DAVID RAY ’07 was elected as a state representative for Arkansas’ 40th House District in November of 2020. He and his wife, Jessica, live in Maumelle. BRANDON PIERSON ’09 graduated from the Oklahoma City University School of Law this past summer. ARTURO MIGUEL PEREZ ’11 joined Independent Sports & Entertainment (ISE) in Chicago in 2020 as a baseball player representative. He previously served as the senior coordinator of minor league and Latin American operations for the Chicago White Sox baseball team from 2015 to 2020.
ANDREA (DANKERT) SHINN ’12 was named director of communications for Gartner in Fort Myers, Fla., in March. Shinn has worked for the S&P 500 research and advisory company since 2012. MALISA (MAT SANI) WEST ’12 recently accepted a position as technical producer at CBS46 in Atlanta. She previously was a technical director at Wpec News 12 in West Palm Beach, Fla. She and her husband, Kyle, welcomed their first child, Hadrian Garrison, to the family on Sept. 21, 2020.
Continued on Page 46
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 45
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
TADERA (GARLAND) WISEMAN ’12 recently started a new position as third and fourth grade teacher in the Jasper School District’s Kingston (Ark.) campus. She is in her 10th year of teaching. Tadera and her husband, Shaun, have two boys, Carter and Cason.
JOHN SINGLER ’15 was named the head baseball coach at Muskogee (Okla.) High School in June. He has spent the last six seasons serving as an assistant coach for Muskogee, the high school that he played for and graduated from. He and his wife, Tori, reside in Muskoee.
EMILY TOWE ’12 graduated from the Arkansas-Little Rock Bowen School of Law in May and passed the Arkansas Bar Exam in July.
ALEX RODRIGUEZ ’15 accepted a position as an account manager for Aston Carter in San Antonio, Texas, in July. Aston Carter is a staffing and consulting firm. Rodriguez and his wife, Paige, have two daughters, including Sloan who was born in January of 2021.
COLBY WOOLVERTON ’13 is a sales manager of Arkansas Filter in North Little Rock. He was previously a health teacher and basketball coach for Cabot (Ark.) Public Schools from 2013 to 2021. He and his wife, Bethany, have two young sons. MOLLY (BOWMAN) MCINNIS ’14 was inducted into the Springdale (Ark.) Athletics Hall of Fame in May for her success as a softball standout at the school. She is a teacher in the Texarkana (Ark.) School District. She and her husband, Tyler, have two children, McKinley and Mack, who was born in May.
AARON ENGLAND ’16 and NICOLE (JUSTICE) ENGLAND ’18 of Clarksville, Ark., welcomed their first child, Mathias Vaughn, to the family on April 22, 2021. Nicole is the director of the Walton International Scholarship Program at Ozarks. CARLY WATTS ’16 of Fort Smith, Ark., has been named the new care coordination specialist at the Gregory Kistler Treatment Center in Fort Smith. She previously worked
at Sam’s Club. The Kistler Center was founded in 1978 by a fireman and his wife and has been providing occupational, physical and speech-language therapy to children for over 42 years. DIAMOND GOODWYN ’19 completed nursing school as an RN in 2021 and accepted a position at in the critical care unit at North Kansas City (MO.) Hospital. HAILEY WEATHERS ’20 is in her first year pursuing a doctor of veterinary medicine degree at the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine. ETHAN BOWMAN ’21 was named senior girl’s head basketball coach at Mansfield (Ark.) High School in June. On June, 6, 2021, he married Mallory Ward. The Bowmans live in Mansfield. DANIEL CLOUD ’21 accepted a position in June as a teacher and assistant track and football coach at Greene County Tech High School in Paragould, Ark. In January of 2021 he married Maegan Payne in Clarksville. The Clouds reside in Paragould.
Mayor David Goins ’83 DAVID GOINS ’83 was sworn in as the first Black mayor in the history of Alton, Ill., in May. Goins served as a police officer with the Alton Police Department for nearly 25 years and also served as pastor of the Morning Star Missionary Church for 19 years. Goins said Alton can expect the same commitment from him each day.“Honesty, compassion, transparency and a listening ear, and they know that I genuinely care about them,” he said. Goins added he’s proud to be the new mayor of Alton and is honored to be a pioneer for other African Americans. “I only wish my parents and my grandparents, my sister who passed away, could witness this moment,” he said. Goins has also been a member of the Alton School District Board of Education for the past four years. He and his wife, Sheila, have been married for 36 years and are proud parents to three adult children and they have 11 grandchildren.
46 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
JOSH FERRELL ’17 led Caddo Hills, Ark., to a Class 2A boy’s state basketball championship runnerup finish in April. Ferrell coached the team to a 31-5 record as well as conference and regional championships on his way to being named the Arkansas 2A Boys Coach of the Year and the head coach of the West team in the 2021 Arkansas High School All-Star Basketball Game. In May, Ferrell took the head boys basketball coaching position at Paris (Ark.) High School.
ALU MNI /// C LA SS N OTES
RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE
Friendship leads to marriage for Turners When Alison Villines ’12 visited Ozarks for the first time, she was eager to start playing basketball for the University and to meet her professors and advisors. She felt instantly comfortable at the college and was ready to make Ozarks her home away from home for the next four years. What Alison didn’t realize is that her future husband had already been at Ozarks for the previous two years and that she would soon be meeting the love of her life. T ad Turner ’10 had enrolled at Ozarks two years prior to continue his baseball career. Not wanting to attend a large university, he appreciated the community feel and small size of the campus. The two cannot pinpoint exactly when their paths crossed, but they do remember noticing each other on campus before they began their friendship during Alison’s freshman fall semester. She said that she doesn’t remember speaking with Tad until her sophomore year as she was moving in, when he came to help her and her roommate. From that point forward though, the two regularly had breakfast together, and their friendship quickly grew from there. Throughout their time as athletes and students, they often managed to be in the same place at the same time. These “chance” meetings were likely more organized on Tad’s end than he lead Villines to believe, recalling that he “ended up by chance having a couple of the same classes as she did my last semester of my senior year.” They also were often in the training room together, coincidently being scheduled at the same time to receive treatment for their injuries. Although the pair did not start dating until Tad was nearly done with his time at Ozarks, they were friends well before that time. Alison says she is ”thankful we had the opportunity to become friends before dating.” That friendship gave them a sweet memory from their time at Ozarks, and a memento from one of Turner’s last baseball games at Ozarks. He asked Alison out to
Tad Turner ‘10 and Alison Villines ‘12 at Tad’s graduation in 2010 (above photo) and with children Reid and Lynlee in 2021 (left photo).
dinner after the game, which happened to be the first one that she had attended. At dinner he gave her a baseball from the game in which he had made the last out in the field. Their son, Reid has that baseball on his dresser, reminding them of the love they share and their time at Ozarks. Looking back on their time that they had at Ozarks, both Tad and Alison said the University offered sweet memories of a close community and the opportunity to make lasting friendships and relationships. “Ozarks is the perfect size,” Alison said. “You have the opportunity to meet a lot of people who have similar interests as you. It led us to one another. We were married there, we received the best education, it gave us the family we have today and the best lifetime friends we could have ever asked for.” Tad and Alison live in Rogers, Ark., and have two children, Reid (4) and Lynlee (1). Tad is an assistant football coach at Rogers
Heritage High School and PE teacher at Greer Lingle Middle School. He has been coaching and teaching for the last 9 years. Alison taught and coached girls’ basketball at Greer Lingle for five years prior to having Reid. After she became a mother she began working from home running an online women’s boutique, Ali B’s Boutique. She is also currently perusing her master’s degree in school counseling from Arkansas State University. When the two have free time they enjoy being outdoors by biking, camping, and playing golf. (Editor’s Note: Right Time, Right Place is a new regular feature in the Today magazine featuring alumni who met their spouses while students at Ozarks. If you know of an Ozarks alumni couple who would make a good subject for this feature, please contact Sidni Carruthers at scarruthers@ozarks.edu.)
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 47
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
WEDDINGS Shelby Carlton ’19 and Bradley Rice ’19 were married on May 29, 2021, in Munger-Wilson Chapel on the U of O campus in Clarksville. The couple makes their home in Clarksville.
Brooke Tralmer ’15 married Tony Ramos ’16 on Sept. 27, 2020, in McKinney, Texas. The couple lives in Arlington, Texas. Cameron Coker ’14 married Amy Wetzel on March 27, 2021, at Mount Nebo in Arkansas. The Cokers live in North Little Rock, Ark., where he is a deputy prosecuting attorney for the Sixth Judical District.
Katie Adan ’08 married Toney Hayes on June 22, 2020 in Canton, Miss. The couple lives in Jackson, Miss., where Katie teaches elementary and middle school. 48 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
Paw Moo Lar ’21 married Saw Law Po at The Barn at Sleepy Hollow in Clarksville on July 10, 2021. The couple lives in Clarksville.
Gracie Millar ’21 and Kaenan Nix ’20 were married on May 28, 2021, in Malakoff, Texas. The couple lives in Texas.
ALU MNI /// C LA SS N OTES
Debora Castro ’16 married Ricardo Morales on Jan. 30, 2021, in El Salvador. The couple lives in El Salvador.
Amy Alderson ’22 and Bradley Thompson ‘21 were married on June 12, 2021, at the Bacchus Family Farm in Clarksville. The Thompsons live in Clarksville.
Micaela Winters ’19 and Jacob Barker ’18 were married on Jan. 1, 2020, at Victory Missionary Baptist Church in Russellville, Ark.
Karlee Henson ’18 and Sam Swartz ’19 were married on Oct. 10, 2020, at Swartz Farm in Granby, Mo. The couple lives in Clarksville, where Karlee is the downtown director for the Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce and Sam is an assistant baseball coach for Ozarks.
Aye Aye ’21 married Aye Par on May 29, 2021, in Clarksville in a traditional Karen wedding ceremony. The couple will live in Clarksville.
Emily Miller ’19 and John Bowen ’19 were married on Sept. 26, 2020, in Bella Vista, Ark. The couple lives in Bella Vista.
Breyden Varner ’19 and Joelle Long ’20 were married on March 12, 2021, in Huntsville, Ark. The Varners live in Coweta, Okla.
Summer Sanders ’20 and Bryce Johnson ’20 were married on May 15, 2021, in Huntsville, Ark. The Johnsons live in Russellville, Ark. TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 49
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
IN
MEMORIAM Juanita (Boone) Duncan ’42 of Fayetteville, Ark., died on Feb. 5, 2021, at the age of 99. After obtaining a master’s degree in education, she taught third-grade in Fayetteville for more than 30 years. She was an active member of the First Baptist Church in Fayetteville for more than 70 years. Marie Bell Stilley ’43 of Flagstaff, Ariz., died on Sept. 26, 2020, at the age of 100. Eleanor L. Miller ’44 of Cotati, Calif., died on Sept. 27, 2020, at the age of 98. During World War II, she worked as an expeditor in a B-25 factory in Kansas City and served as a teacher and principal in Cotati for 31 years. Doris (Owen) Ward ’48 of Haines, Alaska, died on Jan. 31, 2021, at the age of 93. She taught English in Haines from 1963 until her retirement
in 1975. She served on the Haines Borough Public Library board for 19 years and on the Alaska Governor’s Advisory Council for Libraries for 12 years. She was also a founding member of the Chilkat Valley Historical Society. Former Mayor Mike Case declared June 13, 2004 Doris Owen Ward Appreciation Day, in honor of her “significant contributions to the life of our community.” Jimmie L. (Earls) Kuchar ’49 of Arlington, Texas, died on Dec. 16, 2020, at the age of 93. She was a retired school teacher in Arkansas and Missouri. Juanita Ruth “Pudge” Blackard ’51 of Lovington, N.M., died on Jan. 17, 2021, at the age of 91. She married Oral George “Slug” Blackard ’50 in 1947 and they shared 65 years of marriage until his passing in 2013. She worked at Lea County Electric in Lovington for 25 years and was a lifetime member of the Methodist Church.
Former President R.L. Qualls Former University of the Ozarks President Dr. R.L. Qualls of Little Rock died on Feb. 15, 2021. Qualls served as president at Ozarks from 1974 to 1979 and also served as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees for many years in the 1990s and early 2000s. He graduated from Mississippi State University, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Louisiana State University before completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago and Vanderbilt University. He was a proud veteran having served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. Qualls served in numerous leadership positions including: President and Chairman of the Board of the University of the Ozarks; Director of the Department of Finance and Administration and cabinet secretary in former Governor Bill 50 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
Clinton’s administration; Executive Vice President of Worthen Banking Corporation; and President and CEO of Baldor Electric Company. In recognition of his accomplishments in business, he directed the Executive in Residence programs at Ozarks.
Donald K. Marts ’51 of Springdale, Ark., died Oct. 16, 2020, at the age of 91. He was a journalist and also worked at Phillips Litho and as a bank security officer and facilities and equipment manager in Springdale. A Presbyterian for 60 years, Don served the Springdale church as clerk of session for over 20 years Dr. Edgar “Ed” Lee Clark ’52 of Conway, Ark., died on Oct. 6, 2020, at the age of 91. He was a pharmacist who owned and operated Clark’s Drug Store on Front Street in Conway from 1964 to 1979 and was an accomplished woodworker. Jean Annette (King) Mills ’52 of Tulsa, Okla., died on March 22, 2021, at the age of 89. She was a retired Department of Health Services employee. The Rev. Dr. William James Weber ’53 of Bloomington, Ind., died on July 30, 2021, at the age of 90. Weber served as a Presbyterian minister for many years in Pennsylvania and Indiana and also had a private counseling practice. He was awarded a Sagamore of the Wabash by Gov. Evan Bayh for his work consulting with the State of Indiana on the state’s mental health system. Mary Ann (Weatherton) Turley ’54 of Long Beach, Calif., died on Jan. 2, 2021, at the age of 88. She was a native of Scranton, Ark. The Rev. Dr. Ralph Earl Ehren ’55 of Friscoe, Texas, died on Feb. 26, 2021, at the age of 90. He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. He served as a pastor to a number of churches in Wyoming and South Dakota as well as Colesville Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, for over 20 years. He served terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention of Maryland and Delaware as well as taught at a Korean Seminary in Northern Virginia. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Betty Hodges Ehren ’53. The Ehrens received the Alumni Legacy Award from the University in 2017.
ALU MNI /// IN MEMOR IA M
Charlotte (Downs) Davis ’57 of Paris, Ark., died on Nov. 26, 2020, at the age of 84. Early in her career, she performed and toured with the Metropolitan Opera in St. Louis and later taught music in the Paris School District for more than 34 years. Charles Leon Doty ’57 of Lexington, Ky., died on Dec. 26, 2020, at the age of 84. He taught college mathematics for a short time and went on to work for IBM for three decades, including on a project with NASA on the Saturn V Rocket Program. Dorcas Sue (Patterson) Pine ’57 of Hot Springs, Ark., died on Sept. 18, 2021, at the age of 86. A native of Clarksville, Pine was the former director of admissions and director of public relations at UA-Little Rock and former member of the U of O Alumni Board of Directors. Leroy Douglas ’60 of Coal Hill, Ark., died on March 6, 2021, at the age of 87. He was a former teacher, principal and coach in Coal Hill and Ozark, Ark. A former baseball and basketball standout at Ozarks, he was selected to the University’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
Connie Hamilton ’60 of Clarksville, Ark., died on Aug. 21, 2021, at the age of 82. She was co-founder of Heritage Inn Retirement Center. David Gorman Woodard ’62 of Tulsa, Okla., died on Jan. 20, 2021, at the age of 81. He was a retired investment broker. Hal G. Stillings ’63 of Tybee Island, Ga., died on June 5, 2021. Burley Burnett King ’64 of Clarksville, Ark., died on Dec. 11, 2020, at the age of 77. He was a public school educator for 52 years, serving as a social studies teacher and coach at Lavaca, Oark, Magazine, and Fourche Valley schools. In 1977, he returned to Clarksville where he taught high school history, global studies, psychology and sociology until his retirement in 2017. He served as a pastor for nearly 40 years. Carl Miller ’64 of Booneville, Ark., died on June 21, 2021, at the age of 79. He was a long-time history and U.S. Government teacher in Arkansas, including Booneville and Springdale.
Juanita Joy (Blackard) Ehren ’71 The University lost a beloved member of its family on May 14, 2021, with the passing of Juanita (Blackard) Ehren ’71 of Clarksville, Ark., at the age of 91. Her husband, Dr. Fritz Ehren served as president of University of the Ozarks in the 1980s. As First Lady, Juanita not only supported her husband but also encouraged the faculty and staff in their duties. The Ehrens hosted many functions allowing students to feel at home while enrolled at U of O. She was a member of Clarksville First Presbyterian Church where she served in many capacities. She especially enjoyed singing in the choir and being involved in the Presbyterian Women’s Association. She served as personnel director at UCA in Conway and taught
Carl Philip “Phil” Collins ’65 of Clarksville, Ark., died on June 22, 2021, at the age of 78. He was a football and track and field coach in high school and college from 1965 until his retirement in 2020. He led Joplin, Mo., to the Missouri Class AAA state championship. Hartzell Jones ’66 of Springdale, Ark., died on July 8, 2021, at the age of 76. He was a long-time coach and educator and served as deputy superintendent of the Springdale School District from 19832013 and was named Administrator of the Year by Arkansas Association Education Administrators in 2008. John Albert Nitche ’66 of Roselle Park, N.J., died on April 11, 2021, at the age of 78. He spent his entire career as a pharmaceutical executive and retired as vice president of Phyto Medics. Mary Rosanna “Zana” (Boone) Botzow ’68 of Monett, Mo., died on July 26, 2021, at the age of 75. She was a retired English teacher and a long-time member of the Waldensian Presbyterian Church and Lions Club International. Arthur “Art” Russell Leonard ’68 of St. Mary’s, Ga., died on Aug. 26, 2021, at the age of 75. Don Gene Mendenhall ’70 of Van Buren, Ark., died on Aug. 14, 2021, at the age of 74. He taught in Van Buren for 25 years and was named teacher of the year. He also served in music ministry for 50 years. Laura Lee Whitson ’70 of Fort Smith, Ark., died on April 25, 2021, at the age of 73. She taught at Howard Elementary and Trusty Elementary schools in Fort Smith for 39 years. After retiring, she worked part-time at Valley Behavioral Health and volunteered as a CASA caseworker.
at Ozarks as well as at Arkansas Valley Vocational Technical School and Petit Jean Vocational Technical School.
Continued on Page 52
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 51
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
Stephen L. Daniel ’71 of North Richland Hills, Texas, died on March 27, 2021. Tonia Lucille Blackburn ’73 of Van Buren, Ark., died on Nov. 8, 2020, at the age of 69. She was a retired school teacher in Fort Smith, a member of the Church of Christ and a district trainer for the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. James “Jim” Robert Murray ’75 of Camden, Ark., died on Dec. 26, 2020, at the age of 69. He was a stock broker for over 30 years and served on the U of O Board of Trustees for several years. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Camden where he served as a deacon and elder for many years. James Guest Sr. ’77 of Elaine, Ark., died July 9, 2020, at the age of 72. He was a U.S. Army veteran. Ralph H. Newkirk ’82 of Aurora, Ill., died on Jan. 12, 2021, at the age of 62. He worked for the City of Aurora for more than 20 years in the streets department.
Paula Sue Bodner ’84 of Fort Smith, Ark., died on March 2, 2021, at the age of 59. She taught English in the countries of Egypt, Turkey, Columbia and Puerto Rico. She also taught English as a second language at Northside High School in Fort Smith until she retired in 2019. In 2010, she was presented with the Golden Apple Award from the Fort Smith Classroom Teachers Association. Norma Shaffer ’84 of Fort Smith, Ark., died on Oct. 4, 2020, at the age of 83. She was an educator in Fort Smith for more than 30 years. Joyce Ann Spears ’88 of Greenwood, Ark., died on April 6, 2021, at the age of 82. She retired from Graphic Packaging, where she worked in accounting and payroll and was a former state president for the Business and Professional Women group. Edward Anderson Copeland ’92 of Shreveport, La., died on May 17, 2021, at the age of 56. Copeland owned and operated a home inspection business and was employed as a landman. He was also an avid painter and a member of the Harley Owners organization.
University Mourns Loss of Susan Jones In October the University family mourned the loss of one of its own, Susan Jones, who worked for Aramark at Ozarks since 2008. She died at the age of 48 after a battle with cancer. Jones was known for her tireless work ethic, her love of Ozarks and her selfless and generous heart. Colleagues and friends tell of her inviting students who couldn’t go home over to her house for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Of her quietly paying off a student’s utility bill. Of her engaging and inclusive personality that drew people to be around her. Of her love for family and enormous pride that two of her children were graduates of Ozarks. As one former student said, “Susan always made me feel loved, cared for, and welcomed. She was my first boss, and she set a high bar for the followings to come. She encouraged me with her words, and her ‘I’m proud of you’ meant a lot.” 52 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
Heidi (Garrison) Darter ’94 of Conway, Ark., died on Jan. 15, 2021, at the age of 49. A native of Lamar, Ark., she was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. William “Bill” Hanuska ’95 of Hartman, Ark., died on Oct. 20, 2020, at the age of 65. Dr. Stewart Michael “Mike” Condren of Stillwater, Okla., died on Nov. 21, 2020, at the age of 78. He taught chemistry at Ozarks from 1971 to 1981. Roy M. Johnson of Clarksville, Ark., died on Jan. 21, 2021, at the age of 86. He was a business owner and former member and chair of the University’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Charles Stuart “Chuck” Larson of Clarksville, Ark., died on Aug. 1, 2021, at the age of 87. He served as an education professor at Ozarks from 1971-87 and also served as the dean of the teacher education program. He was a U.S. Army veteran and a part-time magician. Harold Leo Stepp Jr. of Clarksille, Ark., died on Feb. 4, 2021, at the age of 68. He served in the U.S. Army and was a retired groundskeeper at U of O. Dr. Bruce Ryan Swinburne of Daytona Beach, Fla., died on May 22, 2021, at the age of 88. He was an educator for more than 50 years and a lifetime member of the University’s Board of Trustees. Ann (Killebrew) Taddie of Alcoa, Tenn., died on Nov. 12, 2020, at the age of 76. She was a former music and voice professor. The Rev. William “Bill” J. Woordard of Jenks, Okla., died on July 24, 2021. He was a former chaplain at the University. Ann Drummond Woolley of Ada, Okla., died on May 11, 2021, at the age of 92. She was a former trustee for the University.
MEMORIALS /// H ON OR A R IA
MEMORIALS AND HONORARIA James Dorman ’57 Jo Ann Dunn Choate ’57 Charles Leon Doty ’57 Roy Horne ’57 Leroy Douglas ’60 Anonymous Charles and Dorothy Angell Lonnie Qualls ’55 and Cathy Angell and Ronna Biggs Levada Mathis Qualls ’55 Barbara Angell Vogl and Rocky Vogl Mary Jane Spillers Dennis and Cindy Keeling Robert (Bob) Eddington ’54 Lonnie Qualls ’55 and Jane Wilson Holder ’55 Levada Mathis Qualls ’55 Relf Efurd ’53 Martha Holden Bagley ’57 Martha Dollar Efurd ’56 Jo Ann Dunn Choate ’57 Fritz Ehren ’53 Katherene Bagwell Bill Aydelott ’53 Bagwell Foundation Betty Hodges Ehren ’53 Richard Bagwell Jane Wilson Holder ’55 Bagwell Foundation Rick and Sherée Niece Tomie Bailey Edna Elkins Patterson ’67 and Geneice Brown John Patterson Marge Lu Baker David Pridgin ’71 and Joseph Baker ’69 Reba Geels Pridgin ’81 Doug Black Lonnie Qualls ’55 and Anonymous Levada Mathis Qualls ’55 Ann Filyaw William Rail ’52 and George and Janet Redfearn Maxine Phillips Rail ’52 Robbie Blakemore Juanita Blackard Ehren ’71 Martha Hess Bill Ballard ’56 Myrtis Watson Blocker ’69 Robin and Lynn Daniel A. B. Blocker, II ’70 and Cherry Blocker Anonymous Marian Riddell Cargile ’64 Bill Blackard and the Children of John W. Cargile ’61 Bill & Mary Blackard Brent Cater Laurie and Steve Fisher Chapter “Q” P.E.O. Doug and Jan Hardgrave Floyd Chaney Jane Wilson Holder ’55 Nancy Giffhorn Roy Horne ’57 Carl “Phil” Collins ’65 Larry and Cindy Isch Mira Ann Ingram Leister ’63 and Maxine Koerdt Marvin C. Leister, Jr. Mira Ann Ingram Leister ’63 and Edna Elkins Patterson ’67 and Marvin C. Leister, Jr. John Patterson Jetta Martin Marcia Sharp Cooper ’72 Rick and Sherée Niece Donna Wolfe Wimp ’73 Ann Patterson ’75 and Max Snowden Heidi Garrison Darter ’94 Edna Elkins Patterson ’67 and Samantha Snyder Carpenter ’97 and John Patterson Jeff Carpenter Jason and Heather Patton Jennifer Newman Chavers ’96 and Kay Kirby Pitts ’70 Roger Chavers David Pridgin ’71 and Angela Elizandro Howard ’97 and Reba Geels Pridgin ’81 Scott Howard William Rail ’52 and Janna Fawcett Harris ’99 Maxine Phillips Rail ’52 Jeffrey Mixon David Rawhouser ’69 and Cara Rollans ’97 Jill Rawhouser Gregory Thompson ’91 and Loyce Ann Bean Taylor ’72 and Christel Thompson ’93 Harve Taylor, III Eva Davis Darrell Williams ’76 Sonja McCuen ’88 Mitchell S. and Esther H. Epperson R. Louis Dewett ’57 Susan Smith Epperson ’62 and Mary Holloway Dewett ’58 Jon Epperson Johnny Dillard ’70 Stanley Ezell James Johnson ’57 Kimberly Spicer ’98 Helen Turner Donaldson Marge Figliulo Hilda Turner Maura Figliulo Howerton ’80 and Bradley Howerton
July 1, 2020 through July 31, 2021
MEMORIALS
Jim Forkner ’54 Katrina Labude ’78 Joel Gibbons ’57 Jo Ann Dunn Choate ’57 James T. Griffis James Lynn ’64 and Erma Lynn Bobbie Head Hamill ’66 Sylvia Kauffeld Kinnear ’66 Bessie Joyce Lamb Higgs ’49 Donna Higgs Jones Dylan Hill ’15 Edwin and Lynn Bell Duane and Sharon Birdsong Joe W. Hoing Pat Farmer Lisa Hampton Samantha Mosley Hoing ’11 and Montana Hoing ’13 Rick and Sherée Niece George Pittenger ’91 and Loraine Pittenger Keith and Sara Stucky William (Bill) Lee Holder ’52 Jane Wilson Holder ’55 Jerry Holder Fred Statzer Flora Eustice Horne ’54 Charles Horne Wiley Lin Hurie Frank and Reba Parks Frank Ingram ’48 and Marie Ingram ’33 Mary Barnsley Martindale ’63 and Kenneth Martindale Doug Jeffries David and Teri Daily David Michael Johnson ’68 Phyllis Johnson Jones ’63 Roy Johnson Katie Cecil Fred and Marlene Dougan Dawn J. M. Dvoracek First Security Bank Ron Laster ’64 and Maribeth Laster Rick and Sherée Niece Don Pennington ’68 David Pridgin ’71 and Reba Geels Pridgin ’81 Harve Taylor, III and Loyce Ann Bean Taylor ’72 Darrell Williams ’76 Anna Lou Kauffeld Sylvia Kauffeld Kinnear ’66 Lawrence and Ethelda Kauffeld Sylvia Kauffeld Kinnear ’66 Fred A. and Ophelia Jacobs Kauffeld Sylvia Kauffeld Kinnear ’66 Wanda Kauffeld Shively ’54 Dorothy Carlisle Kelly ’51 Mira Ann Ingram Leister ’63 and Marvin C. Leister, Jr.
Continued on Page 54
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 53
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
Burley Burnett King ’64 Ron Laster ’64 and Maribeth Laster W. Ernest King, Jr. ’41 and Maribeth King Alice King Kutz and Kurt Kutz Shelli Stewart Lamberson Debbie Stallings Mooney ’82 and Charles Mooney Jim LeClair Margaret LeClair Donald Mabry ’63 James Lynn ’64 and Erma Lynn Dallas Maples ’59 Jo Ann Dunn Choate ’57 Lisa Park Martin Mitzi Carol Link Jim Trone ’70 and Marilyn Houston Trone ’66 Mary Roades McCaffery ’59 Joyce Wilson Marler ’59 Edith McChesney Karen Qualls Hilton ’80 and Pat Hilton ’74 Bernice McFerran Kenneth McFerran ’63 Susan Jones McKee Rick and Sherée Niece James C. McNeal ’65 Marie Brown McNeal ’70 Christina (Tina) Minden ’89 Jim Trone ’70 and Marilyn Houston Trone ’66 Holly Mitchell Robert K. Bennett James (Jim) Murray ’75 Bobbie Bradley, Sarah and Cris Gibson, John Raley Matthew Bradley Anonymous Dawn J. M. Dvoracek Steven Endsley ’74 Ruskin Falls Patricia Farr Sandra Hammond, Alice Crain and Paula Young Susan Keller Mike and Patti Lienhart Dennis and Anita Lott Robert and Kathy Millard Debra Murray Dorothy J. Murray Richard Murray Rick and Sherée Niece David Pridgin ’71 and Reba Geels Pridgin ’81 R. L. and Nancy Qualls Stephanie E. Qualls Jerome and Marilyn Schieder Scot and Kathleen Shoemaker Mary Jean Smith Sarah Watkins Ralph Newkirk ’82 Betty Brownson Claire Crawford Fuller Lake Association Doyle Gaines ’82 Thomas Konen Margaret Newkirk
54 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
Donna Perry Robert Wofford ’79 and Debra Bartlett Wofford ’77 Jack Overholt Judy Alexander Boreham James and Ann Bruning Ann Childs Cynthia Conger Anonymous Scott and Mary Alice Hallman David and Linda Hargis Donnie and Karla Harkreader Ellen Jackson Warren Jansen Kathleen Lundahl Carol Ann McAdams Moore Stephens Tiller LLC Jo Overholt Clifton and Sylvia Pannell Jaye Parsons Steve and Lucy Pittman Gail Rumble Stephen and Sandra Smith John and Martha Tull Rosemary Umpleby Marilyn Weidler Lois Weitz E. Wynn Wilson Tommy E. Owens ’70 Glenda Dennis Owens ’71 and Steve Owens Edward Myron Parker Tommy and Judy Parker Mary Virginia Hurie Parks ’43 Kathryn King Bost ’43 J. T. Patterson ’38 and Lucile Sanders Patterson Ann Patterson ’75 and Max Snowden Scout Snowden Jack T. Patterson ’65 Patricia Arthur Len Bradley Ben Caruth Kent Dolan Cecil ’80 and Terri Cecil Chapter “Q” P.E.O. Clarksville Rotary Club Len and Avis Cotton Billy Dickerson, II ’77 and Marion Dickerson Anonymous Angela Duran Beth Patterson Duvall ’65 Evan DuVall and Sarah Murray Beth Eaton and Paul Eaton Pat Farmer Laurie and Steve Fisher Buck and Holly Foster Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP Karen Qualls Hilton ’80 and Pat Hilton ’74 Jane Wilson Holder ’55 Larry and Cindy Isch Eileen Kradel ’85 and Richard Kradel Ann and Michael Lafferty Ron Laster ’64 and Maribeth Laster Mira Ann Ingram Leister ’63 and Marvin C. Leister, Jr.
Rebecca and John Lester James Lynn ’64 and Erma Lynn Tony and Leanne Mansell Vernon McDaniel ’55 Linda Lea McDougal ’90 and Richard McDougal Steve and Pat McElmurry Paulette Nieuwenhof Freeman ’80 and James Freeman George and Betty Overbey Ann Patterson ’75 and Max Snowden Sharon Beth Patterson Don Pennington ’68 Dolan Phillips Laura Pittman ’79 Kendrick and Lindsey Prewitt David Pridgin ’71 and Reba Geels Pridgin ’81 David Pyron ’66 and Louan Arndt Pyron ’82 Scout Snowden Harve Taylor, III and Loyce Ann Bean Taylor ’72 Paul and Savannah Taylor Jamie Ward & AR Association for Infant Mental Health Board Members Jo Ward Turner and Caroline Whitson Judy Koon Willcoxon Darrell Williams ’76 Leta Willis Bruce and Charlotte Wilson Wyly Rommell, PLLC Ted Young ’58 and Joe Ann West Young ’57 Marie Ehren Peek ’53 Mira Ann Ingram Leister ’63 and Marvin C. Leister, Jr. Susie Maude Pittman ’39 Anonymous Patricia (Corky) Porter Thomas Porter ’69 Ethel J. Powell ’79 Peter and Connie Bradish Robert (R.L.) Qualls Arvid Bean ’78 and Sharon Jones Bean ’78 Rick and Sherée Niece Lonnie Qualls ’55 and Levada Mathis Qualls ’55 William Rail ’52 and Maxine Phillips Rail ’52 Jonathan and Donna Manley Wolfe Michael A. Rail ’80 Sue Rail Wilkerson ’82 and Danny Wilkerson Ruby Steuart Reynolds ’48 James Lynn ’64 and Erma Lynn Jerry Rice ’53 Jane Wilson Holder ’55 Jeannie Smith Rick and Sherée Niece T.L. and Lois Smith Kathryn King Bost ’43 James Lynn ’64 and Erma Lynn Susan Smith Epperson ’62 and Jon Epperson Curtis Lee Spence Lance Spence ’91 and Virginia Spence
MEMORIALS /// H ON OR A R IA
Robert Dennis Spurlock ’65 Carl Miller ’64 Harold Leo Stepp, Jr Stan Brown Rick and Sherée Niece Bruce R. Swinburne Judy Borck Larry and Cindy Isch Rick and Sherée Niece Daniel Taddie Loyce Ann Bean Taylor ’72 and Harve Taylor, III Ann Taddie Pat Farmer Rick and Sherée Niece Kimberly Spicer ’98 Nancy Tamuty ’59 Donald L. Tamuty John Tate Mark and Lynette Tate Gaye Strong Taylor ’53 Chapter “Q” P.E.O. Jane Wilson Holder ’55 James Johnson ’57 Mira Ann Ingram Leister ’63 and Marvin C. Leister, Jr. Sue Patterson Pine ’57 and Bob Pine Jerry Allen Trowbridge ’66 Ethan Harbour ’12 Jake Tull ’10 Allen Dobson Diane Lyons David and Selena Overholt Patricia Overholt Mary Ellen Richards John and Martha Tull Betsy Tull Landers Sue Tull Lester Turner Sammy Manning ’71 and Virginia Figliulo Manning ’74 Mary Opal Turner Hilda Turner Doris Lou Owen Ward ’48 Shannon McPhetres B.J. Webb ’63 Sylvia Kauffeld Kinnear ’66 Don Gene White Sylvia Kauffeld Kinnear ’66 Linda Kauffeld White ’67 Guy and Freda Kauffeld Willett ’52 Sylvia Kauffeld Kinnear ’66 Deborah D. Williams ’81 Jerrod Cowell Courtney Taylor ’09 Nathan Williams ’07 and Randa Williams Virginia Laster Williams ’43 Bruce H. Williams ’43 and Tracy Williams Paula Wills Mary Inez Henson Rick and Sherée Niece Dean Wimp ’73 Donna Wolfe Wimp ’73 Ann Woolley Rick and Sherée Niece Wayne Workman ’44 Kathryn King Bost ’43
July 1, 2020 through July 31, 2021
HONORARIA The Advancement Team Shannon Carlisle Huggins ’91 and Bryan Huggins Cory Maag Bill J. Alexander ’55 and Linda Alexander Ray and Orvalene Holbrook Cathy Angell & Ronna Biggs Barbara Angell Vogl and Rocky Vogl Barbara Angell Vogl & Rocky Vogl Cathy Angell and Ronna Biggs Professor Rebecca Bailey and The Company of PROOF Pat Farmer David Brane ’69 James Lynn ’64 and Erma Lynn Jane Cater Blake Rexroat ’06 and Lauren Dunn Rexroat Brenda Wheeler DuBois ’69 Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Shawn Spencer James Duff ’63 and Sue Kauffeld Duff ’63 Linda Kauffeld White ’67 Susan Edens ’92 Blake Rexroat ’06 and Lauren Dunn Rexroat Rebecca Wheeler Eldridge ’01 Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Shawn Spencer Susan Smith Epperson ’62 James Lynn ’64 and Erma Lynn Lance and Valerie Fetters Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Shawn Spencer Layne Garcia ’18 Falon Hanson ’19 James C. Goodson ’65 James Lynn ’64 and Erma Lynn Linda Kauffeld White ’67 Jeff Inness ’98 and Lisa Gruben Inness ’93 Pat Farmer Eugene Harris ’53 Pat Farmer Brett Hays ’06 Harold and Pam Hays Dennis & Cindy Angell Keeling Barbara Angell Vogl and Rocky Vogl Kathryn King Bost ’43 Don Pennington ’68 Judy P. King Kathryn King Kish Sylvia Kauffeld Kinnear ’66 Linda Kauffeld White ’67 Ryan LeClair ’20 Margaret LeClair Wanda Knox Mabry ’64 James Lynn ’64 and Erma Lynn Greta Rowbotham Marlow ’84 Blake Rexroat ’06 and Lauren Dunn Rexroat
Kenneth McFerran ’63 Dawn J. M. Dvoracek Steve and Heber McKissack Pat Farmer Roger Newell ’66 James Lynn ’64 and Erma Lynn Ann Patterson ’75 Beth Patterson Duvall ’65 Donald Pennington ’68 Kathryn King Bost ’43 Rebecca Peterson ’20 Falon Hanson ’19 Lonnie Qualls ’55 and Levada Mathis Qualls ’55 Pat Farmer Wanda Kauffeld Shively ’54 Linda Kauffeld White ’67 Wirt and Torpy Skinner Thomas and Linda Skinner Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 Darrel Wheeler, Jr. ’75 and Sharon Goza Wheeler Gene and Lynda Stephenson Pat Farmer Cyndy Ballard Styles ’81 Bill Ballard ’56 Harve Taylor and Loyce Ann Taylor ’72 Pat Farmer Wanda Walker Pat Farmer Darrel Wheeler ’75 Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Shawn Spencer Sharon Goza Wheeler Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Shawn Spencer Darren and Larry Wheeler Stepp Angela Wheeler Spencer ’98 and Shawn Spencer Bruce Williams ’43 Sarah Raska Dawn J. M. Dvoracek Emilie (Weave) Williams ’19 Falon Hanson ’19 Tracy Williams Bruce H. Williams ’43
If you would like to make an Honoraria or Memorial in recognition of a loved one to the University of the Ozarks Annual Fund, please contact the Advancement Office at 479-979-1230.
OZARKS.EDU/GIVE
TODAY, FA LL 2021 /// 55
UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS
A FINAL WORD FROM SHANNON CARLISLE HIGGINS ‘91 IT IS VITAL THAT WE STAY CONNECTED (Editor’s Note: Shannon Carlisle Huggins ’91 of Arlington, Texas, is a senior vice president for contract strategy and population health at Methodist Health System in Dallas. She is currently serving her second term as president of the University’s Alumni Association.)
Dear Alumni Family, Throughout 2020 and 2021, University of the Ozarks as well as the rest of the world faced numerous challenges. We have seen unprecedented strength and resilience. As an Alumni Association Board, we are charged to highlight, amplify, and connect alumni with others in the community and around the world. This past year has shown how important those connections and, also, how technology can assist in facilitating those connections, even amid a world pandemic. One example is that even despite isolation and nations’ borders closing, I am proud to say that we currently have more alumni board members living internationally than ever before. It is vital that we stay connected. The Alumni Association Board has been working hard to expand avenues to connect with other alumni and also garner a connection with our “future alumni” – current Ozarks students. This past year we hosted several virtual gatherings for alumni, something that was completely new for us. To connect with the future alumni, we identified on-campus needs where we could assist and provide for their needs, including contributing health and hygiene items to the University’s new student food pantry. There are so many ways that Ozarks alumni can contribute their time, talent and treasures to assist the University and its students. You can give your time by attending on-campus events, taking part in alumni dinners in your area or supporting our athletic teams either at home or on the road. Your talents can help the University in myriad ways, such as through community service projects or by assisting with employment networking opportunities for our students. And, you can help a current or future Ozarks student achieve a transformational education through your treasures by supporting the Ozarks Annual Fund. I ask that you consider contributing your time, talents and/or treasures to this University. You are valuable and needed. Every time I visit the campus, I am flooded with memories. These memories always bring a smile to my face. If you have not made it back to the University lately, I urge you to do so. A great time to come back to campus is during Homecoming, scheduled each October. Perhaps setting foot back on campus will bring back similar joyous memories. I would like to connect with each of you to enjoy some fellowship and hear about your memories of your time on campus. Together - We. Are. Ozarks.
Shannon Carlisle Huggins ’91 President, Alumni Association
56 /// TODAY, FA L L 2 0 2 1
LEAVE YOUR LEGACY And Pave the Way for Current and Future Students By purchasing a PERSONALIZED BRICK in the ALUMNI PLAZA for yourself or a classmate, you’re not only leaving a LEGACY at OZARKS, but you’re also helping support current students through the Ozarks Annual Fund (OAF). With your gift of $300 or more to OAF, you can add your name or the name of a friend or loved one to the Alumni Plaza. This is a wonderful way for you to honor or memorialize a friend or loved one who attended OZARKS. Contact the Alumni Engagement Office at 479-979-1234 to order your brick today. OZARKS.EDU/ALUMNI-BRICK-ORDER
VALUES 1834 SOCIETY Diversity ENGAGEMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
ti o n
Y
M CO
M
IT UN
nor
Do
es I M P A C T s
Students
U
ni
e
Life ac
Influence
en
os
Sa ti s f
MISSION
qu
ozarks.edu/1834
CONNECTION
STRENGTH
Give Back
rp @Uoza rks
PRIDE
Happi ne ss
Pu FOLLOW US or LIKE US
Inspire
APPRECIATION
BOND
SERVICE
Future