College of the Ouachitas, a nearly 50-year-old higher-education institution in Malvern, might be one of the state’s best-kept secrets, said Steve Rook, the new college president. He’s working hard to let the secret out to attract more interest in the school.
The college was named a Top 10 College in the nation by the Aspen Institute in 2012 and has the world’s largest 3-D print lab, Rook pointed out.
“I’ve been exposed to two-year colleges across the state, and I’m surprised at how [College of the Ouachitas is] not as well-known. It’s really an outstanding institution,” he said, noting that his immediate goal is to increase the college’s exposure throughout its five-county service area — Hot Spring, Saline, Grant, Dallas and Clark counties.
The college is a good choice for someone seeking a technical or transfer degree, Rook said.
“We have transfer rates that are higher than state and national averages. Our technical graduates enter careers with salaries above state averages,” he said.
Rook comes to Malvern from Rich Mountain Community College in Mena. It’s been a 30-year journey to his current position. When he chose education as his career path in 1986 — the same decade that he sported a mullet and an earring — he set his sights on being a university president. After working in the two-year-versus-four-year environment, his goal changed to being a college president, he said.
“I am passionate about what we do at two-year colleges,” Rook said. “We take all students and change their lives.”
College of the Ouachitas is one of his “dream jobs,” he said. His mother and her family are from Malvern, so he spent a lot of time in the city as a boy.
“I actually lived with my grandparents between graduate school and my first professional job,” Rook said. “Malvern always seemed like home, and getting this position is a dream come true.”
Rook assumed his new role in June. It’s been great so far, he said.
“The people at College of the Ouachitas and in Malvern have been very warm and welcoming to my family and me,” he said.
Until his junior year in college at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Rook was on the lawyer track, seeking a degree in business, he said. His path changed when he went to a national student conference in Chicago with Jack Lassiter, UAM vice chancellor for Student Affairs. Lassiter took Rook aside and encouraged him to pursue a career in higher education, Rook said.
“Dr. Lassiter took me to the placement center and showed me the graduate assistantships and entry careers available,” Rook said. “I was hooked, and to this day, I love what I do. This story also shows, as educators, the impact we have on students with kind words and encouragement.”
Except for one year of graduate school in Illinois and six years working at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, Rook has lived in Arkansas. A “proud Arkansas native,” he grew up in Gould, where he admired his four older cousins, who were brothers.
“All four brothers — Mike, Ricky, Randy and Mark Murphy — were outstanding, both athletically and academically,” Rook said. “All four graduated from college. Randy walked away from a football scholarship to focus on academics. Of the four brothers, three are bankers, and one is a lawyer. They were excellent role models, and I still look up to them even today.”
Rook wasn’t as athletic as his cousins, but he said he loved playing basketball and football.
“I love to watch football and any sport with anything to do with Arkansas,” he said.
In fact, Rook said, he picks his pro teams based on who on the team is from The Natural State.
As a leader in education, Rook also keeps up with current events and works hard to maintain good working relationships with legislators.
“When you work in higher education, you have to stay on top of current events,” he said, noting that this practice helps keep a finite focus on the college’s mission to serve students at the highest level.
Some of the long-term goals for the college, Rook said, include everyone working together in a caring manner to meet the needs of students, employees and the community; working hard to create greatness and success in others without regard to personal credit or reward; and everyone striving to spread the story of the college throughout Arkansas.
College of the Ouachitas has about 1,350 students enrolled this semester. It’s important to note that the institution offers comprehensive education, Rook said.
“We’re not just a technical institute. This certainly doesn’t diminish our technical program, but we offer an extensive catalog of two-year and transfer programs,” he said.
There are 50 3-D printers on campus, Rook said, noting that one of the major projects at the college included putting together components for artificial limbs. The 3-D lab also encourages entrepreneurship and creativity in students, he said.
In the nursing program, students use mannequins that function as simulators and respond and interact like humans.
“This allows our students to work on them without putting real people at risk. We have four adult-sized mannequins and one infant,” he said.
Most students choose the college because of its proximity to where they live or work, Rook said. All of the school’s core general classes transfer to any state university in Arkansas.
He said he hopes that when the college sets up students for a transfer program or career, they will eventually return to Malvern.
“It’s a great community, and we’re lucky to have the support we do from the community,” he said.
The college’s foundation provides about 20 scholarships per semester, Rook said. The foundation has hosted a bingo bash for years, but the organization is looking at different avenues to raise funds for the scholarships, he said.
An art sale is planned for late September or early October, he said. More details, when determined, will be available on the school’s website, www.coto.edu.