RONNA PENNINGTON
Courtesy of the Malvern Daily Record
Members of the College of the Ouachitas Board of Trustees heard a presentation from Southern Arkansas University on Monday, Nov. 23, to hear what SAU President Dr. Trey Berry envisions for COTO’s future if the two schools were to form an alliance. With College of the Ouachitas President Dr. Stephen Schoonmaker’s final day approaching, COTO’s Board of Trustees is exploring all options. Schoonmaker’s resignation will be effective on Dec. 31, so the board is facing an important decision – will they hire a new president and keep operating independently or form an alliance to align with another university system? The trustees have previously heard proposals from Arkansas State University and Henderson State University.
Board of Trustees Chairman Diana Reggans said the board is simply in the fact-finding stages at this point. The decision is a big one, and the board is not going to take the decision lightly, she said. There is no timeline or deadline in place at this time for making that decision, she added. SAU is the third of three proposals the trustees expected to hear.
At Monday’s luncheon meeting, Berry told the trustees that he wants what is best for COTO. “If SAU is the way you want to go, great. If someone else is the way you want to go, great. If you want to stay independent, great,” he said. There are some programs that he believes would be beneficial for a collaborative effort, he said. One specifically mentioned is an early childhood program that both COTO and SAU teach in Sheridan. “COTO teaches the first two and we teach the last two,” he said, adding that a collaborative effort between the two colleges could benefit students. SAU already has a relationship with COTO, Berry said. He explained that SAU helped COTO establish its Honors College and that students who graduate from COTO’s Honor’s College and who transfer to SAU to complete a four-year degree, also get honors designation there.
Berry said the SAU system is currently made up of only two schools – the four-year university in Magnolia and SAU Tech in Camden. “SAU is not a big system. To me, that’s an advantage,” Berry said, adding that he visits both campuses regularly and that both campuses are known for their caring attitudes toward students. COTO Trustee Rodney Allen asked Berry if SAU aspires to add more schools under its umbrella. “No. If we get too big, we lose that ability to care for our students,” Berry replied. He said SAU is interested in COTO because of the school’s potential.
“COTO is on the busiest interstate in the state of Arkansas. You’re within 40 miles of two important cities. COTO should be booming,” Berry said.
This year, enrollment is up by 16 percent over last year at SAU, Berry said. Berry, in his first year as president at SAU, said his goal for the Magnolia campus was to reach an enrollment of 5,000 by 2025. This year’s enrollment is 4,138, he added. Allen asked how he plans to stay small while setting goals to grow. Berry said that the university continues to hire teachers to keep the student-to-teacher ratio low. “Our student/teacher ratio is 17:1. We hired seven new faculty members this year to meet the demand,” Berry explained.
Berry said enrollment is up because the university strives to offer new and innovative programs of study. SAU offers degrees in engineering, industrial technology, computer science, agriculture and nursing, just to name a few. SAU also has the only degree program in game design and animation in the state. The university is also adding degrees in cyber security and welding engineering to meet demands. “Welding engineering is the highest degree in welding you can get,” he said. The degree program is being added at the request of Lockheed Martin. “There are only three places in the nation right now that you can get this degree – in Ohio, Illinois and California,” he added.
Berry said COTO would have a number of benefits if joining the SAU system. Recruitment, program development and 100 percent tuition waivers for faculty and staff were among those he noted. Developing recruiters and new programs of study are vital, he added. Berry said COTO could maintain its own board, possibly as a Board of Visitors, if desired, and that SAU would want to put a Malvern/HSC resident on its board of trustees. He also said the COTO Foundation Board is definitely important to keep in Malvern. As far as branding goes, he said COTO could decide to change its name or not. He said with the college’s recent name change to COTO, he suggested not changing or re-branding. “You’re already known in this area,” he added.
No decision was made at the meeting. Other members of the COTO Board of Trustees present for the meeting were Rick McClure, secretary, and Mark Roberts.