College of the Ozarks

The college charges no tuition for full-time students due to its student work program and donations. The program requires students to work 15 hours a week at an on-campus work station and two 40-hour work weeks during breaks. A summer work program is available to some students to cover room and board costs.^[6] The college refers to itself as "Hard Work U"^[7] and places emphasis on "character" education.

History

Forsyth

The school was first proposed in 1901 as a

Forsythe was said to have been inspired to make the proposal after encountering a boy on a squirrel hunt who told him that his parents couldn't afford to send him to the closest high school 40 miles (60 km) away in Springfield, Missouri.^[8]

The School of the Ozarks opened on September 11, 1906, in a 75-by-50-foot (23-by-15-meter) building atop Mount Huggins (named for brothers Louis and William Huggins from St. Joseph, Missouri who were among the founders of Nabisco^[9] and had donated money for the school). In its first term it had enrollment of 180 with 36 boarders.^[10]

From the start, the school adopted its practice of having its students work instead of paying tuition.

On January 12, 1915, the original building was destroyed in a fire. The school temporarily held classes in the Forsyth public school.^[8]

Point Lookout

The school then relocated farther up the

In 1934 the Fruitcake and Jelly Kitchen opened to offer work for students. It is now one of 90 work stations. More than 100 fruitcakes are now baked daily.^[14]

1950s expansion

In the 1950s under Robert M. Good and M. Graham Clark the school dramatically changed.

The campus expanded to 1,400 acres (567 ha), the school's Gothic chapel was built on the location of the original Dobyns Building and a hospital was added.

In 1956, with high schools becoming increasingly available in the area, the school became a junior college.

The Museum of the Ozarks took over the entire Abernathy Building and was renamed the Good Museum after president Good. It was later renamed for country music pioneer

In 1965 it became a four-year college, but it did not garner regional accreditation until the 1990s.[17]

In 1994 it was renamed the College of the Ozarks when regional accreditation was conferred.^[17]

The former president, Jerry C. Davis, instituted five goals for the college that now stand as their pillars for students to emulate:^[18]

• Academic
• Vocational
• Christian
• Patriotic
• Cultural

According to the school, out of more than 4,000 applicants, approximately 400 students are accepted to College of the Ozarks each fall semester. ^[19] Students are encouraged to have at least a 20 composite on the ACT, or a 1030 on the SAT. A GPA of at least a 3.0 and ranking in the top 50% of their class is also preferred. College of the Ozarks also considers other factors for admission such as leadership, service, and financial need.

Controversies

The College of the Ozarks has been subject to numerous incidents of controversy, due in particular to the school's policies against LGBT people,^[20] strict biblical inspired moral code for students,^[21] the lack of ethnic and racial diversity,^[22] and its boycott on Nike products following an ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick.^[23] Former LGBT students of the college recounted that they were pressured to undergo conversion therapy, a widely condemned procedure based in pseudo science that claims to be able to alter individuals from homosexuals to heterosexuals.^[24][25]

In 1994 College of the Ozarks was compared to Jonestown because of its lack of academic freedom. This was one of its struggles with getting recognized as an accredited institution.^[26]

In the 2003–2004 semesters, a professor revealed that one of the college's deans, Larry Cockrum, had received his Ph.D. from Crescent City Christian College, a fraudulent college ("diploma mill") run out of a coach's basement. The professor who brought this information to light was suspended for the 2004 semester, and his contract was not to be renewed for the fall semester. The college's former president, Jerry C. Davis, defended the dean with the fraudulent degree, while terminating the professor.^[27] Larry Cockrum has been appointed to a new position as president of The University of the Cumberlands.^[28]

In 2017 the College of the Ozarks controversially altered its course requirements for incoming freshmen requiring to enroll in a course titled "Patriotic Education and Fitness", which combines military style physical education with military science in order to encourage patriotism and respect for the military.^[29]

The college has been subject of racial controversies regarding its significantly low number of African Americans in its student body.

In November 2018, two students of the College of the Ozarks were abducted and sexually assaulted, after arriving at the campus approximately ten minutes before mandatory curfew. The front gate of the college is locked from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., but students can call a 24-hour security number to unlock the gate. [43] Though public relations director Valorie Coleman stated that students are able to call campus security to let them into their residences, former students have been quoted as describing instances where students were expelled following a curfew infraction between the years of 2010 and 2013. Alumni have stated that students sleeping in their car or away from campus was routine when they attended the college.^[44] Alumni also stated that they feared being expelled for missing curfew.^[44][45]

Presidents

Since 1906, there have been 15 presidents, 2 acting presidents and two chancellors.^[46]

Athletics

The College of the Ozarks (CofO) athletic teams are called the Bobcats. The college is a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent (and full-time since the 2021–22 school year) in the Central Region of the Division I level.

CofO competes in ten intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country and track & field, while women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, track & field, and volleyball.

Previously, CofO competed as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) from 1994–95 to 2014–15 (the final season after which the conference was later dissolved). Then CofO competed in the Association of Independent Institutions (AII, basically as an independent school in the NAIA) since the 2015–16 school year. In March 2021, mid-season, former college president Jerry C. Davis decided to drop out of NAIA athletics competition (effective immediately during the 2020–21 school year), with no prior warning or discussion with players, coaches, or administrators. The president did not give a reason for the decision.^[49] After two years in the NCCAA, the school returned to the NAIA in 2023.^[50]

Basketball

The 2005-06 men's basketball team won the NAIA Division II national championship, while the Lady Cats were the runner up. The men's team was second in the basketball tournament in 2000 and 2009.

The campus consists of the following parts:[56]

Notable alumni

• Terrence R. Dake, Marine general
• April Scott, actor
• Tony Tost, writer

References