College of the Ozarks

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#if:|Template:Main other }}{{#if:|Template:Main other }}{{#if:|Template:Main other }}{{#invoke:check for unknown parameters|check |unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox university with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|mapframe_args=y | academic_affiliation | academic_affiliations | academic_staff | accreditation | address | administrative_staff | affiliation | affiliations | athletics_affiliations | athletics_nickname | athletics_nicknames | budget | campus | campus_type | campus_size | canton | caption | chair | chairman | chairperson | chancellor | city | closed | colors | colours | coor | coordinates | country | dean | director | doctoral | embedded | endowment | enrollment | established | faculty | footnotes | former_name | former_names | founder | founders | free | free1 | free2 | free_label | free_label1 | free_label2 | head | head_label | image | image_alt | image_name | image_size | image_upright | language | latin_name | location | logo | logo_alt | logo_size | logo_upright | map_size | mascot | mascots | module | motto | mottoeng | motto_lang | mottoeng | name | native_name | native_name_lang | nickname | nrhp | officer_in_charge | other | other_name | other_names | other_students | parent | postalcode | postcode | postgrad | prefecture | president | principal | province | provost | pushpin_label_position | pushpin_map | pushpin_map_caption | rector | region | religious_affiliation | sporting_affiliations | sports_free | sports_free1 | sports_free2 | sports_free3 | sports_free_label | sports_free_label1 | sports_free_label2 | sports_free_label3 | sports_nickname | sports_nicknames | state | students | superintendent | top_free | top_free1 | top_free2 | top_free_label | top_free_label1 | top_free_label2 | total_staff | type | undergrad | vice_chancellor | vice-president | vice_president | visitor | website | zipcode }}{{#invoke:Check for clobbered parameters|check | template = Infobox university | cat = Template:Main other | image; image_name | other_names; other_name | former_names; former_name | founders; founder | academic_affiliations; academic_affiliation | academic_staff; faculty | campus_type; campus | other_students; other | location; address | location; city | location; address | location; canton | location; prefecture | location; province | location; region | location; state | location; country | location; postalcode | location; postcode | location; zipcode | postalcode; postcode; zipcode | coordinates; coor | colors; colours | free_label; free_label1 | free; free1 | athletics_nicknames; sports_nicknames; athletics_nickname; sports_nickname; nickname | athletics_affiliations; sporting_affiliations | affiliation; affiliations | mascots; mascot | nrhp; embedded; module }} College of the Ozarks is a private Christian college in Point Lookout, Missouri, United States. The college has an enrollment of 1,426 and over 30 academic majors in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The college refers to itself as "Hard Work U"<ref name=HardWorkU/> and places emphasis on character education.

History

File:UserKTrimble AP College of the Ozarks Pt Lookout Mo Oct 2009.jpg

Aerial photo of college of the Ozarks with Lake Taneycomo, Branson, and Table Rock Lake beyond

Forsyth

The school was first proposed in 1901 as a high school by James Forsythe, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Forsyth, Missouri. (The college now declares itself to be interdenominational.) Forsythe was from the St. Louis, Missouri area.

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 could not afford to send him to the closest high school Template:Convert away in Springfield, Missouri.<ref name="missouri1982">Template:Cite web</ref>

The School of the Ozarks opened on September 11, 1906, in a Template:Convert building atop Mount Huggins (named for brothers Louis and William Huggins from St. Joseph, Missouri who were among the founders of Nabisco<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and had donated money for the school). In its first term it had enrollment of 180 with 36 boarders.<ref name=HardWorkU>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="missouri1982"/>

Point Lookout

The school then relocated farther up the White River at Point Lookout, Missouri on a Template:Convert campus. The campus has changed quite a bit since this era, but has remained at the Point Lookout location ever since.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The central building of the campus was the Maine Hunting and Fishing Club building, which had been transported to the site by sportsmen from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair where it had been the State of Maine exhibit. It was renamed the Dobyns Building in honor of W. R. Dobyns, president of the trustees at the time. The building burned on February 1, 1930.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 1920s what would become the Ralph Foster Museum depicting Ozark heritage had its start in the basement of the boys dormitory: Abernathy Hall.

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.<ref name=HardWorkU/>

1950s expansion

File:Chapel at the College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Missouri.jpeg

The Williams Memorial Chapel, built in 1956

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

The campus expanded to Template:Convert, 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 Ralph D. Foster, who donated money and exhibits for it. The museum expanded in 1969, 1977 and 1991.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Among the exhibits is an original George Barris 1921 modified Oldsmobile Beverly Hillbillies truck donated by series creator Paul Henning who was inspired to do the show after a Boy Scout camping trip in the Ozarks. The museum also contains a large firearm display, including a rifle belonging to Pancho Villa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1960s to present

In 1965 it became a four-year college, but it did not garner regional accreditation until the 1990s.<ref name="autogenerated2">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1994 it was renamed the College of the Ozarks when regional accreditation was conferred.<ref name="autogenerated2"/>

The former president, Jerry C. Davis, instituted five goals for the college that now stand as their pillars for students to emulate:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 faced numerous controversies, particularly regarding its policies against LGBT people,<ref name="lgbt">Template:Cite web</ref> its strict biblically inspired moral code,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> lack of ethnic and racial diversity, and its boycott of Nike products following an ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick.<ref name="cuts">Template:Cite web</ref> Former LGBT students recounted pressure to undergo conversion therapy, a widely condemned practice based on pseudoscience that claims to change sexual orientation.<ref name="queer">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1994, the college was compared to Jonestown due to its lack of academic freedom, which contributed to struggles with accreditation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the 2003–2004 semesters, a professor revealed that one of the college's deans, Larry Cockrum, had obtained a fraudulent Ph.D. from Crescent City Christian College, a diploma mill. The professor was suspended and later terminated for bringing this to light, while the college's then-president, Jerry C. Davis, defended the dean. Larry Cockrum later became president of The University of the Cumberlands.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2017, the college introduced a controversial requirement for incoming freshmen to take a course titled "Patriotic Education and Fitness," which combines military-style physical education with military science to promote patriotism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The college has also faced criticism for its low representation of African American students. A 1993 article in The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education ranked the College of the Ozarks second to last among Christian colleges in terms of the proportion of black students, with only 0.1% of its student body being black.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="cuts"/> Additionally, the college's decision to boycott Nike products after the Colin Kaepernick ad was criticized for racial overtones.<ref name="cuts"/>

In 2017, The Princeton Review ranked the College of the Ozarks as the most hostile campus toward LGBT and non-binary people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="lgbt" /> In response, public relations director Valorie Coleman stated that the school does not consider itself hostile, though it enforces strict rules against "sexual immorality".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Keeter Center Hotel, operated by the college, reserves the right to prohibit events or services inconsistent with the college's beliefs, though it claims this policy is not intended to exclude or discriminate against legally protected groups. However, this practice, coupled with the college's ongoing lawsuit against the Biden administration over dormitory segregation policies, demonstrates its continued resistance to contemporary interpretations of equality and anti-discrimination laws.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 2018, two students were abducted and sexually assaulted after arriving at campus ten minutes after curfew. Though the college stated that students could call security to be let in after curfew, alumni have reported fear of expulsion for missing curfew, with some resorting to sleeping in their cars to avoid punishment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Presidents

Since 1906, there have been 15 presidents, 2 acting presidents and two chancellors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

• 1906 – A. Y. Beatie
• 1907 – George Gordon Robertson
• 1907–10 – W. I. Utterback
• 1910 – F. O. Hellier
• 1911–13 – George K. Knepper
• 1913–15 – William L. Porter
• 1915–16 – John E. Crockett
• 1916–20 – George L. Washburn
• 1920–21 – Thomas M. Barbee
• 1921–52 – R. M. Good
• 1952–75 – M. Graham Clark
• 1975–81 – Howell W. Keeter, Chancellor
• 1981–82 – Jim Spainhower
• 1983–87 – Stephen G. Jennings
• 1988–2022 – Jerry C. Davis<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2022–Present – Brad Johnson<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Athletics

The College of the Ozarks (CofO) athletic teams are called the Bobcats. The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) since the 2024–25 academic year.<ref name=Sooner>Template:Cite web</ref> The Bobcats are also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent (full-time from 2021–22 to 2022–23) in the Central Region of the Division I level.

CofO competes in ten intercollegiate varsity sports teams. 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 in the NAIA as a core active member 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) from 2015–16 to 2020–21 (and later again during the 2023–24 school year when it returned back to the NAIA).

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From 2000 to 2017, Keeter Gymnasium was host to the NAIA Division II Basketball Championship games. In 2014, Ozarks made headlines by defeating second-ranked College of Idaho in the national tournament.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the wake of the 2016–2017 national anthem protests at athletic events in the United States, the college announced that they would refuse to play any team whose players took a knee in the same manner as the protests.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In response, College of the Ozarks chose to withdraw from hosting the Division II men's basketball champion game and agreed to aid in moving it to another venue. The championship game had been held there since 2000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2018, the president of the college released a statement explaining that the school would no longer use uniforms made by Nike: "If Nike is ashamed of America, we are ashamed of them."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Leaving the NAIA

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After two years in the NCCAA, the school returned to the NAIA in 2023.<ref name="Swallow Pride">Template:Cite news</ref>

Campus

The campus consists of the following parts:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

• Williams Memorial Chapel - This Neo-Gothic chapel was built in 1956 and holds consistent public Sunday services at 11 a.m.
• The Keeter Center - The 95,000 square foot facility holds a restaurant, lodging, and other rooms/halls for events.
• The Ralph Foster Museum - This Ozarks' history museum is named after the late Ralph D. Foster, who was a prominent radio voice and philanthropist in the area.
• Fruitcake and Jelly Kitchen - The college's kitchen produces many student-made products here, including their well-knownTemplate:Citation needed apple butter.
• Edwards Mill - This student-run mill receives power from a twelve-foot water wheel and produces meal, flour, and other products.
• Lake Honor - This small lake found in the middle of campus houses the college's swans and their cygnets.
• The Hoge Greenhouse - More than 7,000 plants including orchids, houseplants, and more can be found and purchased inside the greenhouse.
• The Gaetz Tractor Museum - This museum holds many antique farm tools, tractors, and pieces of equipment dating back to the early 1900s.
• Lyons Memorial Library
• The Ernie and Carolyn Watson Student Center - This three-floor student center was completed in 2023 and houses a coffee shop, cinema, study lounge, gaming room, community commons, and many other amenities for students to enjoy.
• McKibben Center
• Memorial Dorm
• Ashcroft Dorm
• McDonald Dorm
• Mann Dorm
• Foster Dorm
• Youngman Dorm
• Kelce Dorm
• Barrett Dorm
• Lively Dorm
• Howell W. Keeter Gymnasium
• Tilmon Fitness Center
• 91.7 FM KCOZ Radio Station

Notable alumni

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

External links

• Template:Official website