College of the Ozarks culinary art students placed second in the American Culinary Federation Missouri State Student Team Competition. The competition was held at the Culinary Institute of St. Louis at Hickey College in March.

The team, led by Executive Chef and Assistant Professor Robert Stricklin, included five students from College of the Ozarks: junior team captain Joy Hunt, junior Hannah Burke, sophomore Lindsey Whitener, freshman Davina Jutras and freshman Hadassah Hirscher.

Judges evaluated cooking techniques, sanitation, work flow, team work, classical cooking, methodology, plate presentation and taste.

The competition encompassed testing the student’s individual skills, as well as a team preparation of a four-course meal.

All students involved met once week for practice and planning in a hotel and restaurant management/culinary arts competition class.

“Competition helps students practice and improves their skills,” Stricklin said. “It also offers the faculty an excellent opportunity to evaluate culinary arts curriculum content, as well as assess individual student learning.”

Caption: (Picture from L) Executive Chef and Assistant Professor Robert Stricklin, Hannah Burke, Hadassah Hirscher, Joy Hunt, Lindsey Whitener, Davina Jutras

College of the Ozark Keeter Center Kitchen Supervisor and adjunct culinary arts instructor Christopher Freeman received the “People’s Choice” award March 11, at the Springfield/Branson Taste of Elegance competition and dinner.

Sponsored by the National Pork Board, the Taste of Elegance inspires different ways to feature pork on the menu.

As one of the major cooking events for professional chefs in the industry since 1987, The Taste of Elegance competition has evolved into more than 20 annual regional competitions, including the Springfield/Branson event.

Ten area chefs competed in this year’s competition which offered pork entrées to 300 invited guests, who then voted on their favorites.

Senior culinary arts majors Chani Bailey and Austin Merath helped Chef Freeman prepare his winning meal.

College of the Ozarks, in conjunction with the American Red Cross, will offer the “Learn to Swim” program April 8-18 at the Howell W. Keeter Athletic Complex Natatorium.

Lessons are offered to children ages six months through 15 years. The “Parent and Child Aquatics” program, available to students six months to four years old, will run 5–5:25 p.m. nightly. The “Learn to Swim” program, available for students ages 5-15, will be offered in two different sessions. The first session will run 5:30-6:10 p.m., and the second is offered 6:15– 6:55 p.m. Participants will be divided into groups based on abilities, and each group will have its own instructor.

There are eight lessons in the program. The registration fee per student is $60, and is required at the time of registration on April 8 at the College of the Ozarks pool. Participants may register beginning Monday, March 25, by calling Associate Professor of Physical Education Bill Keeter at (417) 690-2567 or the C of O Athletic Department at (417) 690-2393.

Dr. Scot McKnight, renowned Christian author, will speak at College of the Ozarks on Monday, April, and Tuesday, April 2, at 7 p.m., in Jones Auditorium.

Dr. McKnight, Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Ill., has authored more than 30 books. He wrote the award-winning The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others (Paraclete, 2004), which won the Christianity Today Book Award in 2005.

Students are allowed priority seating for the event; remaining seats are available to the public free of charge. For more information, please contact the Christian Ministries Office at (417) 690-3446.

For years, College of the Ozarks has openly discouraged student debt by allowing students the opportunity to work a campus job to pay for their college education and, in the summer, for the upcoming year’s room and board.  The College also discourages debt by not participating in any state or federal loan programs.  While these efforts have curbed student debt, the College, in response to the stagnant economy, will add even more cost-saving opportunities for students.

“The College views discouraging debt as a priority and will continue to seek ways to help students avoid it,” said College of the Ozarks President Jerry C. Davis.

As such, the College will no longer participate in private student bank loans.

Also, in the upcoming 2013-14 year, the College will not increase the current room and board fee of $5900, which is the lowest room and board fee of any private, four-year Missouri college.

During the summer months, the College offers financially-deserving students the opportunity to participate in the Summer Work Program, consisting of 12, 40-hour work weeks at a campus job, to work off the upcoming year’s room and board.  In previous years, the College has capped the number of students admitted into the Summer Work Program at approximately 490.  This summer, that number will be increased to 550.

In past years, vacant rooms in residence halls have been available for students to rent in the summer.  This summer, the College will waive the fee for renting a residence hall room so that students may save all earnings from their off-campus summer jobs.

“It is not enough to stand idly by and allow America’s future to become ensnared in the debt trap,” President Davis said.  “We hope that others will follow our lead in discouraging debt.”

College of the Ozarks is consistently commended by U. S. News & World Report and Forbes for graduating students with the least debt in the nation, as well as being one of the best college buys.

Nationally, outstanding student loan debt totals $956 billion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit release November 26, 2012.

Former CIA Agent Jim Olson To Speak At College Of The Ozarks

By:  Turner Brock

Jim Olson, author of Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying, is scheduled to speak at College of the Ozarks on January 31, at 7 p.m. in the Jones Auditorium. Olson received a law degree from the University of Iowa and is a senior lecturer at the Bush School of Government and Public service, where he teaches courses on intelligence, national security and international crisis management.

In this patriotic convocation, Mr. Olson will share about his experiences as a CIA agent during the Cold War. He also will talk about the importance of service to one’s country.

He served for over 25 years in the Directorate of Operations of the Central Intelligence Agency, mostly overseas in clandestine operations. In addition to several foreign assignments, he was Chief of Counterintelligence at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. He has been awarded the Intelligence Medal of Merit, the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Donovan Award, and several Distinguished Service Citations. Olson is the recipient of awards from the Bush School and the Association of Former Students for excellence in teaching.

Students will be allowed priority seating for the event, but remaining seats will be available to the public free of charge.  For more information, please contact Public Relations at 690-2212.

By: Morgan Sowell

The public is invited to join the College of the Ozarks Associates for a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, January 21, at the Silver Dollar City Parlor of The Keeter Center.

The luncheon includes a buffet beginning at 11:30 a. m., followed by a program at 12 p.m. The program will feature Dr. Anne Allman, professor of art, at College of the Ozarks as the guest speaker.

The College of the Ozarks Associates is an organization comprised of over 350 individuals and businesses committed to the furtherance of the College’s interests and its efforts to provide higher education for deserving young men and women.

The Associates seeks to advance the objectives of the College through friends and corporate relationships. The organization not only recognizes the College’s unique contribution to higher education in the United States, but also the tremendous impact it has had economically and culturally in the Ozarks area of southwest Missouri.

The cost of the luncheon is $15 per person. Please RSVP by Wednesday, Jan. 16, to the Development Office at 417-690-2209 or e-mail [email protected].

On Dec. 2, seven College of the Ozarks students and six WWII Veteran survivors of the Battle of Guadalcanal will travel to the Solomon Islands in the Pacific to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the campaign, which began Aug. 7, 1942 and lasted until Feb. 9, 1943.
The Battle of Guadalcanal, the first major offensive by Allied forces against Japan, resulted in nearly 40,000 Allied and Japanese deaths. Five of the students traveling with Veterans on this historic journey have direct family ties to the battle. Veterans participating in the trip Charles Monroe, John Christiansen, Chester Thomason, Theron MacKay, Elmer Hawkins and Paul Castiglione all served in the campaign.
During the trip, the contingent will travel by ship to the various islands, such as Guadalcanal and Gizo, which comprise the Solomon chain. They will tour what were hospitals and airstrips once vital components to the campaign. They will lay wreaths in waters littered with wreckages where hundreds perished in battle.
Students will have the opportunity to learn about personal experiences from the Veterans, like the time Charles Monroe, a fighter pilot, crash landed on the Japanese side of Guadalcanal, received help from the island natives and was able to return to his chore of flying in torpedo runs. They are also likely to hear about Paul Castiglione’s account of how one ham sandwich made the difference between life and death for him, as taking an extra few minutes to enjoy the treat spared him from a shelling attack.
This trip is part of the College of the Ozarks Patriotic Education Travel Program, wherein students accompany veterans to their fields of battle to learn about history and sacrifice from the individuals who lived it. Student participants relish the opportunity to learn from the veterans and understand that they are in a unique position to learn and pass on precious historical accounts. During the journey, students will record the Veterans’ stories and the trip by journaling, using voice recorders and keeping a travel blog.
The College recognizes patriotic education travel as a powerful opportunity to reinforce one of the five goals of the College, patriotic education. The rich educational journey provides a life-changing experience for College of the Ozarks students, who not only learn volumes of history from participants, but grow to love and appreciate them as well. Since the inaugural trip taken in 2009, 12 trips have been taken with a total of 173 students and 73 Veterans participating. For more information on the Patriotic Education Travel Program, please visit www.cofo.edu. To follow the students and Veterans journey to the Solomon Islands, go to www.cofopacific.blogspot.com.
College of the Ozarks is a four-year, fully accredited, Christian work college located in southwest Missouri. At “Hard Work U” students don’t pay a penny of tuition. Instead they work campus jobs at one of more than 80 campus workstations ranging from a restaurant to dairy farm. Upon their participation in the Work Education Program, the College guarantees to cover the entire cost of their education, allowing them to graduate debt-free. Working for one’s education has been a distinctive tradition of the institution since its founding.

College of the Ozarks will present Christmas Card to the Community on December 9, at 7 p.m. in the Williams Memorial Chapel. The event is a traditional, Christian worship service that features Christmas music presented by the College’s Chapel Choir, Chorale and Handbell Choir.

The service, themed “Worship Christ the Newborn King,” will feature hymns and traditional carols with opportunities for congregational participation.

College of the Ozarks invites the public to share in this annual Christmas service. A light reception with cookies, fruitcake and hot cider will immediately follow the service in the Fellowship Hall of the Chapel. Tickets are not required; seating is limited. For more information, please contact Public Relations at 417-690-2212.

Lady Bobcats Assistant Coach Paul Voliva, Former Lady Bobcats/C of O alumni Kelsey Combs Howerton, Miranda Vaught, Julie Posey, and Morgan Hickey, and C of O Athletic Director Al Waller received the award on behalf of the team.

November 26, 2012

Outstanding sportsmanship, citizenship, servant leadership, character, and winning are descriptors often used when talking about the College of the Ozarks Lady Bobcats. For the fourth time, the Lady Bobcats earned the National Runner-up title in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division II (NAIA D-II) Women’s Basketball Championship held in March. Equally, if not more, important (than the team’s record), is the off-the-court activities that led to the Lady Bobcats receiving two of the most prestigious honors given by the NAIA and the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance (CSTA).

Recently, the NAIA and CTSA named the Lady Bobcats as the recipient of the “All That’s Right in Sport” award, which the team formally received on November 17, at the 13th Annual National Sportsmanship Awards (one of the most renowned sports awards events in the country) hosted by the St. Louis Commission and CSTA.

During the NAIA Women’s Championship tournament held in March, the Lady Bobcats also were recognized—that time with the “Buffalo Funds Five Star Champions of Character” award. At the end of each sports season, the NAIA recognizes only one college in every sport with the Champions of Character award. Teams are selected based on “exemplary character and sportsmanship displayed during practice, competition, on campus, and in the community.”

What caught the attention of the NAIA and CSTA, that team members or their coaches would never boast, is that the Lady Bobcats quickly responded to the needs of nearby Joplin High School, which was destroyed by an EF5 tornado May of May 2011. The Lady Bobcats would not sit idly by as Joplin residents struggled to rebuild. Only a few weeks after the storm, with the help of Head Coach George Wilson and Assistant Coaches Becky Vest and Paul Voliva, the team organized a benefit game that raised $10,000 for the Joplin High School girls’ basketball team that had lost everything to the tornado.

“We were very overwhelmed with College of the Ozarks, the women’s basketball team, and coaches in how they took it upon themselves to rescue our program,” said Joplin Lady Eagles Basketball Coach Vicki Spivy. “We will forever be thankful to Coach Wilson, his staff, and his girls for what they did for us. Not just material things were given; hope was restored. My girls realize that there are great people in this world, and it starts with the team from College of the Ozarks.”