CLARKSVILLE - The
University of the Ozarks Board of Trustees has elected Richard L. "Rich"
Dunsworth, J.D., as the University's 25th president, effective July 1, 2013.
Dunsworth, 43, has served as vice president for enrollment at Millikin
University in Illinois, since 2004. He will succeed Dr. Rick Niece, who is
retiring in June after a 16-year tenure as president of the private,
Presbyterian-affiliated university.
Established in 1834, the university is Arkansas' oldest institution of higher learning.
Dunsworth,
who has a juris doctorate from the University of Illinois, has been at Millikin
since 1991, including stints in student life and academic development. In his
role as vice president for enrollment, he oversees numerous departments,
including admission, athletics, financial aid, institutional research,
marketing, media relations, registrar and student development. Dunsworth and
his wife, Holly, have three young children.
"At
University of the Ozarks we found the perfect fit," Dunsworth said. "When my
family and I began this process, we hoped to find an institution that was
grounded in faith, which would allow for the opportunity to share our personal
and professional lives, and one that would welcome the entire family. We feel
blessed to have found such an institution."
Before
becoming vice president for enrollment in 2004, Dunsworth served as dean of
student life and academic development from 2002-2004 at Millikin, a private
college of approximately 2,400 students in Decatur, Ill. He has also
taught intermittently at the university since 1994 in the areas of political
science, communication and English.
Dunsworth
and his wife, Holly, have a 9-year-old son, Nicolas, and 7-year-old twins,
Matthew and Emma.
