Rich Dunsworth believes in “management by walking around.” Most afternoons he will make time to walk about the campus of the University of the Ozarks, where he has been president since 2013.
“My regular ‘walk about’ creates an opportunity for reflection, presents interactions with stakeholders to hear and see successes and pain points, and it stimulates my thinking about the organization,” he said.
Dunsworth, the first in his family to earn a college degree, obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science from Colorado State University. He ascended through several positions at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, while earning a master’s in education at Eastern Illinois University and a law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. He was serving as Millikin’s interim president in the months before he arrived in Clarksville.
His boss at Millikin, President Emeritus Doug Zemke, is the CEO Dunsworth admires most, with Dunsworth describing him as “kind, yet firm” and “thoughtful, yet decisive.” A favorite saying he learned from Zemke is: “Nobody likes to eat old crow! If you have to eat it, eat it when it is young and tender!”
During his tenure, the University of the Ozarks’ enrollment has grown by about 30%. Approximately $35 million in construction will be completed in 2024 and 2025. But challenges are still ahead. Competition is intensifying for students as the college-going population shrinks and rhetoric undermines the value of higher education. The tight job market has also intensified competition for employee talent, which Ozarks has addressed by creating a homebuying program with a buy-back guarantee.
“I will forever be grateful for being invited to come to the University of the Ozarks and will never tire of saying ‘thank you,’” he said.
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