front&center Mary Clark

Woman helps put Morrilton college’s best foot forward

By Carol Rolf

LITTLE ROCK — Mary Clark is passionate about everything she does

in life.

In her job as director of public relations and market

ing at the University of Arkansas Community College

at Morrilton, she truly believes “we are making a differ

ence in people’s lives.” In her role as a volunteer with

several community organizations, she feels “the payoff

is definitely worth it.” When Clark, 43, came to work at UACCM in 1992

as coordinator of recruitment and public information,

the educational institution had just changed its name

from Petit Jean Vocational-Technical School to Petit Jean

Technical College, a degree-granting, two-year college. It

was then Clark had her first real experience in handling

what could have been a public relations nightmare.

Clark said in 1992 there was concern in the com

munity about school’s recent name change. “Some

were afraid we were going to phase out our technical

programs,” Clark said. “They were afraid that we might

become a four-year college and the technical programs

that we had offered from the beginning would fall by

the wayside.

“There was no way that we ever would do that,” Clark

said. “We never intended to do away with the technical

programs. Providing technical training is our niche.

That’s something that is not offered at a four-year col

lege.” It was Clark’s job to “get the word out” about the

name change and “to reassure the people that we were

not getting rid of the technical programs that were start

ed in 1961 when Petit Jean became the second adult

vocational-technical school in the state.” Clark said, “It was the same sort of situation in 2001,

when we became affiliated with the University of Ar

kansas System.

“Petit Jean is a well-known name in this community,”

Clark said. “There were some mixed feelings. Some

wanted to keep that (Petit Jean) in our name. We had

done a survey and weighed our options and felt it best

that we become the University of Arkansas Community

College at Morrilton.

“Again, we had to ‘get the word out’ and over time,

people have accepted the name. It now has a positive

impact on the community and on students’ lives. Those

right out of high school feel they have something to be

proud of by being a part of the University of Arkansas

System. That carries a legacy with it as well.” Thus, Clark has dealt successfully with one of the

main responsibilities of her job: Build and reinforce

institutional image and promote UACCM to the public.

“It’s all about branding,” she said.

Her job description is much larger than that,

though.

Clark is also now more involved in assessment activi

ties. “It’s important to show accountability,” she said. “We

need to be sure we are doing what we are supposed to

be doing.” Born in Russellville, the only child of Bonnie Clark

and the late Bob Clark, she graduated from Russellville

High School and attended Arkansas Tech University for

a while. She transferred to the University of Arkansas at

Fayetteville where she received her bachelor of science

degree in business administration with a major in mar

keting in 1986. She said she had always been interested

in public relations but had no idea that interest would

lead to a job at a college.

“I knew I wanted to do something marketing- or ad

vertising-related,” Clark said. “I was interested in it, but

did not know if I wanted to get into the corporate world

or the nonprofit world. I had no idea how it would work

out, that I would go to work for a college.

“I was a member of the collegiate chapter of the Amer-ican Marketing Association, and I had a chance to hear a guest speaker, who was a marketing consultant for an airline.

“Now, I’m really glad I didn’t get a job in that field,” she said with a laugh.

Clark said her first real job after college was with the Employment Security Division in Russellville. “I was a regional recruiter for a federal Job Corps training program from 1988 to 1992,” she said. “I helped disadvantaged youth by sending them to Job Corps sites in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. I served a nine-county area. I traveled, screened applicants and sent the paperwork off to Dallas where they were assigned jobs.

“We had a satellite office in Morrilton,” Clark said. “A guy from that office called me one day and said there was a job opening at the college (Petit Jean) that he thought I might be interested in. I looked up the job description and applied for it, never knowing I would be here 16 years later.”

Clark said one of biggest rewards of her job today is “that you really do see people’s lives changed. It has a profound effect on you.

“Many of the people we see here are nontraditional students facing hard situations,” she said. “They often come here feeling they cannot accomplish anything. And then, when they graduate and write back (in testimonials) words like, ‘You have no idea what you’ve done for me. I didn’t think I was worthanything and now I have my life back.’ That’s very powerful.

“I truly believe that every point of contact can make a difference in a person’s life,” she said. “In my current position, I don’t have as much student contact as I once had when I worked in admissions, but we just recently finished doing a three-day photography shoot for a publication, and I got a chance to visit with many of the students. That’s really what it’s all about.”

Clark said she and the people she works with in her department always “have to be ready.

“You don’t ever know what’s going to happen,” she said. “You never know what’s going to go wrong. You may be planning a special event and the guest of honor never shows up. A reporter may call seeking information and you may have to make a statement. You must know as many facts as you can.

“Whatever success I’ve had in public relations is due to the great team I work with,” she said. “I couldn’t do without them. We are able to gather information and work effectively to get the project done. You must have a check-off list to see that everything is taken care of.” Clark’s team includes Trevor Mize, graphic designer, and Jacob Ward, coordinator for information and public relations.

Clark returned to college later in her career and received a master of business administration degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in July 2001. “I actually was able to complete that degree through a distance learning program at Arkansas Tech,” she said. “I felt like that was the right time for me todo it. It’s hard to balance school and work. You have to have the right mind-set to do it. You need drive and determination.

“Education is a lifelong process,” Clark said. “I think I did better as a nontraditional student.”

When away from UACCM, Clark enjoys the arts. She is a member and treasurer of the Arkansas River Valley Arts Center in Russellville and membership chairman of the Arkansas River Valley Circle of Friends for Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She is also a board member of the Russellville Symphony Guild and the Heart of Arkansas United Way, which she serves as an appropriations board member for Conway County.

“I love music, art, theater,” she said. “The arts bring so much to society. What a difference the arts can make in people’s lives. It brings joy to people’s lives. It opens their minds, their creativity.” Clark said although she does not play a musical instrument now, she played trumpet from the sixth grade until she graduated from high school.

Her involvement with the Circle of Friends support group at Arkansas Children’s Hospital came to her by chance, serendipitous. “My little cousin, Conner, had to go there for tests when he was about 2,” Clark said. “It was not a life-threatening situation, but he had to stay overnight. I was so impressed with the care they gave him, with the hospital all decorated in children’s designs.

“I went back home to Russellville and ran into a friend in the grocery store that same week,” Clark said. “She began talking about the Circle of Friends and told me they had raised $700,000 statewide that year for the hospital.She invited me to their next meeting. I went and signed up. That’s been three years ago now. I really believe that was just one of those things that was meant to be.

“One of the great things about being in the organization is that we get to tour the hospital,” she said. “It’s amazing to see what all goes on there, what kind of care these children receive. That’s how I got involved.

“Sometimes it’s hard to do all that I do, but it’s worth it,” Clark said. “It’s a balancing act. Sometime I run 90 miles an hour, but then I just have to stop and smell the roses.”

Clark continues to hold one quote near to her heart, saying, “I strive to live by it: ‘Simplicity is the key to serenity.’

“In other words, keep it simple,” she said with a smile. “It’s so easy to get caught up in life that you can’t ‘stop and smell the roses.’”

Ever the optimist, Clark has a “bucket” list of things she still wants to do:

◊ Go to Africa. “My friends and I say we’d like to climb Kilimanjaro for our 50th birthday,” she said.

◊See more of the world. “I’ve traveled to Europe, but have not seen all that I want to. I want to do as much traveling as I can,” she said.

◊Attend an Olympics.

◊Go to the Academy Awards.

“I want to experience life and all it has to offer,” she said.

Clark said she has not given much thought to retirement. “I see myself being here for some time to come,” she said.

“As long as the college continues to grow and as long as something new and exciting is on the horizon, I see myself still here,” she said. “There’s always a new challenge that makes it interesting. You don’t know from one day to the next what will be going on. We’re making such positive impact for the state and for individuals. It’s an exciting place to be.”

Clark noted the next big undertaking at UACCM will be a new library. “We should be breaking ground soon for the 26,000-square-foot facility,” Clark said. “It will house new classrooms as well as a library.

“When I look back and think that we started with 300 students, and now we’re over 1,800, it’s amazing,” she said. “I’ve watched the growth, watched the buildings go up and have seen more and more students take advantage of what the college has to offer. I’ve seen us react to the needs of the local economy, start new programs such as the petroleum technology class to train people to work in the Fayetteville Shale gas field. It’s an invigorating time to be here, to be a part of something that’s getting bigger and better. It’s win-win situation for all.”matter of fact My age: 43 Family: Mother, Bonnie Clark of Russellville, and lots of cousins.

Occupation: Director of public relations and marketing, University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton Hobbies: Travel, movies, theater, snow skiing. I’ve been skiing for 15 years. My family and extended family used to go snow skiing as a group. That was really fun.

Most people don’t know: I’m a thrill-seeker. I look very conservative at first glance, but I love adventure. I’ve bungy-jumped, successfully. I love roller-coasters.

I can’t live without: My friends and family.

Favorite quote: (Several, by Winston Churchill) “Never, never give up.” “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” My worst habit: Not knowing when to move on from a project once it’s completed as well as it can be. I’m very detail-oriented, to a fault, almost.

I always strive to make it a little better. I have to tell myself, “Strive for excellence not perfection.” My favorite book: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.

My favorite movie: The Sound of Music.

River Valley Ozark, Pages 143, 144 on 05/11/2008