Cottey enrollment edges toward capacity

Cottey College President Dr. Judy Rogers welcomes the crowd during a breakfast held Wednesday morning in the Raney Dining Room at the college, highlighting what's new for students, faculty and the community during the coming school year. One of the highlights of the year is the inception of the schools new softball team.--Steve Moyer/Daily Mail

Dr. Judy Rogers, president of Cottey welcomed area leaders to the campus for a breakfast to introduce new professors and inform them of the state of the college. Rogers said that since the beginning of her tenure her goal had been to increase Cottey's enrollment to capacity.

"I don't like to see an empty chair in a classroom or an empty bed in a dorm," Rogers said. "We had 330 students at orientation, when we count for enrollment. After orientation it's a matter of retention. Our capacity is 350 students and I'd like to see us reach that."

Rogers said she was proud that the college had so many international students, but she was also proud that the college attracted local students.

"We have students from 29 international countries and one Canadian province. It's a great opportunity for all of our students to have that wonderful geographic diversity," Rogers said. "We also have 16 students from Nevada, when I came there were just a very few."

The college is working to attract more regional students and Rogers said Rick Eber, director of enrollment, was not at the breakfast to be introduced, which she said was a good thing.

"We are working in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas to attract young women to Cottey," Rogers said. "Rick Eber is in charge of enrollment and he's not here to be introduced, which I suppose is a good thing. I believe the growth we are seeing in regional students is because of our very strong scholarship program. Sheldon, Rich Hill, Stockton and Nevada students can use Cottey as an excellent educational resource."

Rogers said the college worked with Nevada High School with a program designed to help girls build the skills needed to assume a leadership role.

"We have the Presidential Leadership Program with Nevada High School where we invite juniors to apply and our counselors work with them and help them develop the skills they need. By the end you can see how their poise and abilities have grown during the year."

Rogers said the college was expanding in more than just students, they had a new sport in which they can participate -- softball.

"We have a new sport on campus," Rogers said. "In addition to our winning volleyball team we also have a softball team. It's a spring sport but they've already played four practice games and they've won two and lost two."

The new faculty and staff were introduced by Rogers to the group. Ganga Fernando, chemistry; Deborah Macey, mass communication; Kanji Watanabe, international relations; and Urszula Wilhelm, chemistry.