JONESBORO -- If all goes as planned, College of the Ouachitas will be known next year as Arkansas State University-Three Rivers.
College of the Ouachitas President Steve Rook on Friday presented the new name and a new logo to Arkansas State University System trustees.
Pending approval from the Higher Learning Commission, which is the college's accrediting agency, the college will join the ASU System on Jan. 1. Rook expects the commission to visit in late October.
"One of the things we really wanted to try to do was come up with a name that really represented our region," Rook said.
"Three Rivers" represents the Caddo, Saline and Ouachita rivers.
"Those three rivers kind of bring that region together," Rook said.
A 13-person committee selected the "Three Rivers" name over about 20 others Rook presented to them. "River View" was the runner-up. Little Rock advertising firm CJRW composed the logo -- which is an outline of Arkansas with three blue ribbons entering the left edge and flowing through to the right edge -- for a $2,500 fee.
"Three Rivers" encapsulates the college's five-county "service area," Rook told trustees. That's Hot Spring, Dallas, Clark, Garland and Saline counties.
College of the Ouachitas is in Malvern, in Hot Spring County, but will have a presence in Saline County next year, running the career center at the new Saline County Career Technical Education Center.
The college had to drop "Ouachitas" from its name, Rook said.
Adding the words "university" and "Ouachita" together could add confusion with nearby Ouachita Baptist University, Rook said.
Plus, the Ouachita River doesn't run through Saline County, Rook said.
ASU trustees, who have no power to vote on any college decisions until the merger is complete, asked few questions about the new name or logo.
Board Chairman Niel Crowson called the logo "spectacular."
System President Chuck Welch said he'd received positive comments about the changes.
"We're excited about the new branding opportunity," Welch said.
He called Rook a "patient" person throughout the merger process.
Trustees from each institution approved the merger in February.
College of the Ouachitas had sought to join another university last year and ultimately selected the ASU System.
The college cited liabilities related to its insurance as its reason for joining a system. It had $6 million in liabilities that could affect the college's ability to borrow money.
Rook said Friday that he was glad to already have the support of the ASU System for things that he needed, noting that he consulted with Jeff Hankins, the system vice president for strategic communication, on finding a company to do the logo.
"We're able to do things through the system office that we couldn't do on our own," he said.
Once the merger is complete, he's working on another venture with the system: offering Arkansas State University-Jonesboro bachelor's degrees at the Malvern college's campus.
Right now, it looks like the first two degrees would be in business and in applied science and organizational management, said Pat Simms, College of the Ouachitas vice president for academic affairs.
The college would offer two-year associate degrees in those areas like it does now, Rook said, and then students could take ASU-Jonesboro online courses and maybe some adjunct faculty members would teach any other needed courses at the Malvern campus.
"That's huge for our folks in Malvern," Rook said.
Metro on 09/21/2019