MISSION STATEMENT
The Art department at College of the Ozarks exists to dynamically develop professional artists who are individuals of excellent character. We strive to nurture and challenge those students who desire to achieve their personal best and who aspire to excel formally, technically and conceptually as artists. In the Art department we believe that art isn't something that one does, but rather being a complete artist affects the way in which we experience the world around us.
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
The College of the Ozarks' Art program offers students a dynamic opportunity to obtain a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in either Studio Art or in Art Education. The Studio Art degree provides emphases in graphic design, ceramics, computer art, and painting. The Art Education emphasis enables students to become certified in kindergarten through twelfth grade in Missouri and Arkansas. Conferred degrees will indicate the student's area(s) of emphasis in Studio Art, i.e. graphic design, painting, etc.
The Art department is also an integral part of the college's General Education program and provides the entire student body opportunities for introductory courses in the critical analysis of art and in the creation of visual art. In these general education courses the department nurtures the greater student body in both critical thinking skills and in creative vision. All College of the Ozarks students benefit from the incredible professors and instructors in our art program.
Through the Boger Gallery the Art department provides an exciting calendar of events for the College and its surrounding communities. Visiting artists provide exhibitions, workshops and lectures, and the department hosts an annual student exhibition from area schools as well as exhibits by graduating art majors.
Located on the first floor of the Jones Building on the beautiful College of the Ozarks campus, our Christian art school welcomes all students and visitors to its studios and to the Boger Gallery. We look forward to seeing you when you visit and to having you as a student in the college department.
Title: Professor of Art and Director of the Boger Art Gallery
Email: cummings@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Graphic Design and Computer Art, Director, Boger Gallery
Education: B.A., Milligan College, 1996; M.A.F.A., University of Leeds, 1999; D.W.S., Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, 2014
Richard Cummings is an artist, designer and Professor of Art at College of the Ozarks where he is also the Director of the college's Boger Gallery. Dr. Cummings also sits on the board of the international art and faith organization, Christians in the Visual Arts. He received his BA in English literature from Milligan College, his MAFA in studio art from the University of Leeds in England and his DWS from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies.
Title: Assistant Professor of Art
Email: mashley@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Ceramics, Sculpture and Design
Education: B.A., College of the Ozarks, 2003; M.F.A., University of Mississippi, 2010
Michael Ashley grew up on a farm in Greene County, MO, where he explored the rivers and streams of the Ozark Mountains. He graduated from College of the Ozarks with a BA in Painting and Ceramics, then moved to Tachi, Taiwan, where he did a one-year residency at Tainan National University for the Arts. In 2010, he graduated from the University of Mississippi with an MFA in Ceramics. He has taught at Missouri State University, the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at College of the Ozarks.
Email: lashley@cofo.edu
Education: B.F.A., University of Mississippi, 2010; M.F.A., 2012; Alfred University; B.S.N., 2019, University of Mississippi
Laura Ashley received her MFA from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. She was invited to be a resident artist at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia and worked as an art teacher for the Clay Mobile, a non-profit art outreach program. She is the former Executive Director of the Gumtree Museum of Art in Tupelo, MS. Her work is in internationally known collections.