Dr. Jeff Root has faithfully served as the dean for the school of humanities since 2002. This year, he will be serving and taking on a new role as interim dean for the Huckabee School of Education as well.
Root has been a part of the Ouachita community for his entire life. When he was three years old, his father joined the Ouachita family as a faculty member. This instilled in him his love for OBU. While obtaining his undergraduate degree, he was editor of The Signal and wrote for The Ouachitonian. He met his wife, Dr. Deborah Root, at OBU and then moved on to attend graduate school out of state.
After moving back to Arkadelphia, they both obtained teaching positions at OBU in the communications department as well as overseeing student work in both The Signal and The Ouachitonian. Dr. Root was chosen to serve as dean of the school of humanities, where he still serves today.
“I love working with the faculty members in language, literature and communications. I’ve worked with most of them for a long time because I’ve been here for 25 years. I’ve had a part in hiring some of them so that’s been a great experience,” Root said.
“I’ve had close connections with many students. I get to work with them outside of class whether that be through our publications, the photo lab, videographers, sports journalism, The Ouachita Show or broadcasting high school football games on Friday nights,” Root said. “Those opportunities have created some close friendships and I am able to still stay in touch with those people.”
When Dr. Bruning, dean of the Huckabee School of Education for 10 years, decided to take a job in her home state of Indiana to be back with her family, a new dean was needed to fill her position. Due to the short amount of time before school began, it was difficult to start a search for someone. Dr. Root was the logical choice as interim dean due to his education certification and service on the Arkadelphia school board for nine years.
“It’s been a lot of fun because I’m working with two really strong departments in teacher education and kinesiology and leisure studies. I already knew most of those faculty members and now I’m getting to know a couple of others since I became dean. Just like in humanities, I’m working with really outstanding faculty so it makes it enjoyable work,” Root said. “I also care about the subject matter since I have a background in that as well.”
One of the main challenges Root has faced is learning to balance both positions.
“I have offices in two different buildings and have twice as many students. There are details we are still working out as far as learning how to advise another group of students I’ve never advised before. A lot of Dr. Bruning’s advisees were in elementary education and my background is in secondary education so I’ve had to learn as much as I could to be a good advisor to those students,” Root said. “Logistically it is a challenge. However, I have two great assistants that have made the transition so much easier because they are so organized.”
Other than the subject matter, the main difference within the two schools is the way in which material must be taught.
“The education department is state certified. We can’t just do what we deem to be wise. Everything we do has to match up with the state certifications. In humanities, we are free agents to prepare curriculum as we would choose to,” said Root.
The experience has enabled Root to learn more about the differences and similarities between the two schools.
“I’ve learned about the different subject matters, I’ve learned more of the details behind what happens and I’ve learned that a lot of what we need and do in the classrooms is pretty similar across both schools. We want enthusiasm in both teachers and students alike,” said Root.
As of right now, there is no timeline to find a new dean for the Huckabee School of Education. Root will continue to serve and share his love for Ouachita with students in both departments.
“I’ve gotten to know the communications students from class and the language and literature students from being across the hall. I’m working hard to get to know the education students since I haven’t ever had them in class before. I have attended a few of their classes and am trying to put names with faces. It’s been a lot of fun,” Root said.
“I am from a family of teachers. I can’t imagine a better life than being around college students and teaching at Ouachita. It is a special place full of believers who care about each other, as well as what we are studying and preparing students to do with their lives.”
By: Abbey Little
