Henderson welcomes new HS director

Two decades of experience in higher education led Tiffany Rogers to embrace a new role as Henderson State University’s third-ever executive director of Hot Springs Academic Initiatives.

Rogers started today as new director in which she will lead Henderson’s Hot Springs Downtown Education Center campus and foster relationships with National Park College and the community. She previously spent more than 19 years with the Stuttgart campus of Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas in her hometown.

“I feel like it is a huge opportunity for me to be able to utilize the skills I have obtained, my background and the experience I have obtained in 19-plus years I have been at Phillips and the various positions I have been in,” Rogers said. “It is kind of rolling it all into one and doing a lot of the same things,

but a lot of different things too and at a different level.

“I pretty much had maxed out what I could do at Phillips. I know I am going to probably be working 12-15 more years and I was looking for a challenge. Hot Springs is a wonderful place.”

Henderson’s original executive director of Hot Springs Academic Initiatives, Christi Nation, oversaw the establishment and development of the HSU-Hot Springs campus in the Landmark Building downtown. She exited the role in April.

Former NPC President Sally Carder served as interim director from April through Tuesday. Carder led the interview process for her successor.

“The partnership with National Park College is what makes it work,” Rogers said. “There were actually three people from National Park College who sat on the interview committee. That’s how much stake Henderson puts in National Park College. They want their input and they want their guidance.”

“It is going to take all of those different parts to make this work,” Rogers added. “That’s what we want with the collaboration and the partnership.”

Carder and a committee with representatives from both institutions interviewed four finalists and narrowed the search down to two finalists. Rogers submitted her resignation to Phillips in late June.

Rogers served in a number of roles for Phillips, most recently as director of development, continuing education and workforce training. She recently managed a capital campaign for the construction of the Grand Prairie Center at the Stuttgart campus with more than $3.5 million in private, grant and state-appropriated funds.

Her associate degree was obtained from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Master of Science in Education from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

“Everybody has opened their arms and been very welcoming,” Rogers said. “Of course, Dr. Carder knows everybody in town. Everywhere you go, she wants to introduce you to people and they welcome you and make you feel very comfortable.”

Rogers said she has known Carder for the past two decades. She commuted from Stuttgart at least once per week since she accepted the position to attend meetings and meet new groups, including Henderson alumni. Henderson’s ambitions for Hot Springs and downtown revitalization efforts piqued Rogers’ interest.

“It appears to me that it was almost a wake up call when the Majestic Hotel burned,” Rogers said. “We were actually here the night it burned.”

Stuttgart experienced tragedy in 2008 when an EF3 tornado tore through the town. Meteorologist Todd Yakoubian credited the National Weather Service and local media for helping the community avoid casualties and serious injuries.

“It was a wake up call to us too that we need to clean up,” Rogers said. “When things started coming back, they were better and they were cleaner.”

Rogers and her husband’s home received little damage in the storm. Her parents lived in an area of the town that received more severe damage.

“You never want to say that when there is any kind of injury or loss of life occurs, but sometimes natural disasters do cause that kind of effect on a community, to take stock in what they have and try to make it better,” Rogers said.

Rogers renewed interest in displaying art in the Landmark Building from Henderson students and alumni to be included in the Downtown Gallery Walk. She said she hopes to hold more events and open houses to make the campus accessible and inform the community about Henderson’s initiatives in Hot Springs.

“It makes me more excited and super charged and pumped to get in here and meet people,” Rogers said.