Faculty/Staff Spotlight

FACULTY - DR. CoPIE RoBERTS MooRE (BoUlwARE PRoFESSoR)

DR. COPIE ROBERTS MOORE is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Agriculture at Southern Arkansas University. She is in her 14th year at SAU, having received her BS and MS from Stephen F. Austin University and her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.

She teaches senior-level agricultural education courses, advises several students in the agricultural department, observes student teachers, teaches courses in the Master of Science in Agriculture program, and animal science courses as needed. She also teaches a section of Freshman Seminar for agricultural majors.

“The highlights of my career are always the successes of my students upon graduation,” she said. “I derive a great amount of satisfaction in seeing my former students thrive! I love the friendly, approachable atmosphere at SAU and the open-door policy between professors and their students.”

For Moore, college is more than what the students learn in class. It’s the life lessons they further develop that are most important. “Above all, I try to instill in them the importance of honesty in everything they do and to never rely on excuses,” she said. “I also hope they know their purpose and are intentional with their actions.”

She advises potential SAU students in the Department of Agriculture to always get to know their professors, develop a plan to succeed, and develop a core group of classmates to study with and travel the journey together.

STAFF - VICToR DUKE

VICTOR DUKE, originally from Las Cumbres, Panama City, Panama, arrived at SAU in the fall of 2002, having arrived here as a student to play Mulerider baseball under coaches Steve Goodheart and Mike Godfrey. He received his BS in Computer Science in 2005 and MS in Kinesiology in 2008 from SAU.

In his 19th year at SAU, Duke is the director of International Student Services and director of the Reynolds Center. He has also worked as a graduate assistant baseball coach (2005-2008), in the Housing Office as a resident director, and later assistant director of Housing (2005-2016). Duke moved over to the Reynolds Center in 2016 and has led the International Office since 2020. He also teaches a section of Freshman Seminar for international students and the leadership college program. He enjoys playing staff intramural sports to keep in touch with his students outside a classroom setting.

“Once I started working professionally at SAU, I learned from some great mentors that have guided me into the person I am today,” Duke said. “I learned quickly that I wanted to make sure students are taken care of to the best of my abilities. If I can help them with anything, I will try my hardest.”

Duke said his favorite thing about SAU “is the people I have met who have become like my family. With them, my time at SAU has been nothing short of amazing.”