Former Joplin Globe reporter named to post at Ozarks Community Technical College

(From Ozarks Technical Community College)

Cassie Mathes is the new chief marketing and communications officer for the Ozarks Technical Community College System. A Joplin native, Ms. Mathes has more than two decades of experience as a higher education communicator and journalist. She began her duties on July 25.

“We are lucky to bring someone with Cassie’s breadth of experience in higher education and media to OTC,” said Dr. Hal Higdon, OTC chancellor. “As an Ozarks native, Cassie has a natural understanding of our culture and the needs of our students.”

Prior to joining OTC, Ms. Mathes was the vice chancellor for communications and marketing at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she was a member of the 10-person Executive Leadership Team. While at UT-Chattanooga, Ms. Mathes focused on positioning the university’s brand, and she reorganized and expanded the college’s Division of Communications and Marketing.

Before moving to Tennessee, Ms. Mathes was the director of university relations at the University of Northern Iowa, where she oversaw brand management, marketing and communications for the institution. She held a similar position at her alma mater, Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, and worked in various communication roles at Pittsburg State University in Kansas.







“OTC is well-known in higher education circles as an innovative and student-centered institution,” said Ms. Mathes. “I am energized by this opportunity and thankful to be back near my family in southwest Missouri.”

Besides her experience in higher education communications and marketing, Ms. Mathes was a journalist at The Joplin Globe and KODE-TV in Joplin. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication from Missouri Southern State University and later earned a master’s degree from Missouri State University.