OTC hires former Drury communications director

Just eight weeks after leaving his post as associate director of marketing and communications at Drury University for a job as spokesman and issues coordinator at his alma mater, the University of Colorado-Boulder, Mark Miller is back in the Ozarks.

Miller has accepted a job as college director of communications for Ozarks Technical Community College, citing family concerns as his reason for returning.

"Basically, it came down to our house didn't sell and we didn't want to uproot our boys in the middle of a semester," Miller said of his seventh- and ninth-grade sons. "When I took the job in Colorado, we set parameters about moving the family and selling the house that were not met.

"The other option was waiting until June to be reunited with my family. That's too long."

Miller said he decided to pursue the position with OTC and was offered a comparable compensation package.

"My wife has worked at OTC for 8 years and is now a full-time instructor, so this is a great fit for our family,"  he said. "In Denver, I was living with my parents and driving 50 miles each way to work.

"It was a great job and I enjoyed my time there, but it just wasn't the right fit for our family at this time."

His last day at the University of Colorado was Dec. 23.

Prior to his five-year stint at Drury, Miller worked eight years at KOZL and KOLR in Springfield in news, sports and account management, and five years as a sports anchor and reporter at WPSD in Paducah, Ky., according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

At OTC, Miller replaces Joel Doepker, who started Nov. 4 as vice president of external relations for East Central College in the east Missouri city of Union.

Miller said he is already back in the Ozarks and formally starts with OTC Jan. 6, following approval by the college's board of trustees.