UA Little Rock Professor Earns OVC Faculty Honor for Student Success

Dr. Casey Rockwell, assistant director and associate professor of the School of Business at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has been named the recipient of the Ohio Valley Conference Outstanding Faculty Commitment to Student Success Award. The honor comes as UA Little Rock, a current OVC member, prepares to transition to the United Athletic Conference on July 1.

The award, announced at the OVC Basketball Championship tournament, recognizes outstanding faculty across conference institutions for their student impact, contributions to department and university curricula, professional development, community involvement and institutional service.

“My first reaction was genuine surprise, followed quickly by gratitude,” Rockwell said. “Like most faculty, I’m often focused on the next class session, the next student meeting, or the next report, and don’t stop to think about awards. My thoughts quickly turned to my students, many of whom are balancing demanding jobs or Division I athletics with rigorous academic programs. Their perseverance embodies what this award represents.”

Rockwell credits UA Little Rock, especially the School of Business, with shaping her approach to teaching. Working at a university rooted in access, opportunity, and real-world relevance has reinforced her focus on ensuring each course, assignment, and experience helps prepare students for long-term success. The school’s “Know Your Worth” motto — the idea that every student’s education should yield a measurable return in their career and life — serves as a constant reminder that what happens in the classroom must pay dividends well beyond it.

That mindset is especially evident in how Rockwell works with student-athletes, whom she recognizes as effectively managing two full-time commitments at once. She prioritizes flexibility and proactive communication, meeting with student-athletes early in the semester to align assignment deadlines and exam dates with their travel and competition schedules, all while holding them to the same academic standards as every other student.

“Student-athletes are not only competitors — they are emerging professionals,” Rockwell said, “and I want them to leave here understanding that their education is an investment in themselves.”

For Rockwell, that belief in student potential is inseparable from what she teaches and how she teaches it. She was drawn to law, management, marketing, and technology because of where those disciplines intersect — strategy, people, and innovation — where decisions carry immediate consequences and advantages for organizations and communities. 

“Business law allows me to show students how legal rules shape everything from contracts and branding to real estate development and technology adoption,” Rockwell said. “We can move seamlessly from doctrine to real-world examples — analyzing influencer agreements, walking neighborhoods when we study eminent domain, or unpacking the fine print of a contract a student may someday sign.”

That carries particular weight for college athletes working to reach the next level. For a student-athlete hoping to sign a professional contract, understanding the legal language is not just an academic exercise, it is preparation for one of the most important moments of their career.

For Rockwell, the award represents something larger than her own work. It affirms her efforts at UA Little Rock and the School of Business and connects her to a broader community of faculty across the OVC committed to the same mission. The students she teaches go on to work, lead and build in Little Rock and across Arkansas, and she sees the classroom as the starting point for that impact.

“What keeps me motivated is seeing students transform over time — from tentative first-year or MBA students into confident professionals, graduate students, and, in some cases, future lawyers and community leaders,” Rockwell said. “It’s especially rewarding to watch student-athletes and working students discover that their education is not just a requirement but an investment in themselves and in the communities they will serve.”