Cooper contributes to campus causes

Kenneth Cooper, director of college advancement, says he never has a typical day at Cosumnes River College. He might be strolling the campus in a suit and tie, making friends on campus, or mentoring students as a representative of the college. "A lot of what I do is represent the excellence of CRC," Cooper said. He said his two-person department's first priority is raising funds for student resources like textbook scholarships, conferences and finding patrons willing to establish scholarships for the school. Cooper said he'd known CRC's last president, Dr. Francisco Rodriguez, while working as a program coordinator of Healthy Start in elementary schools. "He'd always talk to me about the opportunity to serve the community college students," Cooper said of Rodriguez. "It was definitely something I wanted to do." Cooper's colleagues describe him as intelligent, humorous, and suited for that job. In addition to coordinating the Healthy Start program, Cooper has also been involved in the Boys and Girls Club and now is part of the Brother 2 Brother program at CRC. He currently serves on the CRC Foundation board and helps organize several events at the school. "The man is a genius quietly positioned behind a tailored suit and cuff links," said Angelo Williams, interim dean of student services and enrollment management. "He does much of this work with a sleight of hand and sophistication that leaves you thinking it was your idea to contribute 20 percent more to the annual fund." Physical education professor Travis Parker, who works with Cooper in the Brother 2 Brother program, agreed and described Cooper as intelligent. "When we have discussions or when he's discussing things with students it just comes out," Parker said. Cooper, for his own part, said he enjoys working on "a campus that cares". "Every single person on this campus helps to change lives," Cooper said. "It's a great motivational factor to come in every day and see what we can do." He said most of all in his job he appreciated the opportunity to tell CRC's story to friends or potential friends of the campus. Cooper said he also enjoys the Brother 2 Brother mentoring program, which he said began when students reached out for opportunities to talk with staff members about challenges and concerns. Williams described a memorable experience he once had with Cooper when they were sitting in an office and heard a plane overhead. "He looked out of the window and leisurely described the planes' make, model, engine, history, the factory it was built in, how many were made, its cargo capacity, how many commercial airlines used that particular model, where it just flew from and the possibilities of where it would land," Williams said. "It was a true Rain Man experience."

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