08/26/2026
Remembering Two Pillars of Rich Mountain
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
— Henry Adams
There are losses that are easy to calculate, and then are those that are difficult to measure. This month, our college and our community experienced the loss of two individuals with the passing of Rudi Timmerman and Susan "Susie" Mosley, but the true loss is immeasurable. Though their personalities, teaching styles, and areas of expertise were very different, both were pillars of Rich Mountain—educators whose influence reached far beyond their classrooms and whose commitment to students and community left an enduring mark.
Rudi Timmerman spent 32 years at the college, teaching physics, physical science, and chemistry before also serving as a media specialist. He was an educator who seemed to believe that learning should be experienced, not simply explained. As a pilot, he took students into the air to demonstrate principles of physics. As a scientist, he had students build a boat from cardboard and duct tape and then test it on the lower pond. His approach to teaching was serious about learning without taking itself too seriously.
Former Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Krystal Thrailkill remembered that quality well, describing Dr. Timmerman as having a “fun and mischievous approach to teaching.” She added, “His students simply thought he was an entertaining professor, until they took his exams and realized how much he taught them. He understood how to reach students who did not consider themselves strong in science. As a colleague, he was progressive, innovative, and unafraid to broach difficult topics and provide a reasoned argument for his position.”
That same energy extended well beyond the classroom. Rudi helped secure funding for the college's radio tower and media van and established the radio and television stations, including Channel 19. He donated countless hours recording community events, from athletic events and plays to board meetings and political interviews. He also took that spirit of service into the Ouachita Little Theatre (OLT), where he performed and directed; the theater's auditorium was named in his honor during his lifetime.
Rudi's sense of humor was never far from his commitment to community. During a Christmas Telethon, he had a student ride a motorcycle from the nursing hall to the Student Union to deliver Santa's check, with the funds benefiting local children. Stories like this help explain why people remember him not simply as a professor, but as a force of energy and personality. As former student Chase Busch recalled, Rudi combined extraordinary knowledge with an ability to make learning accessible, describing him as “Bill Nye the Science Guy and Neil deGrasse Tyson” before either had become the household names they are today.
Susan Mosley left a different kind of imprint. The daughter of a teacher and a principal, education was clearly woven into her life, but her influence was rooted in a belief that was distinctly her own: education should be an opportunity rather than a barrier. She began her 26-year career at the college as an adjunct instructor, later serving half-time in humanities and half-time with the Foundation before becoming a full-time humanities faculty member. She taught speech, humanities through the arts, and education. She was also among the early faculty members willing to rethink the traditional college schedule, teaching a Saturday course long before online education made alternative scheduling commonplace.
Chancellor Phillip Wilson described Susan as “a force of nature,” remembering her passion for the humanities and her belief that every learner deserved a chance at higher education, regardless of background. That philosophy was matched by the way she treated people. Former student and current Director of Marketing Ilana Burk remembers taking Susan's Oral Communications class in 2004: “Honestly, she intimidated me,” Ilana recalled, “but I loved her as a professor and even more as a person. She always had such a bubbly personality, and her laugh was contagious for sure.”
Susan's commitment to education did not end with her retirement from the college. She was named Emeritus Faculty of Rich Mountain Community College and continued serving the community through her work with the Polk County Library Board. Appointed by Polk County Judge Ray B. Stanley, she served as board president and worked with Representative Bill Abernathy in efforts instrumental to establishing the Ouachita Mountains Regional Library, which serves Polk and Montgomery counties. The Polk County Library's community room was named in her honor.
Rudi and Susan were different in countless ways. One might turn a science lesson into an adventure involving an airplane or a homemade boat; the other believed in the power of words, communication, and literacy to open doors, while making students feel welcomed and capable of walking through them. Yet beneath those differences was something they shared: a deep belief in the value of education and in the potential of the people they served.
Their influence did not end when they left the classroom, and it will not end with their passing. It lives on in former students, in colleagues, in programs and opportunities they helped create, in community institutions they strengthened, and in the stories people continue to tell about them.
The loss of Rudi Timmerman and Susan "Susie" Mosley in the same month is a tremendous one for Rich Mountain and for the communities they served. The world—and certainly our corner of it—is a lesser place without them. But the measure of a teacher is not simply the years they were present. It is what remains because they were here in the first place.
Rest in peace, Rudi and Susan.
