23
COM Outlook . Fall 2013
Eclectic Interests Lead to Extraordinary
Life for Dr. Cecilia Rokusek
By Scott Colton, B.A., APR
COM/HPD Director of Medical Communications and Public Relations
ecause she’s such a multifaceted person, it’s difficult
to sum up the essence of Cecilia Rokusek, Ed.D., RD,
professor of family medicine/public health/disaster and
emergency preparedness and assistant dean for education,
planning, and research, in just a few words.
The compelling kaleidoscope that is Dr. Rokusek
encompasses a compelling array of facets. From being a
passionate lifelong learner who has visited 84 countries
to her noteworthy career in various aspects of academic
administration, Dr. Rokusek brings an infectious energy
to everything she does. Perhaps no words sum up Dr.
Rokusek more succinctly than the ones found in her cur-
riculum vitae, where she describes herself as a “charismatic
leader committed to higher education in a global society”
and “an innovative and visionary administrator committed
to students, faculty, staff, and the external community.”
To become the venerated professional she is today, Dr.
Rokusek began absorbing knowledge and learning life’s
lessons in a small town in South Dakota called Yankton
before relocating to nearby Tabor, where everybody liter-
ally
knew your name
. “When you grow up in a small town,
you seem to know everyone,” said Dr. Rokusek, who is a
B
proud mixture of both Czech and Slovak heritage. “There
was just one church, one physician in the entire county,
and one high school.”
Because her parents were industrious individuals, Dr.
Rokusek, who is an only child, quickly adopted their ex-
emplary work ethic and incorporated it into all phases of
her life. Her mother, who quit teaching once she got mar-
ried, later took a job at the post office in Tabor, eventually
becoming postmistress—the female version of a postmas-
ter—while her father spent 70 years working as a barber
before retiring at the age of 88.
Plotting Her Career Course
“I was very active in high school and participated in
everything from band, theater, and debate to serving on
the editorial board of the school newspaper,” said Dr.
Rokusek, who graduated as salutatorian and received
science awards in both chemistry and biology as a senior.
“What I always wanted to be was a family practice phy-
sician, so that was my plan at the time. But my mother
told me that becoming a physician would be a hard life
for a woman because this was in the mid 1960s before the
