A Promise Kept: Clementson ’15 Honors Taz’s Legacy at Ozarks

Nearly a decade after the sudden loss of a beloved classmate, University of the Ozarks alumnus Cole Clementson '15 is ensuring that the spirit, creativity, and generosity of his friend Theodore "Taz" Beard IV '15 continue to shape lives at Ozarks for generations to come.

Clementson (pictured left) recently made a beneficiary gift commitment to the University in support of the Theodore "Taz" Beard IV '15 Scholarship Endowment, honoring the memory of Beard, a friend whose impact on campus remains deeply felt.

Beard died from injuries sustained in a vehicular accident in March 2015, two months before he was scheduled to graduate from Ozarks. He was posthumously awarded his degree that May.

In 2021, Clementson and several of Beard's classmates and friends established the scholarship endowment in his honor. Beard was a popular student known for his infectious personality and boundless creativity - he was a member of the men's basketball team and also an accomplished artist and musician. He also used his artistic talents as a prosthetic technician.

Clementson, who works in marketing and communications for a patient advocacy organization in Washington, D.C., said that after reflecting on how he could further support the scholarship, a beneficiary commitment felt like the right next step.

"My original mindset was to 'lead by example,' but that seems a bit arrogant in hindsight," Clementson said. "There are a lot of people looking for an excuse to do good in the world. It's not enough just to say, 'I want Taz to have a legacy' and leave it at that without putting your money where your mouth is."

Describing Beard's death as something that "devastated anyone he ever touched," Clementson has organized birthday fundraisers in Beard's honor through social media over the years.

"I always kick it off with a matching gift challenge, and I'm always humbled by the response," he said. "Taz has been gone for a whole decade now. It's insane. Several familiar faces regularly donate when I do this fundraiser, but I still find myself surprised. I remember one year I did it, Tyler Hydrick almost immediately matched my challenge with $1,000. I was astounded. You never truly know what sort of impact someone has on someone else until you see a gesture like that. There are still people who remember him so well and chip in to support a cause in his name because it's just the opportunity they were looking for to make a small but meaningful part of the world a little brighter."

Although Clementson and Beard never shared a class, their friendship formed quickly and deeply.

"As a dormmate and friend, he was the kind of guy that could light up any room he walked into," Clementson said. "You don't get a lot of friends in college who are capable of having a good time, but also unashamedly vulnerable. He wasn't just looking to party or get a degree. He saw many different sides of the people he connected with, and always wanted to know more."

Clementson said Beard was a powerful example of what it means to pursue life with passion and intention.

"He did everything he wanted to do with more fervor than I've ever seen from another person," he said. "I've known some people to get incredibly focused on one thing and do it well, but Taz was zealous about everything he put his mind to-rap, basketball, and especially his art. He even wrote a children's book for his son, and I can't stress enough how objectively fantastic it was. The amount of consideration and effort he put into polishing every interest he had, while never forgetting to live his best life, is a combination of skills I don't think I'll ever come close to mastering, but I think it's the perfect model for how one should aspire to live."

Clementson's reflection on his own experience as a student and scholarship recipient at Ozarks helped inspire him to make the beneficiary commitment to the Beard scholarship.

"I was once interviewed by Dr. Rickey Casey and Debby Mooney for the Hurie Scholarship and that scholarship was the biggest reason I was able to go to U of O," he said. "I remember one of their questions was something along the lines of: 'after graduating from U of O, how would you give back?' and I brazenly told them that I'd create a scholarship. I meant it then, though I never expected a friend's passing to be what spurred me into taking actionable steps."

"When Taz first passed, there was a community to grieve with. But time marches on. People settle into careers, get married. have children. And while it's marching, what becomes of those frozen in a moment? If you get two deaths, and the second comes the last time someone says your name, all the more reason to make sure others have a good reason to speak it into perpetuity. Thoughts like that pushed me to finally honor my original promise to give back in a way to make sure Taz hopefully won't ever be completely left behind."

For those interested in making a gift to the Theodore "Taz" Beard IV '15 Scholarship Endowment or in establishing a beneficiary gift in honor or memory of a classmate or loved one, please contact Brian Henderson, director of development, at [email protected] or 479-979-1304.

Topics: Alumni, Giving