A Jake of All Trades

Incoming freshmen at the University of Rio Grande all receive the same advice at some point during their first few weeks on campus: make the most of your time here. Jake Bapst (’75) took those words literally. He’s still here today.

“I’ve spent my entire career here—except for nine years in the 1980s,” he said. “And during those nine years, I was trying to figure out how to return.”

Jake Bapst is an institution within an institution. If you attended Rio Grande between 1971 and today, you probably know him. Jake has been an educator, archivist, historian, author, and occasional Easter Bunny. Over the years, he’s held numerous roles, including Director of the Instructional Media Center, LA 101 Coordinator, Director of Project CHAMP, Interim Director of the Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education, AmeriCorps Director, and Academic Advisor, among others.

Rio Grande captured Jake’s imagination even while he was in high school. During his junior year at Eastern (Pike) Local Schools, he attended a play at Rio Grande: Star Spangled Girl by Neil Simon, which featured Earl Thomas (’74) as one of the main characters. Shortly after that performance, Jake applied to two schools—Rio Grande and Miami University.

“Both acceptance letters came on the same day,” he recalled. “I decided to go to Rio Grande because I’d seen a play there. They also gave me some money to go to school, so that made the decision real simple.”

In 1973, Jake married Joann Snyder (’75), a fellow student he met during a theater production at Rio Grande. Jake and Josie graduated from Rio Grande College in 1975 and soon embarked on long careers in education.

After one year as an Adult Education instructor for Scioto Valley Schools in Piketon, Ohio, Jake began his career at Rio Grande College in 1976 as an adjunct instructor of Speech Communication. He left Rio to teach and coach in the Gallia County Local School system from 1980 to 1985. After that, Jake embraced the most important role of his life: stay-at-home dad, when his daughter Suzanna was born. He also taught at Marshall University, earning his M.A. in Communication Arts and Ohio School Media Certification in 1989.

Jake has always had the heart of a teacher—but he knew his heart belonged at Rio Grande.

“After a certain point in my freshman year at Rio, I didn’t want to be anywhere else,” he said. “I turned down a job at Heidelberg. A job in the media center at Rio Grande had just been posted, and I saw the post the day before my interview at Heidelberg. I had just finished graduate school at Marshall, and Heidelberg offered me a job on the spot, but I turned it down because there was a slight chance I could go back to Rio Grande.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Jake Bapst spent the remainder of his career—and retirement—at Rio Grande.

“Generations of students have been made to pay for that,” he joked.

Jake officially retired in 2013, but his commitment to Rio never faded. He has played a pivotal role in improving the region’s college-going rate, which remains about half the national average. His tireless work led to what he considers his proudest achievement: the renaming of a community college scholarship in his honor—The Jake Bapst Scholarship.

“It was a recognition for my working so hard to establish college-going culture in Southeastern Ohio,” he said. “When I found out, I was speechless—a condition that doesn’t happen very often. I still don’t know what to say. It’s awesome. And seeing kids get the financial help they need to get a college education makes it worth it.”

Since 2016, Jake has served as the volunteer archivist and historian at the University of Rio Grande. He co-authored four books with his close friend and colleague, the late Ivan Tribe. He’s currently working on a new book and helping to prepare for Rio’s 150th anniversary in 2026.

Last month, Jake received another well-deserved accolade: he was invited to give the Alumni Greeting at the 2025 commencement ceremony.

“I’ve been told I have no more than four minutes,” he said. “I don’t know how I can say ‘hi’ in four minutes.”

Though his self-deprecating humor may suggest otherwise, Jake is proud to be part of the Rio family and deeply passionate about what the university offers. He still very much has the heart of a teacher—and he proudly wears it on his sleeve.

“Since 1883, there have been 15,886 total graduates at Rio Grande,” he said. “This year’s graduating class will push us past 16,000. Rio graduates belong to a very elite society. Think about it: you are one of only 16,000 people in the world with a degree from Rio Grande. Not only that, but you’re a graduate of one of the four or five colleges in the United States founded by a woman. That’s pretty unique.”