Ouachita Baptist University

Motto	Vision. Integrity. Service.
Established	1886
Type	Private
Religious affiliation	Arkansas Baptist State Convention
Endowment	$65.4 million[1]
President	Rex M. Horne
Academic staff	117
Undergraduates	1,448
Location	Arkadelphia, Arkansas, USA
Campus	Suburban, 160 acres (0.65 km2) (City of Arkadelphia, Clark County, Arkansas)
Mascot	Tiger
Website	www.obu.edu

Ouachita Baptist University is a private, liberal arts, undergraduate institution located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, which is about 65 miles southwest of Little Rock. The university's name is taken from the Ouachita (pronounced Wash'-uh-taw) River, which forms the eastern campus boundary. It is affiliated with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. The student body is approximately 45% male and 55% female.

History

Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) was founded as Ouachita Baptist College on September 6, 1886 and has operated continually since that date. It was originally located on the campus of Ouachita Baptist High School. Its present location is on the former campus of the Arkansas School for the Blind, which relocated to Little Rock.

The first president was Professor J. W. Conger who was elected to the post on June 22, 1886. The OBU Board of Trustees unanimously selected Dr. Rex Horne, former pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, as the fifteenth president of Ouachita Baptist University on April 6, 2006. Those who have served as president include: J.W. Conger (1886–1907), Henry Simms Hartzog (1907–1911), R.G. Bowers (1911–1913), Samuel Young Jameson (1913–1916), Charles Ernest Dicken (1916–1926), Arthur B. Hill (1926–1929), Charles D. Johnson (1929–1933), James R. Grant (1933–1949), Seaford Eubanks (1949–1951), Harold A. Haswell (1952–1953), Ralph Arloe Phelps Jr. (1953–1969), Daniel R. Grant (1970–1988), Ben M. Elrod (1988–1998), and Andrew Westmoreland (1998–2006).

In 1965 the College changed its name to Ouachita Baptist University. Recent years have seen a steady expansion of the campus, including the Harvey Jones Science Center (1997), the Frank D. Hickingbotham School of Business in Hickingbotham Hall (2006) and the Student Village residence halls (2009).

Academics

Ouachita Baptist University focuses on undergraduate programs in the liberal arts. It offers 64 degree programs in eight academic schools: School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Frank D. Hickingbotham School of Business, Chelsey and Elizabeth Pruett School of Christian Studies, Michael D. Huckabee School of Education, School of Fine Arts, Sutton School of Social Sciences, J. D. Patterson School of Natural Sciences, and School of Humanities. Most students earn a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), but the school also offers Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Bachelor of Music (B.M.) programs. Study abroad programs are offered through the Center for International Studies. Two classes in religion are part of the core curriculum and graduation requires seven credits of chapel (earned by regular chapel attendance during a semester).

OBU operates on the traditional credit hour system. The student to faculty ratio is approximately 13:1. The university has been highly ranked in a number of college surveys, including being ranked the No. 1 Regional College in the South by U.S. News & World Report for four consecutive years since 2008. There is a joint Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program with neighboring Henderson State University. The OBU ROTC program dates back to 1886 and has at times been called the "West Point of the Ozarks" for the large number of U.S. Army officers it produced.

The University is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), National Association for Schools of Music, the Commission on the Accreditation of Athletic Training Education Programs (CAATE), and the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) of the American Dietetic Association.^[2]

Campus

Ouachita Baptist has an 85 acre campus. There are eight academic buildings: Jones Performing Arts Center (which includes the Verser Theatre), Moses Provine Hall, Mabee Fine Arts Building, McClellan Hall, Lile Hall, Hickingbotham Hall, the Harvey Jones Science Center and the Berry Bible Building. The campus also houses a number of administrative buildings, two school libraries, conference centers, residence halls and a dining facility. OBU operates five off-campus apartment complexes for upperclassmen.

Student life

Ouachita is primarily a residential campus, with 94% percent of the students living in one of eight on-campus dorms and five off-campus apartment complexes. Only students who have family in the area or who are over the age of 22 are allowed to live elsewhere. Campus policies restrict students visiting the rooms of those of the opposite sex to special visiting hours and under strict guidelines.

Ouachita does not allow nationally-affiliated social fraternities or sororities, but there are local fraternities and sororities called "social clubs." Approximately 20% of the student body are members of such clubs. Annually during Homecoming Weekend the social clubs produce a musical show called Tiger Tunes. There are also more than 40 student organizations. The Campus Activities Board offers concerts, movies and the Office of Campus Ministries offers other activities for students.

Athletics

OBU fields intercollegiate men's teams in football, baseball, basketball, golf, swimming, tennis, soccer and wrestling. Women's sports include basketball, swimming, tennis, volleyball, cross country, soccer, softball and golf. The school mascot is the Tiger, and colors are purple and gold. As of Fall 2011, Ouachita will begin competition in the Great American Conference, after previously being a member of the Gulf South Conference. The Great American Conference consists of 6 schools from Arkansas and 3 schools from Oklahoma.

Ouachita has an intense crosstown rivalry with Henderson State University, a public university located across a small ravine from the Ouachita campus. The annual "Battle of the Ravine" between the two schools is the fifth oldest football rivalry in college sports. The teams first met in 1895.

Successful intercollegiate teams include the 2009 swimming teams, with the men's team finishing fifth in the nation and the women's team sixth. The 2008 Ouachita baseball team finished second in Division II.^[3]

Several intramural sports are also available for both men and women. These include football, basketball, softball, racquetball, volleyball, dodgeball, indoor hockey and tennis.

Notable alumni

Alumnus Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and U.S. Presidential Candidate

• Shelley Breen, Heather Payne, Denise Jones, and Terry Jones (singer) of Christian pop music group Point of Grace
• Winston Bryant - Attorney General of Arkansas, 1990 to 1999
• Doak S. Campbell - president of Florida State College for Women (1941–1947) and then Florida State University (1947–1957)
• Mark Darr - Arkansas Lt. Governor, 2011 to present
• Alyse Eady - Miss Arkansas 2010
• Kristen Glover - Miss Arkansas 2011
• Leon Green - noted legal scholar, dean of Northwestern University School of Law
• Cliff Harris - former All-Pro Dallas Cowboys safety
• William Holloway - Governor of Oklahoma, 1929 to 1931
• Mike Huckabee - Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, 2008 Republican President candidate
• Travis Jackson - Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop for New York Giants in 1920s and 1930s
• Susan McDougal - involved in Whitewater scandal, author of The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk
• Linda Gamble, pioneer in women's basketball
• William Miller - professional football player in the Canadian Football League and the USFL
• William Edward "Big Ed" Neal - professional football player (1945–51) in the National Football League with the Green Bay Packers.
• Julius Pruitt - a professional football wide receiver (2009 to present) for the Miami Dolphins.
• Bob C. Riley - Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas and interim Governor of Arkansas, decorated veteran of World War II
• Russ Taff - former Gaither Vocal Band and Imperial Quartet member and renowned soloist in the Southern gospel music industry
• Aaron Ward - infielder for New York Yankees (1917–26), Chicago White Sox (1927) and Cleveland Indians (1928)
• Kendra Ann Thomas - author of young adult novels Ravenheart and Sorrowheart
• Steven Bryant - American composer and conductor for wind ensemble and orchestra, studied under W. Francis McBeth

See also

• Southern Baptist Convention
• Arkansas Baptist State Convention
• List of Southern Baptist Convention affiliated people

External links

• Ouachita Baptist University
• Ouachita Tigers

References

1. ^ As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2009_NCSE_Public_Tables_Endowment_Market_Values.pdf. Retrieved February 26, 2010. 
2. ^ Ouachita Baptist University: Accreditations and Memberships, Retrieved 2010-10-23
3. ^ Division II Baseball Champion, Retrieved 2010-11-04