Our Mission

School of Humanities Mission

The mission of the School of Humanities of Ouachita Baptist University is to provide quality education in the academic areas of Communications, English, and Modern Foreign Languages in concert with the mission of the University as a church-related, liberal arts University. As such, the faculty is committed to providing an atmosphere of learning dependent upon excellent instruction, careful student advising, challenging assignments, and thoughtful dialogue. Further, the faculty is committed to professional growth.

Rosemary Adams Department of Art & Design Mission

The Rosemary Adams Department of Art & Design provides an environment and curriculum devoted to promoting and nurturing creative and critical thinking skills, individual artistic expression, and spiritual growth within the framework of a Christian-based liberal arts program that balances tradition and innovation, and values diverse approaches to art making and design. Our vision is to provide a structured, creative environment that enables students to ask questions, solve problems, and take risks as they gain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for meaningful and productive lives as artists, designers, and citizens of the world. The Rosemary Adams Department of Art & Design is a collaborative teaching and learning environment that encourages students to develop meaningful interaction across the visual arts and other disciplines.

Education in art develops appreciation for the beautiful and harmonious in life. Courses in art are open to students wishing to develop critical and creative abilities and to students desiring professional art training.

Rogers Department of Communications Mission

As an active part of a church-related, liberal arts institution, the Rogers Department of Communications is committed to combining the love of God with the love of learning. We are further committed not only to educating our students but also to preparing them for places of leadership and service. We seek to accomplish these goals by providing opportunities for our students to grow in their abilities to think critically, to think creatively, to mature in their appreciation of the world, to communicate effectively and to accept their obligation to serve God and humanity.

Communications and Media students will

demonstrate an understanding of the history, theories, and role of communications in society, as well as current issues in each of the major fields of media.
understand concepts and demonstrate an ability to apply theories in the creative production and presentation of images and information. The students should be able to employ technology appropriate for the communications professions in which they work.
demonstrate the ability to write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve. They should also demonstrate accuracy and fairness in media writing.
know and understand communications law appropriate to professional practice.
demonstrate the ability to think critically and independently.
demonstrate the ability to create and present messages appropriate to audience, purpose, and context.

Emphases

Strategic Communications: Students will demonstrate the ability to develop and present an integrated advertising/public relations plan that meets the objectives established by a real-world client and reflects the content of the courses completed in the emphasis.
Visual Media & Film: Students should demonstrate an understanding of the history and impact of the film and broadcasting media and should demonstrate effective skill in creating meaningful content for these media and other platforms.
Multimedia Journalism: Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate stories using both print and video platforms.
Sports Media: Students will demonstrate the story-telling of sports events and people through print or broadcasting.
Communications Studies: Students will demonstrate an ability to present oral arguments reflecting rhetorical theory and will demonstrate an understanding of theories and concepts of interpersonal communication.

Department of Language and Literature Mission

The mission of the Department of Language and Literature is to provide the students of the university and other constituencies the highest quality education in language and literature.

Students completing the baccalaureate program in English will

have a knowledge of English syntax and the works, genres, and periods of English and American literature that compares favorably with that of English majors graduating from other American institutions,
be capable of writing an essay on a literary topic that is knowledgeable, mechanically correct, and rhetorically effective,
be capable of reading works of English or American literature with mature understanding,
be able to conduct research in the field of English and American literature, and
be able to combine the four areas outlined above in documented essays that show a knowledge of literature, an ability to convey that knowledge through effective writing skills, an ability to read a literary work with mature understanding, and an ability to support their conclusions with what they have discovered in their

Students completing the baccalaureate program in Spanish will

to read Spanish-language current periodicals, academic articles, and literature.
to write essays, compositions and academic papers in Spanish.
to speak Spanish, correctly using all verbal tenses and grammatical moods, with a minimum of mistakes and pauses.
to comprehend spoken Spanish in subjects that include historical and current events, and academic presentations.
to be capable of engaging positively with native Spanish speakers through an effective understanding of the cultures, history and values of the Spanish-speaking world as demonstrated by success in study abroad or service learning.