Ouachita Stories

magazine

November 09, 2026

Jay Derby reflects on more than 25 years with the Ouachita football program, including his Tiger coaching debut in the 1999 Battle of the Ravine.

blog

Why Ouachita Is Putting Its Faith in Writing

November 8, 2026

Should a university that has been Baptist since 1886 ask the people who teach and work there to affirm a faith commitment consistent with Arkansas Baptists? Most people would probably say yes. Some good and faithful people see it differently, and I want to take their concerns seriously.

blog

For Such a Time as This

November 6, 2026

December graduate Kyndall Fomby-Bell first heard the gospel at Ouachita. Read how a Bible class, a professor and a roommate led her to Christ.

Ouachita adds $23,000-a-year Trustee's Scholarship as top merit award

November 4, 2026

Ouachita Theatre Arts to explore life's unexpected connections in "This Random World"

October 30, 2026

Upcoming Events

Nov 10

Chamber Ensembles

Nov 12

Celebrate Gratitude

Nov 13

Last Day to Withdraw from a Residential Class

Nov 14

BOTR Visit Day

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The Signal Student Newspaper

OUACHITA CIRCLE: FALL // WINTER 2025

The alumni magazine of Ouachita Baptist University

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Ouachita has faced high times and low times. Years of strength and years of struggle. Through all these seasons — institutional and individual — one certainty remains: God's faithfulness.

The Why Behind Our Traditions

While we often want to hold on to the comfort of traditions, I think it’s important to ask why they were important to us. What about the behavior do we long to preserve? I often remind students to think beyond the behavior of a tradition and consider the belief behind it. What is it about the tradition that is important? Often, the importance is found in the why.

Staff Profile: Sonny Jackson

One member of the Ouachita family was Sonny Jackson. Once a professional middleweight boxer in the Pacific Northwest, Sonny wasn't a Ouachita graduate. But he was very much part of the family as a member and later the head of Ouachita's grounds crew.

Staff Profile: Rosemary Chu

When I give the newly arrived freshmen a taste of Ouachita history before classes start each fall, I tell the inspirational story of Rosemary Chu. What Chu had was the investment she had made in Ouachita. And Ouachita invested in her.

Faculty Profile: Phil Rice

What an honor it is to share a few words about a man who impacted my life so profoundly. As a good Baptist, I thought I would arrange my thoughts around three alliterative points: paper, people and purpose.

Ken Sandifer (left) with two students conducting field research on poisened fish. Photo from the 1965 Ouachitonian yearbook.

Faculty Profile: Kenneth Sandifer

Tim Knight shares about his professor and colleague, Kenneth Sandifer, professor emeritus of biology at Ouachita.

Faculty Profile: Bill Downs

Melinda Mayo reflects on her professor, Bill Downs, professor emeritus of mass communications, who served Ouachita for 41 years.

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