Ouachita Stories

From the "Ouachitonian": Donnie Copeland

Donnie Copeland had an unconventional upbringing. He grew up over 6,000 miles away from the United States in Ogbomosho, Nigeria. His parents taught at a local seminary and did mission work, such as traveling to remote villages to connect with local churches.

Susan Wink's "Ben Kimpel" biography published posthumously

The late Dr. Susan Wink, professor emerita of English at Ouachita Baptist University, authored Ben Kimpel, a biography of the longtime chairman of the English Department at the University of Arkansas. The book was posthumously published earlier this year and is available at on Amazon.com.

Tara Pritchard named Ouachita's Support Staff Member of the Year

Ouachita Baptist University named Tara Pritchard, assistant to the dean in the Sutton School of Social Sciences, as the 2020-2021 Support Staff Member of the Year. Pritchard, who has worked at Ouachita for 16 years, was recognized on April 29 by Ouachita’s Staff Development Committee and President Dr. Ben Sells.

From the "Ouachitonian": Dr. Jeff Root

Dr. Jeff Root never considered going anywhere else but Ouachita for his undergraduate education. Since both his parents worked at OBU, he spent much of his time growing up on campus. In 1991, Dr. Root came back to Ouachita as a member of the administrative staff and faculty, and in 2002 he became the dean of the School of Humanities.

Christa Neal to serve as Ouachita Title IX coordinator, Community and Family Services program advisor

Ouachita Baptist University has announced its appointment of Christa Neal as both Title IX Coordinator for the university and program advisor for the Community and Family Services academic program, effective June 2021. Neal is the founding executive director of the Percy & Donna Malone Child Safety Center in Arkadelphia, Ark., a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and a licensed family and marriage therapist (LMFT) in the state of Arkansas.

Shepherd returns to Ouachita with goals for belonging: A Q&A with Dr. Lewis Shepherd

Dr. Lewis Shepherd returned to his alma mater in August as special assistant to the president. In an interview for the Winter 2021 Circle, Dr. Shepherd answers questions about his new role, conversations he is having with students and alumni of color and university goals for working toward a sense of belonging on campus.

Faculty Profile: Ruth Plymale, holder of the J.D. Patterson Chair of Biology

Ask Dr. Ruth Plymale what she loves about Ouachita, and her answer is easy – the students! Born in Japan and growing up in Texas and Northwest Arkansas, Plymale arrived at Ouachita to teach biology in 2009 after earning degrees at the University of Arkansas and Penn State. Now Arkadelphia feels like home and her students like family.

Staff Profile: Rob Hewell, director of Online Learning Initiatives & professor of music

While many of us were home in March learning to bake homemade bread or binging Netflix, Dr. Rob Hewell was working swiftly with IT Services and other campus partners to shift every Ouachita student to remote learning. Hewell thrived not only assisting current students but also faculty and staff with moving courses to Zoom and Moodle while continuing his typical daily work with students in Ouachita’s online degree programs.

Pandemic Profiles: Chester Mitchell, Sr., and Coleman Rogers

With nicknames like “double trouble” and “salt and pepper,” Chester Mitchell, Sr., and Coleman Rogers are the carpentry team for Facilities Management at Ouachita and are not only rarely seen apart but also good friends. With the work the duo had cut out for them last summer, any less than two sets of hands and a good sense of humor would have made overhauling campus with needed protective measures incredibly difficult.

Adapting in an unprecedented, challenging, remarkable year

"2020: The Worst Year Ever,” declared the Dec. 14 Time magazine cover. Thinking in terms of “worst” primes us to dwell on all that went wrong this year. Thinking of the ways 2020 is unprecedented invites us to acknowledge the negatives but to be grateful, too, for the good in this very challenging year.