Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University officials will host a university entrance and boulevard dedication service on Thursday, March 12, at 11:30 a.m.

The outdoor dedication ceremony will be held at the university’s new entrance located off Highway 7. Ouachita students, faculty and staff members are invited to participate in the dedication service.

In the event of inclement weather, the public ceremony will be cancelled and the dedication will be held as part of the Board of Trustees luncheon in the Walker Conference Center.

Ouachita President Rex M. Horne Jr., and Chancellor Ben M. Elrod will share words of dedication during the ceremony. Also speaking will be Brett Powell, OBU’s vice president for administrative services, and Jimmy Bolt, Arkadelphia city manager.

The program also will feature the Ouachita Brass under the direction of Dr. Craig Hamilton, Ouachita’s director of bands and music education chair.

"Our entrance provides a beautiful door to a campus home of students, faculty and staff who personify great hope and promise," Dr. Horne emphasized. "The entry drive is meaningful for a great impression to first-time visitors and a sense of home for those who live here."

The entrance dedication marks the completion of the first project in a multi-faceted campus construction effort. The centerpiece of the two-year, $45 million campus improvement project is a state-of-the-art Student Village complex that will feature residential facilities for more than 500 students. The student housing project, which will include fitness rooms, game rooms, study rooms and laundry facilities, will replace more than one-third of Ouachita’s current residence hall facilities.

Phase one of the Student Village construction project is scheduled for completion later this year, with phase two expected to be completed by August 2010.

 

by Trennis Henderson