Ouachita Stories

Dr. Terry DeWitt, associate professor of biological sciences and director of Ouachita Baptist University’s Athletic Training Education Program (ATEP), has been named among the nation’s “Most Distinguished Athletic Trainers” by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.

“It is an honor to have an ATEP professor who is so highly recognized by his profession,” said Dr. Joe Jeffers, dean of Ouachita’s Patterson School of Natural Sciences. “It shows a great degree of high quality involvement in athletic training over an extended period of time at local, regional and national levels.”

This award is given to the most distinguished athletic trainers throughout the nation after being nominated by their local committees. DeWitt will be honored at NATA’s annual conference this June in St. Louis. He previously has received NATA’s Athletic Training Service Award and was named the Arkansas Athletic Trainers’ Association’s 2005 Athletic Trainer of the Year.

“Dr. DeWitt and his students have performed well,” Jeffers added. “His students won the research poster competition for the state of Arkansas for the second straight year in a recent meeting at Southern Arkansas University. We are justly proud of Dr. DeWitt and his students.”

DeWitt also has been reappointed to the Arkansas State Board of Athletic Training for his third consecutive term. The board is responsible for regulating licensed athletic trainers across the state. DeWitt began his next two-year term this past January.

In the appointment letter, Gov. Mike Beebe wrote, "I appreciate your willingness to serve the public, and I am counting on your wise counsel and advice as you accept this position of responsibility. I look forward to your help and involvement as we work toward building a better future for all Arkansans."

“I’m very honored to be on the board for a third time,” DeWitt said. “Just being nominated and recommended by the state representative was such an honor.”

DeWitt earned his Bachelor of Science in Education degree at Ouachita, his Master of Education degree at Nicholls State University, his Master of Science in Education degree from Henderson State University and his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Arkansas. A faculty member at Ouachita since 1999, he will begin serving this fall as professor of kinesiology and leisure studies. He and his wife, Charlotte, an elementary school counselor, have lived in Arkadelphia for the past 23 years.

By Breanne Goodrum