Ouachita Stories

Preparing to unveil a joint partnership project, U.S. Congressman Mike Ross and Ouachita Baptist University President Rex Horne will host a special announcement and press conference Friday, Dec. 7, on Ouachita’s Arkadelphia campus.

The announcement and press conference will be held at 4 p.m. in Young Auditorium in Ouachita’s Hickingbotham Hall. A reception will follow in the lobby of Hickingbotham Hall. Both events are open to the public.

“Ouachita Baptist University has always been an exceptional example of higher education in Arkansas,” said Congressman Ross. “I am proud to have the opportunity to partner with them on a major project that will benefit all of Arkansas.”

“We are very pleased that our university’s friendship with Congressman Ross has opened up significant opportunities,” said President Horne. “In thinking of ways to reflect upon the congressman’s years of service to our state, he has determined to make Ouachita an integral partner.”

Congressman Ross of Prescott represents Arkansas' Fourth Congressional District, which includes 29 counties throughout much of the southern and western parts of the state. First elected in 2000, he is completing his sixth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A fifth-generation Arkansan and former small business owner, Congressman Ross serves on the powerful House Committee on Energy and Commerce and its subcommittees on Health; Oversight & Investigations.  He also serves as the ranking member of the U.S. delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, an association of lawmakers from each of the NATO-member countries.

Ross co-chairs the Congressional Delta Caucus, the I-49 Congressional Caucus, the I-69 Congressional Caucus. He also is co-chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, co-chair of the Second Amendment Task Force and co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative Democratic House members that advocates the principles of fiscal responsibility and government accountability.

The son of public school educators, Ross was born in Texarkana, Ark.  He and his wife, Holly, have two adult children together and are active members of the United Methodist Church.

In 1990, Ross was elected, at age 29, as the youngest member of the Arkansas State Senate where he served for 10 years. He also is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a former member of the Nevada County Quorum Court.

Media interested in covering the Dec. 7 event may contact Dustin Smith, Congressman Ross’ communications director, at 870-536-3376 or Trennis Henderson, OBU vice president for communications, at 870-245-5206, for additional information.

By Trennis Henderson, OBU vice president for communications