Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University has announced that family and friends of Margaret Wright have established a memorial scholarship to honor her life and legacy. Mrs. Wright, a longtime Ouachita faculty member, died March 6 at age 70.

During her 36 years of service at Ouachita, Mrs. Wright served as chair of the Department of Accounting, chair of the Division of Business and Economics and director of corporate and foundation programs. She also was instrumental in helping establish the Frank D. Hickingbotham School of Business.

Mrs. Wright, a 1967 Ouachita honors graduate, majored in accounting with a minor in economics. A certified public accountant, she earned her graduate degree from North Texas State University.

Upon her retirement in 2004, the Ouachita Board of Trustees honored her as professor emerita of accounting. She and her husband, Dr. Charles Wright, professor emeritus of music and former dean of Ouachita’s School of Fine Arts, moved to Little Rock following their retirement.

In keeping with Mrs. Wright’s personal and professional impact, the Margaret Wright Memorial Scholarship is designed for full-time students pursuing majors in the Hickingbotham School of Business. According to the scholarship guidelines, scholarship recipients “must meet the academic standards of the university for scholarship qualification, have established a record of academic excellence and must be a good citizen of the campus community.”

Reflecting on Mrs. Wright’s faithful service to the university, Ouachita President Rex Horne said, “Margaret Wright embodied the best of Ouachita. Her professionalism, commitment to students and devotion to Ouachita was exemplary.”

Ouachita Trustee Frank Hickingbotham compared Mrs. Wright’s widespread influence to the thousands of visible stars in the night sky. “When you look at the stars in the heaven at night,” he said,” you see the majestic and the eternal influence on the lives of all the students she touched as their friend and professor.”

“We are pleased that Margaret’s family and friends have chosen to honor her in this way,” said Terry Peeples, Ouachita’s vice president for development, “Contributions to this and other scholarships help us provide needed assistance to deserving students who are pursuing their goal of a Ouachita education.”

Anyone who would like to donate to this tribute to Mrs. Wright may send their gifts to the Ouachita Baptist University Office of Development, Box 3754, 410 Ouachita Street, Arkadelphia, AR  71998 or call 870-245-5169.