Former Ouachita President Ben Elrod left enduring legacy of servant leadership
August 08, 2018
- Trennis Henderson
Dr. Ben M. Elrod, former president and longtime chancellor of Ouachita Baptist University,
passed away Aug. 7 at age 87. He is remembered for a lasting legacy of leadership
and service at Ouachita during his decade as president and beyond.
Dr. Elrod served as Ouachita’s 13th president from 1988 to 1998. A 1952 graduate of Ouachita, he also served as a member
of the Board of Trustees and as vice president for development. He was named chancellor
following his retirement as president.
According to Dr. Dan Grant, Elrod’s predecessor and longtime colleague and friend,
“When Ouachita asked me to serve as president, my first call was to Ben Elrod. I asked
him to serve as chief fundraiser for Ouachita, and his acceptance began a lifetime
partnership and friendship.
“Ouachita has lost a great friend and Christian higher education has lost a great
leader,” emphasized Dr. Grant, president emeritus of Ouachita. “His wisdom, enthusiasm
and faithfulness have been a great benefit not only to Ouachita but to higher education
in America and beyond.”
Among his many leadership accomplishments, Dr. Elrod led the university in raising
$57 million during Phases I and II of Ouachita’s Decade of Progress Campaign. Signature
achievements during his tenure included the construction of the university’s landmark
Jones Performing Arts Center in 1992 and Harvey Jones Science Center in 1997.
Other major campus construction projects included R.A. Lile Hall, Heflin (now Ward)
Tennis Center, Anthony and Maddox residence halls, the International Flag Plaza, the
Katie Speer Pavilion and the renovation of Cone-Bottoms Hall to house the Grant Administration
Center.
“I met Dr. Elrod during my first week as president,” recalled Ouachita President Ben
Sells. “He and Betty Lou hosted me in their home. Sharing some of her famous chocolate
pie, they told me their Ouachita story. I asked him for advice that afternoon, and
I have not forgotten his counsel. Just a few weeks ago, I was in his home, learning
more Ouachita history, and I always left encouraged.
“Dr. Elrod was Ouachita’s first true vice president for development, and the university
continues to benefit from the work he inaugurated in the 1960s,” Dr. Sells added.
“I believe the legacy of a college president becomes more evident with the passing
of time. The longer I’m at Ouachita, the clearer it is that Ben Elrod’s impact is
significant and enduring.”
In recognition of Dr. Elrod’s lifelong commitment to servant leadership, volunteerism
and community service, the Board of Trustees named Ouachita’s Ben M. Elrod Center
for Family and Community in his honor upon his retirement as president. He was further
honored with the dedication of a new Elrod Center facility in 2015.
Dr. and Mrs. Elrod also were honored by the university community in 2009 with the
dedication of Ben and Betty Elrod Boulevard, which was designed as the main entrance
to campus from Highway 7.
“I am so proud that we have named the boulevard in honor of Dr. Ben and Betty Lou
Elrod,” Dr. Rex Horne, Ouachita’s 15th president, said during the dedication service. “No one loves Ouachita more. Their
lives of service and devotion to Ouachita are exemplary.”
In a 2011 essay published in Ouachita Voices: Celebrating 125 Years of Academic and Christian Excellence, Dr. Elrod wrote that his vision as president was “to inform, mobilize and solicit
the involvement of the larger Ouachita constituency in a one-decade effort to move
the institution to a new level of capability, excellence, reputation and effectiveness
in the world of higher education,” adding that “all of that would be devoted to the
development of a ‘university under the Lordship of Christ.’”
Looking to the future, Dr. Elrod declared, “An institution such as Ouachita is a living
entity, created afresh by each generation. … It is exciting to view a new Ouachita
being built on the foundation of the past. The future of Ouachita will be, no doubt,
beyond our most ambitious dreams.”
“Dr. Ben Elrod was a multi-faceted leader,” reflected Ian Cosh, vice president for
community and international engagement and director of the Elrod Center.
Noting that “the Elrod Center for Family and Community that coordinates service at
Ouachita perfectly reflects the passion of his life,” Cosh said, “He believed in the
power of experiential learning and wanted Ouachita to be known as a university committed
to learning that starts in the classroom and moves beyond it to meet the needs of
a hurting world.
“My hope is that future generations of Ouachitonians will follow his example by using
their education and their skills to bless others and be the servant leaders that he
showed himself to be in word and in deed,” he added.
Cosh and fellow Ouachita alumnus Rex Nelson published a 2016 biography of Dr. Elrod
titled Giving Until It Feels Good – Ben M. Elrod: Arkansas Educator and Fundraiser. The biography describes Dr. Elrod as “one of Arkansas’ most respected leaders in the
20th century,” emphasizing that “Ouachita and the state of Arkansas are better places
because he walked among us.”
“Ben Elrod is one of the men I respect most in life,” said Nelson, senior editor of
the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “It’s important that we record the story of Ben Elrod for those who come later. His
legacy will live on in this state for decades to come.”
In addition to his Ouachita degree, Dr. Elrod earned Bachelor of Divinity and Doctor
of Theology degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of
Education degree in higher education from Indiana University. He was honored as a
distinguished alumnus both at Ouachita and Southwestern Seminary and was awarded an
honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Oakland City College.
Dr. Elrod, an ordained minister, served as pastor of churches in Arkansas, Texas and
Oklahoma as well as president of Oakland City College in Indiana, Georgetown College
in Kentucky and Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He also served as
president of the Association of Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools, which named
him the 1997-98 Outstanding Christian Educator, chairman of the Cooperative Services
International Education Consortium and president of the Arkadelphia Rotary Club. He
served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Arkansas Economic Development
Commission, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Arkadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
Dr. Elrod is survived by his wife of 67 years, Betty Lou; daughter, Cindy Elrod Stroud;
son, Bill Elrod; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held at Ruggles Wilcox Funeral Home in Arkadelphia on Friday, Aug.
10, from 6:30-8 p.m. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 11, at 2:30
p.m. at First Baptist Church Arkadelphia. Interment will follow at 5:30 p.m. at Greenwood
Cemetery in Rison. Memorial gifts may be made to the Ben M. Elrod Center for Family
and Community at Ouachita Baptist University, OBU Box 3790, 410 Ouachita Street, Arkadelphia
AR 71998.
By Trennis Henderson on behalf of OBU Office of Communications & Marketing // Photo
by Wesley Kluck
Aug. 8, 2018
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