Ouachita to host Innovation Summit, keynote speaker Rep. Bruce Westerman
March 26, 2019
- Rachel MorenoOuachita Baptist University will host its inaugural Innovation Summit on Monday, April 8. The summit, which focuses this year on “Sustainable Forestry and Wood Products for the Future,” will feature presentations by experts in the fields of forestry and innovative wood products, including keynote speaker Congressman Bruce Westerman. It will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Walker Conference Center on Ouachita’s campus.
Congressman Bruce Westerman, a native of Hot Springs, is to be the keynote speaker for the 2019 Innovation Summit at Ouachita on Monday, April 8.
With 19 million acres of timber in the state of Arkansas, the 2019 Innovation Summit
is intended to gather industry leaders, entrepreneurs, students and others to consider
both the environmental and industrial benefits of developing sustainable forestry
methods and new, strategic uses for wood products in Arkansas. The summit will focus
especially on consumer products, bio-chemical products and building products. The
idea for the gathering was sparked by the insight that while Arkansas has an abundance
of timber, much of the innovation for wood products is occurring in other states.
“Our hope is that in hearing from these speakers – some who will talk about this topic
broadly, and others deeply – we will fire the imagination of students and people in
this region to think creatively about how we can use the abundance of the natural
resource that we have in a way that is sustainable, usable by consumers around the
world, and beneficial to the local economy,” said Ouachita President Ben Sells.
Rep. Westerman, the keynote speaker for the 2019 Innovation Summit, is a Hot Springs
native and engineer and forester by trade. He serves on the Committee on Natural Resources
and is a Ranking Member of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee. He also
holds a Master of Forestry degree from Yale University.
Other guest speakers include: Jody Doak, plant manager for Highland Pellets based
in Pine Bluff, who has 25 years of experience in the fiber and energy sector overseeing
product development and process optimization; Joe Fox, Arkansas’ state forester, director
of the Arkansas Forestry Commission and chair of the Forest Resource Management Committee
of the National Association of State Foresters; Peter MacKeith, dean of the Fay Jones
School of Architecture and Design of the University of Arkansas and a leader in the
innovation of cross-laminated timber, a product made from layers of solid-sawn lumber;
and David Sanders, director of Innovate Arkansas, a partner of Winrock International.
Sanders, a 1997 Ouachita alumnus, served in the Arkansas General Assembly from 2011
to 2019, first as a member of the House of Representatives and then the Senate.
The summit is co-sponsored by the Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance
and Area Chamber of Commerce, Henderson State University and Innovate Arkansas, an
initiative arm of Winrock International that connects entrepreneurs and industry leaders
to help the Arkansas economy.
“Today’s students are very entrepreneurial, and Ouachita’s location – in a forest,
on a bluff, by a river – provides us an opportunity to respond to a growing need in
our region and the state of Arkansas,” Sells said. “This collaboration with other
institutions demonstrates Ouachita’s ongoing commitment to foster innovation in higher
education.”
Tickets for the 2019 Innovation Summit are $35 each and include meals. Doors open
at 7:45 a.m. for registration. Breaks will take place throughout the event to allow
for networking. Register and find the schedule for the day at www.obu.edu/forestryinnovation.
By Rachel Moreno
March 26, 2019
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