By: Dixon Land
Dr. Ben R. Sells has been named president of Ouachita Baptist University. The announcement came in a two o’clock meeting with faculty, staff and members of the Ouachita community. Sells will begin his tenure as president effective June 1.
“I’ve got a lot to learn about Ouachita. I want to get to know students, faculty, staff and alumni. As I learn more about Ouachita, I’ll have more. I really don’t come with a plan, I come with an approach,” Sells said after the ceremony. “I want to listen to students about what things should never change and what things change and then allow that to evolve together on campus.”
Ben R. Sells has previously served as the vice-president at Taylor University in Upland, Ind. where he directed record fundraising efforts during his tenure there. He also has served as vice-president for admissions and student life and director of university ministries at Southwest Baptist University and as an English instructor at Huaiyin Teachers College in China. He has served as vice president for Avis Industrial Corporation, senior vice president of development for ENACTUS, coordinator of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board’s International Learning Center and director for the IMB’s International Centre for Excellence in Leadership.
“We must support our faculty and staff to not just carry out, but to live out the value of the Christian Liberal Arts experience,” Sells said. “I look forward to this time together. As we look toward the future and we listen to the Lord and the people who care about this University, I believe that something amazing will happen.”
According to a press release written by Trennis Henderson, vice-president for Communications at Ouachita, this marks the first time “in more than 60 years that a newly elected Ouachita president has not had previous ties to Ouachita as an alumnus, staff member or trustee.”
The selection is a result of a nine-month presidential search process. Dr. Sells succeeds Dr. Rex Horne who resigned as president last year to accept the presidency of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. Dr. Charles Wright, former dean of Ouachita’s School of Fine Arts, has served as the interim president since last fall.
“I think Dr. Sells is God’s man for the job,” Wright said. “I admire his experience and his knowledge and his ability to relate to people as I’ve witnessed and I do believe that he’s the man for the job.”
Dr. Sells holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., and two degrees, a Master of Arts and PhD in higher and adult education, from the University of Missouri in Columbia. As an undergraduate, he participated in the Oxford Overseas Study Program and in 2012 he earned a certificate from Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management.
“Looking toward Ouachita’s future challenges and opportunities, Dr. Sells said key perspectives that will guide his approach to leadership include supporting faculty and staff, ensuring student learning and engaging alumni as well as innovating new programs, serving churches and strengthening the university’s financial sustainability,” Henderson said.
“We’re eager to get to know you, to become colleagues to become friends, to be inducted as Ouachitonians. It’s our great privilege to come beside you and shepherd the special community and to think about honoring a larger dream that honors God, that reflects and advances Ouachita’s mission, to serve Arkansas Baptists, to serve the common good,” he concluded.
UPDATE — For full-feature coverage on Sells’ background, read here.
