Next year marks Ouachita’s 125th anniversary, and President Dr. Rex Horne has appointed a steering committee to make the event memorable for the current students, faculty, staff and alumni.
The committee is consists of faculty members as well as some students with Dr. Ian Cosh, assistant to the president for community development and director of the Ben M. Elrod Center for Family and Community, acting as the chair. Cosh participated in Ouachita 100th anniversary as well.
“Dr. Horne provided a charge to the committee to think creatively about how best we can celebrate Ouachita’s 125th anniversary in a manner that brings a sense of joy and pride in keeping the flame of faith and learning alive and well after 125 years of institutional life,” Cosh said.
The events will mostly be held during the fall 2011 semester, and Horne said that the committee is trying to put together an even mix of events which will include having special speakers in chapel including former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
“Right now they are working on trying to land more special speakers, put together music events and brainstorming about other ideas,” Horne said.
Not only is the committee planning special events, but they are also trying to integrate the 125th anniversary theme into existing events on campus such as Homecoming and Tiger Tunes.
“The events will be designed to involve our most important audiences in various ways during the celebrations,” Cosh said. “Some will be academic in nature, some will be cultural and some will be for entertainment.”
While the celebration is for all the Ouachita community, there are going to be many events planned to target involvement of the current students on campus.
“There are three student members on the committee who will provide a student perspective on all that is done,” Cosh said. “Clearly, our current students will be a very important audience and we hope that they will have fun as they get to experience this major milestone in the life of the institution.”
Right now the committee is in the brainstorming and information gathering stage of the planning, but they should be announcing more of the events as 2011 draws nearer.
“It’s not a secretive thing,” Horne said. “We’ll put it before the student body when we have everything set up.”
Cosh said the committee has met three times already and will meet three more times before the end of the semester. Their plans should be finalized by the end of this calender year.
“Dr. Horne understands how the importance of the history and legacy of Ouachita provides a strong foundation upon which all future plans will be built,” Cosh said. “The 125th anniversary provides an occasion to be thankful to the Lord and to our many supporters past, present and future. We have managed to build a strong institution that has consistently educated top-quality leaders for 125 years and that is a fact worthy of praise and reflection.”
By Leah Garavelli, News / Feature Editor
