Going afield, OBU names new president

Indianan first in 6 decades without link to university

New Ouachita Baptist University President Ben Sells.
New Ouachita Baptist University President Ben Sells.

ARKADELPHIA -- Ouachita Baptist University has hired its first president without ties to the Arkadelphia school in 60 years.

The private university's board of trustees on Thursday unanimously called for the hiring of Ben Sells, 54, of Indiana as the school's 16th president. Ouachita Baptist ushered in the new leader of the 1,569-student school after the board meeting -- and on his birthday -- with receptions attended by faculty and staff members and students.

"Today is a historic day for Ouachita," said the university's board chairman Jay Heflin, adding that the new president is the first in six decades who was not an alumnus, staff member or trustee. But "he is akin to us in so many ways."

Sells is replacing Rex Horne, 62, who had served as the president of the Arkadelphia school since 2006 until he resigned last summer. Horne took a position to lead Arkansas' Independent Colleges and Universities, a consortium of 11 independent higher-education institutions in the state.

Charles Wright, a professor emeritus of music and the former dean of the university's School of Fine Arts, has served as OBU's interim president.

The school's nine-month search for president cast a wider net than its last and attracted more than 65 applicants, including a handful of international ones, Heflin said. It included a 12-member search committee led by Trustee Gene Whisenhunt, who said the group was very unified in its desire to find the right person to lead the university.

The group evaluated many things, including the candidate's faith, management style, vision and passion, he said.

"In our hearts, we plan our course, but it is God who directs our steps," Whisenhunt said, citing the book of Proverbs. "God has directed our steps. We're excited and could not be more at peace with the hiring of Dr. Ben Sells."

Thursday closed out the search, with Sells named as president-elect and officially assuming the post June 1. He will be on campus listening to to faculty and staff members and students and learning about the campus, he said.

On Thursday, Sells said he was deeply honored and humbled by the opportunity.

He and his wife, Lisa, and their 14-year-old son, Tyler, will move from their Upland, Ind., home to Arkadelphia. Sells has worked for almost a decade as vice president for university advancement at Taylor University in Indiana.

At Taylor, Sells was at the front of record fundraising efforts and helped in the university's strategic planning. Christian colleges and universities are at a "pivotal moment" now and must face several realities, he said.

Students at Christian colleges and universities want the faith-based learning community at these schools, but they also want affordability, he said. The schools need resources like the federal Pell grant -- money that is given to low-income students to help them pay for higher education and does not have to be repaid -- but feel increasingly regulated, he said.

"How do we stay true to who we are and be financially sustainable?" Sells asked.

"At our core, we are focused on forming people -- what Ouachita so importantly describes as 'fostering a love of God and a love of learning' -- and that must remain foremost," he added in a prepared statement. "We must not be tempted to do only what it takes to survive when it is possible to thrive."

After listening to numerous people while in Indiana, Sells said, he started asking a different question: What should not change about a school such as Taylor University?

Into the future, those schools need to become more true to what they are but also be attuned to the realities and the needs going forward, he said.

"I don't come with a plan," he said. "I come with an approach."

Sells grew up as a son of a college president -- his dad led Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo. -- and he grew acquainted with Ouachita Baptist from afar at a young age, he said. He earned a bachelor's degree from Southwest Baptist and later earned master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Missouri in Columbia. After his graduate work, he and his wife sold everything and went to China.

Still, he had friends who had gone to Ouachita Baptist and stayed, and had friends with children attending Ouachita Baptist, he said.

He found himself captivated by the school.

But, in the middle of the process, Sells said, he withdrew his application.

A 93-year-old Upland businessman -- and a donor of Taylor University -- had asked Sells for help with the business and asked him to consider staying in the town of about 1,800.

It was hard for Sells to look the man in the face and tell him, "No," when all the man -- whose business was just across the street from the university -- ever said to him was, " Yes," Sells said.

Sells said he had some "vocational dissonance" during the next seven weeks, starting a spiritual journey. He helped the man, but on Feb. 8, Sells phoned Whisenhunt and asked about the search, he said.

He described his draw to Arkadelphia as "a call" -- missional, educational, historical, denominational, geographical and relational.

"I cannot imagine a better time, a better opportunity for Ouachita Baptist University to lead the way in creating a more viable, more substantive and more enduring model of education," he said in a news release. "This is Ouachita's opportunity to further define, to differentiate and to distinguish itself as a Christian university, as a Baptist college that will provide to students unparalleled value over time."

Heflin, the board chairman, said Sells' "broad-based experience" led the panel to unanimously select him as president.

Sells has served as vice president for admissions and student life and director of university ministries at Southwest Baptist and as an English instructor at Huajyin Teachers College in China. He also has worked as vice president for Avis Industrial Corp.; senior vice president of development for Enactus, a nonprofit that encourages community-based business leadership in students; and coordinator of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board's International Learning Center.

The university's previous president jump-started what the school needed to do, including leading numerous capital plans, Heflin said.

"Dr. Horne taught us to dream," he said. "Dr. Sells will teach us how to dream bigger."

Metro on 04/08/2016

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