By Brian Ramsey
OBU Sports Information

ARKADELPHIA — Dr. Charles “Chuck” Barber will represent Ouachita Baptist University, as well as Bald Knob and the United States military, when he is inducted into the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame Friday, June 3 in North Little Rock.

Barber was the 1993 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles and a 1994 qualifier for the NAIA Indoor National Championships in the long jump.

Following his collegiate career, Barber competed at home and abroad for the United States Army. He ran a 9.98 in the 100-meter race, the fastest time in the history of the Armed Forces at the time. He was inducted into the Military Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Barber also found success in his prep career at Bald Knob High School in Arkansas, setting the school record in the 300-meter hurdles, and winning conference titles in the 110-meter hurdles and the 4×100-meter relay.

Barber is a veteran of the U.S. Army with deployments to Kosovo and Iraq. He holds a doctorate degree in transformational leadership from Bakke Graduate University, and other degrees in organizational leadership and business management from Columbia Southern University and Excelsior College. He became the director of the diversity, equity, and inclusions programs from the U.S. Department of the Navy in 2021.

Barber recently spoke with his former company commander Chris Courtney via zoom about his experiences in track and field and the military. That video can be found here: https://youtu.be/lBctHVEMbWI.

Next Friday’s hall of fame banquet is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Silver City Ballroom of the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock. Other inductees include Janet Cherobon Bawcom (Kenya, Harding), Allison Dotson (Alma, Eastern Oklahoma State, Oklahoma State), Danny Hazelwood (Carlisle and UCA), Tori Weeks-Hoggard (Cabot, University of Arkansas), Lexi Weeks-Jacobus (Cabot, University of Arkansas), Carl Lowe (North Little Rock, Northeastern Oklahoma JC, Wake Forest), and Sharika Nelvis (Memphis-Northside, Arkansas State).

Tickets are $50 per person ($52 if purchased by credit card), or $500 per table of 10. Contact Leon White to order tickets by email to leonandbethwhite@gmail.com.