SIGN HERE, HERE AND HERE — The screenshot above is taken from an online petition asking for support to stop faculty and staff at Ouachita Baptist University from being required to sign their loyalty to beliefs in line with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.
By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com
Faculty and students at Ouachita Baptist University are pushing back against a new requirement that faculty and staff sign a pledge to conform to the Baptist doctrine.
Current and incoming faculty will be required to ink their name to the oath, a mandate introduced by President Ben Sells and Ouachita’s board of trustees.
In protest of the mandatory oath, at least one faculty member has said he will not seek contract renewal next year, and others are rumored to follow suit.
The loyalty statement was leaked to The Arkadelphian this week when news began circulating on social media:
As a member of the faculty and staff of Ouachita Baptist University, my signature affirms my belief in and support of the University’s Mission, Values, and Statement of Faith, and reflects my agreement to uphold and not act in ways that undermine the university’s Statement on Sexuality, Gender, and Marriage, and Statement on Race and Christian Community. I affirm the university’s historic and enduring relationship with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, which established Ouachita in 1886. With my signature, I accept these responsibilities as a condition of my service and commit to acting with integrity and fidelity.
Eric Phillips, who chairs the university’s Theatre Arts department and has taught at Ouachita for more than three decades, announced his upcoming departure from Ouachita upon reviewing the pledge.
Phillips has been an outspoken opponent of Sells’ requirement, saying in a lengthy Facebook statement posted Oct. 17 that he has “too many ideological and ethical issues with having to sign a promise that we as educators should all think alike, especially in an educational institution called a university, and I have Christian concerns with the contents of the statement itself.”
Phillips went on to note that he and other faculty have “tried our best to head off this outcome.”
Students and alumni are attempting to reverse the oath requirement, petitioning Sells and the board of trustees to rescind the mandatory oath, which is set to take effect this fall. Petitioners are calling the move a “segregation of denominations.”
Critics of the proposed loyalty statement say the move signals a lack of trust Sells bestows upon faculty and their personal beliefs, as the liberal arts institution historically hires Christian faculty with the understanding that they are active in a church. Critics also say that implementing the statement “changes faculty requirements from religious to political, and it narrows the diverse yet Christ-aligned viewpoints of faculty members.”
The requirement has drawn sharp criticism from highly respected Ouachita alumni, including state-renowned columnist Rex Nelson, senior editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Nelson called the loyalty oaths “sad times at my alma mater” and urged trustees to make a “course correction” with the requirement.
Sells hasn’t been the most popular president among professors in recent years. In 2025 an alarming 71% of Ouachita’s faculty cast a vote of no confidence in Sells. Ouachita’s Board of Trustees took no action, simply acknowledging the vote and directing campus representatives to develop a plan to address faculty’s issues. The president never responded to media inquiries stemming from that event.
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