ARKADELPHIA -- Visiting her alma mater Dec. 11 to dedicate the Rosemary Gossett Adams Department of Visual Arts, the guest of honor told Ouachita Baptist University students and faculty, "What was mine, I give to you. I only ask that you use it and enjoy it."
Adams, a 1963 Ouachita graduate with a major in art, said that during her years on campus, she went from being "little miss nobody in particular" to discovering she was special.
"Do you know why?" she asked. "Because everybody at Ouachita is special.
"In 1963, I left here with several goals," she added. "One of my big goals was to make this world a better place, to leave a little something behind so that people would know that I had been here and that I had walked this way. Today, by jove, I think I've got it."
In addition to her Bachelor of Arts degree from Ouachita, Adams holds a Master of Arts degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and an associate's degree in interior design from Louisville Tech. She and her husband, Glen, live in Louisville, Ky.
Adams' gift funded the renovation and expansion project for the benefit of Ouachita's visual arts program. Primary renovation details include a new front faƧade and entrance to Moses-Provine Hall, creating gallery spaces to display artists' works, an elevator addition and upgrading classroom, studio and office space.
"If you're a student, I want you do to three things," Mrs. Adams said. "I want you to come in here and learn and learn and learn.
"When you leave this place," she told the students, "I want you to take this specialness and that learning and go out and make the world a better place."
Surrounded by students, faculty, trustees and other guests in the facility's new Rosemary Gossett Adams Gallery, she told the dedication crowd, "This is my legacy. God bless all of you and God bless Ouachita."
Affirming that Ouachita "is a place about people, about our students, about those who teach them," Ouachita President Rex Horne said, "Today, in large part, is about Rosemary Adams. She's devoted to Ouachita, she's excited about Ouachita. She has invested a part of herself into this place that will be a lasting legacy to Rosemary and to the students and the faculty who come to this particular place."
Scott Holsclaw, dean of the School of Fine Arts, noted, "Mrs. Adams has offered us a true gift not only in this present moment but with a vision for the future. In her generosity and love for Ouachita, she has presented the Department of Visual Arts with a definitive home."
Katelyn Smith, a junior art education major and president of the OBU Art Club, spoke on behalf of visual arts students. Smith expressed appreciation for the additions, safety features and gallery spaces.
The new gallery space already has featured two art exhibits, one by John Deering, chief editorial cartoonist and illustrator at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and the other featuring works donated by Dr. Loyde Hudson, a physician from Fayetteville. Among the paintings and sculptures donated by Hudson are works by renowned 19th century American artist Thomas Moran and German-American artist Albert Bierstadt.
School on 01/25/2015