Dr. Hall Bass plans to retire from his job as professor of political science at Ouachita Baptist University after the spring ’16 semester.
Bass has worked at OBU for forty years, but plans to bring it all to an end after this year.
After working here since 1978, there are many things that Bass said he will miss. He will miss most of all, the students.
“Students are the great, great asset of a college campus,” Bass said. “The youthfulness, the vigor, the energy, it’s contagious. You pass it on to people like me, and I’m thankful for it.”
Bass also says he will miss his colleagues greatly. He feels “very, very fortunate” to have been able to work with such great people for so many years.
“I can’t imagine having had a better place to live and work over the last forty years than right here in McClellan Hall,” Bass said.
However, Bass is definitely looking forward to retirement; especially spoiling his five grandchildren that range in age from thirteen to two. He also would love to travel with his wife some, while they are still able to.
Looking back on forty years as a professor, Bass can recall many laughs and fun memories in the classroom with the students that he so dearly loves.
One particular adventure that was always special and fun for Bass was when he used to take students to Washington D.C. for the Washington Seminar. During the second semester, usually in January, Bass would take students to visit the capital. One specific year, a huge blizzard came up just as they were at the airport ready to make their way back to Arkansas. They ended up getting stuck in the airport for three days. Without a hotel, sleeping on the hard airport floor for those few days was the only option.
With a laugh, Bass described the adventure as, “fun in retrospect, but pretty miserable at the time.”
Trips and adventures like that were always fun for Bass, but the reason he has loved Ouachita so much for so many years is because of the opportunity that he has, as a professor at a small liberal arts college, to get to know all the students, not just the political science majors.
“Getting to know students, you know, knowing their names, knowing what their majors were…I have been real fortunate to have had opportunities to teach the political science kids of course, they’re my pride and joy, but I’ve been involved in the core program, and that’s given me an opportunity to get to know some kids from the sciences, and communications and business and the like. So I feel like I’ve gotten a pretty good representative sample of the Ouachita student body,” Bass said.
As a professor of political science, Bass always thoroughly enjoyed teaching classes that were right within his area of expertise, such as The American Presidency and Political Parities Campaigns and Elections, but he said that he truthfully enjoyed all of the classes that he taught.
American National Government and Contemporary World were two of the broader classes that Bass taught that helped him stay up to date in current affairs as well as give him the opportunity to meet students from other departments.
“There’s not a class that I teach that I don’t enjoy,” Bass said.
Getting to know students has been one of Bass’s most treasured things of being a professor for this long, but it is something special for him to be able to see those students that he had in class, go out and make a difference.
“Being a political scientist, seeing kids go out of my classrooms and make reputations, make careers in public service has been very, very rewarding,” Bass said.
He has had students seek and win offices in the state legislature, run in a national presidential campaign and hold key offices in national government.
There are even government officials in office right now that had Bass as a professor. Just a few in the Arkansas legislature are David Sanders, Matt Shepherd and Chris Richey.
“It’s pretty exciting for me to read about things that my students are doing and saying that’s impacting the people of Arkansas,” Bass said.
Looking back on this chapter in his life, Bass described it at “fun” and “rewarding.” He feels very fortunate to have had this opportunity.
At the Academic Awards banquet last Thursday evening, Bass received the “most inspirational professor” award, voted on by students.
“It’s been a great ride. No regrets. Lots of thanks. Lots of blessings,” Bass said.
By Katie Jo Henley
