Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Scholarship Established For Victim Of Crash

The James Arvin Harrison Memorial Scholarship Fund has been established at Ouachita Baptist University in honor of the music student who was killed in the crash of American Airlines Flight 1420 in Little Rock on June 1.

Harrison, a senior church music major, survived the impact of the crash and was last seen helping others from the plane. The scholarship fund for music students was established with an initial gift of $100,000, according to Dr. Andrew Westmoreland, president of Ouachita.

"I believe James embodied Christian servanthood," said Westmoreland. "He loved nothing more than helping others, and as tragic as his death is, I find comfort in the fact that James spent his last moments doing what he loved most. We all should learn from the example he set for us, both in life and in death."

Harrison, 21, was a member of the Ouachita Singers, a select choir from OBU, which was returning from a two-week concert tour in Germany and Austria. Of the 25 students and sponsors from Ouachita on the flight, Harrison was the only one killed. Two others, Kristin Maddox, a senior choral music education major, and Rachel Fuller, the 14-year-old daughter of Singers' director Charles Fuller, remain hospitalized at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock.

At Ouachita, Harrison was active in both the choral and instrumental programs of the division of music. In addition to the Ouachita Singers, he was a member of the symphonic band, the wind ensemble, the marching band, the jazz band and other ensembles.

He was well known on campus as a stage manager, in charge of preparations for concerts. Harrison also was a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia national music fraternity.

Harrison was serving as minister of music for First Baptist Church in Royal at the time of his death. His home church was Eastside Baptist Church in Paragould.

Donations to the James Arvin Harrison Memorial Scholarship Fund may be sent to P.O. Box 3754, Arkadelphia, AR 71998. Joe Franz, vice president for development at Ouachita, is overseeing the fund. He may be reached at 870-245-5169.