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It's time for my interview with Henderson State University Chancellor Chuck Ambrose, but something has slowed us down. It's the first day of March Madness, and the 13th-seeded Furman Paladins have the fourth-seeded Virginia Cavaliers on the ropes. Ambrose is not only a Furman graduate, he's also a member of the school's board of trustees.
I sit outside on the second-floor balcony and savor a cup of coffee along with a cinnamon roll from the German bakery in Arkadelphia. I watch Friday morning traffic on U.S. 67 before returning to my room at the Captain Henderson House.
The last time the institution now known as Henderson State University faced a crisis as large as the one it now faces was 1929. The school was founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College. The name was changed in 1904 to Henderson College in honor of benefactor Charles Christopher Henderson. It was changed again to Henderson-Brown College in 1911 to honor another benefactor, Walter William Brown.