News Anchor and UCA Alum Ryan Houston ’10
When asked to emcee the grand opening of the University of Central Arkansas Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts in the fall of 2023, KATV news anchor and UCA Alumnus Ryan Houston ’10 was excited to return to his alma mater for the historic event, bringing his time with the university full circle.
Houston grew up in Pine Bluff as the oldest of four brothers. But when it was time to decide on a university, he wanted something a little different. “I had heard good things about UCA, and I wanted to see what it was about,” Houston said.
While he is an experienced investigative journalist and news anchor, mass communication was not his first choice as a major. Houston had tried education and psychology but didn’t find the right fit, when a shocking incident on campus presented him with a unique opportunity. He noted that there were several news agencies covering the story, and he approached a reporter.
“I remember all the networks showing up, and I just walked over to a local reporter. I asked her if I could job shadow her, and the rest is history. I job shadowed her, and I ended up changing my major, and I’ve been loving it ever since,” said Houston.
He credited his professors in his major for his preparedness and success in his career. “I had a lot of professors who talked to me as if I was already a journalist, and they would give me little tricks of the trade. So, there wasn’t any point where I felt broadcast journalism would not happen for me. Some students in the major don’t actually end up in the field, but I knew with the help of my professors at UCA, that was not going to be me.”
After graduating from UCA in 2010, Houston worked as an investigative reporter and anchor in various news outlets in Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In 2023, he returned to his home state as a news anchor for KATV’s Daybreak, a job that, for him, has “been a dream come true. It’s surreal because I grew up watching Channel Seven. I remember watching with my mom or my grandma, so it’s a full circle moment.”
This moment included his emceeing the grand opening and seal-breaking ceremony at the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts on Sept. 21, 2023, which was a celebration of the arts at the university, funded in part by the largest gift in its 116-year history of $20 million from the Windgate Foundation.
“This new building and all the technology and new things that come with it will better prepare current students. It will elevate the future of fine arts and communications. Technology is so important, and it’s constantly changing, especially in what I do. So current and future students will be ready for tomorrow, and what better way to celebrate than with the opening of this new building? This new building is going to put us on the map in terms of what we can offer our fine arts students,” Houston said.
Coming home to his alma mater for the opening ceremony brought Houston full circle as he reminisced on his time as a student. “Being at UCA challenged me to grow. It challenged me to think outside the box. I learned that I had more in me than what I’d originally thought: that I could be more or do more than I thought I could do. I’m just so grateful for my time there.” Being asked to return for such a momentous occasion, Houston felt, “was truly an honor.”
When thinking about UCA’s current and future students, Houston advised, “Enjoy the process. Enjoy the experience. You’re going to learn so many different things about yourself. You’re going to learn so much about different types of people, and you’re going to walk away a better, more well-rounded person, ready for whatever life brings.”
As this Arkansas native and alumnus reflected on his time at UCA and its legacy, a legacy he is proud to be part of, he said, “I feel it is a legacy that is still being written every single day given how the university is constantly growing, the donations coming in and what is being done with those dollars. Our legacy is still being read, and its message is big and positive.”