Alumnus Louis Cella Selected as the 2025 Johnson Fellow

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Louis Cella

Louis Cella J.D.’89, president of Oaklawn, will visit the U of A campus April 1-3 as the 2025 Arkansas Alumni Association Johnson Fellow. Cella will visit classrooms and lecture halls, sharing his knowledge of hospitality, tourism, thoroughbred husbandry and racing, legal aspects of business and real estate.

The Johnson Fellows program is named after Dr. Jeff Johnson, B.A.’70, and his wife, Marcia. The Johnsons endowed the program in 2009 to bring esteemed alumni back to the U of A campus to engage and inspire students.

“Marcia and I are excited to welcome Louis Cella as this year’s Johnson Fellow,” Jeff Johnson said. “We look forward to students hearing the story of his amazing career.”

On Thursday, April 3, Cella will be the special guest at the Business Law Society & Sports and Entertainment Law Society Luncheon. The luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the E.J. Ball Courtroom, room 240, and registration is open to the public with limited space available. Registration is required. Register by March 31 at www.arkansasalumni.org/25jflunch.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1965, Cella graduated from St. Louis Country Day School in 1983. He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Washington and Lee University in 1987. Cella earned a law degree from the U of A School of Law. In 1989, he began working in his family’s businesses, Southwestern Enterprises Inc. and Oaklawn.

Cella is the fourth generation of his family to head Oaklawn Jockey Club Inc., which was founded in 1904. Cella was inducted into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame in early 2022 and was named the 2020 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sportsman of the Year for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. He safely continued live racing while most of the country’s racing industry shut down. Cella was also named Arkansas Press Association 2019 Headliner of the Year.

His contributions to Arkansas Tourism can be seen in his management of Oaklawn, one of the most prominent tourist attractions in the state, with more than 3 million visitors annually.

In addition to the annual direct taxes of more than $40 million to the state, city and county, the creation of the Oaklawn Foundation in 2006, an independent foundation benefiting health and education programs in the community, has given more than $14 million since its inception. Oaklawn has evolved into a true destination resort.

Guests visit Oaklawn from throughout the United States to experience the best Thoroughbred horse racing in North America and to enjoy a Forbes-recommended hotel, first-class entertainment, gaming, Astral Spa, Arkansas’ only Forbes 4-star spa and numerous restaurants and bars.

Cella’s hobbies include fishing, golf and hunting. He and his wife, Rochelle, live in Ladue, Missouri, and have two grown children and two granddaughters.

About the Arkansas Alumni Association: The Arkansas Alumni Association Inc. is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to connect alumni, friends and students to the University of Arkansas. The association’s mission is to connect and serve the University of Arkansas family.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas’ flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.