Early on, Harding University looked like a bad bet to survive. From humble beginnings in 1924 with 75 students, Harding resulted from the merger of two small junior colleges in Morrilton. As a Southern drought raged and with no wealthy philanthropists to provide support, the school did not seem long for closure.
Survive and thrive it did, however. A century after its founding, Harding boasts a bustling campus with a student population nearing 5,000 that calls Searcy home for four years and often longer.
“Part of this 100-year celebration is a reflection on the sacrifices and the values that drove the institution to start,” said Michael Williams, Harding president, who has lived more than some of that history as a Harding graduate and former administrator, “but it’s not just a year of nostalgia; it’s a year that says, ‘What do the next 100 years need to look like?’ so we’ve been going through a very careful collaborative process to put together a new mission statement, a new vision statement, a set of core values and a strategic vision document that shapes the next 100 years.”
A private institution affiliated with the Church of Christ, Harding sees itself as very much a part of the educational fabric in Arkansas. As such, Williams said Harding wants to be a contributor in ways that range from bringing more talent to the state to making its considerable energy and brainpower available to assist with statewide projects.
“One of the things we want to continue to do is partner with Arkansas leaders as they think about the future of our state and how Harding can be a contributor. We want policymakers and leaders, as they think about challenges, to call Harding first,” he said. “We’d like them to say, ‘How can we partner together to think about a robust future for all of us?’ All of our futures are intertwined, and the quicker we get to that moment where we know that our futures are intertwined, the sooner that good collaboration can produce better solutions.”
Putting vision into action
One way the university is helping to ensure its vision finds activation in the real world is through programs that not only target students’ academic and professional aspirations but also serve Arkansas communities. The university’s new digital forensics lab is such an example.
“It’s a huge opportunity for the institution and for the state as we seek to equip students and graduates with the skills they need to help us ensure a safe and secure nation and state,” Williams said.
The digital functionality in the forensics lab can equip law enforcement with skills and capabilities it has not had before. In many cases, local law enforcement does not have the bandwidth to pursue all the evidence that is readily available in a case.
“The digital forensics lab will be a great training ground for graduates in cyber security, but part of the mission of the lab will be outreach to smaller communities where they’ll actually contract with us to do some of the investigative work,” Williams said. “Our goal is to have better-prepared graduates and to help smaller communities in pursuing and investigating cases to fair and appropriate outcomes.”
For Williams, the lab is symbolic of what he hopes is an even richer part of the university’s future.
“We’re celebrating 100 years, but as we look toward the future, part of our relevancy is in how we can partner with policy makers and state leaders as we address societal challenges. How can Harding pivot and partner with state leaders to say, ‘We can address some of these issues together, collaboratively’? This is just a great symbol of how that can really be a win-win for everyone in partnership.”
Another growing program that speaks to increased need not only across Arkansas but the nation as a whole is occupational therapy.
“There are four other occupational therapy programs in the state, but there’s room for all of us,” Williams said. “We need more occupational therapists, so it’s not like we’ll be competing. The one caveat that we think will be attractive about the Harding program is that the other curriculums are doctoral programs and this offering is going to remain a masters degree program.”
Occupational therapists, whether they graduate from a doctoral program or a masters degree program, are pursuing the same types of jobs. At Harding, occupational therapy is a two-year program, rather than three years, so there are fewer costs involved for students, and graduates are in the marketplace one year earlier.
“We believe this program will be a great complement to the other four programs in the state and will create more access and a more affordable way to get into the field,” Williams said.
Benefit to Arkansas
The future of economic development in the state is about talent acquisition, Williams said, noting that 75 percent of Harding’s student body comes from out of state, and many of the university’s faculty members are recruited from outside Arkansas. A significant percentage of Harding graduates stay in Arkansas to live and work.
“We did a study for our nursing school, and 35 percent of our students are from Arkansas, but 50 percent of our alumni work in Arkansas,” Williams said, “so that’s a net gain of 15 percent of our nursing school graduates serving in a very high-need profession. I grew up in Ohio, and my wife is from West Virginia. We came to school here. We raised our family here. We’ve got extended family who have moved here as the result of us moving here, so I know firsthand that Harding is a net importer of talent in the state.”
Harding fans turned out to celebrate the Bison’s 2023 football national championship. (Photos provided)
Williams and his team see the talent acquisition dance play out virtually every day. It is just part of the university effort to be open and attractive to students looking for a Christian environment in higher
education.
“I literally walked into the office from the lobby to take this phone call, and I was meeting with a family whose daughter is going to be a freshman, and they’re from Pittsburgh,” he said. “We hope she’ll have a rich experience, and if she does an internship in Little Rock … she gets an offer in Little Rock, who knows? She’s more likely to live in Little Rock post-graduation than going back to Pittsburgh. That’s where we think we fit into the equation of helping the state of Arkansas.”
A lot of things are going right at Harding University in its centennial year, including a football team that is coming off a Division II national championship and is rated No. 1 in 2024 preseason polls to repeat that success.
“How about it?” said a university president who knows that is rare icing on the academic cake. “What a magical year — a centennial year and a national championship in football. It was a great way to rally the Harding Nation around the country to get behind the Bisons.”
Williams said Harding has 64,000 living alumni across all 50 states and 103 nations around the world.
“There are some that will stay in Arkansas, but there are many who will go global,” he said. “This is a different kind of institution in terms of our geographic footprint and where our graduates go to pursue their careers. This has been a hallmark of Harding for a long time with alums everywhere. It’s part of the reason why this family from Pittsburgh stumbled upon Harding. Someone from their church went to Harding, and this girl went to high school with two kids that are at Harding, and they’re having a great experience. She came to visit and said, ‘That’s where I want to go to school.’ It’s a pretty robust family.”
‘Run toward brokenness’
As a Church of Christ school, Harding leans heavily into its commitment to integrating faith and rigorous academic training. It is an institution that really wants to know how faith impacts the learning initiative each day as it looks at the next 100 years.
“A lot of our focus is born out of this Christian mission. Sometimes we define that in too small a way. We’re trying to expand on it,” Williams said. “Yes, as part of a Christian university, students take courses in theology. We have a lofty code of conduct. We have a university chapel. I like to define it more broadly that we produce graduates who take their God-given horsepower, and regardless of their discipline or profession, they run toward brokenness. The world has lots of challenges, so how can we produce graduates with a missional, empathic heart? Whether they’re an accountant, engineer, architect or elementary school teacher, how can they have a missional perspective where they move into a community and they are part of the solution?”
The goals are imposing for any university looking to survive and thrive in a new world order that questions not only moral values but dollars-and-cents educational value. Harding is banking on meeting that challenge with a powerful legacy of commitment to faith while striving for the higher ground and building a network of friends and alumni who firmly believe in the mission. Even as the school reflects on its milestone 100 years, there is no doubt Harding University is just finding its stride.
READ ALSO: ABF Freight’s Seth Runser Appointed President of ArcBest
