Dr. Clifton Ganus said every past Harding University president has been faced with completely different sets of challenges during his time as president. Just as Dr. J.N. Armstrong, Dr. George S. Benson and himself, Ganus said, Dr. David Burks too has changed his administration with the times. From the expanding student body and the ever-changing job market to the modern events that have changed the course of the nation’s history and economy, Burks has helped Harding adapt to the significant changes since the turn of the 21st century.
“Times change,” Ganus said. “Dr. Benson became president in 1936. For 12 years, Dr. Armstrong had been president, and Benson was so different from Armstrong. But the times had changed tremendously too from ’24, when the school started, to ’36. And from ’36 to ’65, and from ’65 to ’87, there was a great deal of change in so many ways. In ’58, we moved our graduate Bible programs to Memphis, but when you look at Harding now, you have locations all over the world and campuses in North Little Rock and Bentonville and Memphis and so on, and we’ve added a lot of new graduate programs to accommodate the larger student body and prepare students to work in growing fields.”
Burks said some of the biggest changes he has faced as president in the last decade find their roots in the events of 9/11.
“Sept. 11 changed the way people thought about the future,” Burks said. “It was a huge event for the entire nation, but you could feel it here clearly on this campus. It was one of the hardest things we’ve had to deal with, to deal with change on the part of faculty, staff, donors, trustees; everyone. I mean it just impacted the nation as nothing else had during my lifetime.”
Burks said some of the immediate effects of 9/11 on Harding could be seen in the effective end of international campaigns as a result of fears about traveling abroad. Before 9/11, Burks said, around 400-500 students would spend six weeks each summer serving churches overseas, and although some students still do this, the degree of participation has never come close to its former level.
Still, Burks said, there was some good that arose from the tragedies.
“The good thing though, as we had then Gov. Mike Huckabee speak and other people who would speak to it, we were able to use chapel to help bring everyone together on this topic and on what our future really is; our future isn’t here, it’s really in heaven,” Burks said. “It was beautiful to see that take place. There was also a city-wide effort of getting everyone together and it was just an unusual time.”
Former SA president Michael Campbell (’04) said this was a time of bonding for students on campus.
“I was at a Bible majors’ retreat at Camp Tahkodah, so we got very little information throughout the day,” Campbell said. “When we returned, we got together and prayed. There were groups that gathered in the Benson stairwells, the McInteer Rotunda and other areas of campus. Very serious and somber. I heard from friends that the student center was packed all day long with students watching the news, but I didn’t see it myself. I don’t remember any specific administration response, but we all took care of each other and took note of the more important things in life.”
Despite the somber aspects of this time period, Campbell said, Burks was highly involved with the student body and had a very lighthearted side, once even participating in a game of “Assassins” with a group of Campbell’s friends. Campbell said Burks was also very willing to work with students on various goals and projects.
“Especially when I look back from my current perspective as a faculty member at a Christian school, I am so thankful that he was supportive and involved in student-led initiatives,” Campbell said. “I think it was hard for a lot of adults on campus to fully embrace student-led events because there were new ‘great ideas’ every year. Dr. Burks always helped me feel like the current project was important.”
Burks said from an administrative point of view, the most significant aspect of the last decade was an intentional push to grow Harding’s graduate programs for the changing economy and job market. The administration added and made plans for a variety of new programs, including programs for engineering, physician’s assistants, communication science and disorders and pharmacy.
“There was a large expansion of masters programs, particularly in the areas of health sciences; that would be kind of the theme that I see,” Burks said “This was a very intentional effort in terms of strategic planning, looking at where the jobs are in the future and where are the jobs that fit the future of Harding, and we easily determined that these should be added.”
The first half of the last decade saw many changes to Harding as the university continued to expand and change with the times, adding facilities like the Thornton Center, new graduate programs and new campuses. Harding would continue to see more changes and challenges in the coming years as it faced a declining economy and steady growth, but even now change continues. The coming months will mark the beginning of a new chapter in Harding’s history with the induction of its fifth president, Dr. Bruce McLarty.
