Guests from Harding and from across the nation will fill the Benson Auditorium today at 2:00 p.m. for Dr. Bruce McLarty’s presidential inauguration. A wide variety of guests plan to attend the event, including students, members of the community and representatives from other universities and professional organizations with ties to Harding.
People like Arkansas governor, Gov. Mike Beebe, journalist Gwen Moritz and University of Arkansas at Little Rock chancellor Joel Anderson are several of the distinguished guests who will attend the ceremony.
As a representative of UALR, Anderson said he plans to bring greetings from and speak on behalf of other institutions of higher education in Arkansas.
“I will express the high regard we have for Harding University,” Anderson said. “On behalf of the other presidents and chancellors, I will offer President McLarty our best wishes and will state that we are looking forward to working with him in the years ahead.”
Anderson, who graduated from and briefly taught at Harding, said he believes McLarty will contribute to a strong legacy of quality presidents at Harding.
“Dr. McLarty comes from Harding and knows it well,” Anderson said. “All of his predecessors made marvelous contributions to its development, and he will do the same during his tenure as president.”
Dr. Howard Shank, president of Ohio Valley University, will attend as a representative of other Christian higher education institutions. Shank said although he will not speak during the ceremony, he believes McLarty is the right man for the job and wishes McLarty the best.
“I know Bruce and his family from my time in Memphis,” Shank said. “Christian colleges do well to have people trained in Bible and ministry in leadership.”
Moritz, a Harding graduate who now serves as editor-in-chief of Arkansas Business News, will speak as a representative of Harding’s ties with the business and professional world beyond higher education.
“I’m really representing myself as a Harding graduate and my employer, and, only by extension representing the business community that both Arkansas Business and Harding serve in our own ways,” Moritz said. “I have only met (McLarty) once and was favorably impressed. I am in contact with several old friends who are on the Harding staff, and they seem enthusiastic about his selection, which means a lot to me.”
Moritz said although more of Harding’s students tend to leave the state upon graduation than those of state schools, Harding has a significant role in Arkansas and in the lives of students as they move into their careers.
“Harding’s place in the state is different than, say, the University of Arkansas or Arkansas State University,” Moritz said. “But there are certain industries — accounting and the health professions spring to mind — that have come to rely on Harding to produce the highly skilled manpower they need. I expect this basic relationship will remain the same, although Harding’s educational programs will undoubtedly evolve as the needs of the workplace evolve.”
Others who will attend today’s ceremony include Mayor David Morris, representing the Searcy community and Dr. Howard Wright, representing distinguished alumni.
