The College of Business Administration is hosting its fifth annual Faith and Business Symposium today in the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Building from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Open to all students, faculty and campus visitors, the symposium is comprised of a series of 20 lecture panels by 13 business professionals connected with the university.
Speakers in this year’s symposium are from all over the states and from Searcy, including Ray Montgomery, CEO of White County Medical Center and Stephen and Amy Rose, Harding alumni and current owners of Bailey’s Pizza.
“The students enjoy it and the speakers give them an excellent opportunity to get in front of some students and share their experiences,” said Bryan Burks, dean of the college of business administration. “My ultimate goal is that they get a better understanding of what it’s like to be a Christian business professional through the stories, challenges and advice.”
Burks said the secondary goal of the event for students is networking and making connections that may lead to future opportunities.
From the perspective of the speakers, Burks said he believes this is an excellent venue to put in front of this generation of students.
“I want them to walk away excited about the future,” Burks said. “It’s a great way to plug them into Harding University and to be part of our mission. Harding needs to find ways to utilize our alumni base and this is one of the ways. I hope this leads to future job employment, I hope this leads to internships for the students, and I hope this leads to future involvement.”
According to Burks, future symposiums will have more diverse speakers and become an event hopefully attended by members of the community as well as alumni.
“Right now to serve the students, we are at the right size we need to be,” Burks said. “But if we truly want to see this as an event for the community and alumni, I’d love to see it grow.”
Senior Rachel Slatton said she has attended the Faith and Business Symposium in the past and is looking forward to this one. Presentations include, Alternative Employment Options with an Accounting Degree presentation by Peyton Tucker and the #Christians at WORK presentation from Bill Arnold.
“I think this Symposium is providing a very accurate view into life after graduation,” Slatton said. “Since most of the speakers were once students in our shoes, they know the quality of our education that we are receiving in the College of Business at Harding. And that allows them to give us insight that is specifically tailored to future Harding grads.”
Slatton said that she encourages students to take advantage of the presentations because of their view into what the future entails for Harding graduates.
“It is very helpful to have some insight into entering the workforce before you graduate so that we know more of what to expect,” Slatton said. “I believe that faith and business can go together just as much as faith and any other industry.”
College of Business and Administration classes are canceled today due to the lecture series, and instead, business students are required to attend some of the presentations.
The Father’s Business: Our Call to Discipleship, a Bible study in McInteer 150 presented through a series of lectures from professors and Harding alumni, kicked off yesterday and is currently in session until 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Senior Jacob Robertson will be speaking today at 10 p.m. from a students’ perspective on our call to discipleship.
“I’ve been studying lately on discipleship, especially the need for younger students to seek out older students as mentors and for older members to seek them out,” Robertson said. “Discipleship is something that happens on an individual basis, but also collectively as the body of Christ, as we allow Him to disciple us.”
Robertson said he is excited for this event because of his passion for Secret Church (an on-campus devo) and digging deeper into God’s word as a student body. He’s also excited to hear from the Harding alumni who have stepped out and served both on campus and beyond.
“We all need to be about our Father’s business, so I’m anxious to learn more about what that means and looks like, especially through the medium of Jesus in Scripture,” Robertson said.
