President Bruce McLarty officially took office in June, but today’s inauguration ceremony marks the celebration of his installation as the fifth president of Harding.
To carry out the event, an inauguration committee, which is a branch of the transition committee Chancellor Dr. David Burks appointed in the spring of 2012, has been working and planning for every aspect of the inaugural ceremony and inauguration week of activities. The committee, co-chaired by Associate Provost Marty Spears and Executive Vice President David Collins, includes Harding faculty, staff and students and is divided into sub-committees to cover all aspects of the inauguration.
“It’s a new era for our school, and of course, there is a great emphasis on the man, the beginnings for Bruce McLarty,” said Deborah Duke, a member of the inauguration program committee and professor of mathematics. “But, it’s bigger than just Bruce McLarty. It’s about Harding and what Harding is and what Harding stands for. And of course that’s what Bruce McLarty says too.”
Duke, who was in attendance at her father Clifton L. Ganus Jr.’s inauguration in September of 1965, said the ceremony will be unique to our school and our new president, but the ceremonies are also full of tradition and history. Duke said the inauguration committee has worked to assure that all corners of campus and the community feel involved in the inauguration process.
For example, Duke said Bill Holloway, a retired member of the music department, composed music for the processional and recessional at the ceremony. The music will be performed by Harding students on stage. Holloway also composed the music played during Burks’ inauguration in September of 1987.
Additionally, representatives from universities around the world as well as the governor of Arkansas, Mike Beebe, will be in attendance.
“Harding is unique in the kind of longevity and continuity we have,” said Robin Miller, director of the inauguration ceremony and chair of the department of theatre. “We as an institution really commit to the institution. … There is a very strong mission of the school, and when your chief officer stays for 26 years, and we are now passing it along, that’s a watershed moment.”
Both Duke and Miller said McLarty has given input in the planning process. However, McLarty emphasized his desire for the event to be about Harding and Harding’s future rather than just about himself.
For this reason, Duke and Miller said the ceremony is about the school just as much as it is about McLarty and, therefore, is a significant event that students should want to be a part of.
“Being a student here, being a part of the Harding experience and Harding culture is part of your life,” Miller said. “This is something that doesn’t happen very often and honestly, being a part of Harding and getting the opportunity to be a part of something that’s this kind of transition is a memory worth having.”
