Last Friday, Oct. 30, the Harding University Board of Trustees announced University President Bruce McLarty\u2019s retirement, effective Nov. 30. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This announcement came on the Friday of Homecoming weekend and exactly one month before McLarty\u2019s retirement will take effect. McLarty is the fifth president to serve at Harding, and the only one to retire in the middle of an academic year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Board of Trustees met in Searcy Friday, Oct. 23. The Oct. 30 email said that \u201crecent economic and higher education trends have created an extremely challenging business environment that has impacted the institution, leading the board to make a change.\u201d Chancellor David Burks, who was University president from 1987-2013, will resume this role beginning Dec. 1 while a committee is formed to oversee a broader presidential search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a sad time,\u201d Burks said. \u201cThis is a tough transition. All transitions are hard whenever you have a change in presidents, but when you have one in the middle of the year, I think it\u2019s harder. I respect Dr. McLarty a great deal, love him very much, appreciate all that he has done and wish him the very best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2011, Burks also announced his retirement during Homecoming weekend; however, his would not take effect until spring 2013, giving the board and search committee \u2014 which was composed of then-current chairman of the board and six other board members \u2014 over one year to select a new president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is definitely not typical for Harding presidential retirements,\u201d Hannah Wood, archives and special collections librarian, said. \u201cThey\u2019ve usually occurred at the end of a school year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior Ellie Akins said she was shocked by both the timing and content of McLarty\u2019s announced retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was so shocked by the announcement on Friday,\u201d Akins said. \u201cI never once considered losing Dr. McLarty as a president during my time at Harding as even a possibility, so hearing that was very surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For his second time assuming this role, Burks said it is different in a lot of ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not the same as it was in 1987 when I was young, excited and enthusiastic and didn\u2019t know what was in front of me,\u201d Burks said. \u201cSo, it\u2019s different. I do know what the job entails \u2014 I did it for 26 years \u2014 and I know it\u2019s tough to take over in the middle of a COVID-19 year, but as I told Dr. Walker \u2026 I\u2019ll simply do the best I can until a new person is selected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junior Hannah Arnold also said she was shocked and confused by the announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt just doesn\u2019t seem real still,\u201d Arnold said. \u201cI\u2019m very anxious for this transition that is happening in the middle of this year. I feel like it will be very apparent on campus next semester and it will be different for all of us. [McLarty] really cares about us as people, not just numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burks said there is no definite time frame for when a new president will be selected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey simply don\u2019t want to be in a hurry,\u201d Burks said. \u201cThey want to have enough time to do a thorough job \u2014 [it could be] a year, it could be a little less than a year, it might even be a little bit more than a year. They have not set a definite timetable other than they want to have enough time to do a thorough job, and I commend them for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burks said his focus for his time as president is similar to that of McLarty\u2019s: to continue Harding\u2019s mission of providing the best Christian education and college experience possible for students. As mentioned in the University\u2019s original email, Burks said he also wishes to increase enrollment numbers for the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the things I\u2019d like to see happen is I\u2019d like to see more and more students admitted to Harding,\u201d Burks said. \u201cI\u2019d like to see the enrollment grow. We\u2019ve seen it decline in the last several years. I would like to turn that around, but that won\u2019t happen overnight. That\u2019s a tough challenge, but I\u2019d like to see it grow, and I\u2019ll be doing everything I can to see that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past several years, Harding has seen a decline in enrollment. From the 2013-14 academic school year to fall 2020, undergraduate enrollment has dropped from 4,417 to 3,579.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an email responding to this writer\u2019s questions, McLarty said his prayer for Burks is that \u201cGod will give him tremendous wisdom, great strength, deep peace and amazing joy in leading this university once again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hope people will remember my time as President with a smile on their faces,\u201d McLarty said. \u201cI hope they know that I loved them, was deeply interested in them, and that I was always confident that God was preparing them for great things. People thrive in a place where they are safe, valued, encouraged and loved. I pray for every student who steps on this campus to have such an experience.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burks said he is hopeful the University will be able to find unity throughout the transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy specific concern is that I hope we can all come together and work in unity to achieve our goals and create the best experience for students,\u201d Burks said. \u201cI\u2019m confident God will work through the situation, and I\u2019m confident that our future is very bright.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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