Our time in Searcy is ending. We are heading back, but it feels like leaving home instead of going home. Here’s a quick summary of what happened.
Harding won the homecoming game against Arkansas Tech, 27-10. We spent too much money at the campus bookstore. We were the first people to find the letterbox on campus. The homecoming musical, Beauty and the Beast, was amazingly good. At our first chapel in 14 years, I choked-up as I watched my son singing “Firm Foundation” and thought about him becoming a freshman someday as reality rather than just an abstract idea.
Dr. Ganus, the elder, spoke to the President’s Council about the history of the Council, the history of Harding, and the importance of continuing to be a beacon of light to a dark and fallen world. Among the illustrations he used to discuss his concern about the state of affairs in the rest of higher education was a reference to Tom Wolfe’s I Am Charlotte Simmons (it was strange to hear Dr. Ganus talk about, “hooking up” and define it for the crowd). I think the breakout sessions were effective; they seemed to really want to listen to feedback from the alumni. We urged them to recruit a few more students from a non-Church of Christ background, to reach out to homeschoolers, and to embrace the Internet a bit more in their marketing efforts. Some specific tech suggestions included podcasting chapel, offering alumni e-mail addresses (e.g. yourname@alumni.harding.edu), and advertising on Google.
I had the pleasure of reconnecting with several professors — among them were Dr. Reely, Dr. Long, Dr. Elrod, and Dr. Garner — some of whom I’ve seen more often than others since graduation.
It was a wonderful three days. We won’t wait 14 years to do it again; that’s for sure. My only regret is not being able to worship with the Harding family tomorrow because I have a ridiculously early flight tomorrow. Maybe next time.
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I almost feel like I was there…
The letterbox sounds interesting. I would be interested in a follow-up post with more details (hint, hint).
College is less than 2 years away for us. You are obviously keeping your eyes open, but as if you needed reminding, don’t blink because it goes by fast.
Interesting to hear about Ganus Sr.’s reference to I Am Charlotte Simmons. I read that last year and swore afterwards that I would personally kidnap my boys and drag them to Harding if necessary (only a slight exaggeration). I was talking about the book with a Development Office person earlier this year and mentioned that it might be relevant in recruiting efforts, along with Naomi Schaefer Riley’s God On the Quad which details the meteoric rise in popularity of religious colleges and universities in America. Maybe someone is listening.
When I was at Harding, Ganus Sr. was president. I recall him as this larger-than-life bear of a man with a booming voice who in his sixties could still peg the Benson with a softball in the days when there was an intramural field behind it instead of a parking lot.
He was also the man who would, without fail, speak a kind greeting when he passed you on the sidewalk. I figured that he did that to everyone and that somedays with all he must have had weighing on his shoulders that it must have been really tough to keep it up. His thoughtfulness and persistance impressed me greatly.
A few years ago, he flew to Huntsville for a recruiting trip and as the resident Harding grad at my church I was asked to pick him up at the airport. I was a little nervous, frankly, still somewhat in awe of this man who stood so tall and for so much.
The Harding plane had hardly stopped and the ladder placed before he bounded down the steps and toward the lone figure who stood waiting for him at the terminal early that Sunday morning. He stopped long enough to greet me, swallowing my hand in his massive paw. He then pleaded, “Could you show me where the little boy’s room is?!”
Aha, I thought, he does have “feet of clay” after all! We went on to have a great visit, and I’m still in awe of his passion for life and for Harding.
Hope the flight back went well–at least you had that extra hour of sleep working in your favor.
Thanks. The flight was on time and uneventful.
The letterbox was not difficult to find. Some are, but not this one. The clues are pretty straightforward. I think it is just that no one else had looked yet. Letterboxing is pretty popular here in Northern Virginia. I don’t know that as many people are interested in Arkansas.
I’ve already told my son he can go to any college he wants, as long as it is Harding. After this weekend, he has no problem with that.
Your post really touched me, but I read it over several times (misty eyes and all). What a wonderful experience to have and to share with your son.
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