Administrative Directors Pulling It all Together Assisting two new academic administrators - Dr. Neale T. Pryor, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Dr. Dean B. Priest, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences - to become oriented to various academic procedures was a special responsibility of Virgil M. Beckett, Registrar, in the fall of 1983. He was also heavily involved in the self-study for the institutional report to the North Central Association in preparation for the ten-year onsite visit by a team of examiners during 1984-85. He continued to serve as chairman of the computer committee which had responsibility for policies governing use of both the DEC VAX 11 / 750 academic computer and the DEC PDP 11 / 70 administative computer. In the fall , he implemented the recording of mid-semester and semester grades on the computer by means of an optical scanner which increased the accuracy of recording and significantly reduced the time it took to get grade reports processed . Beckett also participated in studies to improve student retention. He assisted faculty members to develop plans for using the computer to expedate institutional self-studies and research projects. As a member of the Academic Affairs Committee, he was involved in continuing studies to improve the curriculum to keep up with the expanding knowledge and changing needs of society. He also studied Assistant to the President registrations procedures in an effort to simplify the process for students as well as administrators. He was active in the Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers and attended both state and regional meetings. He also attended several state-wide conferences on ACT and CLEP tests and on student retention. Striving constantly to improve the services of the library to faculty and students, Winnie Bell, Librarian , and her staff implemented in the fall of 1983 a computer reference service under the supervision of Craig Beard, Reference Librarian. The service consists of a Digital LA120 DECwwriter 111 terminal / printer and a group lease agreement with Bibliographic Retrieval Services of New York through membership in the AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, a network of libraries in the Southwest. Miss Bell commented, 'This service makes it possible for us to offer information we couldn't offer in any other way through the access of databases. It 's kind of like having a lot of libraries at your disposal all at once." During the summer of 1983, she began a systematic weeding of the library collection and updating the index of religious journals. She attended several AMIGOS workshops and was active in the Arkansas Library Association. Miss Bell served as Public Relations ChairRetired, But He Continues Having reached the age of 70, Dr. James F. Carr, Jr., Assistant to the President , retired from fun-time work in September b~t continued some of his valuable contributions to the University on a part-time basis. He had relinquished the early orientation programs to Eddie Campbell, Dean of Men, and the directorship of summer school to Dr. Larry Long, Assistant Professor of English. 92 Assistant to President He continued his involvement with the Elderhostel program which he introduced at Harding in the summer of 1982. He made plans to direct personally the first Elderhostel class in Florence , Italy, during April and May, using the villa that the University uses in its regular Harding University in Florence program. For more than a decade, Dr. Carr had spent much time developing the Associated Women - w.. s Hollllnd man of the Searcy chapter of the American Association of University Women and as a member of the Legislative Committee of the Arkansas Library Association. She was active in the mission and teaching program of the Downtown church of Christ. "Harding is my home ," commented Miss Bell. " I feel that all members of the Harding community are members of my family. " Directing a self-study of the graduate program leading to the Master of Education degree had top priority for Dr. Wyatt Jones, Director of Graduate Studies. This was necessitated by plans to seek accredidation of the graduate program in education. National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education at the time of the interim NCATE visit during 1985-86. In th~ spring of 1984, he gained approval for offeri~g the Master of Science in Eucation degree in addition to the Master of Education degree that has been offered for many years. The new degree was designed to meet the needs of foreign students, students planning to teach in college and students planning to do counseling , and will not require that the student be certified by the Arkansas Department of Education. Dr. Jones was active in various professional organizations in education. He attended the meeting of Kappa Delta Pi in Montreal in addition to those of the Arkansas Graduate Deans' Association and the Arkansas Education Association. Administering the intercollegiate athletic program was a major responsibility of Dr . for Harding in many cities across the country. Under his leadership , AWH set a record goal of $50,000 to be contributed to the University during 1983-84. Carr relinquished some of his committee activity at the University, but he continued to serve during 1983-84 on the Executive Committee, the Academic Affairs Committee, the Physical Plant Committee, the Student Retention Committee, and the Public Relations Committee which he chaired. During the fall semester, Carr visited a number of college campuses in several states. "The more I see of other campuses the more I am impressed with Harding University," he commented. Carr further stated, "At the end of the 1982-83 school year, I concluded 13 wonderful years at the University. I am now on a parttime status which permits me to continue to enjoy the wonderful association with colleagues and students. After more than four decades in higher education, I know of no work that can be more fulfilling and rewarding than that found on a University campus. The enjoyment and gratification in a setting such as Harding brings many rewards not found on a secular campus. The Lord willing, I hope to be able to give many more years of service to young people. They have greatly blessed and infl uenced my life." Not only did Dr. Carr find that "It is great to be at Harding." but he helped thousands of others find and enjoy the true greatness that he helped to develop here. 'th
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==