Jim Carr Executive Vice President C. Floyd Daniel Senior Vice President Neale Pryor Vice President for Academic Affairs Lott Tucker Senior Vice President & ChiefFinancial Officer ctJr. JVeale Pryor inspired by student body and its generosity Dr. Neale Pryo r attended Harding for four years and then returned in the fall of 1962 to join the faculty . Since joining the Harding family,Pryor has become one of the most respected people on campus. Pryor served as chairman of the Bible Department from 1983 to 1988 and is currently serving as vice president for academic affairs. ABible professor, Pryor has continued to teach two courses of Bible every semester. He conducted approximately 15 gospel meetings this year, besides making numerous appearances at youth rallies, workshops and lectureships. Through Bible classes, Pryor had the opportunity to get to know the students a t Harding . "Hardi ng's students are the greatest there are. It is a pleasure to be with the students, deal with them and teach them on a daily basis. Most of the students here are warm, caring and good-spirited. One thing that impresses me is their generosity. The money they raised for Greg McLean was an inspiration and examp le of the stud ents' generosity. A lor of students who don't have much money contributed, and that shows a lot about whe re their hearts are. The students he re are an inspiration to us older people," Pryor said. As a faculty member fo r 35 yea rs, Pryor has witnessed tremendous growth at Harding. In the 50s, when he was a student, there were about 1,000 students. When he joined the tfilt 44 Academics faculty, there were about 1,600 students, and this year there were more than 4,000 students. "Harding has rea lly been blessed with its growth. The people here make the school what it is. With increasing enro llment , we do have to be concerned about growing too much. We are trying to deal with the number of students enrolling and balance out the number of ma les and females that come to Harding. We have grea t facilities here for our students, but we need to make sure that, in our growth, we keep expanding and updating our facilities," Pryor said. "Dr. Pryor is probably one of the most respected administrators and Bible teachers for at least the past decade. He is caring, patient and wise in dealing with the students and staff, which brings respect," Martha Hodges, Dr. Pryor's secretary, said. "It is not a goal of mine to be the most respected, but I try to do the best I can. I'm always here for the students, and I make a conscious effo rt to give s tudents a nonthreatening envi ronment that makes them comfortable when coming to see me. I want to develop good relationships," Pryor said. Besides being a professor, Pryor also served as an elder at the College Church of Christ. His commitment to his faith led him to encourage students to develop their fai th in God and to live it. He said he feels that a Christian education is very important. "All true education is Christi an education Dr. Neale Pryor takes a moment to talk to sophomore Doug Austin and junior Brett Davies outside the Administration BUilding. Pryor has earned the respect of past and present students, faculty and staffwith a caring servant-like aLtitude. Photo by Kristi Bums. because it begins with truth. If you don 't start with God, everything is built on the wrong premise. A Christian education helps students develop leadershi p skills, and my ministry helps to train these leaders," Pryor said. - Heath Dawson
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