Butch G3rdner, M.Ed, Ass't. VP/Stlldellt5crvices Greg Harnden, M.A. Athletic Director Don Kee,J .D. Ullil;ersi~yAllomey / lbndy L1mbet h, M.Ed . Supl / !-Iardillg Academy Rich Liute, M.S.E. Ass'I / Presidellt Buddy Rowan, B.S. AsS·I . VP/Ffllt/llce Mike Williams, B.l3.A. AsS·I . VP/Admissiolls cf\.owan celebrates 30 years of ser~anthood with the CUniversity Byron "Buddy" Rowan came to Hard ing in 1967 as an accountant. Since then, he has held various other titles, and he is currentl y serving as assistant vice pres ident for finance. His position involved accounting, the budget, purchasing, payro ll , the loan office and, beginning in]anuary, 1998, he became respo ns ible fo r the business office as wel l. Rowan often assisted students who needed financial help. "It is rea lly fulfilling for me to he lp the students, counsel them through the ir financial troubles and get them through the school year. 1 am SOlt o f an amateur counselor. I enjoy the students, and most of them are very pleasant and reasonable considering their financial diffi cul ties," Rowan sa id. Rowan has he lped deal with many financial issues facing Harding. One issue that was of great concern was increaSing the endowment so that the cost for school would not need to be increased as much as it has in the past. "I have witnessed the growth of Harding from the viewpoint o f financia l matters. When I came here in 1967, the operat ing budget was abou t $5.2 million. Now Harding has a $57 mill ion operating budget. The endowment needs to be larger for these growth reasons, so Harding can serve the students we ll ," Rowan said. "I have always been in favor of Harding serving as many students as poss ible and doing it well. If we could get 10,000 students and handl e it well , I say let's do it. The more we can serve, the better our country, fami lies and churches will be," he said. Rowan served as an elder at the Downtown Church ofChrist and also stayed very involved with his family. He liked to travel and enjoyed hi s visits to the Rocky Mountains and the Canadian Mounta ins. Rowan's favorite hobby was playing racquetball , and he played as often as he could . Rowan 's children attended Harding Aca d emy a nd th en Harding UniverSity. "I wouldn 't trade watching my kids go through a Christian educa tion for anything. l{'s important that we tra in young people about what's important, and that is to help them develop a stro ng re lationsh ip with God. It is also important to help them learn a good work ethiC, "Rowan said. During his 30 years at Hardi ng, Rowan sa id he has grown to love the University deeply. "It's great to be at Harding University. J love to walk across the campus and see students walking around among the trees , flowe rs and scenery of this campus. I just like to take it all in. The relationships with faculty, staff and students are great. They' re all just good people . Most of us come from [he same viewpoint o n life. \X'e are all t1y ing to center our lives o n Jesus. We are not perfect, but the effort is there," Rowan said. As Harding cont inues to grow each year, Rowa n wi ll continue to be busy with fina nces. - Heath Dawson LOll TLlckel~ Buddy Rowan,john Nunnally and Dr. Steve Baber share snacks and conversation be/ore a staff meeting held during the/allsemester. Rowan's duties became more numerous this year as he look on responsibility/or the BUSiness Office in janualy. Pboto by Kristi Burns. Academics 55 t1ill
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==