Carisse Berryhill, Ph.D. Assistant Librarian Allen Black, Ph.D. Professor/New Tes tament Dave Bland, Ph.D. Associate Professor/Homi letics Bill Flatt, Ed .D. Professor/Counsel ing Ed Gray, Ed .D. Asso. Prof.lCounsel ing Jack Lewis, Ph.D. Ret. ProfessorlBible Phil McMillion, Ph.D. Professor/Old Testamem Don Meredith, M.S. Head Librarian Huffard Appointed Executive Director, Dean Position Marks New Era for Harding Graduate School of Religion When he first began attending che Harding Graduate School of Religion (HUGSR) in Memph is, [eachingwas [he las[ ching Dr. Evem Huffard imagined himself choosi ng as a career. Despite his earlier skepcicism, Huffard ended up not only teaching at the graduate school, but in June was named Dean and Execut ive Director. Huffard's history ac Hard ing took root in hi s days as an undergraduate. After spending twO years at Lubbock Chriscian, he cransferred to Harding and compieced the fina l twO years ofhis B.A. in Bible. He then enrolled a[ HUGSR, making himself [he fim of [he six deans in [he school 's histOry to earn boch his undergraduate and graduace degrees ac Harding. After graduating from the school in Memphis, Huffa rd continued his scudies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. He went on co receive his Ph.D in intercultural studies from Fuller. He chen began his teaching career at Pepperdine us co offer 50 full -ride scholarships," Huffard said. "Of[en, Bible majors come out of their undergraduate work with a lot ofdebts from studenc loans, and they know that min istry jobs don ' t pay very much , so they don ' t th ink they can afford graduate school. We want to make graduate education accessibl e to anyone, especially those who may have a hard time affording it but have a tremendous potencial in ministry. " Huffard believes strongly in the need fo r Bible majors to pursue a graduate degree. "There are four major reasons why Bible majors need a graduate degree to really complete their education," he said. "First, it gives them a good, solid, balanced educat ion in Bible and ministry. We try to integrate a strong academic base with the Word and church doctrine, so students don ' t have to compromise on either aspect. "Secondly, i[ gives [hem [he discipline needed for scudy. The Lord said we are to love him with all our hean, soul and mind, and the mind needs to be disciplined. When it 's nOt, cultural trends tend to preva il. Unive rsity, where he taught for three years. In 1987, he came to HUGSR as an assoc iate professor of religion. He continued CO teach and eventually became director of the Doctor ofMiniscry program, the hi ghest degree the graduate school offers. "There's a real joy in seeing students who are going into "Another th ing it provides is a strong sense of fellowship. The students here spend two to five yea rs wi th other students who are studying the same thing and who are pursuing similar life goals. It 's much more foc used here. At Harding in Sea rcy, peopl e are pursu ing so many different degrees, they' re like twO shi ps passing in the night. H ere, students grow much closer - it's a totally different dynami c. . . . . When the former dean retired lase year, Huffard seemed a natu ral choice to fill the slot. ministry, miSSIOns or "Dr. Huffard is a graduate of Harding in Searcy and in Memphis, so he knows Harding quite well ," Lott Tucke r, senior vice president, said. "T heo logically, he knowswhac Hardingstands for , and he is able to work well with the facul ty in Memph is and the administration in Searcy. He has all the necessary degree requirements for the job. The search commitcee felt all of those qualicies made him the best choice, teaching, and knowing that their time in Memphis is laying a foundation for all the work they'll do in the "Finally, graduate school gives them the tools they need to build the profession ofministry. Ministry is n' t an easy job, and you have to be in it for the long haul. We give them the stability they need ro prepare them future. " - Dr. Eve", HufF.trd so we recommended him to Dr. [David] Burks, who then appointed him dean. " HufF.trd began his new job by swing high goals fo r [he school 's future development. "The graduate school has been in existence since 1958, and the main goal over the last 40 years has basically been to build a foundation ," Huffard said. "We've always been sort of the flagship program in rel igious graduate educati on, so we've been working on developing ic. We' re well-established now, so we' re ready to advance jc. " His plans for advancement included an ambitious program of financial aid for Bible undergraduates who want co conti nue their educacion, but struggle wich che costs of graduate school. "Evenmally, we want to have a $6 mill ion endowment that will allow 86 Academics for that aspect of it." Huffard finds satisfaction in watching his students as they prepare for the work ahead of them. "There's a real joy in seeing students who are go ing into ministry, miss ions or teach ing, and knowing that their time in Memphis is laying a foundation for all [he work they' ll do in [he fucure," he said. Outside his role as dean, Huffard enj oys spending his spare time teaching at growing churches. "I really enjoy working with churches," he said. "Two or three weekends a month , I'm usually working with churches or miss ions teams. Last year I did about 30 weekend workshops for churches on missions , sp iritual growth and leadership, and team dynamics. Those are the areas I tend to work in the most. " -Sara Hardesty
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