138 leadership They created degrees from the ground floor up, represented the eyes and ears of Harding nationally and even helped keep tuition dollars down, yet the majority of people on campus had never heard of the University Builders Circle (UBC), a smaller group that formed from the President’s Council. When Dr. Cliff Ganus was president in 1965, he realized very quickly that the leadership at Harding needed to be larger than just the president, vice presidents and faculty members. From that thought, the President’s Council was born. Over the years, it continued to grow to more than 1,100 families. Mike Williams, vice president of Advancement and member of the UBC, said that over the years, the President’s Council brainstormed creating a new group in order to be more personal and helpful. “In 1999, another smaller group started to be more intimate and defined,” Williams said. “It started with 75 members for our 75th anniversary and had grown to 120 families, which are all over the country.” The members of the UBC gave at least $5,000 a year towards different projects, including scholarships funds, capital projects and new buildings. Each member attended annual meetings to find out the latest opportunity or idea. “These people that are the UBC are different kinds of people,” Williams said. “They are not part of this group to get a tax break but because they want to be part of something special and provide the best education to students [that] they possibly can.” They also carried this responsibility along with their real jobs. Several men who graduated from Harding and went on to Harvard Law School saw the importance of having a finance degree and created every aspect of it for the College of Business Administration. The men were regular business guys taking time from their busy lives to provide a greater opportunity for students. “This group of individuals from the Harding Builder’s Circle provided the challenge to build the finance program and then backed up this challenge with funding,” Dean of COBA Dr. Bryan Burks said. “I can honestly say we would not have a finance degree today if it had not been for these men who love Harding and the College of Business. They wanted to ensure we continue to produce graduates who are well prepared and relevant for today’s business global economy, who are character-based with a servant heart and who are purposeful in their career.” Williams said that he and the UBC acknowledged the change in accessibility to student loans and scholarships. The group was eager to provide what they could to keep as many dollars down as possible. “The Advancement program is very sensitive to what goes on according to tuition revenue,” Williams said. Members of the UBC wanted to give in every way possible so that they could provide affordability to the students and help keep student rates down. “This same group was the group that was paying for my scholarships in college,” Williams said. “I was part of the UBC because I felt it is my responsibility to give back to Harding and provide scholarship opportunities to today’s students.” Williams said he wished he had realized the number of people that were contributing to his education. He also wished today’s students were able to realize the energy and time people had put into their education. “People were out there dreaming for me, and now I’m 45 and I’m dreaming for students now,” Williams said. “[UBC members] want to be part of that and pay for someone else’s scholarship.” All the pieces were there to connect the UBC to the entire institution. The future dream was to provide an advisory board for every department. The boards would exceed expectations as far as accomplishing goals through relationships and creating opportunities for each department. “Dr. Ganus was right when he said Harding would be a very complex institution,” Williams said, “and that it would take a village bringing resources together to accomplish what we have over the years.” Allison Weaver Giving
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