.. TIr decades Harding has been home to some outstand ing fa cu lty members. Professors not only cared for th eir students' educat io n . but also had an amazing story of how th ey came to H arding. Ro n Smith. assis tant professor of mathematics , we nt above and beyond in ensuring that his students got the most or their education in his class. Ever since hi s lime at Hardi ng as a student, it was Smith's goal to one day r eturn and work in the math department. However , it was a lo ng road that took him many other places before he returned in 2005 to his alma mater. After Smith graduated from Harding, he and his wife went to teach on a U.S. Air Force base in Turkey. They did some self- supported miss ion work, h oweve r . even befor e Smith could begin teaching h e had to d ean the school up from the GulfWar. Over time, Smith and his wife decided to come back because they were ready to star t a family. H e taught high sch ool in Cabot , Ark. for five years unitl th ey h ad their second child and Smith's wife wa nted to stay home. The family did not know what to do so they prayed fo r a way tha t would allow his wife to stay at home with the child r en. "It was neal how it worked out," Smith said. 'We started praying and within a week we had an answer ." The an swer to the family's prayer was ajob with an engineering firm in Ohio. Nter seven yea rs with the engineering firm , Sm ith made his next ca reer move into the goal he had si nce college: h e came back to Harding. While at H ard ing h e not only taught upper level classes of calculus and trigonometq', but also the general education math requirements of elementary statistics and college algebra . Also during the 2009 - 2010 sch ool year, Smith was in the middle of working on his d octorate in mathematics education. "H e was always very excited to teach and always put fo r th an effor t to meet the students," senior Meg Watson said. Smith was an instructor students loved to have. It was very he lpfu l to have such a caring teacher help transition many freshme n into the college life since many took his course in their first year at college . "Even though 1 wasn't particularly excited about the subject of statistics , Mr. Smith managed to make it inte l'est ing and worthwhile ," sophomore Beck Mart in said about his class with Smith his fres hman year. "He was neve r hesitant to help people if there was something th ey didn't understand, and h e even held study sessions on the nigh ts before tests to en sure that each student understood everything that would be on the test." Smith 's ritual pre-test study sessions were something that set him apart from other professors. "Mr. Smith's Sunday night study sessions l'eally helped to calm my nerves and build my confidence be fore a big test," junior Ashley Ward said . Study sessions aside, Smith was often in his ofnce for students to come by anytime to ask for h elp. " It was evident that Mr. Smith cared about how each of his students did in his dass, " junior Joshua Corde r said. " I don't know how many hours I spent in his office when I was haVing trouble in h is class and h e was always more than happy [Q help. " Students found it r efreshi n g wh en professors loved their work, really ca red for them, and knew them on a personal level, and Smith was on e of those professors. With an impressive and varied resume of mission work, teaching in a foreign land , engineering, coaching high school basketball and even getting some of his work published, Smith showed his students that it was not j u st all about what h ap pens in the classroom. " [Smith] clearly enjoys what he does, which is a blessing in and of itself," junior Matthew Flowers said . "H e ca res about his studen ts and wants everyone to pass. H e wants them not to just pass the test but use the material in their daily life. His focus is th e applicability of it and r appreciate that." Steven Chandler Burning the midnight oil, sophomore Viveus Naatinya works vigorously on his class project. Every night Naatinya, a computer science major, would work in the computer science lab designing a store Web site for his Web Development c lass. Hagen Atkins 172 academics - :'1 am looking forward to using what rve learned to make a differenc; In the world with th e development of alternative energies ".ft;;~ -
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