ijrding Graduaw School or 111cology. rormerly l.. :nown as Harcling;Gracluarc School ofRcljgion, dtmched iLs ne,.v name change as part t?f a n:branding proc.·Pss li·a· tht> scl1ClOI. Thr consN [Uelll success of this change proved that what is in a name can be important, after all. The graduate school began as a branch of Harding in Searcy in 1958, with W. B. West as the founding dean. Since then, the school had made several changes to become more relevant to modern ministry. Evertt W. Huffard, current dean of the program, slid the name change was important for refocusing the mission of the school, but it took a long time to approve. "We went through a two-year process that began with a discussion in a couple of faculty meetings, feedback from alumni and approval from Dr. Burks and the Board of Trustees," Huffard said. Bruce McLarty, vice president of spiritual life, shed some light on the reason for the change by explillning that when the school was founded, religion was a distinctly Christian term. Since then, however, it had become an umbrella term that encompassed all religions. "To say school of theology is much more accurate Participating in a therapy sim.ulation activity, second year marriage and family therapy (MFT) graduate student Jeremy Carter leads a discussion with other first and second year students on Oct. 25. This was the 18th year the MFT program had been available to students. Ashel Parsons and brings into sharper focus what the school is really about," McLarty said. "The name change was really catching up with where the school already is." In addition to the name change this yeat~ the school also created a new logo. "It has had a very positive impact on our visibility," Huffard said. "I don't expect it to direcdy change enrollment; many other factors affect that. [The logo] does well in representing our theological focus, reflecting three crosses and the Spirit." Monte Cox, dean of the College of Bible on the Searcy campus, agreed with McLarty that the new name would likely help people better understand the purpose of the school in a world where the word "religion" could be ambiguous. "When you say Harding School of Theology, you've pretty well identified yourself as Christian," Cox said. '~nd their new logo [with] tl1ree crosses on it is unmistakably Christian. They were never trying to hide their Christian conviction in the name Harding University Graduate School of Religion, but they're making it much more explicit in the new name." Zachery L. Decker Graduate counseling students Hannah Valls and Patti Pence lead a horse through an obstacle course called "Temptation Alley" on Nov. 5. The class used horses as part of the Equine Assisted Psychotherapy method of counseling, which combined licensed counselors and horse professionals to provide treatment for clients. Ashel Parsons f8 8 Education, Bible & Religion- Graduate
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