President Bruce McLarty reflected on how presidents echoed throughout Harding. Emma Aly, editor-in-chief, and Caleb Manor, assistant editor and head copy editor, sat down on Oct. 23, 2019, with President Bruce Mclarty to discuss the 2019-20 yearbook's theme. Mclarty shared the impact that each previous president made on Harding, the presidential echo heard on Harding's campus. J. N. Armstrong - 1924-36 Though Harding's first president, J. N. Armstrong, was before McLarty's time at Harding, he shared reflections ofArmstrong based on the stories told by Harding's third president, Clifton L. Ganus Jr. Armstrong served as president of Harding College from 1924-36. Mclarty shared that Ganus was fond of Armstrong and said the foundation established by Armstrong carried through to 2019. "Dr. Ganus loved to tell that Brother Armstrong gave Harding College its soul," Mclarty said."There was the faithfulness and the simplicity and the love and a lot of the things that people think of as strengths of Harding even to this day, Dr. Ganus saw as coming from J. N. Armstrong." McLarty said Armstrong was more of a preacher than a businessman, and he loved the employees of the college. In the summers, Armstrong traveled to California and preached, eventually distributing the money he earned to Harding families. "He comes back to Arkansas with maybe $50 in his pocket," Mclarty said. "[He] gives five to this family and three to this family and enough that everybody can pay their bills at the grocery store and Harding can survive for another semester another year." In 1936, Armstrong stepped down as president, then served as chair of the Bible department, and a new president took over. George S. Benson -1936-65 Dr. George S. Benson, one of the first graduates of the College, returned to Harding in 1936 and served as president until 1965. "Dr. Benson was a product of Brother Armstrong, [and] in some ways, [Benson] was a protege of Brother Armstrong," Mclarty said. "In some ways he was as different from Brother Armstrong as two people could be." McLarty said Benson's strong business background allowed the College to pay off the debt taken to purchase the Searcy campus by 1939. He described the second president as energetic and powerful but said those who knew Benson said he was perfect for Harding in that time. "They would always conclude by saying, 'But God knew exactly what we needed at the time,"' McLarty said. "There's a sense of he was perfect for his point in history." When Benson began as president, all faculty and staff received regular paychecks. Benson's work during his presidency until his retirement in 1965 placed Harding on a solid financial basis from which to grow all that followed. 192 president Clifton L. Ganus Jr. - 1965-87 Harding's third president was in office when McLarty attended the school. Dr. Clifton L. Ganus Jr. took over for Benson in 1965 and continued in the position until 1987. McLarty said he felt Ganus was the perfect man for the presidency. "I thought he was perfectly.cut out of the right cloth to be a president," McLarty said. "He looked like a president. He sounded like a president. When he was in chapel or on campus, I just always had the sense that it's under control; it's going to be okay." McLarty said many of the essential aspects of Harding in 2019 began during Ganus' presidency. He established international programs, the president's council, Women for Harding and many of the athletic programs. His work with each of these allowed Ganus to take Harding from a college to a university. As an undergraduate at Harding, Ganus was a Bible and history double major. McLarty said this background explained Ganus' love for Harding. "Hewas a historian by training and had a long history with Harding; [he] loved Harding," Mclarty said. "You never doubted that the man loved Harding." David B. Burks - 1987-2013 Dr. David B. Burks served as Harding's fourth president from 1987 until his retirement in 2013. McLarty said Burks had a background in business. Before his presidency, Burks worked at Exxon Mobil Corp. and then served as dean of the College of Business Administration. McLarty said when Burks attended Harding as a student, he wanted to be an architect. Burks instead decided to study accounting, but his love of architecture led him to oversee the construction of numerous buildings on Harding's campus, including the Mabee Business Building, the Mclnteer Bible and World Missions Center, the Swaid Center for Health Sciences, Legacy Park, and many others. McLarty said many of the buildings people see as iconic Harding landmarks came from Burks' vision. "When people come back to campus, they say, 'This place is beautiful,' 'Y'all have done such a great job here,' and 'It's just a great looking campus,"' McLarty said. "I always tell them -- Dr. Burks, his fingerprints, his sense of style, his vision is what's here." Burks did more than influence the building of physical structures; he also built programs. Burks expanded international programs created under Ganus. Under Burks' leadership, the College of Allied Health was created, which included pharmacy, physical therapy and physician's assistant programs. Beyond buildings and programs, McLarty said Burks was faithful to the mission of Harding. "'Faith, learning and living,'" McLarty.said. "We heard him say that so many times that he just drilled that into our DNA. It was a crystallization of something that's been here from the beginning, but it really needed a champion in his generation." Burks retired in 2013 to pass the presidency to McLarty.
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