Bruce D. McLarty - 2013-present Dr. Bruce D. McLarty began the fifth presidency of the school in 2013. Before taking the lead at Harding, McLarty served eight years as University vice president for spiritual life and before that, 14 years as minister at College Church of Christ. Only in his seventh year of presidency, McLarty was early in his leadership but had a clear vision and set ofgoals. He wrote his dissertation on faith-based schools losing their faith over time. McLarty wanted to use his knowledge from his studies to maintain the foundation Harding was created on. "I think I want that to be my legacy -- embracing the mission of the historic faith-founded mission of Harding, helping the University embrace that mission moving into the future and not straying from that," McLarty said. McLartysaid the other echo he hoped to leave at Harding after his retirement was an understanding of the love he felt for his students. McLartytalked about the many different cultures found at Harding -- from the chorus to the ultimate frisbee team to the chemistry lab. He said he hoped to bring each of these cultures closer together. He used a story told by Dr. J. Warren Casey, professor of music and dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, to illustrate his vision for the University. "He said, 'Start them on pitch and take them exactly where they want to go,'" McLartysaid. "I've adapted that for my answer to the vision question. My vision for Harding is my job is to keep us on pitch. It's to keep us in tune with each other, to keep us in tune with our mission." story by Emma Aly leadership 193
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