183 LEADERSHIP Leadership during the 2022-23 school year shifted significantly with the addition of two new senior hires. Dr. Mike Williams assumed the position of president of Harding University on June 1, 2022. Accompanying him in the move from Faulkner University was Dr. JeanNoel Thompson, who had served with Williams as vice president of Faulkner’s student services for seven years prior. “He asked me to prayerfully consider joining him here at Harding, and my wife and I took a couple of weeks, and we really thought, prayed and visited,” Thompson said. “I called two of my strong mentors and said, ‘Give me some advice,’ and they gave me just great wisdom and incredible things to say about this situation here at Harding, and here I am. We decided to come, and I am so very thankful and grateful for the honor and opportunity.” Thompson made a point that he was not at Harding to change it but rather to collaborate with faculty, staff and students to create a welcoming environment with inspired purpose. At each of the institutions that Thompson had previously worked at, he had been asked to come in to make a change to help advance the university. However, for him it was always a delicate balance between maintaining what had been and what it could be. “I came into Harding with that same perspective,” he said. “How can I understand and appreciate the things that are incredible about it, help maintain those, and there’s lots here to do, in terms of maintaining those good things, and then, where are areas where we can make improvement.” Zach Neal, vice president of student life, addressed Thompson’s desire to enact meaningful change during his time at Harding. “He has made it very clear that he is not here to create a previous school,” Neal said. “He’s here to listen to what the needs are of Harding and then pull from his experiences to make those scenarios better.” Neal met Thompson 15 years prior at the Christian Professionals for Student Development conference in Montgomery, Alabama. Neal’s relationship with Thompson only deepened over the months following his transition to Harding. “He is very down to earth but very professional, which is a great combination when it comes to Christian education,” Neal said. Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson is appointed executive vice president alongside President Mike Williams. Thompson put an emphasis on collaboration between the administration and students bolstered by trust. He emphasized creating a student experience that relied on connection rather than assuming to know the needs and desires of the student body. “We don’t want to just assume and do something to you,” Thompson said. “We want to create an experience with you, and there’s a big difference there.” Thompson’s overall demeanor and approach to leadership was something that both students and peers recognized within his first few months at Harding. “He is funny and personable,” Sharon Williams, secretary in the President’s Office, said. “He is intentional in getting to know you. He comes out of his office even if he just hears somebody out here. He comes out to introduce himself and to meet that person. And he makes them feel seen.” He attended send-offs and Black Student Association (BSA) meetings and made himself present and available on campus, despite the hecticness surrounding inauguration and the beginning of the year. “I met with him over the summer,” senior Halle Miller, president of the BSA, said. “I met with him and Dr. Williams just to get to know them and to talk about the BSA and our plans for the upcoming year, and he was just very warm and welcoming. He asked me to call him Dr. T.” Neal said Thompson had a reputation for being someone worthy of his title, but he was humble regardless. It was through this mindset that he approached his role as a supervisor, becoming a friend to those around him despite rank within the institution. “He earns your respect because he is a friend to you and serves with you, and any ideas that he has he is willing to roll up his sleeves and do it with you,” Neal said. “So I think, from hearing around campus, that’s been how everybody has received communication. Often, people will say Mike Williams is a students’ president. I think you could very much say Jean-Noel Thompson is a students’ executive vice president.” There was anticipation for the value that Thompson would bring to Harding and hope for the future under his leadership. “This place is what it is because so many people have committed themselves to building it,” Thompson said. “We ought to be grateful for that. But our future is bright, and we’re excited about that.” Written by: Julianne Baker
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