214 For Harding the advances during the past two decades only seemed to continue as the university introduced a female tennis team at the start of the decade. Harding’s volleyball team also made news when in 1991, they won the school’s “first sole championship” in the AIC conference. The AWH also continued their invaluable efforts through fundraising and brining publicity to the school as they planned and directed a children’s talent show to raise money for student scholarships. This decade also saw a continued interest in the care and preservation of Harding’s women as the school began hosting lessons and talks for women’s self defense on and off campus. Additionally, at a women’s conference hosted by WING (Women in God’s Service), the University joined a network of Christian women (both online and via telephone) to come together and anonymously share struggles, prayer, and guidance with one another – a peer counseling system known as Sister to Sister. With the close of the ’90s. Harding was able to continue its pattern of consistent growth and valuable change 1990s WING’s Conference 1995 Photo courtesy of Jeff Montgomery Yet over these coming decades, Harding would continue to create that “bubble” which allows our university to be a warm community—a community that would be sorely lacking without the contribution of its many talented women. In 2004, WINGS (Women in God’s Service) hosted their tenth women’s conference with a theme centered around joy. WINGS’ conferences have encouraged a myriad of Harding women, and this conference sought to bring together the generations of them by allowing the guests to nominate the speakers at their own conference. This unorthodox approach would help to ensure that the speakers had the potential to speak to a variety of age groups. As the decade progressed, Harding’s women continued to excel with the advent of the a new tennis team. This program offered for women came soon after Harding’s first women’s soccer team (1998) and not long before the university’s first female softball team (2011). These sports team and the scholarships some of them offered, afforded many Harding women the opportunity to play the sport they loved while also attending a university that shared their love for Christ. To round out the decade AWH (Associated Women for Harding) awarded the esteemed Louis Ganus their Lifetime Achievement award at a luncheon celebrating her 85th birthday on April 20, 2007. Louise Ganus, Harding’s third First lady, has poured herself into her family and this university, spending a life time in service to God and others. Women like Louise exemplify the characteristics—humility and service—that Harding seeks to emulate throughout time. 2000s National AWH officers in 2001. From Brackett Library Flickr 2003 Women’s Soccer Team. From Brackett Library Flickr Harding also saw lots of growth during this period. The eighties brought to completion what the seventies began with the implementation of women’s sports and other forms of equality throughout the university. After years of lobbying for an opportunity in collegiate sports, surmounting challenges of modesty and funding, the Lady Bisons finally gained the opportunity to participate in sports on a collegiate level. One Lady Bison that rose through the ranks during this period was Mara Crump, a physical education major and member of the cross-country team at Harding University. In ’83, Crump became the first woman from this institution to participate in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics as an AllAmerican athlete. In addition to her athletic ability, Crump also maintained a high GPA and strong dedication to her academic success at Harding as well. The inception of women’s sports also saw the temporary change of women being allowed to wear pants on campus become a permanent one. Despite these changes, Harding’s women still maintained a dedication to the University through the numerous fundraising endeavors of the AWH such as their annual style show, selling cookbooks, and a catering service. The ’70s and ’80s brought about a myriad of changes, yet the Harding’s ladies always sought to work for the betterment of the University. 1980s 1980s women of campus. From Brackett Library Flickr
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