CYAN
MAGENTA
YELLOW BLACK NEWS
In Sports:
Vol. 87 No. 18
April 20, 2012
In Sports: The Bison football team coaches Searcy campers
SEE Page 2b
“But Harding is truly a place like no other. Sorry for the cliche, but at least I didn’t say, ‘It’s Great to be at Harding!’” J.M. Adkison gives a fond farewell to readers. SEE Page 3a
2A
OPINIONS
3&4A
SPORTS
1&2B
FEATURES
3B
ENTERTAINMENT
4B
In Entertainment:
Larry, Moe and Curly are back in action on the silver screen. But are the new Stooges truly funny? Or is this a remake fail? SEE Page 4b
Harding on track to build new center for health sciences by J.M. ADKISON editor-in-chief & ALEXIS HOSTICKA features editor Last week, President David B. Burks announced to the faculty and administration that the university had received a promised donation of $1.7 million to go toward the new Center for Health Sciences building, which will house the Carr College of Nursing and the department of communication sciences and disorders. Burks said the donation will come from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation in the form of a challenge grant. “Basically, the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation have promised to offer us a donation once we reach 40 percent of the $8.5 million we need to build the new building,” Burks said. “We have reached that 40 percent amount, and so the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation have given us a challenge grant of 20 percent of the full amount, which would be $1.7 million, with the challenge being we raise the $8.5 million within a year.” Burks said the university should have no trouble raising the money needed to meet the challenge grant. He also said that he will recommend to the board that the university break ground in June to start construction on the new building.
photo courtesy of the Office of the President This is a digital rendering of what the new center for health sciences is projected to look like. The building will be used by the Carr College of Nursing and the department of communication sciences and disorders. “The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation has been the most generous foundation in the history of Harding,” Burks said. “We build our buildings with funding from donations, not with student tuition dollars. And the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation has given millions of dollars to help Harding.” Mike Williams, the vice president for university advancement, said he and his office have been fundraising for the past year to
help fund the new building and the response has been “tremendous,” and there have been numerous individuals and foundations that have contributed to the building. According to Burks, the new building will be located between the Henry and Grace Farrar Center for Health Science and the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Music and Communication, with additional parking created between the new building and the Reynolds.
Currently, the College of Nursing is located in the Olen Hendrix Building and the department of communication sciences and disorders is located in the Reynolds building. According to Burks, both programs have outgrown their spaces and need more modern equipment. “We hope to add programs for anesthesiology, nurse practitioners and a doctorate in nursing,” Burks said. “We thought about splitting up the graduate and undergraduate CSD programs, but since so many professors teach both programs, we decided to keep them together.” If construction does start in June as planned, the building should be finished by summer of next year and ready for Fall 2013, Burks said. “It’s so exciting to be getting a new building,” sophomore CSD major Tori Brown said. “I think it will be so beneficial to our department, and being with the nursing department will give so many opportunities for both majors to reach the people of Searcy.” Burks said it has not been decided who will fill the College of Nursing’s void left in the Olen Hendrix Building, but the department of family consumer sciences will remain there and the art department will also be able to use some of its space. “I am definitely looking forward to being one of the first nursing students to get to use this building,” freshman nursing major Emily Herr said. “It is going to help so many of us with our education and experience of making our way to be a nurse.”
Dean Sheri Shearin Rising to the occasion to retire this June by AERIAL WHITING copy editor After seven years of serving as an assistant dean of students and 27 total years spent working at Harding Academy and Harding University combined, Dr. Sheri Shearin will retire at the end of June. Her husband, Professor of Music Arthur Shearin, will continue to teach. Before working at the university as a dean, Shearin served as the elementary principal of Harding Academy, and before that she was a teacher at the academy. Shearin, who for the last seven years has worked primarily with the female students of Harding, said she decided to retire now so that she will have more time to spend with her family, especially her seven grandchildren. Shearin attended Harding, following her father and even her grandmother, who attended the college when it was located in Morrilton, Ark. Shearin said her Harding legacy influenced her decision to work at Harding. “I just grew up knowing about Harding, and it was always a dream of mine to be able to come back here,” Shearin said. “And I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed working with students; whether they were elementary age or college age, I’ve just enjoyed it. And I believe in Harding’s mission, and I wanted to be part of that.” As the assistant dean of students, Shearin’s responsibilities have included working with the women on campus, working with the residence life coordinators, and visiting students who are sick or in the hospital. She said some of her favorite memories of her job have included seeing students she knew when she worked at the academy graduate from the university. “I just think watching students grow and mature and become well-rounded Christian adults — that’s a treasure that I will take,”
Shearin said. Shearin said she cherishes the friendships she has built with her fellow deans and office staff and that they are a “true team.” Dean of Students David Collins came to the university when Shearin did seven years ago. Collins said he worked with with her at Harding Academy and has enjoyed working with her throughout the years and that she has done an excellent job as assistant dean. “She brought just a perfect blend of enthusiasm, of wisdom, of experience, and concern and care for students, and for the position that she is in, that is a rare find,” Collins said. “But she has just done an exceptional job in the role that she is in for our female students, but really for our entire campus.” Shearin said she admires Collins as a leader, mentor and administrator. Residence Life Coordinator Katrina Timms, who has worked under three deans of women, said Shearin is trustworthy and caring and that the RLCs will miss her. “She is the most organized person at taking care of business and everything,” Timms said. “And so you really have a sense of trust in her that she’s going to do her very best to get everything lined out and not leave you hanging.” To fill Shearin’s position, the Office of Student Life is currently accepting applications. Regarding the process for selecting Shearin’s successor, Collins said the Office of Student Life is looking for someone with experience in the field of education, but more than that the office is looking for someone who will keep the students’ best interest in mind. “We want someone that cares wholeheartedly for the student and wants the very best for the student and keeps their interest at the heart of any decision that is made or anything that happens, we want that,” Collins said. “First and foremost, we want the right kind of person.”
TOP LEFT photo by SAVANNAH LEE, BOTTOM LEFT photo by ASHEL PARSONS, RIGHT photo by CHANEY MITCHELL | The Bison Students participated in Bisons for Christ’s day of service Wednesday, visiting numerous service project sites in Searcy, other towns in White County and even in Little Rock. The theme for this week was “Arise,” which was taken from Ephesians 5:14 and states, “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you.”
Global Missions Experience coming Fall
Formerly World Missions Workshop, GME strives for hands-on experience by J.M. ADKISON editor-in-chief This coming September, Harding University will be hosting the Global Missions Experience, a weekend event previously known as the World Missions Workshop. The event will once again occur at Harding University Tahkodah in Floral, Ark. In 2010, the World Missions Workshop changed from a workshop consisting of lectures to a hands-on experience. And this year, the name was changed to fit the transition from lecture to hands-on experience, according to Dr. Shawn Daggett, director of the GME. “Students will be able to learn from missionaries who have been in the field they are interested in and immediately be able to simulate opportunities to experience what they just learned,” Daggett said. Daggett said students will be able to participate in experiences as simple as coffeehouse conversations to simulating situations involving extreme scenarios such as counseling someone contemplating suicide.
Registration opened last week for students in the Center for World Missions in the Jim Bill McInteer Bible and World Missions Center. The GME will start on Thursday, Sept. 27, and end Friday, Sept. 30. Student leader sophomore Abigail Partlow said the theme this year for the GME is “Paint My Life for Your Glory.” Partlow said each class will revolve around the theme, which encapsulates the idea that “our lives are empty canvases on which God paints his mission for the world.” Many classes, however, will be tailored to different majors. There will be 10 classes geared toward different groupings of majors, according to Partlow. “We have always tried to make this weekend inclusive of all majors, not just missions majors,” Partlow said. “This year, we will have classes geared toward those interested in either urban or rural missions. We will have a classes focusing on everything from art and graphic design majors, which will also be called ‘Paint My Life,’ to computer programming and online
communications, called ‘Program My Life,’ with other classes along the same lines.” Partlow said she encourages students who are not even interested in missions as a career to attend, because they will regardless of future plans learn how to utilize their talents for “God’s mission for the world” and will be pushed out of their comfort zones. Sophomore Justin Sims, a student leader organizing the GME, said the GME will include special guest Chief Mumena, a tribal chief from Zambia. “Chief Mumena is very passionate about missions,” Sims said. “We will be interviewing him about his work with missionaries and the work they are doing in his country.” According to Sims, the five keynote speakers will each hail from a different coninent (North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia) and will share their missions experiences. To register, visit the Center for World Missions or check out www. globalmissionsexperience.com. Partlow said the cost will be $45, but Harding students receive a discount price at $30.