Harding University launches new dietetics program, first of its kind in Arkansas

The Harding University College of Sciences has launched a Master of Science in applied dietetics practice to commence on August 23. This program is the first of its kind in Arkansas and is one of the few programs in the country that is competency-based and allows students to complete their courses and required supervised learning experiences wherever they are located. Students will be able to apply their knowledge and skills directly within their communities in a variety of professional work settings.

“This is the perfect place to start your journey to becoming a registered dietitian nutritionist, by providing not only a quality education but also an experience that is Christ-centered and mission-focused,”  Sarah Oropeza, instructor and director of didactic program in dietetics, said.

The Harding University Master of Science in applied dietetics practice is a 52-credit program completed over five semesters with embedded didactic and experiential components. An accelerated B.S./M.S. pathway is also available for qualified undergraduate students. The 5-year accelerated pathway overlaps the fourth year of the bachelor’s degree with the first year of the master’s degree, resulting in three years of undergraduate-level study and two years of graduate-level study in the program. In addition to core nutrition and dietetics courses, specialty courses focus on sustainability, cultural nutrition care, nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics, grant writing and healthcare administration. It is a demonstration program that uses the Future Education Model Accreditation Standards for Graduate Degree Programs in Nutrition and Dietetics developed by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).

Upon successful completion, graduates will fulfill all requirements of the Commission on Dietetic Registration and be eligible to take the CDR Registration Examination for Dietitians. No Didactic Program in Dietetics Verification Statement or prior degree in nutrition or dietetics is required to apply.

The mission of the Master of Science in applied dietetics practice program at Harding University is to provide a challenging educational experience consistent with Christian ideals that will prepare competent, entry-level registered dietitian nutritionists for evidence-based practice in all communities. For more information visit harding.edu/graddietetics.

Harding University hosts STEM Camp for middle school students

The Harding University Finley STEM Center is hosting ten middle school students from the Searcy School District for its STEM day camp June 14-18. The University is holding the first of six camps across the state.

The camp, funded by the Arkansas Migrant Education Program in cooperation with the Arkansas STEM Coalition, provides students with the opportunity to be involved in hands-on math and science investigations throughout the week.

“It is exciting to be a part of this state-wide program,” department of chemistry and biochemistry lecturer, Heather Hollandsworth said. “We are hosting the first of 6 STEM camps across Arkansas, incorporating lots of hands-on activities for the students to integrate math and science. We plan to have them using lab equipment to make measurements, graph their results, and create procedures to solve problems. This is a great opportunity for us to work with local middle schoolers and to be able to give them a week-long camp devoted to STEM.”

The Finley center coordinates events with Searcy-area schools throughout the year to encourage students to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and math. It also offers professional development and hands-on training for math and science teachers.

Harding Students receive national research awards at Alpha Chi Convention

Two Harding students received awards for work presented at the 2021 National Alpha Chi Convention, which was held virtually April 8-10. 

John Lim, interdisciplinary studies major and May 2021 graduate

Senior interdisciplinary studies major John Lim and senior computer science major Pedro Navarrete, who both graduated May 2021, received recognition as the top presenters in their field at the national convention.

Lim received the Clark Youngblood Prize in Philosophy and World Religions with his presentation titled “Hybridized Spirituality in Singaporean Christians,” which focused on how Christianity brought by Western missionaries blends with the culture of Singapore, Lim’s home country. Lim said this project led him to view this blend in a new light and allowed him to have more knowledge about this as he plans to return to Singapore to do ministry.

“It would certainly affect the way I approach the intersection of faith and culture,” Lim said. “I think my approach to ministry is not shunning away from culture — while certainly admitting that it has certain elements that are not in keeping with Christian ethics and lifestyle, still engaging with it meaningfully, acknowledging that it exists and that we are affected by it, then using that as a starting point to then meaningfully engage with those who have not heard the gospel yet.”

Dr. James Huff, Honors College faculty fellow and Lim’s advisor, praised Lim for his quality of work.

“I would say as his advisor he completed this study at the level of an advanced graduate student — not even a first-year graduate student, but someone who’s advanced,” Huff said. “He did very thorough, extensive qualitative analysis and had just very, very insightful findings on things that otherwise wouldn’t be visible.”

Pedro Navarrete, computer science major and May 2021 graduate

Navarrete received the Floyd Tesmer/Strayer University Prize in Computer Science and Engineering for his presentation, “Comparative Study: MongoDB vs. Elasticsearch.” He proposed using a search engine rather than a database to find The Bison newspaper articles, later conducting a test study to determine if changing the system to a search engine would be beneficial to the Brackett Library website. 

“It’s a lot faster because it’s a search engine, and the only additional cost is that it uses more space, but that’s not a significant cost, especially since the cost of storage is getting a lot cheaper,” Navarrete said. “So, I found out that there’s actually no reason for companies to not be using search engines except that they are used to using these databases.”

Huff said Navarrete’s presentation stood out from others because of its originality.

“That was really above and beyond a lot of scientific presentations, which often maybe try to replicate an experiment, or in computer science, [in which] you would maybe see software developed,” Huff said. “He went above and beyond and made it very original by seeking a novel claim to compare those two databases.”

Navarrete is now implementing his findings by working with the Brackett Library to transition The Bison from a database to a search engine.

Other students who presented at the National Alpha Chi Convention included junior public administration and communication studies double major Mary Grace Golden with “Political Identity in First-time Voting Christian Women: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis,” senior biochemistry and molecular biology major Emory Malone, who graduated May 2021, with “Reducing Resistance to Antibiotics: The Antibacterial Effects of Treated Zinc Surfaces on E. coli,” and clinical mental health counseling graduate student Daylan Moore with “Seasonal Affective Disorder: Etiology, Prevalence, Course, Assessments and Treatment Interventions.”

Harding’s Paul R. Carter College of Business establishes $1M Student Managed Investment Fund

The Harding University Paul R. Carter College of Business announces the establishment of a Student Managed Investment Fund. The fund was created to offer business students valuable experience in investment analysis and portfolio management. 

“The Student Managed Investment Fund is a significant opportunity for our student members to gain valuable experience in investment analysis and portfolio management,” said Dr. Allen Frazier, dean and professor of the College of Business Administration. “Students will work with a contingent of Harding’s board and COBA’s finance faculty to gain a unique educational experience in financial management and understand how to become faithful stewards of money entrusted to them.”

The fund will be overseen by a student manager team made up of 12 junior and senior COBA students. Senior managers will be responsible for researching and evaluating investment opportunities within a particular industry group or groups (e.g. health care, technology, energy, etc.) while junior managers will serve a supporting role and prepare to advance into the senior position the following year. This year’s student management team includes three juniors and nine seniors. 

  • Senior Alden Bradley of Grapevine, Texas
  • Senior Ashton VanBrunt of Jenks, Oklahoma
  • Senior Bennett Holloway of  Kansas City, Missouri
  • Junior Collin Nieman of Spencer, Wisconsin
  • Junior Cooper Carroll of Madison, Mississippi
  • Senior Cort Chambers of Larchmont, New York
  • Senior David Reed of Vienna, Virginia
  • Senior Emma Jackson of Siloam Springs, Arkansas
  • Senior Grant Countess of Shelbyville, Tennessee 
  • Senior Julio Montenegro of Urbanizacion Farallones, Chinandega
  • Junior Mason Callaway of Burleson, Texas
  • Senior Riley Fox of Cave Springs, Arkansas

Under oversight of faculty, student managers will research and analyze stocks to identify prospective changes to the fund. Student managers will meet frequently to address board market movement and expectations, fund and sector performance, and discuss prospective investments. At the end of each month student managers will provide a written and oral report on performance of their investments and recommend changes to the fund portfolio.

A sum of $500,000 has been designated as an initial fund balance. Another $500,000 will be invested in an S&P 500 index fund to help the Student Managed Investment Fund and allow additional funds to be transferred to student management in time. 

National Science Foundation awards Harding University Faculty James Huff $575k grant to launch career-long research

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded James Huff, associate professor of engineering and Honors College faculty fellow, a $575,000 grant for his research titled CAREER: Advancing academic cultures of well-being by understanding professional experiences of engineering faculty. This NSF CAREER grant is the most prestigious individual award given to an early-career faculty member at Harding. It is the 59th CAREER grant awarded in the state of Arkansas and only the sixth at an institution other than the University of Arkansas since NSF’s inception in 1994.

The grant awards Dr. Huff for advancing his psychological research on shame, identity and well-being in engineering education settings. The $575,000 grant will be used to implement a nationwide qualitative investigation of engineering faculty, and also facilitate in-depth training on coping with professional experiences of shame. 

“In this project, I will closely be examining the ways that engineering faculty experience powerful emotional experiences of professional shame when they fail to achieve what they feel is expected of them,” said Huff. “In prior research, engineering faculty are rarely studied as whole individuals but rather seen as static, supportive fixtures of student outcomes. Through this study, I will develop a holistic understanding of how faculty regulate emotion in moments of shame that are often hidden from view. The findings will inform us how we can better equip faculty with informed strategies to live out of a mindset of care — both toward themselves and their students — and thus advance well-being in academic settings.” 

Prior to receiving this award, Huff worked as a principal investigator of an NSF grant studying the lived experience of shame in engineering students. 

Huff’s work has been published in the Journal for Engineering of Education introducing his theory of professional shame. This work is the foundation of his NSF CAREER proposal. 

National Science Foundation awards Harding Faculty James Huff $575k grant to launch career-long research

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded James Huff, associate professor of engineering and Honors College faculty fellow, a $575,000 grant for his research titled CAREER: Advancing academic cultures of well-being by understanding professional experiences of engineering faculty. This NSF CAREER grant is the most prestigious individual award given to an early-career faculty member at Harding. It is the 59th CAREER grant awarded in the state of Arkansas and only the sixth at an institution other than the University of Arkansas since NSF’s inception in 1994.

Dr. James Huff

The grant awards Dr. Huff for advancing his psychological research on shame, identity and well-being in engineering education settings. The $575,000 grant will be used to implement a nationwide qualitative investigation of engineering faculty, and also facilitate in-depth training on coping with professional experiences of shame. 

“In this project, I will closely be examining the ways that engineering faculty experience powerful emotional experiences of professional shame when they fail to achieve what they feel is expected of them,” said Huff. “In prior research, engineering faculty are rarely studied as whole individuals but rather seen as static, supportive fixtures of student outcomes. Through this study, I will develop a holistic understanding of how faculty regulate emotion in moments of shame that are often hidden from view. The findings will inform us how we can better equip faculty with informed strategies to live out of a mindset of care — both toward themselves and their students — and thus advance well-being in academic settings.” 

Prior to receiving this award, Huff worked as a principal investigator of an NSF grant studying the lived experience of shame in engineering students. 

Huff’s work has been published in the Journal for Engineering of Education introducing his theory of professional shame. This work is the foundation of his NSF CAREER proposal. 

Harding Online launches a new initiative, the Center for Organizational Leadership, which will offer three certificate programs and the Master of Arts in organizational leadership degree beginning this fall

Harding University announced today the launch of the Harding University Center for Organizational Leadership, the first initiative of the newly formed HU Online. Through HUCOL, Harding will offer a Master of Arts in organizational leadership and three certificate programs in executive and workplace coaching, human resource management, and learning and development beginning this fall. The organizational leadership master’s program is a 30 credit-hour degree, and certificates are 12 credit hours. The center’s academic track will be offered in collaboration between HU Online, the Paul R. Carter College of Business Administration and Strata Leadership.

“I have dreamed of days like this,” said Keith Cronk, senior vice president of HU Online. “This initiative will further enhance Harding’s ability to provide world-class Christian education to a global audience.”

HUCOL will be staffed by Strata Leadership, a talent development company based in Oklahoma City, and will be the primary marketing and enrollment arm for the program. Strata provides character and competence-based executive coaching, training and resources to companies, nonprofits, governmental agencies and educational institutions throughout the United States and abroad.

In addition to the announcement of HUCOL, several staffing updates were announced:

Dr. Nathan Mellor (B.A., ’95 and MSE, ’97) – executive director

Mellor is CEO of Strata Leadership, which he co-founded in 2009. Since that time, Strata has become one of the most influential leadership companies in the region. Mellor will be leading HUCOL in addition to his ongoing work with Strata from Edmond, Ok. 

Dr. Andrea Bishop (B.A., ’97 and M.Ed. ’01) – academic director

Bishop most recently served as the coordinator of virtual learning for UofM Global, the online arm of the University of Memphis.

Todd Miller (B.A. ’96 and MFT ’98) –  director of strategic initiatives

After serving more than 20 years in ministry, Miller most recently worked as clinic and community relations director at OneLife Wellness Center in Searcy, Ark.

Piper Riggs – director of marketing and admissions

Following her time in higher education, Riggs was executive director of a nonprofit prior to launching her own successful company, Caraway Lane Marketing, in Edmond, Ok.

Harding College of Pharmacy faculty, students assist in distribution of COVID-19 vaccine

Since December, the College of Pharmacy has partnered with several hospitals, pharmacies and other locations statewide to assist in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

After the approval of the first COVID vaccine in December 2020, the College of Pharmacy began sending students and faculty to local hospitals across the state to help healthcare workers receive their vaccines. Dr. Rayanne Story, assistant dean for experiential education and assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy, said students did not delay in their assistance.

“Our finals end on Thursday of finals week, and we sent our first students on Friday and Saturday,” Story said. “Even during the week of Christmas, we sent students out. We didn’t take a break; they were out working.”

A month later, the vaccine initiative has grown through strong relationships between the College of Pharmacy and many pharmacies, hospitals and clinics across the state. Story said these relationships have allowed students to be sent across Arkansas, especially to heavily populated or very rural areas that would benefit from extra help.

“Those ties are very strong with hospitals and pharmacies around the state, so it started with them reaching out to us,” Story said. “Then we had this overwhelming need, so that’s when we started collaborating with [Arkansas Pharmacists Association] and [University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences] to try to really deploy students everywhere.”

Dr. Jeff Mercer, dean of the College of Pharmacy, said student help is useful because pharmacists have full-time jobs within their normal duties, but with the added need of administering many vaccines a day, they benefit from extra help.  

“Supply continues to build every week, but the challenge is scaling up the workforce in order to deliver it,” Mercer said. “That’s where our students come in, and our faculty and really anyone who is able to immunize because every little bit we contribute is use of the supply and encouragement for more supply to be provided to that particular community. It really is an all hands on deck situation. We’re doing everything we can to try to find opportunities for students to volunteer or to get hours for their practice experiences.”

Story said students from all four years of the pharmacy program are helping in this effort. After their first year of the program, students are certified to give vaccinations. This allows some students to give vaccinations while others help with paperwork, monitor vaccine recipients, and draw doses of the vaccine. She said the vaccination initiative was not only helping the communities the students went into but also providing valuable experience for pharmacy students in all four years.

“It’s a win-win situation because it gives a chance for our students on all four levels to be able to go face-to-face with a patient and work with them and potentially even give them a shot or drop a medication and a syringe for them,” Story said. “It also gives our students a great experience to see real-world pharmacy in action.”

Arianna Nuhung, a second-year pharmacy student, had the opportunity to give the second COVID-19 vaccine dose to one of our outstanding preceptors at St. Bernards Healthcare, Dr. Keith Rubottom.

While working at Medic Sav-On Drugs in Searcy, Arianna Nuhung, a second-year pharmacy student, has had a role in every part of the process from helping with paperwork to administering the vaccine to patients. She said her involvement in this allowed her to learn in a way that differed from many other experiential learning activities.

“Other experiential education often utilizes the ‘shadowing’ technique where a student follows a preceptor and participates through observation, verbal discussion or presentation,” Nuhung said. “Working with the novel COVID vaccines is different because it allows for a more hands-on experience. By doing so, pharmacy students gain a better understanding of the pharmacy field and retain more knowledge from their experiences.”

Despite the program requiring students in all four years to have experiential education, Mercer said many have already fulfilled those requirements but are still volunteering.

“A lot of our students are not getting any academic credit for what they’re doing,” Mercer said. “They’re volunteering their time. They’re choosing to show up and just kind of rolling up their sleeves and helping. It speaks to the service mindset of our students.”

Beyond the broad impact of assisting with the distribution of the vaccine, Nuhung said the experience has personal significance as well.

“I am proud to be able to participate in such a historical and unprecedented time where my profession was chosen to spearhead the next step in healing the world,” Nuhung said. “My grandmother lives with me at home, and I have many close friends and family who are immunocompromised or high-risk patients, so knowing that the vaccine may help keep them safe is beyond words. Being about to distribute the COVID vaccine is not only a way for me to grow professionally, but to project the pharmacy field as a leading provider and to serve my community wholeheartedly.”

Mercer said he hopes the service provided by College of Pharmacy students and faculty is beneficial to the pharmacy profession and will help bring an end to this pandemic.

“I see this as a great opportunity to truly position ourselves as the frontline,” Mercer said. “We are answering the call that will ultimately help us return back to a life of normalcy.”

Artwork display at Harding University portrays influential African Americans in the Churches of Christ

The Harding University Brackett Library is featuring an exhibit titled “Every Voice” through Friday, Nov. 20. The display is centered around an art piece, commissioned by Harding School of Theology in Memphis, that highlights seven influential African Americans who have made significant contributions to the Churches of Christ. 

Artist Ella Kennin created the piece, titled “Every Voice: A Portrait of African American Churches of Christ in the Art,” in 2019 as a first-year student at the University of Memphis. In addition to Kennin’s work, the exhibit includes seven vertical panels positioned on the campus quadrangle outside the library entrance featuring each subject of the work and their biography. The individuals portrayed in the painting include: 

  • Fred Gray – an influential minister and civil rights attorney who represented Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. 
  • Richard Nathaniel Hogan – a preacher and an editor of the Christian Echo who used his editorship to fight racism in the Churches of Christ
  • George Philip Bowser – a prominent 20th century preacher
  • Samuel Robert Cassius – a preacher and racial reformer
  • Annie Clay Tuggle – a writer and educational advocate
  • Marshall Keeble – one of the most prominent preachers among the Churches of Christ
  • Sylvia Rose – an author, musician, songwriter and teacher (a 1977 Harding University graduate) 

The exhibit will be on display from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Brackett Library until Nov. 20. For more information visit harding.edu/everyvoice.