Partner With Us

In 1978 Bettye and I were running two successful businesses in DeQueen, Arkansas, and I was serving as superintendent of schools in Horatio, Arkansas. We were serving in our local church, and our children joined the youth group for an annual trip to Harding for Spring Sing. When they returned, my children both wanted to attend Harding Academy in Searcy.

We really didn’t intend to move, but Bettye and I made a “deal” with the kids. If we could sell both businesses and find a job in Searcy, we’d move. With outrageous interest rates at nearly 20% in some cases – nobody was buying anything, and we thought we were safe in this deal. Within two weeks, we sold both businesses – for cash. We put the house on the market on a Friday and sold it Saturday morning. Shortly after that, Ed Higginbotham offered me a job at Harding Academy teaching chemistry.

It was a dramatic move for us. We made a substantial financial sacrifice to move to Searcy, and on top of that we now had to pay tuition for our kids to attend school.

It was the best move we ever made, and our family continues to reap benefits.

No amount of money could have given my children – and now my grandchildren – the experiences they have enjoyed at Harding Academy and later Harding University.

I have been at Harding for thirty-one years and served hundreds of students preparing to teach in public and private schools around the world. They are missionaries and go where many cannot as they influence the lives of tens of thousands of children each year. Even more, we regularly receive feedback from teachers and administrators relating the uniqueness of our graduates. They tell us our graduates are persistent, dedicated, ethical, and intellectual professionals who understand their importance in the lives of students.

They make a difference in the lives of those they teach.

I enjoy being a part of the Harding community where hard-working faculty members make a difference every day. Would you consider partnering with us to continue to make a difference?  
 
 

Invest Your Resources

Inspiration – This is a mind mapping software. It takes data and puts it into a picture.  Think of it like you would a spider web. It allows us to take items people may not recognize as being interconnected and draw the connection. We could explain these points of contact, but often a picture is worth 1,000 words and many are visual (picture) learners. In essence, it takes facts and can turn them into a story where we can put all of the pieces together. What previously seemed like a jigsaw puzzle is now a vivid picture.

• I would like to update one computer for Inspiration -$35
• I would like to update two computers for Inspiration -$70
• I would like to update five computers for Inspiration -$165
• I would like to update ten computers for Inspiration -$350
• I would like to update all of the computers for Inspiration -$1,050
  

Chalk and Wire – This is a way to collect samples of student work and create an online portfolio. When you are an artist or photographer, you typically create a portfolio to show an employer or client the kind of work you are capable of producing. This program allows our education students the same opportunity. It groups them together in a form which allows the student to show others – such as a graduate school or potential employer – what they are capable of and where their skills have developed. They can even download this portfolio and put it on a DVD or CD for use in the future. This is considered a basic item we purchase for the benefit of our students every year.

• I would like to sponsor Chalk and Wire for a student -$90
• I would like to sponsor Chalk and Wire for two students - $180
• I would like to sponsor Chalk and Wire for five students -$450
• I would like to sponsor Chalk and Wire for ten students -$900
• I would like to sponsor Chalk and Wire for twenty students -$1,800
• I would like to sponsor Chalk and Wire for 100 students -$9,000
• I would like to sponsor Chalk and Wire for all eligible students -$18,000

PD 360 – This is a professional development tool offered online.  It is essentially an electronic video resource library for students and faculty.  In the case of students, they not only use it for their own further education but also in student teaching where they instruct others. For faculty, this is useful to fill in any gaps in knowledge, to keep their skills current, and to present materials in classes at Harding.  This is an incredible tool for our education majors, and it is widely used and available to all of the students/faculty in the department.

• I would like to sponsor one month of PD 360 -$208
• I would like to sponsor two months of PD 360 -$416
• I would like to sponsor a full semester of PD 360 -$1,250
• I would like to sponsor PD 360 for a school year -$2,500

Educational Resource Room (ERC) – This is the Harding main campus resource room. While we have accumulated a good supply of the materials we need here, there are yearly costs for new items as well as replacing older ones whose time for retirement has arrived. We're very proud of the ERC and all the services we offer--not only for our education majors and faculty/staff but for all Harding faculty/staff and students. We even encourage local school teachers and Sunday school teachers to make use of our services. As such, we employ approximately 25 undergraduate student workers and two graduate assistants with the primary goal of serving others. While we do charge for some of these services, the fees are designed only to recover a portion of costs – which do not include overhead and the labor involved and often do not even completely pay for materials. If you see any of these items which you might donate or perhaps you are aware of a supplier who might help us with a reduced rate, please contact us at 501-279-4624 or khorton@harding.edu.

• Sponsor laminating film for one month -$100
• Sponsor laminating film for two months -$200
• Sponsor laminating film for a semester -$500
• Sponsor laminating film for a year -$1,200
• Sponsor construction paper, card stock, butcher paper, etc. for one month -$200
• Sponsor construction paper, etc. for two months -$400
• Sponsor construction paper, etc. for a semester -$1,000
• Sponsor construction paper, etc. for a year -$2,500
• Sponsor Ellison Die Cuts (numbers) -$200
• Sponsor Ellison Die Cuts (symbols) -$400
• Sponsor Ellison Die Cuts (alphabet) -$1,200
• Sponsor Refurbishing ¼ of our current Die Cuts -$500
  
• Sponsor Refurbishing ½ of our current Die Cuts -$1,000
• Sponsor Refurbishing all of our current Die Cuts -$2,000
• Sponsor a new poster maker (old one needs replaced) -$4,200
• Copy Paper – This is our greatest need with an annual cost of $18,000.  Sponsor paper for one month -$1,500
• Sponsor paper for two months -$3,000
• Sponsor paper for a semester -$7,500
• Sponsor paper for one year -$18,000

Student Internships – Our students are required to gain field experience before they are even allowed to gain a teacher’s license. Faculty are required to oversee the students as they intern and do their student teaching. This means we must visit them at the site of their internship and while it might seem like most of our students would be close; they aren’t. With our expanding programs designed to serve and help improve our schools (and the sheer number of students), we now have students scattered throughout the state. For instance, one of our teachers traveled to oversee multiple students in the Southwest portion of Arkansas and logged over 1,000 miles. 

• I would like to sponsor one week of Internship – $1,000
• I would like to sponsor two weeks of Internship – $2,000
• I would like to sponsor one month of Internship – $4,000
• I would like to sponsor two months of Internship – $8,000
• I would like to sponsor one semester of Internship – $15,000
• I would like to sponsor one year of Internship – $30,000