July 19, 2006
Burks appoints VP for Harding University Graduate School of Religion
SEARCY, Ark. – Dr. Evertt Huffard of Memphis, Tenn., has been named vice president and dean of the Harding University Graduate School of Religion in Memphis. He assumed the responsibilities at the beginning of the month.Huffard joined the faculty at the Graduate School of Religion in 1987 and had been serving as executive director and dean since 1999.
"The decision to promote Dr. Huffard was an obvious one," said President David B. Burks. "He has been a leader at the Graduate School of Religion academically, spiritually and administratively. I am confident that the school will continue to flourish in all these areas under his continued leadership."
Huffard, a 1971 alumnus who holds a bachelor of arts degree, received a master of arts degree in 1972 and a master of theology degree in 1976, both from the Graduate School of Religion. He earned the Ph.D. in intercultural studies from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1985.
He has previously served as a missionary in Nazareth, Israel, and associate professor of religion at Pepperdine University. He has also filled a variety of ministerial positions in churches around the country.
As professor of missiology and church growth, Huffard teaches courses in ethnotheology, Gospel and Islam, world evangelism, faith development, and urban ministry, all of which are topics he is often called to write and lecture on in publications and conferences around the world.
The Graduate School of Religion is an outgrowth of graduate studies in religion that began on the Searcy campus in 1952. An extension program offering such courses in Memphis was begun in 1955. In 1958, the Board of Trustees officially expanded the Memphis program into a branch of Harding University.
The Graduate School of Religion is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and offers four graduate degrees and a doctoral degree: Master of Arts, Master of Arts in Christian Ministry, Master of Arts in Counseling, Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Ministry.
