Newsmakers: spring 2020

Admissions

Emily Conner joined the Office of Admissions in December 2019. She serves as an admissions counselor recruiting prospective undergraduate students from Northwest Arkansas and Missouri.

Athletics

Zach Beasley was appointed assistant baseball coach in December 2019. Before filling this role, Beasley served as assistant football coach and head baseball coach at Hazen High School.

Center for Charitable Estate Planning

Ken Bissell was named director for charitable estate planning Feb. 1. Bissell has served since 2011 as the senior advancement officer supporting Harding alumni and friends in Texas and the southeastern United States.

College of Allied Health

Mary Madill was appointed program director of the physician assistant program effective April 1. She is taking the position previously held by Dr. Michael Murphy who is retiring in July. Madill previously served as academic director for the program, which is being filled by Amanda Diles .

College of Sciences

Dr. James Huff was named as a Journal of Engineering Education Star Reviewer for 2019 in April 2020.

Dining Services

Lewis Curtis was appointed head executive chef of the dining program. Curtis has more than 14 years culinary experience with businesses and leaders from around the world.

Department of Communication

Sarah Pearce, Nicole Swann and Hannah Wise successfully presented their research virtually to the International Organization of Social Science and Behavioral Research on March 26. Their research papers were titled “Effects of Digital Ad Platform on Consumer Perceptions of Brand Ethicality,” “Sorry, Not Sorry: An Analysis of Celebrity Apologies on Social Media from 2013-2019,” and “Communication Management Theory: Effects on Mental Health and Willingness to Attend Professional Counseling,” respectively. Pearce and Wise received best paper awards for their presentations.

Hannah Faulkner was awarded third place in the Jeanie Dolan Carter Memorial Collegiate Poetry Contest in April. Her poem was titled “Haunted House.”

Alexa Blankenship, Melanie Cummings, Logan Hoffner, Connor O’Keefe, Nick Stevenson, Patrick Kelly and Zane Harris contributed to the production of  “Sell Searcy,” a promotional film by Jake Reeves of OakenElk media made for the Small Business Revolution Hulu series.  The film received a gold medal at the ADDY Awards given by the American Advertising Agency in February.

Student Publications editors Emma Aly, Emily Nicks and Hannah Wise attended the annual College Media Association conference in New York City in March. The Bison was awarded third place for best newspaper and Shockwave Radio received third place for best podcast.

Student Publications received more than 70 awards from the Arkansas College Media Association including second place overall in general excellence for The Bison and Petit Jean .

Honors College

Ashlyn Wilson was selected by the Great Plains Honors Council as the winner of the Boe Award for the second consecutive year. Wilson’s paper was titled “Gender, Images and Evaluation of Abuse Survivors.”