Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Hall Tells Henderson's History To Rotary

Henderson State University is more than a bunch of buildings where classes are taught.

According to John Hall, with HSU, the educational institution has been around for 111 years, and is more a family-center than just cold, impersonal buildings.

Like families, he told the Gurdon Rotary Club Thursday, Aug. 10, it gets taken for granted, and there's plenty people don't know about it.

There are few organizations in Arkansas older than HSU, he said, and the college has a unique history.

It is the only public university founded as a liberal arts college, and is the second oldest among state educational institutions, behind the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, which was founded as an industrial university.

All other educational facilities in the state, Hall said, were created as two year colleges or high schools.

But, from the time the doors opened at Henderson, the university was a degree-conferring college.

There was a time, he said, it was one of only two teacher's colleges in the state, but at no time did it ever give up conferring degrees.

In addition, he said, Henderson is the only public university named for an individual, and it's always been a four-year institution.

HSU, Hall continued, is the only college in Arkansas to have been controlled by a religious denomination and the state. HSU was originally founded by the Methodist Church, and controlled by it for 40 years.

Since then, though, HSU has been under the state's supervision.

Another oddity about the college is it has no mascot. There is no such critter as a Reddie, it's just a nickname, Hall said, and an unusual one.

When HSU first began participating in athletics it played under the school colors  red and gray and was called the Reds.

A contest was held among the student body to come up with a name, with the winning moniker being the Red Jackets, but this didn't stick. The name was tied to the insect, a red wasp, but it simply didn't catch on, and the team was still called the Reds.

The name evolved into the Reddies to avoid being connected with communism during the 1940s.

HSU, though, is still without a mascot and has no marketable products based on the team name, Hall said.

Ironically, he added, today's athletic jackets are gray instead of red.

Hall bragged on HSU's listing in the 2000 Peterson Guide to colleges, as 94 percent of Henderson's freshman class has an ACT score of 18 or above, making it the top in this category in the state.

The University of Central Arkansas is next with 93 percent, with the figures falling to 88 percent for UA. Arkansas Tech University and Arkansas State University are tied with 84 percent of their incoming freshman having these ACT scores.

However, Hall said, few people would believe HSU leads the state in this area, thinking the UA would because of its prestige.

There were a number of firsts for HSU last year. Both Rotary scholars were HSU grads, and 10 students are in the British studies program, where they travel to England to study.

A HSU grad won a national competition in stage design, though Henderson's theater facilities aren't very good.

Of the incoming class for the fall 2000 semester, 125 have already been admitted to the honors college.

Matt Hardy, a HSU graduate, scored in the 99th percentile on the national medical examination and had medical schools from across the nation offering him scholarships to attend.

However, Hardy accepted a scholarship from Duke University worth some $250,000.

The HSU Chemistry Club is recognized as one of the top 28 in the nation, he said.

The HSU Foundation uses money for scholarships and to advance the mission of the university. Since being established, the Foundation has raised $20 million, with $6.5 million in endowments and $8 million in assets.

The foundation distributes between $300,000 and $400,000 annually, and as the endowments grow, more is paid out.

Hall said HSU is Clark County's largest industry, though few think of it in this manner. HSU, hires 1,000 to 1,200 students a year, employs a faculty of 200 and a support staff of 400.