Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rotarians hear from traveling Reddies

Gurdon Rotary Club members have heard from students and faculty of Henderson State University for the past two meetings.

On July 8, students from HSU's honor college told about their trip to Europe. The program on July 15, presented by Dr. John Hall, offered up information about the school, its assets and programs.

Hall said it's a simple matter to forget that Henderson is a truly great institution.

"How many of you are aware that Henderson is the largest employer in Clark County, even larger than International Paper?" Hall asked. He said that includes part time staff.

"It's just right up the road. We know it's there, but we don't really think about it."

Henderson is a public university and only about 40 percent of the school's budget is from taxes. Hall said the school's assets include several million dollars in trusts. Only the interest from those accounts are used, ensuring that scholarships can continue.

Hall talked about his contact with the late Jack Kennedy. He said Kennedy was not a graduate of HSU, but he lived nearby.

"I took him for coffee every week for 10 years," Hall said.

When Kennedy did make a pledge to the college, it included money for a scholarship for a pre-medical student to go on to medical school at the University of Arkansas.

"We're the only college in Arkansas that provides a scholarship to one of its own to go on to medical school," Hall said.

Henderson is 115 years old, second in age among the state's public colleges only to the University of Arkansas, Hall said. It's a liberal arts school, a term Hall said is often misunderstood.

"Liberty is the root word there," he said. He said people often misunderstand the term "liberal arts," and that it has nothing to do with being liberal as opposed to conservative. Henderson is also a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, the only member in the state. To be a member, at least half the graduates must receive a bachelors degree in arts or sciences.

"We teach the basics," Hall said. "To you and I, that means reading, writing and arithmetic. Our greatest failing in public education is that students can't read, they can't write and they can't cipher."

Hall said Henderson has its own "niche," and that is to provide a good education at an affordable price.

"I could talk about it all day long," Hall said. "I don't, but it's something we should all be talking about.

Within the Henderson program is the Honors College, Hall said.

Dustin Smith, a Henderson student from Berryville, told Rotarians that he was among the students who went for a 17-day tour of Europe. The trip was the culmination of a class for honors college students.

Smith said the class met weekly and spent their time in preparation for the trip. There were lessons in language, history, geography and packing.

"Because we had a bag about the size of the top of this podium," Smith said.

He said it was especially difficult for the ladies who went.

The reason for traveling light was simple. Smith said the group walked several miles everyday, usually carrying their luggage with them.

"For the majority of the time, we walked," Smith said.

"Imagine if 12 students from Europe got off the train right here in Gurdon," Hall said, "And they just took off walking down the street."

He said that was the way the group did most of their traveling.

Among the highlights, according to Smith, were ballets, concerts and theater performances, tours of Rome and Germany and Venice.

"Sometimes we forget that there's a whole world out there," Smith said.