Merger

My alma mater recently voted to merge into a larger state school system – but thankfully, not the flagship system.

What does it mean for alumni like me? Keep reading.

As we Reddies everywhere know, Henderson State University has been struggling financially for some time due to a myriad of circumstances not limited to declining enrollment nor arising skepticism of the true value of a college education particularly the worth of a liberal arts degree in an era which marginalizes knowing how to think versus coloring within the lines and merely doing what is told. Mergers happen in the business world, and academia is no different with one key exception:  Unlike in the corporate environment, colleges fiercely fight to maintain a dedication to its own unique mission and the barriers to major institutional changes by airing out concerns such as the school’s name; branding, the mascot, and logos; and unique heritage.

Who’s our new dance partner? None other than the Arkansas State University system. Everyone knows about the flagship campus in Jonesboro (which my brother is a proud Class of 2005 graduate), but also the other ASU satellite campuses in Mountain Home, Newport, Beebe, and of late, College of the Ouachitas in Malvern.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen and heard about the struggles from the School With a Heart; note the increase of donation campaigns as proof and hearing about budget cuts in addition to decaying dorms as our leaders seemingly found ways to dig the ditch deeper with little regard of when the rain would come. It never appeared to me that the university that made me a man had been sliding downhill since Dr. Dunn’s retirement, and overall, I wish I had paid closer attention to the things happening an hour’s drive away instead of being content with sending money down annually without a second thought. That is how much I enjoyed my five years of undergraduate life:  I just assumed that things were going well, and whatever issues were underneath, they would shake themselves out. It didn’t hit me that HSU was in trouble until the Pillar (Vikita Bell-Hardwick) was let go and the round of budget cuts happened. In case you didn’t know, Vikita is one of the major reasons why I chose Henderson over the University of the Ozarks and the hometown school, University of Central Arkansas; a few of you may think it was because of a high school classmate’s sister service as a recruiter; but in truth, that full academic scholarship without having to participate in marching band was the kicker.

Who can I blame for this? The man in the mirror, as well as the HSU Board of Trustees and Drs. Welch and Jones. Honestly, I could say all of us are at fault but that is not entirely true of our community. I should have been more involved than sending a check to the general fund annually for the seventeen years since my own graduation but somehow remaining reserved in the midst of my own posturing for Red and Grey Nation in its arenas. As for the Board of Trustees, this group of rubber-stamping clowns needs to be removed and kept away from fiscal decisions as they have proven unworthy of continuing our legacy of being that public liberal arts college. I cannot say how I feel about Drs. Welch (the current ASU system President) or Jones (the guy who became the face of this mess trying to make my alma mater a commuter school by slowly taking away what defined us) without cussing a blue streak; it is still too raw. Over time, linking up with ASU may be the blessing in disguise; I only see this as an alum processing my thoughts one late October night.

As I have told countless people, I grew up a Wampus Cat and matured a Reddie as HSU made me a man. Without Henderson, I would not have met my wife; my lifelong best friends would likely be still everywhere else except living in Smith or Newberry Halls during freshman year, and Whispering Oaks for the remainder of the late 1990s and the early part of the 2000s.

In the end, we are still THE Henderson State University Reddies, the School With a Heart. I don’t have to understand the nuances of a merger – and thankfully we are not Reddie-Wolves – to recognize that this was the last viable option in retaining what we have.