Bruce McLarty


Bruce D. McLarty is the fifth president of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

Education

McLarty began his undergraduate study at Harding in 1975, earning a bachelor’s in Bible in 1978. He earned his Master of Theology from then Harding Graduate School of Religion in Memphis, Tennessee, in May 1982. He received his Doctorate of Ministry degree from Ashland Theological Seminary in 2010.

Career

Early in his ministry McLarty and family moved to and served congregations in Williford, Arkansas; Marks, Mississippi; and Memphis, Tennessee. They then spent 15 months as missionaries in Meru, Kenya, returning to the states as preacher for the Collegeside Church of Christ in Cookeville, Tennessee. Six years later, McLarty accepted a job with College Church of Christ in Searcy, Arkansas, where he served as pulpit minister for 14 years.
In 2005 McLarty was named vice president for spiritual life at Harding as well as dean of the College of Bible and Ministry. He served in both roles until 2008, remaining in the vice presidential role until he was named university president in 2013.
McLarty’s dissertation at Ashland Theological Seminary focused around faith-based schools their tendency to drift away from their faith commitments over time. As the result of his doctoral work, Harding implemented his five-chapter curriculum, “Embracing the Mission,” as the basis for new faculty orientation which focuses on maintaining the faith-based principles upon which Harding was built.