Rankin Visits Honors Seminar

President David Rankin visited the Honors Seminar classes on Wednesday, October 9, 2013.

Dr. David Rankin paid his annual visit to the Honors Seminar classes this week. He began by telling the students that he was a licensed pilot during his freshman year in college and that he had spent too much time in the air and not enough time in the classroom. He urged them not to follow his example. After graduating, he went to work for Eastman Kodak and soon discovered that employees there treated one of his co-workers, a man with a Master's degree, with deference. A deference that did not seem to be reflected in the man's performance or intelligence.

Nevertheless, Rankin decided that he too needed to earn a master's degree. He did so and while a graduate student discovered that he loved teaching. That was a profession he had never previously considered. He began to teach economics at Middle Tennessee State University. He left there to pursue a PhD at Ole Miss. Along the line, he met Louis Blanchard, who was working at Southern State College (now SAU). Blanchard nominated Rankin for a faculty position at Southern State.

Rankin told how he had decided to accept the position only if it paid at least $8,000 per year. So, when Imon Bruce, then president at Southern State called Rankin and offered him the job for $8040, Rankin immediately accepted. Back then, Rankin said he had never thought of being a dean or, much less, a president. But, he told the students that they, too, had to be aware of leadership opportunities and to accept them when then came along. Students, he noted, needed to begin building their resumes as quickly as possible. He said that a resume that only includes the dates of high school graduation and college graduation would not garner any interest from employers or graduate schools.

Rankin spoke about his duties as president. Most of his time, he said, involved dealing with people be they students, parents, faculty, or even US senators. He urged his audience to take advantage of his open door policy and to visit him at any time. One of the more important things he had done since assuming the presidency was the Blue and Gold Vision. That document outlines the future of Southern Arkansas University. He invited students to come see the plan as it stands in his office. This LINK will take you to SAU's Master Plan too.

Rankin wrapped up by talking about personnel. He stated that all of his top-level administrators needed to communicate with each other or the school would not function properly. He reminisced about an interview he had with a potential faculty member some time back. That would-be-professor wanted to schedule all of his classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When Rankin asked why, the professor said so he could get all of his teaching out of the way and have more time to pursue his research. That professor was not hired. Professors, Rankin said, should know their material, love teaching, and love interacting with students. That recipe is a good one with which to run a university.