On Sept. 1, Dr. J. Michael Hardin announced his decision to step down from Samford Provost effective June 30, 2024. This will be his ninth year serving as the Provost of Samford University, a career filled with his dedication to helping his fellow faculty members and furthering the education of the students.
Hardin stated various reasons for his decision to step down, some being similar to Samford’s first Provost Dr. William Hall, who also served for nine years from 1987 to 1996. He also discussed how he wants to return to teaching and learning, which he referred to as “the first love.”
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be lighted,” said Hardin.
President Beck Taylor provided a few statements on Hardin and his time at Samford, specifically giving credit to Hardin’s impact on both present and future Samford.
“I am very grateful for Dr. Hardin’s leadership and impact on the quality of Samford’s academic programs. His significant contributions will benefit Samford for years to come,” Taylor said.
President Taylor also shared his appreciation for Hardin’s dedication to the faith and education of his students, as well as that of the faculty and staff around him.
“What I appreciate most is Dr. Hardin’s unwavering commitment to Samford’s Christ-centered educational mission, and his efforts to hire, retain and support faculty members and other academic leadership who strengthen that mission and who invite students to the intersection of Christian faith and learning,” Taylor commented.
The job of Provost consists of hiring new deans, working with accreditation and managing faculty members, among other duties, in order to better the university.
“It is a way to serve your faculty members for a while,” Hardin stated.
Hardin became the Samford Provost in July of 2015. Prior to coming to Samford, he had a long career in academics, including being the Dean of Culverhouse University at University Alabama and a professor of various studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Prior to his career in education, Hardin worked with different institutions as a statistician and scientist with the U.S. Air Force and UAB. He shared a popular quote among statisticians.
“What’s fun about statisticians is that you can play in everyone else’s backyards,” Hardin said.
While in the Air Force, Hardin worked with surface-to-air missiles and part of the development of artificial intelligence in the 1980s. With UAB, he worked on developing Monoclonal, which he called the “targeted misles of the biological world,” that are man-made proteins that act like human antibodies.
After working with these institutions, Hardin realized his passion for education and started his academic career at Mississippi State. One of the reasons Hardin ended up in education was due to the influence of his family, specifically his grandfather, who started the first county school of Corn County in Mississippi.
“It has been a delight to be at Samford, I felt called as an 11th grader to some kind of ministry,” Hardin said. “Being a person who has accomplished many things, you can still have a strong faith in Christ. Being strong intellectually and being strong in faith are not mutually exclusive; {they’re} very complementary.”
In an email to the faculty, Hardin mentioned that a committee will soon begin the process of finding the next Provost .
“I’m prayerful that God will provide exactly the right person to succeed Dr. Hardin; someone who will support Samford’s continued ascension among the best Christian universities in the country,” Taylor shared.
Hardin has served faithfully and dutifully in his role at Samford. He leaves a piece of advice as he plans to continue his time at Samford’s Brock School of Business.
“Wherever God leads you, go and try to follow through that.”
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