Jana Rucker said sometimes people refer to Harding University in Searcy as a “well-kept secret,” and she’s working toward changing that perception.
Rucker is the new vice president for communications and marketing at Harding University, a position that was created after the retirement in March of former Director of Public Relations David Crouch, who worked at Harding for 46 years.
Rucker began her role Aug. 1, and she said she is hugely blessed to be at Harding University.
“I am the spokesperson for Harding, and then I am responsible for the branding and marketing of Harding, so promoting the product that is Christian education and equipping students with an outstanding education that is based in Christian principles,” she said.
Rucker, who is from Bethany, Oklahoma, and a graduate of Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond, previously spent the past 12 years in Florida and most recently worked for a connectivity provider for private jets. Her career history has been rooted in communications and marketing, she said.
She said that in a way, she followed her sons, Jamie and John, to Harding. Jamie graduated from the school in 2013, and John is currently a senior.
Rucker heard of the position through help from a mutual friend of hers and Harding University President Bruce McLarty.
“Dr. McLarty contacted our mutual friend and said, ‘Hey, do you know anybody for this position?’ and our mutual friend said, ‘Yes, Jana Rucker, and she loves Harding,’” Rucker said.
McLarty said that in the process of finding Crouch’s replacement, and before he hired Rucker, he noticed that a couple of things needed to happen.
“One was the position of director of public relations needs to be elevated to become a cabinet-level position because that person needs to be at the cabinet table hearing the discussions among the leadership of the university,” he said. “and the other thing was, in saying that, this needs to become a vice-presidential-level appointment.”
Rucker said it’s ironic that the opportunity presented itself because she and her husband, Barry, had discussed being Harding University professors in the next five to 10 years. She said that because she’s from Oklahoma, the transition to Arkansas has been going well.
“We didn’t leave Oklahoma until I was in my 30s, so really, it feels like coming home,” she said. “It’s nice to be close.”
Rucker said she initially fell in love with Harding when her sons chose to attend the school. She said Harding has a special relationship with the community and that the community is also supportive of the school.
“Generations of families come to Harding, and we’re just so impressed with the product,” she said. “It’s something I really believe in, so getting to work in Christian education and getting to help promote something that I think makes such a difference in our society, to train up people with values, [is important]. Our values are important to have a conscience and ethics. Of course, here, they’re based in the Lord.”
She added that her sons’ love for the school greatly contributed to her consideration of the position. While working in the corporate world is different than working in higher education, Rucker said there are skills and perspectives to be gained from both experiences.
“They both have absolutely loved being in Arkansas,” she said of her sons. “They love the camping and the outdoors, and then I know my older son would like to come back and work for Harding.”
McLarty said Rucker’s relationship with the school gives her a unique perspective for her role.
“She first experienced Harding communications as a consumer,” he said. “As a mother of two sons here, she was reading the things that we were putting out, and she was noticing the information that flowed out. She was highly complimentary of her predecessors, but she experienced it as a consumer. She still has those memories of what it was like being on the other side of this, being a parent or being the parent of a prospective student.”
As the spokeswoman for Harding, Rucker said, she’d also like to raise more awareness of Harding’s offerings beyond Arkansas.
“Sometimes we’re viewed as a regional university,” she said. “We couldn’t be further from that. We attract students from all 50 states and 54 nations and territories. And we go out into those communities as well. Not only do we attract them in here; we’re out because we have seven international campuses. We’re always going all over the world.”
While Harding seeks to attract students who desire a Christian education, Rucker said, it’s also important to attract students who do not all look the same.
“Certainly, we have believers and nonbelievers here,” she said. “It’s not like you can’t be here if you are not a Christian. That’s not the goal at all, but at least to say, ‘This is the kind of code of conduct that we have here, so you know what to expect, and you feel safe and treated well’ because that ultimately is what being a Christian is about — treating people well.”
Rucker said her day-to-day workload includes meeting with deans, department chairs and other stakeholders to understand what the school’s various products are so she can communicate that externally to students, prospective students and parents through means such as advertising and social media.
“That’s what everybody wants to know: ‘Does it have a program that fits me? Will I be able to compete in the marketplace? Will I be able to get what I need out of it?’ Most of the time people say, ‘Will it help me spiritually? Will it be better coming to Harding?’” she said.
From a marketing standpoint, the school’s educational programs are its product, while deans and department chairs develop that product, and the admissions office is the sales team, said Rucker, who noted that her role is to market the university on a mass level.
“If you think about it, the audience is changing,” she said. “We’re looking at juniors and seniors most of the time, and certainly, we’re looking at students all through high school, but we’re always having to bring in new customers all the time and keep the customers that we have. And once you become an alum, we want you to continue to support Harding. Then we want you to send your kids here, and then we want you to send your grandkids here.”
Rucker said Searcy is the smallest town she’s ever lived in but that it doesn’t feel that way because of the arts and culture, sporting activities and proximity to Little Rock.
“It’s very much, obviously, a Harding community, good or bad,” she said. “I know sometimes, I’m sure, the people who live here that aren’t affiliated with Harding probably get tired of us sometimes, but I think in general, because Harding is kind of a global university, that it doesn’t feel like a small town because you have people from all over. We may not have a lot of choices for a particular thing, but we have really everything you need.”
Rucker said her career path has included wonderful jobs, but now she gets to make an impact on people’s lives.
“I can help talk to students who are trying to figure out their career path, or they’re trying to figure out, ‘How do I prepare myself for the business world?’” she said. “It’s really neat to be able to say I’m helping with the future — most importantly, to work for the Lord. This is Kingdom work. That’s amazing to me.”
Staff writer Syd Hayman can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or shayman@arkansasonline.com.