Dr. Rex Horne, president of Ouachita, has been teaching a leadership class this semester. The leadership class is not new to Ouachita, but this is the first year Horne has taught it.
[podcast]https://www.obusignal.com/podcasts/horneeladership.mp3[/podcast]
“One of the things that is really important to me as the president of Ouachita,” Horne said, “is — to always not only know it to be true but to practice it — that students are the most important asset that we have here, and that I want to be involved periodically and intentionally in the lives of our students.”
Horne said his schedule is busy but because the class only meets for one hour, one day a week, he could fit it in.
Horne’s students show excitement about having a university president for a teacher.
“It’s a privilege,” said Josh Groves, a junior biology major. “It’s been interesting. You’ve got the president of the school who’s open for prayer, open for discussion, just however he can influence students. He’s taking those small steps to do whatever he can to have an impact in student’s lives and make more leaders.”
Horne uses the book “Leadership Gold: Lessons I’ve Learned From a Lifetime of Leading” by John C. Maxwell, as well as his own leadership experience to teach the class.
He feels that telling about his own leadership experience helps to illustrate some of his points to the class. His students get to hear first hand how he handled real life situations in his positions of leadership.
“What I really hope students enjoy the most, because it’s what I enjoy,” Horne said, “is the interaction we can have — and not just as president of the university but someone who is interested in our young men and young women and am willing to open up a little bit to show some transparency in some of my own life work that hopefully will benefit them in whatever they do and wherever they go.”
Katelyn Smith, a freshman biology major, recalls a day she almost decided not to go class and almost missed one of Horne’s stories.
“He told us the coolest things,” Smith said. “He was the pastor of the church that [former President] Bill Clinton attended, and just how that impacted his ministry and his life and how he dealt with that as a leader. It was really cool, and I was like ‘I can’t believe I almost didn’t go to class today.’”
Groves also recalled that day’s lesson and how it affected him.
“I don’t even know if I’ll fully appreciate it right now,” Groves said, “just having a man who spoke to Clinton once a week … in there being a real person with us and just sharing his experiences in leadership and things that he’s had to deal with.”
Horne said he tries to impress on his students the importance of being a servant leader.
“We talk about all of this is to be in the context of Christ being our greatest example of servant leadership,” Horne said. “Because of that we do approach leadership somewhat differently than what you might say a leader is in the secular marketplace.”
Horne said that he teaches his students that there are different types of leaders and different ways to go about being a leader. He said leaders are not always the ones “that are popular on campus or hold positions.”
“There are many people who have leadership abilities that are going about it quietly,” Horne said, “that are going about it effectively, that when 10 years pass and we look back you’ll see them in leadership positions throughout the country and throughout the world.”
His students are learning that seemingly ordinary people in their lives are actually servant leaders.
“Grandmothers are servant leaders,” Groves said. “People in the community who you don’t hear anything from — they don’t have to be big names — can be leaders in small ways.”
Horne said he has enjoyed teaching the class this semester and the conversations he has had with his students. He also insisted he would like to continue having this opportunity to use his past experiences to teach.
“I’m very open to it,” Horne said. “I do hope it becomes a regular part at least one semester out of the school year.”
Just one of the many reasons my kids attend Ouachita!