Zach Neal

A truly cohesive university community does not happen by accident; it is the result of intentional and sustained efforts to bring together diverse individuals in pursuit of common goals. This understanding is central to the work of Zach Neal, Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students at Harding University in Arkansas. 

In today’s conversation, Zach sat down with Max Webber, Co-Host of The Interview, to share his insight on topics including his career trajectory, encouraging constructive conversation between those of opposing opinions, and the importance of community in fostering a welcoming campus climate. 

Zach's Journey

Max: Can we start with a quick introduction to yourself and your organization?

I’m Zach Neal, and I’m Vice President for Student Life at Harding University. I am an alum of Harding University, and I studied my undergrad here in Bible & Religion. I did my grad work in higher education leadership before returning to work here at Harding. We’re located in Searcy, Arkansas, about an hour north of Little Rock. We have around 5,000 students and we offer both graduate and professional programmes. We’re a residential campus and we have a huge emphasis on community; we eat together, live together, and work together. Our heritage and our values drive our mission, but if someone comes here without a faith background, they would still find this to be a very welcoming place. When it comes to academics, we are very competitive; we might be from little Arkansas, but we can rub shoulders with anybody!

Max: What inspired you to pursue a career in higher education?

In a place like Harding, having a heart for ministry is a good fit. Probably the best way to describe my professional approach is looking for opportunities to be involved in the lives of people. Neither ministry nor education are necessarily known for their financial reward, but they have many blessings outside of that. This summer, I’ll be starting my 19th year here. My first role at Harding was as Director of Campus Life, which was largely focused on recreation on campus. I came out of youth ministry; my first job out of college was as a youth minister, and higher education seemed a natural next step. Fundamentally, they are both about building relationships. I transitioned into the role of Assistant Dean in Student Life, and ultimately into Vice President of Student Life. I feel like I’ve always been working under the same umbrella, it’s just that my responsibilities have grown over time.

Max: What’s your approach to creating a sense of belonging and community on campus?

It's a team approach for sure. One thing that Harding does well is building a collaborative spirit between faculty and staff – something that all universities should focus on. Sometimes, there is a temptation to stay in your silo and just do your own thing. But what makes good work great is collaboration. It sounds so simple, but we put a lot of emphasis on talking meaningfully. I'm the last person to want to go to another meeting that could have been an email. But it's not uncommon for myself and one of the academic deans to grab lunch together and talk about ways that we can better support each other. Even this week, we're doing a lot of reflective meetings with the admissions team and residence life team to discuss the best practices for making an impact for our guests. My personal approach is based around the Four Cs – Community, Classroom, Campus, and Church. Those four things serve as touchpoints for students; if you don’t show up one day, someone will notice, and they will reach out to check that you’re okay. We’ve hired specific people to focus on community engagement, and we also do a lot of work to support the local community, such as supplying food for children in the area. Having that community around you only makes you stronger – socially, emotionally, and spiritually.

Max: Recent guests have discussed the debate around free speech on college campuses. How can we encourage students to engage in civil discourse across divides? 

This past year, our president invited guest speakers to come and speak about civil discourse. Those speakers modeled what it looked like for people who completely disagreed on fundamental issues to come together in a constructive conversation. In our classrooms, we encourage our students to reflect back on that shared experience. That programmatic approach has been highly effective. If we go back to the importance of community communication and collaboration, then it doesn't matter who you're talking to; when communication is high, collaboration is high. That increases your respect of others because you learn more of the other person’s story. The more you know their story, the more you see past differences, or even come to understand their point of view. We’ve got to focus on making sure that we see these differences, treat people as individuals, and those things take care of themselves. 

Max: Students have busy lives, and they often have commitments outside of the classroom. How do you make sure that your key messages cut through? 

One beneficial thing for our university is having chapel every morning. The majority of our undergrads are required to attend, and we will have around 2,000 students every morning which will include a time of worship. Every morning at nine o'clock, we're all together. It also gives us an opportunity to celebrate success on our campus, such as a victory by the debate team or our football team. But I'm not going to pretend like every student wakes up wanting to roll into chapel at nine o'clock every day, so we do our best to offer things to entice them. Beyond that, we also hold regular evening lectures, and students will receive extra credit for attending those. Relationships are a key part of building engagement; when you have that personal connection, people are more willing to turn up. Being mission-minded helps us because all the faculty and staff share a common set of values. 

Max: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received in your career?

There's a passage in James 1:19 that says, “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” If you follow those words, you can literally talk to anyone. It will help you to defuse situations, overcome conflict, and create an environment of trust.