IN RESPECTFUL MEMORY OF SENATOR LUTHER BOYD "LU" HARDIN AND IN RECOGNITION OF HIS MANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STATE OF ARKANSAS AND TO HIS LOCAL COMMUNITY.

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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly 2
Fiscal Session, 2026 SMR 2 3
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By: Senators M. Johnson, J. Boyd, J. Bryant, Caldwell, A. Clark, Crowell, B. Davis, Dees, J. Dismang, J. 5
Dotson, J. English, Flippo, S. Flowers, Gilmore, K. Hammer, Hester, Hickey, Hill, Irvin, B. Johnson, B. 6
King, G. Leding, F. Love, M. McKee, R. Murdock, J. Payton, C. Penzo, J. Petty, Rice, J. Scott, Simon, 7
Stone, D. Sullivan, C. Tucker, D. Wallace 8
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SENATE MEMORIAL RESOLUTION 11
IN RESPECTFUL MEMORY OF SENATOR LUTHER BOYD "LU" 12
HARDIN AND IN RECOGNITION OF HIS MANY CONTRIBUTIONS 13
TO THE STATE OF ARKANSAS AND TO HIS LOCAL COMMUNITY. 14
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Subtitle 17
IN RESPECTFUL MEMORY OF SENATOR LUTHER 18
BOYD "LU" HARDIN AND IN RECOGNITION OF 19
HIS MANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STATE OF 20
ARKANSAS AND TO HIS LOCAL COMMUNITY. 21
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WHEREAS, former Senator Luther Boyd "Lu" Hardin, formerly of Maumelle, 23
Arkansas, passed away on Monday, August 11, 2025, at the age of seventy-three 24
(73); and 25
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WHEREAS, Senator Hardin was born on September 16, 1951, in Searcy, 27
Arkansas, to Luther S. Hardin and Chrystal Hardin; and 28
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WHEREAS, Senator Hardin was raised in Searcy, Arkansas, where he 30
developed a love for golf and politics, and where he played for the Searcy 31
American Legion baseball team during their victory in the 1969 state 32
championship; and 33
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WHEREAS, Senator Hardin attended college at Arkansas Tech University, 35
from which he graduated with high honors in 1973 after serving as President 36
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of the Student Senate and as a member of the debate team, the Arkansas Tech 1
University Wonder Boys golf team, and the All-Arkansas Intercollegiate 2
Conference golf team; and 3
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WHEREAS, in 1971, while at Arkansas Tech University, Senator Hardin met 5
his wife, Mary Hardin, whom he married in 1975 and with whom he raised two 6
(2) children, Scott and Mallory; and 7
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WHEREAS, after graduating from college, Senator Hardin attended the 9
University of Arkansas School of Law, from which he graduated in 1976; and 10
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WHEREAS, after graduating from law school, Senator Hardin moved to 12
Russellville, Arkansas, where he became a member of Bullock, Hardin and 13
McCormick Law Firm, and where he began to teach as a professor of business at 14
Arkansas Tech University, rising to the rank of fully tenured professor and 15
being honored as Faculty Member of the Year; and 16
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WHEREAS, Senator Hardin ran for office in the Senate, and served as a 18
senator from 1983 to 1996, where he was a member of the Joint Budget 19
Committee and where he chaired the Senate Committee on Education; and 20
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WHEREAS, Senator Hardin mounted an election campaign for the United 22
States Senate, finishing second in the general primary and narrowly losing 23
the runoff election; and 24
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WHEREAS, in January, 1997, Senator Hardin was appointed by Governor 26
Mike Huckabee to the governor's cabinet as Director of the State Department 27
of Higher Education, where Senator Hardin served for six (6) years and more 28
than tripled the number of Academic Challenge Scholarships issued to 29
Arkansans; and 30
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WHEREAS, in 2002, Senator Hardin was selected by the Board of Trustees 32
of the University of Central Arkansas to serve as the university's eighth 33
president, serving in that role until 2008; and 34
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WHEREAS, while serving as the president of the University of Central 36
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Arkansas, Senator Hardin embarked on a number of successful initiatives to 1
improve the university, including working with faculty to remove the 2
university from the American Association of University Presidents censure 3
list, launching a statewide marketing campaign, increasing enrollment at the 4
university from eight thousand five hundred (8,500) students to thirteen 5
thousand (13,000) students, successfully overseeing the elevation of the 6
university from NCAA Division II athletics to NCAA Division I athletics, and 7
securing funding for a new building for the College of Business; and 8
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WHEREAS, Senator Hardin served as the president of Palm Beach Atlantic 10
University in West Palm Beach, Florida from 2009 until 2011, where he 11
increased student enrollment, increased visibility for the university, and 12
expanded and grew the campus and sports facilities; and 13
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WHEREAS, Senator Hardin retired to Little Rock in 2012, where he spent 15
time doting on his children and grandchildren and where he remained engaged 16
in service to his community, such as his work to establish The Excel Center; 17
and 18
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WHEREAS, Senator Hardin is survived by his wife of fifty (50) years, 20
Mary Hardin, by his two (2) children, Scott Hardin and Mallory Brooks, and 21
his three (3) grandchildren, 22
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NOW THEREFORE 24
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 25
STATE OF ARKANSAS: 26
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THAT the Senate remember former Senator Luther Boyd "Lu" Hardin and 28
recognize his many contributions to the State of Arkansas and to his local 29
community. 30
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT upon adoption of this resolution, an appropriate 32
copy be provided to Mary Hardin and family by the Secretary of the Senate. 33
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