Though I already knew the answer, I had to ask the question: "What on Earth were you thinking?"
The interview subject was Trey Berry, who announced last month that he will leave his job as the beloved president at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia to take on the daunting challenge of rebuilding Henderson State University at Arkadelphia.
Consider this: Berry became SAU's president in 2015. Since he took the job, the school's endowment has grown from $31 million to $46 million. Enrollment has increased 24 percent to the highest level in school history. SAU reported an enrollment of 5,128 students this fall. Under Berry's leadership, the university added 21 graduate degrees and certificates, including a doctoral program.
All of this came at a time when the counties in that part of south Arkansas were losing population.
