Arkansas Baptist College president: ‘anything legal to save the lost’

story and photo by Linda Kaufenberg

A football coach as a college president or a college president who uses the same motivation to excite a college as he used to motivate his players both describe Dr. Fitzgerald (Fitz) Hill who became President of Arkansas Baptist College in 2006.

Hill was in Fort Smith on Thursday (Mar. 4) as part of the 360 Leadership Series. A group of graduate business alumni from John Brown University-Fort Smith organized the 360 Leadership Series. The mission of the organization is to provide development and networking opportunities for professionals in the Fort Smith region.

“ABU was started in 1884 by former slaves,” Hill said, “and we are running on a parallel track to reconnect to our past to form our future.”

He described his leadership style as “anything legal to save the lost.”

Hill received degrees in communications and physical education from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, and a master’s degree in student personnel services from Northwestern State University where he served as a graduate assistant football coach.

In 1989 he began serving as a graduate assistant football coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was awarded the doctorate of education from the University of Arkansas in 1997. In 2000 Hill became the head football coach of the San Jose State Spartans. In March 2009, Hill spent 10 days in Rwanda and realized that Americans are “blessed and do less” than those in Africa.

While there his driver, William Karanbizi, 46, told Hill he wanted to go to college but had dropped out of school when 17, lived in a refugee camp and served in the military. Hill told him he was president of a college in Arkansas and would give him a scholarship.

“It is a blessing to be here in the United States,” William said. “In our country most of us eat only one meal a day. There is no washing machine, no microwave. Many workers get up at 5 a.m. to walk to their jobs that start at 8 a.m. Education is the key to my life. We have to change our country as we have so many poor people. When I finish my education, I want to go back to Rwanda and build small education and help centers.”

Since becoming president of Arkansas Baptist, the college has been reaccredited by North Central, launched a $25 million capital campaign that includes a community redevelopment component for the neighborhood. The college has increased enrollment more than 200% and the budget has increased from $2 million to nearly $13 million.

“I believe in literacy. If you want people to stop going back to prison, you teach them to read,” explained Dr. Hill.

Hill outlined his SERVE model:
S – Surrender: Dr. Hill had determined his goal was to be the first black coach to win a national championship, “but God had another plan for me.”
E — Energy: “We need energy on our campus. William had a desire but he needed that energy.”
R – Responsibility: Respond to our ability.
V —Vision: “Vision without action is an allusion and action without vision becomes confusion,” Hill said. “William believes in me and I believe in him. If I had not followed up on a plan to bring him here to college, I would have been just another man he drove to see him country.”
E – Energy: “We started a Delta Class for Literacy,” Hill said. “The reason Toyota built a factory in Canada is because their manuals would have had to be redesigned with pictures as most of the employee base in the Delta cannot read.”