Former state senator, Arkansas Department of Higher Education director and University of Central Arkansas president Lu Hardin died Monday at the age of 73.
Born in Searcy, Hardin served in the Arkansas Senate from 1983 to 1996, representing District 12 in central Arkansas. In 1997, then-Governor Mike Huckabee appointed him as director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
Hardin became president of UCA in 2002, a post he held until 2008 when a bonus payment scandal led to his resignation. In 2011, he pleaded guilty in federal court to charges that he fabricated two memos to the UCA Board of Trustees in order to receive nearly $200,000 in bonuses. He repaid the money after the falsification was discovered.
Before sentencing, the judge in his case said he had received more than 60 letters describing Hardin as kind and unselfish. Hardin apologized in court for his actions.
Hardin later served briefly as president of Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida, resigning prior to his 2011 plea.
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