Nathan Lambert, SAU assistant professor, and Honors College students present electric guitar exhibit
The class began with a simple block of wood. It ended with a rock concert featuring the president of Southern Arkansas University performing in front of a large group of students.
It’s not often that college students get to see the president of their university in a jam session, but that was the result of an Honors Program class that was offered for the first time in the spring 2025 semester.
Students enrolled in the new Honors course Electric Guitar Building began the semester with a simple block of wood. By the end of the semester, students had built and designed their own electric guitars.
Nathan Lambert, assistant professor of art and design at SAU, developed the idea for the class. While the class is new, the seeds for the course were planted years ago.
“I am a woodworker,” said Lambert, whose love for building began when he was growing up. “My dad was a really good carpenter. I took woodshop in high school and really loved it.”
Lambert continued to develop his woodworking skills over the years, and he found that those skills fit well with his enjoyment of music. Lambert played guitar and drums in college, and he found that both interests worked well together.
Lambert built five electric guitars and decided to design a class that would allow him to share his passion for woodworking, design, and music in one course.
“SAU was looking for a new class idea for the Honors Program, and I wrote up a proposal for this class,” explained Lambert, who loved the idea but wasn’t sure anyone else would. Lambert continued, “I didn’t think the class would have enough interest. We originally had 10 slots for students, but then there was a waiting list of students wanting to take the class.”
Students in the Honors Program at SAU are required to take a certain number of hours in Honors courses each year. Students from a variety of majors across campus signed up for the class. “We had students from all over campus, and that was great because they brought different perspectives to the class,” said Lambert.
The class included a history of guitars and where they started, and Lambert showed students famous guitars from over the years.
Jeffrey Sumner and student begin building a guitar
Then came the block of wood.
Lambert purchased guitar kits for each student in the class. The kits included a block of wood two feet long, one-and-a-half feet wide, and two inches thick. The kits also included pre-cut neck joints for the guitars.
As a designer, Lambert tried to instill in the students the idea that they should begin with the end in mind. Using that mindset, students developed a thumbnail sketch for their guitars. Those small designs were then enlarged to actual size on paper. Then, the design on paper was transferred to the blocks of wood.
Jeff Sumner, a machinist and laboratory technician in the Department of Engineering and Physics, guided students through the actual woodwork – cutting and shaping the wood into the shapes they desired. “Jeff was extremely helpful,” said Lambert.
As the course continued, all the students in the class named their guitars except for one. One student named her guitar Icarus, after the Greek mythology figure who fatally attempted to fly too close to the sun. Her guitar design included gold trim and feathers.
The last step in the process was adding the electronics to the guitars. Each student did some soldering during the project. “It was the first time for most of them to work with soldering,” said Lambert.
Dr. Bruno Hicks, SAU president, and several other faculty, students, and community members performed with the guitars built in the course
The course closed on the Monday of finals week with all the guitars on display and a concert in the Brinson Fine Arts Gallery that was open to the public. Each student spoke briefly about what inspired their unique design of the guitar.
The concert was performed by a local group of musicians, including Brian Logan, assistant professor of economics. The group tried out every guitar from the class during various songs.
Dr. Bruno Hicks, president of SAU, joined the group and played lead guitar for one of the songs.
Lambert hopes the success of the first class will allow SAU to offer the Honors course again. “It was a really cool blending of design and woodworking,” said Lambert. “The students really enjoyed the course.”
About SAU:
SAU, located in Magnolia, Arkansas, provides students with a complete college experience in a caring environment of service, innovation, and community. With more than 100 degrees in four distinct colleges and the School of Graduate Studies, SAU initiates new degree programs to fit the needs of career and professional trends of today. As part of this commitment, SAU proudly offers the Next Step Guarantee program, ensuring that students receive the necessary resources, career guidance, and support to transition successfully from college to their chosen careers or graduate studies. To learn more about SAU, visit www.saumag.edu.
