Dr. Cynthia H. Harper, shown seated here with grandson Tommy Houck, is surrounded by family and former colleagues on November 20 at the ceremony renaming the campus child development center in her honor. On hand to witness the center's transition to the Dr. Cynthia H. Harper Child Study Center were, from left: Dr. Rebecca Turner, JSU vice president for academic and student affairs; Dr. Harper's husband Randy, retired JSU vice president for information technology; daughter and son-in-law Julie and Randy Houck; and Dr. Bill Meehan, JSU president (JSU/Angie Finley photo).

 

Campus Child Development Center Renamed for Retired Dean

Family, friends and past colleagues of Dr. Cynthia Harper gathered at Mason Hall on November 20 to honor the former dean of the JSU College of Education and Professional Studies by permanently attaching her name to a facility long dear to her heart.

Dr. Bill Meehan, JSU president, presented Dr. Harper with a plaque officially changing the name of the campus child development center to the Dr. Cynthia H. Harper Child Study Center.

Dr. Meehan said the trustees unanimously supported the recommendation to name the center in Dr. Harper's honor, and her successor, Dr. John Hammett, said the designation was "beyond fitting."

"My life's plan began right here at JSU at the age of 18," Dr. Harper told the crowd after the presentation. "You can't know how humbled I am that you'd put my name on this building because it is so significant."

Dr. Harper earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Education from JSU and her doctoral degree from the University of Alabama. She came to teach at JSU in 1975 and retired in August 2008. She and her husband, Randy Harper, retired JSU vice president for information technology, have a daughter, Julie Houck, who attended the center as a toddler and was present for the ceremony, along with her husband Randy and the Harpers' first grandson, four-month-old Tommy.

 

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