Office of the President
Dr. Jody
Harpster
Dr.
Jody Harpster is serving for a second time as interim president of Shippensburg
University. He first served in that capacity upon the retirement of then-President
Anthony F. Ceddia in June 2005 and held the post until the appointment of
President Bill Ruud in early 2007.
A native of Tyrone, Pa., Dr. Harpster earned his
bachelor's degree in psychology from Juniata College in 1972, his master's
degree in counseling and college student personnel administration from Shippensburg
in 1974, and his Ph.D. in adult and higher education with emphasis
on organizational development and small group studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
in 1984.
He began his academic career in student affairs while
attending Shippensburg as a graduate student from 1972 to 1974. He then moved
to North Carolina to continue his studies and where he served in various
student affairs posts at both the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Those roles included area
director and manager of summer conference housing, associate director of
housing for residence life, director of housing, director of student life and
assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, and dean of students and
assistant vice chancellor for student affairs.
He
rejoined Shippensburg in 1995 as vice president for student affairs, a post he
held for 10 years before being named interim president. He was then named
executive vice president and then named executive vice president for external
affairs and university relations.
He serves or
has served on numerous committees at Shippensburg as well as being involved in
the former Duquesne-Shippensburg doctoral program in educational leadership where
he served as a member of multiple doctoral dissertation committees.
He has written
on higher education-related topics and given numerous presentations to
professional organizations at the state, regional and national levels.
Dr. Harpster is
a member of various professional organizations including the American College
Personnel Association, Council for Advancement and Support of Education,
CUPRAP: The Association of Communicators in Education, and the National
Association of College and University Business Officers. He is also a member of
numerous honor societies including Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society
He is active in
the community and is a member of various organizations including Franklin
County Women-In-Need Capital Campaign Steering Committee, Franklin County Friends
of Legal Services Fundraising Committee, Southcentral Pennsylvania Regional
Action Plan Steering Committee, Harrisburg Area Transportation Study Group
Technical Committee, Shippensburg Public Library Capital Campaign Steering
Committee, Shippensburg Area Small Business Development Center Organizing Group,
and Boy Scouts of America Frontier District Leadership Council.
He is the
recipient of numerous awards including the Shippensburg University Multicultural
Student Affairs Recognizing the Effort Award, Shippensburg Area Chamber of Commerce
Common Ground Award, Shippensburg University Martin Luther King Dream Award,
Tyrone Area High School Distinguished Alumnus Award, Shippensburg University
Outstanding Administrator of the Year Award, and the American College Personnel
Association Outstanding State Division Leader Award.