Dr. Terry Harper, Former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Dies

Dr. Glenn Terry Harper, professor emeritus of history and former dean of the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Southern Mississippi, died Nov. 26 at his home in Hattiesburg. He was 78. Services were held Nov. 29 at Main Street Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, where Harper was a member.

A graduate of Andalusia (Ala.) High School, Harper earned a bachelor's degree from Furman University and master's and doctoral degrees from Duke University. He joined the Southern Miss history department faculty in 1964 after serving two years in the U.S. Army. A popular professor of European history, he served as dean of the then USM College of Liberal Arts from 1982-2003, and retired from the faculty in 2004.

Dr. Maureen Ryan, interim dean of the Southern Miss College of Arts and Letters, praised Harper as “unassuming and affable, a cordial colleague and a fair-minded administrator.”

“Terry Harper led the College of Liberal Arts for over 20 years in a period of unprecedented development for the University and the college,” Ryan said. “Under his leadership, the college's programs and faculty grew in size and quality, and Liberal Arts students benefitted from this growth.”

Dr. Harper's publications included German Economic Policy in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939 and articles in Iberian Studies and The Southern Quarterly. He won awards from the American Philosophical Society and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. In 2010, he was inducted into the University's Centennial Legacy Circle.

Southern Miss alumnus Chad Daniels, director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum, was a former student of Harper's and a participant in his annual summer study abroad course in Austria. He remembered his mentor as a positive influence both as an educator and friend.

“Dean Harper guided my education as a student of history, encouraged me to study abroad and offered his advice and support in my career after graduation,” Daniels said.  “I am ever his grateful student, and truly cherish the time he took to foster me professionally and personally.”

Memorials to Harper may be made to Main Street Baptist Church's South Wing Expansion (MSBC, 11 Main Street Blvd., Hattiesburg, MS 39402) or to Forrest General Hospital's Inpatient Hospice House (Forrest General Healthcare Foundation, P.O. Box 19010, Hattiesburg, MS 39044-9010).