Most students would recognize Shippensburg University’s president by his white mustache and round, wire rim glasses, usually accompanied by a red, white and blue tie, in true Raider spirit.
The educator behind the man, however, has much more to him than the best mustache in Old Main.
George Harpster, affectionately known as Jody, grew up in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, outside of Altoona. His parents promoted a path to higher education in the household, encouraging Harpster and his older sister Karen to pursue college degrees.
His father, a World War II veteran, worked on the railroad while his mother stayed at home with the children.
“The view of parents in the ’50s and ’60s was, and still is in a lot of ways, a college degree’s a ticket to the future,” Harpster said. He went on to attend Juniata College for his undergraduate, SU for his master’s and the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill for his doctorate.
“We never talked about if I was going to college, it was always, where was I going to go to college,” Harpster said.
As a first generation college student, Harpster set off for Juniata with the desire to major in biology and become a dentist. He switched his major to psychology halfway through his sophomore year after he tired of sitting in chemistry labs, deciding that the human services field interested him more.
Harpster served as the vice president of the student body for two years at a time when Juniata had only 1,200 students. Being vice president landed Harpster a spot on the board of trustees, giving him the opportunity to see his college from a broader perspective.
“There were a whole lot of pieces, all of them thought they were the most important piece,” Harpster said.
Each piece of college is valuable to students’ experiences, but to Harpster, the key is found in academics. Not every student is going to leave college and become a professional athlete — though SU has a few, but every student can leave with a degree and a career path in mind.
Sports were a large part of Harpster’s identity in high school. He was a track and football athlete for several years, but injured his shoulder during his second football game of senior year.
“What that really taught me was, regardless of what you do to prepare, regardless of how well thought out your design might be for the next phase of your life or even the current phase of your life, you’re never in control of all of those aspects,” Harpster said. “Something can come up that completely changes that.”
Harpster moved his focus to track and field, but a knee injury prevented him from continuing in the sport.
At Juniata, Harpster used his vocal skills to get him a spot in musical plays. He even spent a few evenings in the local nightclubs — strumming guitar and singing songs by Simon and Garfunkel with his roommate.
Through this engagement in activities, Harpster realized that college was a lot more than attending classes.
“I was learning about who Jody was,” Harpster said of his undergraduate experience.
The dean of students at Juniata told Harpster about a college student personnel degree at SU that might interest him for a master’s degree program. Harpster looked into the program and came to SU as a graduate student from 1972-1974.
During his time as a student at SU, Harpster worked at a male residence hall off campus, as the equivalent of today’s residence director position. In his second year, Harpster worked as a “residence director” at Horton Hall when it was still used for student living.
Then Harpster made the leap down the East Coast to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to get his doctorate in adult and higher education.
Harpster’s light blue eyes lit up when he started to talk about UNC, where he met his future wife, Leslie. Proudly wearing a gold wedding band on his left hand, Harpster described how he met Leslie while she was working as a desk assistant in one of the residence halls. The two married and spent 20 years in North Carolina, where they adopted their Korean children, Drew and Emily.
When Drew was 4 and Emily was 2, the Harpsters packed their bags and headed to Shippensburg during the summer of 1995 so Jody could start his new career as vice president for student affairs at the university.
People used to joke and ask why Harpster left the sunny south for Pennsylvania. “And I said, because I always really loved it here,” Harpster said with a smile.
In some ways, Shippensburg reminds Harpster of his hometown in Tyrone.
“Where I grew up, and when I came back here in the early ’90s, people didn’t lock their doors. You could drop your bicycle in the front yard and believe it was going to be there the next day,” Harpster said of the small town appeal.
Between the various jobs Harpster has held at SU, he has gotten to spend many years in Shippensburg. He served as the vice president for external affairs and government relations and was the interim president on two occasions.
Harpster’s sister works in education as well, at a university in Florida.
Growing up, Harpster and his sister learned the value of higher education from their parents.
When he saw the opportunity for education, Harpster grabbed the ticket to college — and he never let go.
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