JoAnn Harper appointed Director of Athletics and Recreation at Dartmouth

Posted 06/27/02

JoAnn (Josie) Harper, a prominent figure in collegiate athletics and a highly regarded coach who has been Senior Associate Director of Athletics at Dartmouth since 1999, has been named Dartmouth's Director of Athletics and Recreation, effective July 1. Dean of the College James A. Larimore announced Harper's appointment today.

Harper becomes Dartmouth's seventh athletic director and will succeed Richard G. Jaeger, Dartmouth's athletic director since 1989, who will retire on June 30. Harper will be the first woman to hold this position at Dartmouth and the first in the Ivy League.

She will oversee 34 intercollegiate sports (16 men's, 16 women's and two coed) as well as 17 club sports and an intramural program in which nearly three-quarters of Dartmouth's undergraduates participate. Dartmouth athletics also includes physical education courses, the Fitness and Lifestyle Improvement Program, and recreational activities serving nearly 1,500 individuals per day.

Larimore said, "I am excited about working with Josie. She is a recognized professional in college athletics, a valued colleague and a strong advocate for our students, coaches and the department of athletics and recreation as a whole. She has the vision and skills to build on our strengths."

Dartmouth President James Wright said, "We have been fortunate during the search to have developed a very strong pool of candidates. Among Josie Harper's strengths is the significant role she has played over the years in working to strengthen Dartmouth's athletic program. She is a person who has distinguished herself as a coach and as a competitor, one who truly understands the rich traditions of Dartmouth athletics and the contributions of the men and women who participate in its programs. She has also achieved a level of stature among her peers of which we are proud. Her commitment, energy, and enthusiasm will bring even greater distinction in the future."

Harper joined the Dartmouth staff in July, 1981, as head coach of women's lacrosse. In July, 1987 she assumed additional responsibilities as assistant director of athletics for intercollegiate programs, where she developed and administered recruiting support for coaches and served as liaison to the Dartmouth Athletic Sponsor Program, among other duties. In July, 1990, she was promoted to associate director of athletics while continuing to coach women's lacrosse.

Harper relinquished her coaching duties in June, 1992, to concentrate full-time on her growing administrative responsibilities. In 11 seasons as coach of Dartmouth women's lacrosse, she led her teams to a record of 88-69 overall, 37-28 in the Ivy League.

She was promoted to senior associate director of athletics at Dartmouth in June, 1999, and in that capacity has been responsible for long-range planning, scheduling, recruiting, budget, alumni relations and event management for all of Dartmouth's varsity athletic teams.

As senior associate director, Harper has also represented athletics on numerous Dartmouth committees as well as with numerous national and regional organizations, including the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). She is a past member of the ECAC executive board, and at the request of the Dartmouth president, she serves on Dartmouth's Committee on Standards. In 1992-93, she chaired Dartmouth's Committee on Gender Equity. Throughout her athletic coaching and administrative career, she has been a diplomatic proponent of gender equity.

Prior to joining Dartmouth, Harper enjoyed a distinguished coaching career at Hollins College and Penncrest High School (Media, Pa.). As the Dartmouth coach, she took the women's lacrosse team to new heights, guiding Dartmouth to Ivy League championships in 1986 and 1987, the ECAC championship in 1988 and the NCAA tournament in 1983.

A graduate of West Chester University, Harper has also figured prominently as a lacrosse coach on the national and international level. In 1986, she coached the U.S. World Cup team, and she assisted with the 1982 United States team that won the World Championship in England. She was inducted into the New England Lacrosse Hall of Fame in June, 2000, and the Pennsylvania Lacrosse Hall of Fame in February, 2002.

In May, 1999, she was inducted into Dartmouth's "Wearers of the Green," a celebratory dinner every five years that salutes outstanding Dartmouth coaches and athletes. Harper was honored in the category of coaching a national or Olympic team. In October, 2000, Harper was selected the Division 1-AA NACWAA (National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators) administrator of the year.

Dartmouth is the nation's ninth-oldest institution of higher education, with approximately 4,300 undergraduates and 1,200 graduate students in the arts & sciences, business, engineering and medicine. A member of the Ivy League and the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC), Dartmouth received NCAA certification, required of all Division 1 institutions, in 1996.

NOTE TO REPORTERS AND EDITORS:

Dartmouth will hold a news conference to introduce Harper on Thursday, June 27 at 2 p.m. in Hayward Lounge at the Hanover Inn. For information, call Roland Adams in Dartmouth's Public Affairs Office at (603) 646-3661 or Kathy Slattery, Director of Sports Information, (603) 646-2468.