Jack Harris
’49, earned degrees in history and social science. While at Carthage, he was active in student government and Circle K. He was also the editor of the yearbook, associate editor of the student newspaper, and a class officer.
Mr. Harris would be the first to tell you that today’s College is different in many ways from the one he attended in a small Illinois town. But he says Carthage reinforced values that have stayed with him. Attending Carthage was “an opportunity to make friendships,” he recalls. “The teachers I had were excellent,” and he believes those teachers were as good as or better than his teachers in graduate school. While a senior at Carthage, Mr. Harris worked in the College’s public relations office, an experience he says taught him how to write succinctly. “I learned about a lot of things that opened doors to me that helped me professionally,” he says. After earning a master’s degree at the University of Iowa, Mr. Harris returned to Carthage a year later as publicity director. Except for one year, Mr. Harris was employed by Carthage until 1979. He was Carthage’s first development director, followed by 16 years as vice president for development. During his tenure, his office coordinated several major capital campaigns
than $1 million annually for programs in education, health, child care, stewardship, and help for the aging. He served Siebert from 1979 to 1993. He then founded Harris and Associates, a consulting firm. Mr. Harris also served as a member of the Carthage Board of Trustees. He was granted Vice President Emeritus status in 1990 by the College. He was granted the President’s Medal of Honor in 1985, and received the Carthage Flame, the College’s highest award, in 1994. One value that Carthage stressed in Mr. Harris’ day that continues today is service to others. “You go to a college like Carthage, it remains with you,” he says. The Lutherans of Wisconsin, Inc. named Mr. Harris "Lutheran Man of the Year" in 1993. Over the years, Mr. Harris has been involved in the Kiwanis Club, Elks Club, Rotary
"You go to a college like Carthage, it remains with you.”
which helped raise money towards the $19 million needed for early development of the Kenosha campus. In 1979, Mr. Harris left Carthage to become president of the Siebert Lutheran Foundation, one of the largest benefactors of the College. The foundation distributed more
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International, United Way, and the American Red Cross. Willingness to serve, Mr. Harris adds, is a big part of the “very fulfilled and satisfying life” he can look back upon.
CARTHAGE