Dr. Terry G. Harris received his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Missouri in 1985. He had previously earned a B.A. in English with a minor in German as well as an M.A. in English Literature from Brigham Young University.
For the Ph.D., Dr. Harris specialized in nineteenth-century British literature, both Romantic and Victorian. His dissertation focused on Matthew Arnold’s essays on religion and examined them in relation to the thought and writings of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Henry Newman, and Joseph Butler. His most recent publications are an article on Arnold and an entry on Joseph Butler for the Dictionary of Literary Biography. Nevertheless, his interests in the century are wide-ranging and include work on William Wordsworth, Charles Dickens, and Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. In 2002 Dr. Harris took sabbatical leave to continue work on a biographical study of Margaret Hutchinson, a niece of William Wordsworth.
Dr. Harris has been actively involved in campus affairs at LSUS, serving in various capacities at the department, college, and university levels, including president of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, secretary of the Faculty Senate, and chair of the LSUS Athletic Council, a position he currently holds. In the latter capacity he also serves as the Faculty Athletics Representative for LSUS to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. He also serves as an academic advisor in the College of Liberal Arts, working primarily with non-preference and Developmental students.
Even though he has much to keep him occupied, it’s hard to keep Dr. Harris off the streets. Many people both on campus and in the community know him as that runner they seem to see all over town. He routinely places very high in local and regional road races, often beating runners half his age. To date he has completed twenty-one marathons, including the Boston Marathon (14 times). His accomplishments as a runner are part of the reason he was selected to be a torchbearer in the Olympic Torch Relay for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games. He also served as a volunteer worker at the cross-country skiing and biathlon venue of the Salt Lake Winter Olympics.
