OU board names Graeme Harper dean of The Honors College

Oakland University’s Graeme Harper is making the move from director of The Honors College to dean, following a recent announcement by the Board of Trustees.

Dr. Harper has served as director of the college since arriving at Oakland in August 2011. He holds doctorates from the University of East Anglia in the U.K. and Sydney, Australia’s the University of Technology.

Before coming to OU, he most recently served as research professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Prior to that, Dr. Harper was director of research for the College of Arts, Education and Humanities at Bangor University in Wales.

A prolific author as well as scholar, he is a previous winner of Australia’s National Book Council Award and the Premier's Award, as well as awards and fellowships from the BBC, the British Academy and other organizations around the world.

Oakland's Honors College is one of the more established honors colleges in the country, having been founded more than 35 years ago. The Board of Trustees recently announced that The Honors College will move from its present location in Vandenberg Hall to a new residence hall complex set to open in fall 2014.

Under Dr. Harper's direction, The Honors College has launched several new initiatives, including The Global Imaginarium, a virtual portal for the exploration of needs, ambitions, problems and solutions; the Honors College Inspiration Awards, which highlight the power of inspiration in teaching and learning; and the Making Discoveries colloquium, which focuses on the process of discovery in fields such as the arts, technology and medicine, as well as individual and team excellence.

The Honors College also hosts the university's new Center for Undergraduate Research and Leadership (CURL), which supports undergraduate research initiatives.

At the same time, Dr. Harper has worked tirelessly to gain recognition of The Honors College as one of the top honors colleges in the U.S.

For more information about The Honors College, view the website at oakland.edu/hc.