Dorothy V. Harris earned her undergraduate degree from James Madison University in 1953. During her time here, she was a Kinesiology major and engaged in athletics. In fact, she was a three-sport athlete as she was a member of the basketball, field hockey, and swimming teams. Dorothy Harris went on to complete master's and doctoral degrees and begin a career in sport psychology at Pennsylvania State University in 1970. Early in her career, she engaged in sport psychology research. She became the first Fulbright Scholar for designated research in sport psychology. She also organized several conferences and pieces of work on women in sport. Collectively, she wrote or co-authored five books, had articles published in numerous professional journals, and was invited to present papers at local, regional, and international meetings. She also held a variety of offices in national organizations including being the president of the North American Society for Psychology. She was also involved in applied work with the U.S. Olympic Sports Medicine Committee on Sport Psychology and the Women's Sports Foundation. She went on to become the first woman inducted as a fellow into the International Society of Sport Psychology. She was certainly a pioneer in the field.
As an esteemed alumna, the Department of Kinesiology honors Dr. Dorothy V. Harris by holding the annual Harris Endowed Lecture. The endowed fund allows us to invite a top scholar in sport and exercise psychology to give a lecture focused on the integration of research to practice in the field. The following individuals have been recognized as a Harris Endowed Lecturer:
Harris Endowed Lecturers
1993: Dr. Bette Harris
1994: Dr. Mimi Murray
1995: Dr. Robert Rotella
1996: Dr. Joseph Oxendine
1997: Dr. Carole Oglesby
1998: Dr. Linda Bunker
1999: Dr. Kenneth Ravizza
2000: Dr. Maureen Weiss
2001: Dr. Daniel Gould
2002: Dr. Robin Vealey
2003: Dr. Gregory Dale
2004: Dr. Christine Shelton
2005: Dr. Keith Henschen
2006: Dr. Doris Corbett
2007: Dr. Brenda Bredemeier
2008: Dr. Michelle Magyar
2009: Dr. Craig Wrisberg
2010: Dr. Kate Hays
2011: Dr. Challace McMillin
2012/2013: Dr. Amanda Visek
2014: Dr. Steven Danish
2015: Dr. Jennifer Etnier
2016: Dr. Rodney Dishman
2017: Dr. Vanessa Shannon
2018: Dr. Samuel Zizzi
2019: Dr. Alicia Johnson
2020/2022: Dr. Chris Harwood
2021: Dr. Tanya Prewitt-White
2023: Dr. Kensa Gunter
2024: Dr. Damien Clement
2025: Dr. Amber Mosewich
https://archives.libraries.psu.edu/repositories/3/resources/1862
