Dr. S.L. Harris of San Angelo honored as HPU Homecoming Parade Grand Marshal

Related Media

Dr. S.L. Harris served as Homecoming Parade Grand Marshal during HPU Homecoming 2013.

BROWNWOOD , TX (10/10/2013)(readMedia)-- Dr. Sydney Lewis "S.L." Harris of San Angelo, Howard Payne University alumnus and retired faculty member, was honored last week during the university's annual Homecoming celebrations. Dr. Harris served as the Homecoming Parade Grand Marshal and was recognized during the university's Alumni Awards Banquet.

Dr. Harris was born in Miles and graduated from HPU (then Howard Payne College) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948. He went on to earn Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Divinity degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Master of Arts degree from Sam Houston State Teachers College and a Doctor of Arts degree from Western Colorado University. Dr. Harris served as pastor at Decker Branch Baptist Church and Woodlawn Baptist Church of Austin as well as First Baptist Church of Joshua. He also served as interim pastor of a number of other churches.

Dr. Harris came back to HPU in 1979, serving as vice president for student affairs and professor of sociology. By 1980, he was dean of the School of Social Sciences, director of the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom and chair of the sociology department. He served as associate pastor and director of the counseling ministry at First Baptist Church of Brownwood from 1984 to 1992, and rejoined the HPU faculty in 1985 and from 1991-1992 as part-time instructor of sociology.

In addition to teaching appointments at other universities, Dr. Harris has published several books and articles. He has three daughters with his wife, Fleta Lindley Harris, who passed away in May.

###

Founded in 1889, Howard Payne University is a Christ-centered academic community dedicated to excellence by developing and equipping the whole person for intellectual inquiry, personal and professional integrity, and service to God and humanity.

Located in Brownwood, Texas, HPU offers a full array of undergraduate programs and a limited number of graduate programs in a traditional residential academic community. The university also offers selected undergraduate and graduate course work by electronic means and at extended learning centers in El Paso, Texas, and New Braunfels, Texas. HPU maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio, which contributes to the university's reputation of being "a place where everybody is somebody."