Departments

Sample Departments and Schools

Below is a sample of departments at Harrison. It doesn't include every choice, but should give a feel for the place.

Department of Archeology and Anthropology

Ongoing projects center around native American research, although there are connections with Egyptian and Iron Age European projects. As is the case with many older departments, this one sports an impressive collection of over a million artifacts – mostly in the Americas and Middle East.

Department of Communications and Journalism

The Journalism program at Harrison is considered reputable among the J schools of the region. The program head, a veteran newspaperman named Daniel Bole, is from the old school of journalism ethics, and is almost obsessively critical about the tabloid journalism of today.

The communications side of the department was geared towards radio and television, but a recent addition – computer technology – is rapidly becoming the focus of this department, especially since the recent retirement of two of the older professors.

School of Fine Arts

Includes music, dance, drama and visual art programs. The music department has the strongest program, with teachers for most any instrument, from modern to medieval. The department supports a couple chorale and a cappella groups, an early-instruments group, and a chamber orchestra.

Department of Biology

Though moderately large, the program does have some weaknesses. Like many Harrison departments, Biology is versed in the state of the art – of the early 1980’s. While serviceable, the program is a little behind the curve compared to peer schools.

This department also includes a pre-med program. Never a strong program, this department failed to achieve the status or enrollment of its pre-WWI heyday, and eventually was subsumed by the Department of Biology. The most popular courses ("Medicine through the Ages" and a survey course of the medical professions) are taken by students who are considering a medical degree at a larger university.

Department of Botany and Plant Sciences

Harrison has the finest herbarium in North Carolina, and one of the top five in the Southeast. This, coupled with the efforts of botanical enthusiasts and benefactors, kept the department distinct from Biology. The department holds a collection of over 150,000 mounted plant samples of flora from the Southeast and beyond.

Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

While one may think it makes perfect sense to pair silviculture and environmental protection together, there is a considerable friction within this department, and the Board of Trustees is considering the merits of calving off Natural Resources into its own department.

Of the four forestry professors, two were taught in Germany; thus, the forestry program is influenced by European management philosophies. Students commonly intern on the Pisgah and Harlow National Forests as well as the surrounding private forests.

The three professors in the Natural Resources program (all much younger than the forestry profs) do share common ground with their department-mates, but are loathe to admit it. Their program centers on natural resource issues such as environmental protection. Projects include restoration and monitoring of abandoned coal and strip mines in the Appalachians and (a point of contention) the detrimental effects of timbering practices on the environment.

History

This department is possibly the largest at the college, when you consider that nearly every other department has at least one "history of" course. Harrison supports a thriving folklore program within the History department, with students studying the lore from around the world as well as in hollows of the nearby Appalachians (though most of the program’s classes are in the Anthropology Department, it stays in History for political reasons). The department is currently compiling a series similar to the Foxfire books.

Linguistics

A small but strong language program; many major modern languages, several esoteric ones, and a few extinct tongues can be learned through the resources here.

Department of Library and Museum Science

Harrison has a renowned library science program, and their museum science is nothing to sneeze at either. Belinda Larson, who became department head in 1999, has endeavored to modernize the program and is getting considerable administrational support.

Department of Literature

The Lit department is quite good; although it faces the frequent criticism of spending too much time on "Dead White Guys," studies are in fact an eclectic range of time, space and social level.

Department of Physics and Astronomy

The Astronomy program holds two full-time faculty. An old observatory is located on the campus, but is of limited use due to light pollution from Kingston. Several donor institutions, Harrison included, are funding the construction of a new telescope on a mountain several miles away.

Department of Mathematics

With the retirement of some key faculty in the early 1980’s, the math department has lost any real shot at developing an advanced degree program. It’s a basic program for core classes.

Department of Political Science and Law

A law library larger than the department's size would warrant is available for students of the pre-law program. Harrison doesn't offer advanced degrees in law, although the faculty is trying to change that.

Department of Zoology

Despite the fact that it so far has lagged behind other schools in terms of DNA and microbiological research, Zoology offers a solid program. The department maintains an excellent natural history collection, ranging from fossils to study skins. The Western North Carolina Natural History Museum, which is managed primarily under the auspices of the Zoo department, houses several collections including ornithology, ichthyology, mammalogy, herpetology, arthropods, invertebrates, and zooarchaeology.

Interdisciplinary Programs

Several interdisciplinary programs are offered, the best known being the Celtic Studies program. The CS program includes courses in Anthropology, Literature, Music, Language, and Religion. Other ID programs include Asian Studies, Latin American Studies Middle Eastern Studies, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Photojournalism, Paleozoology, Paleoecology, and even Parapsychology.