Dorothy Harris ('53) was a pioneer in the field of sport psychology
whose influence extended to both the professional and the layperson. In
1989 she was awarded the first Fulbright Scholarship in psychology for
designated research in sport psychology. That year she also became the
first woman inducted as a fellow into the International Society of
Sports Psychology. She was a recipient of a Women's Sports Foundation
award which cited her as making the greatest contribution to women in
sport. She held a variety of offices in national organizations, among
them president of the North American Society for Psychology and vice
president of the Women's Sports Foundation. She wrote or co-authored
five books and had articles published in numerous professional journals.
She was a contributing editor to WomenSports magazine, editor of the
International Society of Sport Psychology newsletter and associate
editor of the International Journal of Sports Psychology. She was
invited to present papers at local, regional and international
meetings, including conferences in North America, Europe, Israel and
Japan. She served on numerous regional and national committees,
including the U.S. Olympic Sports Medicine Committee on Sports
Psychology. While an undergraduate at JMU, she was a member of the field
hockey, basketball and swimming teams and was named to the Virginia
Reserve Field Hockey Team. She earned a master's degree from the
University of North Carolina-Greensboro and a Ph.D. from the University
of Iowa and did postdoctoral work at The Pennsylvania State University.