Charlotte, N.C., February 19, 2008
- The American Technical Education Association (ATEA) recently announced
that Ron and Katherine Harper, founders of global anilox supplier Harper
Corporation of America, will receive the association's Silver Star Award at the
ATEA's 45th National Conference on Technical Education this spring in Biloxi,
Mississippi.
This award is presented jointly by the American Technical Education Association
and the National Technical Honor Society each year to recognize exceptional
support and commitment to advancing postsecondary technical education.
Rich Wagner, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Dunwoody College of
Technology in Minneapolis, Minnesota, nominated Mr. and Mrs. Harper for the
award.
The Harpers are legendary in the flexography industry for their philanthropy in
flexo education. It began in 1990, when the couple recognized the need for more
high school vocational programs, and with the donation of their time, attention
and funding, they paved the way to establish a flexographic printing program at
South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, N.C. Since then, they have been
instrumental in setting up educational programs at other area schools. Today 21
high schools and 32 colleges in the U.S., Canada and Argentina have vocational
programs based on the ones the Harpers helped initiate.
Recognizing the Internet's potential to reach further on behalf of the
educational community, last year the Harpers became the founding sponsors of
the Flexographic Technical Association's TEST (Technical Education Services
Team) Program, an international virtual campus initiative for flexo education.
Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) in Charlotte and Appalachian State
University in Boone, N.C., are also beneficiaries of the Harpers' commitment to
education. CPCC's southwest campus is called the Harper Campus, and it features
the Harper National Flexographic Center. On Appalachian State University's
campus, Katherine Harper Hall houses the school's graphics education program
and administrative offices, and the Harper Flexographic Museum chronicles the
history of flexography.
DiTrolio Flexographic Institute in Chicago features the Ron and Katherine
Harper Flexo Lab. The Flexo Trade School in Fort Mill, S.C., boasts a
state-of-the-art Harper Lab of Flexography. Dunwoody College of Technology in
Minneapolis is introducing a new Harper Graphics Technology Center in addition
to its Harper Wall
Other enduring testaments to the. Harpers' dedication to technical education
are the Harper Endowment at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis
Obispo, and the Harper Scholarship Fund and the Harper Flexo Technology Wing at
Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin.
The Harpers also helped found and continue to offer critical financial support
and guidance to the Phoenix Challenge Foundation, the nation's largest
nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting flexography education. Just last
year, in addition to their other work with the Foundation, the Harpers
established the Katherine Harper Teachers' Education Fund to address the need
for broader and more intensive flexo education for instructors.
For additional information, please contact Jim Harper at 704.588.3371 or
jharper@harperimage.com.
