Inside Furman is published quarterly by the Furman University Department of Marketing and Public Relations. For story ideas, e-mail John Roberts, editor.
A great match
Shucker's work, personal calling the same: helping others
Nearly 90 photographs festoon Harry Shucker's office. They cover his bookshelf and spill over onto his desk and other furniture. With few exceptions, they are all of students — some present, most past.
Each snapshot has a story. Each represents a relationship.
Rummaging through a small stack of correspondence, Shucker pulls out a recently authored note from a former student. After she had failed two classes her first term, Shucker called her in for a meeting. He helped her schedule her spring term classes and provided encouragement and study tips. She began to make progress and eventually graduated with a 2.5 grade point average.
“I want you to know how much you helped me,” she wrote. “I truly know that I would not have made it through Furman had it not been for you.”
When Shucker cleans out his desk late this year, it will be these stories and relationships that he will miss most. Of course, there are also parts of his job that he'll be happy to leave behind.
As Vice President for Student Services, Shucker frequently must navigate through a minefield of unpleasantness. When students repeatedly run afoul of the rules, they see him. He's consoled the emotionally distraught, calmed the disgruntled and talked to many irate parents.
Once, his office was even firebombed. It was 1979 and Shucker was the lead figure investigating a student drug ring. Fortunately, no one was injured. Bullet-proof glass was later installed in his office windows.
And there are the late-night calls. When a student is involved in an accident, arrested or transported to the emergency room, Shucker's is among the first numbers dialed. When the worst happens, he is often the one to break the news to parents.
“I really don't want to make those calls anymore. In 21 years, you see a lot of difficult situations, attempted suicides, deaths. You try to diffuse a lot of anger,” he says. “These highly emotional experiences are just very exhausting for all involved.”
Those situations aside, Shucker says working with students and helping to shape the division of Student Services have been his greatest professional joys. In retirement, his name will join those of other Furman legends, such as Marguerite Chiles, Ernest Harrill and Betty Alverson, who have made an enduring impact on student life.
A native of Pennsylvania and standout high school tennis player, Shucker chose Furman over Duke, Vanderbilt and the University of Virginia , in part because he could make an early contribution to the tennis program. A history major, Shucker was an active student, serving as captain of the tennis team, company commander of ROTC and class senator.
After graduating in 1966 , Shucker served a tour in Vietnam . While stationed at a base 20 miles from Saigon , he received a letter from Furman Dean Frank Bonner. Furman's new president, Gordon Blackwell, Bonner explained, wanted to build the Admissions department and attract more students from outside South Carolina . Bonner offered Shucker the job of assistant director of admissions. Responsibilities for the position would be to travel the Southeast and recruit students, a new concept at the time.
Shucker, who at the time was dating Pam Burgess, a Furman senior who would become his wife, accepted the offer. “I had enjoyed Furman but had never considered it [higher education] as a career,” he says. “The main attraction of the job was to be closer to Pam.”
Shucker, though, settled into university life and went on to serve as Director of Financial Aid (1972-74) and Director of Residential Living (1974-83). He earned a master's degree from the University of Georgia and an Ed.D. from the University of South Carolina before being named Vice President for Student Services in 1985.
During the past 20 years Shucker's staff has grown from approximately 40 to 54. He helped establish the offices of Multicultural Affairs (1989) and Leadership Programs (1994). During the late 1990s, he oversaw the construction of and transition to the revamped University Center .
Reflecting on his 38 years as a Furman administrator, Shucker says that college students remain optimistic and enthusiastic. Today's students seem busier, more focused and harder working than their parents.
On the downside, Shucker says students today are often overwhelmed by technology, peer pressure and hard-driving parents. Some arrive at Furman stressed out and burned out. Less than a decade ago the university employed two mental health counselors. Today Furman has three full-time counselors and three part-time counselors; two psychiatrists and a nutritionist.
Looking ahead to retirement, Shucker plans to travel and spend time with family. He will also devote more time to his church, First Baptist of Greenville.
Looking back, he says, Furman has been a great match for him. “Working here enabled me to make a career that mirrored my theological reason for being, which is to care for and be of service to others,” he says. “I've been extremely fortunate to have had these opportunities throughout my years at Furman.”