Furman’s Harris, Reid named to All-SoCon Faculty and Staff Team

Furman’s John Harris and Hunter Reid have been named to the All-Southern Conference Faculty and Staff Team, which was announced today by the league office. Two representatives each from all 10 member schools were recognized by the league.

While the selections were left up to each institution’s discretion, the recipients all shared the common characteristics of demonstrated service to the institution and contributions to campus life and the local community. Faculty members selected have demonstrated strong contributions to teaching, research and/or service, while staff members are being recognized for bringing out the best in others and creating conditions for success.

Harris, a professor of mathematics, is also the director of Furman’s Cothran Center for Vocational Reflection. In the mathematics department, he enjoys teaching courses at all levels and appreciates the opportunities to get to know his students well. Harris has worked with dozens of students on undergraduate research projects, and he is always proud to see students do great things. His professional activity involves work in recreational mathematics (the study of games, puzzles, and magic) and in sports analytics, where along with colleagues he consults with ESPN, the NCAA and The Athletic.

In his work with Furman’s Center for Vocational Reflection, Harris participates in programs designed to help students (and others) think about and develop ideas and experiences that lead to lives of meaning and purpose. He loves getting to know and work with student-athletes, and he enjoys attending their matches, races and games. Harris can trace his support for athletic endeavors to his high school days when he supported his own basketball team from the very end of the bench.

The longest-tenured sports information director currently serving in the SoCon, Reid, who is now in his 38th year at Furman, joined the athletics department as assistant sports information director in 1985. As Furman’s SID, Reid works alongside a loyal and immensely talented staff in overseeing publicity efforts for the school’s 18 intercollegiate sports, with direct responsibility for football and women’s basketball. In addition, he serves as liaison to Furman’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He was named SID in 1986 and added the titles of assistant athletics director in 1989 and associate athletics director in 2010. He served as media coordinator for both the 2017 and 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship first- and second-round games played at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville and will coordinate media operations for the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship regional, slated for BSW Arena in March.

Reid is known as a stickler for details and works tirelessly to promote Paladin student-athletes both in the local and national news media, having secured feature stories on ESPN and in The New York Times, among others. Among his many tasks, he is diligent in nominating Furman student-athletes for innumerable awards, both on the conference and national level. Throughout his career, he has continued to look for innovative ways to promote Furman’s student-athletes.

Possibly Reid’s greatest legacy at Furman is the relationships he has built with countless student-athletes over his 38 years. Almost weekly, former student-athletes and former student assistants reach out to him to reconnect either when visiting campus for sporting events or simply by picking up the phone to talk to their former mentor. As a former Furman coach once said, “Student-athletes come back to Furman and visit their coach, and their next stop is Hunter Reid’s office.”

The complete list of SoCon faculty and staff recipients include: The Citadel’s Deirdre Ragan and Kester Melville; ETSU’s Don Good and Levi Smith; Furman’s John Harris and Hunter Reid; Mercer’s Caryn Seney and Katie Johnson; UNC Greensboro’s Susan Phillips Keane and Melinda Wolf; Samford’s Laura Promer and Doug Wilson; Chattanooga’s Michael D. Thompson and Will Watson; VMI’s Col. Tom Timmes and Sergeant Major Tom Sowers; Western Carolina’s Cyndy Caravelis and Brian Boyer; and Wofford’s Cecile Nowatka and James Stukes.

“The Southern Conference is proud to once again recognize outstanding faculty and staff members from each of our member institutions,” SoCon Commissioner Jim Schaus said. “They are all integral parts of each of their campuses and it’s our honor to commemorate their service. I look forward to meeting all of them at our recognition ceremonies throughout the next couple of months.”

Harris and Reid will be recognized on Feb. 1 at the Paladins’ home men’s basketball game versus Chattanooga. For more information, contact Julie Paré, Furman Athletics, at julie.pare@furman.edu, and 864-294-3062.