A full and rewarding career in teaching, administration and scholarly research has been capped off with the awarding of the Francis Medal.
James C. Harrison, Ph.D., who is retiring from Siena College this June, has given nearly four decades of exemplary service to Siena. On May 24, Siena’s friars presented him with the medal for his “uncommon contribution to the advancement of the values and ideals of St. Francis of Assisi.”
The medal was presented as a surprise after the friars hosted Dr. Harrison for dinner at the campus friary. The citation read: “Your generosity and sacrifice has enriched our human family and given concrete expression to the spirit of St. Francis.”
Dr. Harrison came to Siena in 1980 and is retiring in June as a full professor of history and dean of the School of Liberal Arts. Jim was a highly popular professor known for his engaging lessons that focused on intellectual activities, discussions and conversation. He was equally fond of the students he helped transform, noting: “Siena students are inquisitive, thoughtful, and most important they have a sense of responsibility for themselves and the world they are about to enter.”
Upon receiving the medal, Harrison reflected on his parents, and their recognition of the value of their son’s association with a Franciscan college.
“They both would have been bursting with pride at the honor you gave me with the St. Francis medal and for what it stands,” he said. “Receiving the medal and the Walton Teaching Award [in 2003] are the two greatest events in my time at Siena because they validate a career dedicated to the college and the ideals of the teachings of St. Francis.”
Fr. Mark G. Reamer, O.F.M., guardian of Siena’s friary and chief mission officer of the College, wrote in his recommendation for Dr. Harrison’s award: “While Jim having grown up in Texas knew what a Franciscan was, at Siena he learned how to be a Franciscan. Throughout his years at the College, Jim has promoted the Franciscan tradition and embodied its mission. He has come to live it and teach it through the witness of his life on campus.”
A combat helicopter pilot in the U.S. Navy from 1967-1972, his scholarly research has led to dozens of journal publications and helped inform supplements in Western civilization and world civilizations textbooks.
Dr. Harrison is heading back to Texas, near Houston, once he officially retires. He and his wife Kathleen Lynch Harrison ’85 M’97, already have a house there.
“I am a Texan through and through and tell my friends I only rented New York for 37 years and now will return home,” he said. He looks forward to reading, traveling, riding his motorcycle, boating and fishing.
Of their 10 children, four have already received their degrees from Siena, and a fifth will enter as a freshman this fall.
