Mississippi Valley State University Athletics

A native of Gulfport, Miss., Harper comes to Mississippi Valley State University after serving as Student-Athlete Coordinator at Laurel Springs School.

During her time at Laure Springs School, Harper oversaw over 400 college-bound student-athletes' academic pacing and progress and communicated school and course-related expectations. She also conducted monthly webinars for college-bound student-athletes, families, and Laurel Springs' partnership team. 

Prior to Laurel Springs, Harper served as the Associate Athlete Director for Student-Athlete Success & Competitive Excellence at Florida A&M. Harper served as the Vice President/Director of Athletics senior leadership staff, sport oversight for women's tennis, volleyball, and academic support staff. Harper led the initiatives and strategic planning instrumental to the internal operations of the athletics department. 


Harper also did a stint at Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) as the Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Support Services/SWA. During her time at SLU, Harper oversaw academic progress, and student-athlete development; in addition, monitored the academic progress rate (APR) for the Lions' 16 NCAA Division I sponsored sports programs. As a member of the athletic certification and APR team, she was instrumental in increasing the Lion's APR score to 980; while increasing the sport of football single-year score to over 970, the highest score in the sport's program history.  Also, for the first time in departmental history, Harper increased the Lion's cumulative GPA to 3.0 for four consecutive semesters with the recent cumulative GPA of 3.14. Under her leadership, the Lions combined for nearly 7,500 community service hours for the 2018-2019 academic year. Harper also implemented the Lion's Summer Bridge program and Leadership Institute. 

Prior to arriving at SLU, Harper served as Alcorn State University's Assistant Athletic Director for Academics & Student-Athlete Development. During her time at Alcorn, Harper successfully utilized the NCAA Accelerating Academic Success Program (AASP) Grant funding to provide resources and programming opportunities to student-athletes. Under her leadership, the Braves increased the number of student-athletes with a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher, and the departmental GPA reached an all-time high of 3.20. 

Harper worked on a grant-funded project through the Family League of Baltimore as an Academic Coach with the NFL Player Engagement department. She also served as an Athletic Academic Counselor at the University of Southern Mississippi. 

Harper is a graduate of Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute and NCAA/NACWAA-Institute for Administrative Advancement (2012). Harper was also selected to participate in the NCAA Leadership Academy Workshop, and she presented at the NCAA AASP, Big Ideas Short Time…First Year Course in New Orleans, Louisiana (2017). 

Harper is a two-time alum of the University of Southern Mississippi. She earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing in 2003 and a master's degree in Sport Management in 2008.