Kathy Harper has arrived in Cape to spread the word about SEMO

Kathy Harper, the new director of university communications at Southeast Missouri State University, first laid eyes on the campus and Cape Girardeau just a few days before her first day on the job.

She and her "20 pounds of spoiled-rotten puppy," Layla, made the 12-hour drive from Orlando, Florida, to Cape Girardeau. Her entire job search, interview process and home hunt was all conducted virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But moving doesn't bother her.

"I'm a Navy brat. We moved around a lot when I was growing up — every two to three years was somewhere new," she said. "But whenever we moved to a new location, the first thing we did was to think about what's cool and fun that we can do here."

Harper has found everyone to be very welcoming both on campus and in town, making the transition easier, and she's anxious for a time when she can get out and explore safely.

Having taken the job during such an interesting time with COVID, state budget cuts and declining numbers of high school graduates, Harper relies on an overall belief in the value of public education and public universities.

Having worked for two other public institutions — the University of Florida and the University of Wisconsin-Madison — she realizes communicating in the Midwest may be a little different from Florida and a little different from Wisconsin, but Harper is looking forward to that challenge, and becoming part of the community.

"I know there's great value in what this university can offer. And so, as we battle COVID, and we have all of these other challenges, I really believe in the value of everything that we do here at Southeast," Harper said. "There's a great team in place at Southeast, and I'm very impressed by (university president) Dr. (Carlos) Vargas and the entire executive staff. The leadership team is really fantastic."

The director of university communications is responsible for reputation management of Southeast, reports to president Vargas and serves as a member of the executive staff. Additionally, the director promotes Southeast and its initiatives; conveys a positive public perception of the university to media outlets; and researches, writes and edits news releases. She will also serve as a university spokeswoman/public information officer in response to media inquiries.

She spent the first 10 years of her career in sports public relations, working in amateur sports and then the Olympics.

"It was pretty phenomenal," she said.

It started in college with a case study competition for the Public Relations Student Society of America for the 1998 Olympics and ended in an internship with the U.S. Olympic Committee, working in the public information and media relations office.

She spent a year at the Olympic Training Center where she got to eat at the dining hall with the athletes, many of whom participated in the 1992 winter and summer games. She got to meet track-and-field star Michael Johnson, four-time Olympic gold medalist; and swimmer Matt Biondi, 11-time Olympic medalist.

"He sat next to me at an event, and I was so star struck. I couldn't talk," Harper said.

Harper comes to Southeast with more than 10 years of higher education experience. She has a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Brigham Young University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida, and is working toward a doctorate in mass communications from the University of Florida.

Her predecessor, Ann Hayes, held various jobs in communications at the university for 29 years, which some may find intimidating to follow, but the two were able to spend two weeks working together when Harper arrived on campus.

"I find it really fun to come in after somebody like her who's done a phenomenal job. The challenge of filling those big shoes can be very exciting," Harper said.

In relation to moving 12 hours away blindly, never having seen the town or campus (other than photos), she said, "Sometimes in life you just have to take a big leap of faith; and it all works out."