Paula Renae Harper

As a former Licensed Professional Counselor and Interior Designer, Paula Harper entered the field of higher education at the University of Cincinnati in 2013 after discovering her passion and expertise for helping students secure their first professional job after graduating from a certificate-based program in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Since that time, Paula has helped create thousands of job opportunities and assisted hundreds of students each year to secure internships, co-ops, and post-graduate employment.  She won the Ralph Van Wye Student Centered Award (2021) and serves as an editor for the Journal for the Study or Cooperative and Experiential Education.  Paula co-created and managed the innovative Service-Learning Co-op pilot program, which connected students to nonprofit organizations and provided funding support so that students could earn income while gaining experience and developing their professional skills.  During her tenure managing that program, she secured grants and gifts totaling $515K to support students’ salaries when they worked for a nonprofit organization.  Her work, along with that of her co-creator, Michael Sharp, enabled 827 students to earn a salary while supporting 162 nonprofits during the five-year pilot.  Paula has also worked hard to increase participation in the underutilized Work Study program.  Through her collaboration with the Work Study office and by promoting this resource to UC’s nonprofit partners, she has increased participation in the Work Study program by 50%.  Her current passion is developing partnerships for the new Arts and Science Co-op program, which is the permanent program that became possible as a result of the successful Service-Learning Co-op and On-Campus Co-op pilots.

Grant: #BldgCap Co-Op (Sharp) Investigators:Clark, Willie; Harper, Paula; Sharp, Michael 01-01-2024 -12-31-2025 ECMC Foundation Building Capacity for Co-op to Careers Role:Collaborator 197277.49 Hold Level:Non Profit