Memorial Service Held for Professor Emeritus Jack Huber

Meredith College mourns the loss of Professor Emeritus Jack Huber, who passed away on October 4, 2017, at age 76. A memorial service was held on Thursday, Oct. 12 in Meredith’s Jones Chapel, during which family, friends, and the campus community celebrated his life.

Huber joined the Meredith faculty in 1974 as chair of the psychology department. He was granted emeritus status when he retired in 2011 after more than 30 years of service as a faculty member, coach, and mentor to many.

Huber, a Cleveland, Ohio, native, was a specialist in personality theory and Alfred Adler’s humanistic theory, which emphasizes that everyone, with help, is capable of solving their own problems. Huber delivered the 1979 Faculty Distinguished Lecture, “Alfred Adler and the Evolution of Humanity.”

“One of my favorite visions of a college or university is that of a community of scholars,” Huber said during this lecture. “All of us, administrators, students, and faculty members, are involved in the quest for truth.”

Huber was also interested in encouragement training. In 2010, he completed a book project translating a work by Theo Schoenaker from German. The book was published in the United States as Encouragement Makes Good Things Happen. This approach, Huber said, “places an emphasis on what is positive and right with human beings. The book’s message is ‘I am what I am, and that’s good enough.’”

President Jo Allen shared this remembrance.

“From my days as a student to my days as president of Meredith, Dr. Huber has been a staunch ally and advocate for the college, his various programs in psychology and autism, his softball team, and all the students,” said Allen. “One of his former students wrote that it was Dr. Huber who first assured her she was smart enough for graduate school (and he was right!).  On a more personal level, he never shied away from bringing me new ideas or reasons to act, and I counted him among my best advisors.  I – and the rest of the College – will miss him deeply.”

As head of the psychology department, Huber made undergraduate research a departmental priority. He co-authored numerous papers with student researchers, many of whom presented their work at conferences. He was one of the co-founders of the Carolinas Psychology Conference, which was held at Meredith for 40 years and is one of the country’s longest running undergraduate psychology conferences. He was also a strong advocate for The Meredith Autism Program, which began during his tenure as department head.

“Jack was a tremendous asset to the College and he made the department better in so many ways,” said Professor of Psychology Lyn Aubrecht, Huber’s friend and colleague. “He made a difference in the lives of his students, and often changed their view of themselves.”

Huber was also very involved in Meredith’s athletics program, most recently serving as a coach in the softball program.

“Dr. Huber meant so much to this program and touched the lives of all the students, athletes, and staff who knew him. His love of Meredith and the sport of softball were evident in everything he did,” Head Softball Coach Kim Scavone wrote in a tribute article. Read more at goavengingangels.com

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Meredith Autism Program. Contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at (919) 760-8374 or advancement@meredith.edu for assistance.