Unconventional Education: Life lessons with Deborah

Brandon Martin
– May 28, 2013Posted in: Featured Stories

“I don’t think words are enough to describe how great Deborah is,” a student said about Associate Professor of French Studies Deborah Harter.

Words, pictures and video barely get the job done. To meet Harter is to experience the warmth of an old friendship.

In her more than 20 years in the Department of French Studies, Harter has helped hundreds of students transition from adolescence to adulthood with a candid style that is typical of the unconventional atmosphere at Rice University.

What started out as a faculty feature on Deborah Harter turned into something really amazing. She led me to Court 3 at Rice University’s Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center. That’s where four legendary professors — Dennis Huston, Allen Matusow, Frank Jones and Harter — meet on Friday afternoons for their weekly racquetball match.

The following video is narrated by Professor Harter’s short story, “Against Oncoming Wind,” that she wrote in 2012 about the foursome.

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About Brandon Martin

Greetings, I am a video producer at Rice University in the Office of Public Affairs. I became a Rice Owl in June 2011. Before that, I was at KPRC-TV in Houston as a special projects photojournalist for seven years, where I covered everything from hurricanes to sports. Southeast Texas has been my home my entire life. I am lucky to have a wonderful wife and two of the cutest girls I have ever seen. Go Owls!