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William E. Harner, Ph.D., 52, is the superintendent of the Cumberland Valley School District, in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. With a doctorate in educational leadership, and masters in education supervision and human resources from the University of South Carolina, Dr. Harner has served as the principal of Gainesville Middle School, Georgia and of Hilton Head High School, in South Carolina. He was the superintendent of Greenville County Schools in South Carolina. He also served as the Deputy to the Chief Executive Office of the School District of Philadelphia. Most recently, he served as Chair for High School ReDesign in the Recovery School District of New Orleans. By emphasizing rigor, relevance, and relationships during his tenure as a superintendent, his district more than doubled advanced placement enrollment and tripled scholarship dollars earned by graduating seniors. He created the Charles Townes Center for the Highly Gifted, and his district was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal for its success in closing the student achievement gap. In 2004, Harner was selected as the National Administrator of the Year by the Association of School Librarians and was a 2005 Fellow in the Broad Foundation’s Superintendents Academy. In 2007, Harner was inducted into the South Carolina Lacrosse Hall of Fame for building the first public high school lacrosse program in the state at Hilton Head High School, then adding seven more high school programs as a superintendent in Greenville. A graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point in 1978, Dr. Harner entered the ranks of US Army as an officer in the infantry. During his twenty year military career, he served in command and staff positions, including a tour on the staff and faculty at West Point and Chief of Policy & Strategy, US Forces Korea in Seoul. He retired as a lieutenant colonel from the US Army after serving as an infantry battalion commander and receiving the Legion of Merit, the military highest award for service. Harner is a
