{"id":19179,"date":"2025-12-10T08:24:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T13:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=19179"},"modified":"2026-01-06T12:52:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T17:52:00","slug":"wilmington-university-president-dr-laverne-harmon-selected-as-delaware-business-times-first-person-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2025\/12\/10\/wilmington-university-president-dr-laverne-harmon-selected-as-delaware-business-times-first-person-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilmington University President Dr. LaVerne Harmon Selected as Delaware Business Times\u2019 First Person of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column19179_5489a3-e1 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column19179_5489a3-e1 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column19179_5489a3-e1 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column19179_5489a3-e1 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column19179_5489a3-e1 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column19179_5489a3-e1 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column19179_5489a3-e1 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column19179_5489a3-e1{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column19179_5489a3-e1 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column19179_5489a3-e1 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column19179_5489a3-e1\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<p>\u201cThe Delaware Business Times created the Person of the Year to feature and spotlight one person who has done the most to influence Delaware&#8217;s economy in a particular year,\u201d says <strong>Katie Tabeling<\/strong>, editor of Delaware Business Times. \u201cIn a state with 222 impactful leaders, we decided to highlight one of them who stood head and shoulders above the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They chose Wilmington University President <strong>Dr. LaVerne Harmon<\/strong> as the publication\u2019s first Person of the Year, an honor introduced in its Delaware 222 supplement. As its name suggests, Delaware 222 recognizes 222 of Delaware\u2019s most influential business, nonprofit and civic leaders. Being singled out from among this accomplished group as the inaugural Person of the Year underscores the reach and significance of Dr. Harmon\u2019s work and the University\u2019s economic impact on the First State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Tabeling, the Delaware Business Times sought leaders who delivered strong results over the past year or introduced game-changing products or services. The selection committee also weighed nominees\u2019 successes in leading transformations with strong outcomes and in expanding their organization\u2019s reach or overall impact on Delaware\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under Dr. Harmon\u2019s leadership, Wilmington University has expanded educational access for students of all ages and backgrounds, many of whom live and work in Delaware. Through a wide range of new or enhanced programs, WilmU graduates serve as educators, health care professionals, public safety officials, IT specialists and business and community leaders whose daily contributions strengthen the state\u2019s workforce and quality of life. A focus on opportunity, student success, and strong community partnerships\u2014and her consistent advocacy for collaborative teams that bring faculty, staff, and community partners together on behalf of students\u2014have defined her tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide wu-blockquote-row is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote wu-blockquote-simple is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>As an example of the promise WilmU offers, Dr. Harmon worked her way up from being assistant to the president to president herself, reflecting the same commitment to accessibility and advancement that defines the University\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n<cite>\u2014 Katie Tabeling, editor of Delaware Business Times<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn our first year naming a Person of the Year, our team selected Dr. Harmon not only because she is blazing a trail with innovative programs\u2014such as the state\u2019s first nurse anesthesiology program and a new, high-demand law school\u2014but also because, behind the scenes and throughout her career at WilmU, she has helped shape the University\u2019s mission of creating affordable education and upskilling options for Delawareans of all ages,\u201d says Tabeling. \u201cAs an example of the promise WilmU offers, Dr. Harmon worked her way up from being assistant to the president to president herself, reflecting the same commitment to accessibility and advancement that defines the University\u2019s mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Harmon\u2019s recognition was first announced at the inaugural Delaware 222 reception at the Delaware Art Museum on Dec. 3, 2025. She offered words of thanks to the Delaware Business Times and Today Media teams and acknowledged the leaders named to the 222 list. The moment reflected Dr. Harmon\u2019s many achievements and Wilmington University\u2019s role as a key partner in Delaware\u2019s growth and future.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThe Delaware Business Times created the Person of the Year to feature and spotlight one person who has done the most to influence Delaware&#8217;s economy&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":19180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1072,54,14,15],"class_list":["post-19179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-delaware-business-times-person-of-the-year","tag-dr-laverne-harmon","tag-wilmington-university","tag-wilmu"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":2,"label":"ACADEMIC NEWS"}],"post_tag":[{"value":1072,"label":"Delaware Business Times Person of the Year"},{"value":54,"label":"Dr. Laverne Harmon"},{"value":14,"label":"Wilmington University"},{"value":15,"label":"WilmU"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Doctor-Laverna-Harmon-Delaware-Business-Times-480x480.jpg",480,480,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Rachel Marchione","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/rachel\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":2,"name":"ACADEMIC NEWS","slug":"academic-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":559,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":460,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":2,"category_count":460,"category_description":"","cat_name":"ACADEMIC NEWS","category_nicename":"academic-news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":1072,"name":"Delaware Business Times Person of the Year","slug":"delaware-business-times-person-of-the-year","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1629,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":54,"name":"Dr. Laverne Harmon","slug":"dr-laverne-harmon","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":611,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":14,"name":"Wilmington University","slug":"wilmington-university","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":571,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":357,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":15,"name":"WilmU","slug":"wilmu","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":572,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":291,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19179"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19183,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19179\/revisions\/19183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}