Harold William Heller (September 3, 1935 – September 11, 2020) was an American politician and educator.
Heller served as the Dean, College of Education and Director of the Wally and Louise Bishop Center for Ethical Leadership and Civic Engagement at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Immediately prior to assuming these positions he served two terms in the Florida House of Representatives, representing Florida House District 52. Heller had a long history of community service having served on or chairing a number of non-profit agencies and organizations boards of directors. Heller chaired the Pinellas County Cultural Foundation and served on the boards of Family Resources, Suncoast Hospice Institute, St Petersburg Preservation, The Mahaffey Theater Foundation and the advisory boards of the Dunedin Fine Arts Center and Studio 620. Heller and his wife were married for 59 years and had three children and three grandchildren.
Early life
Heller was born in Scales Mound, Illinois. He attended Bradley University in 1954. From 1954 to 1956 he served in the United States Army, with the 82nd Airborne Division. He earned the Parachutist Badge and the Expert Rifleman's Badge. He graduated from Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary and special education in 1959 and received a Master of Science degree from Northern Illinois University in guidance and counseling in 1961. He earned an Education Doctorate from the University of Northern Colorado in special education in 1964.
Academic career
From 1980 to 1992, he was dean of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's College of Education and Allied Professions. He moved to Florida in 1992 to head University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus. He was the first permanent head of the St. Petersburg campus in three years, beginning in August 1992. His predecessor, Lowell E. Davis, had died in 1989. A number of temporary replacements had served in the interim. His brief was to develop the campus' business, liberal arts, and journalism departments, as well as to complete the library and marine center building projects.
Heller led the St. Petersburg campus as dean and chief executive officer from 1992 to 2002. He resigned as CEO of the St. Petersburg campus at the behest of USF president Judy Genshaft and became a faculty member in August 2002. The City Council had planned demolishing its Bayfront Center arena and theater complex to USF and renting the land to USF, which would have used the land to build a conference center. They had second thoughts when Heller resigned. A rental agreement with an outside agency such as USF would have required a referendum. Other options included renovation and finding some other use for the land after demolition. His successor was Karen White, former dean of fine arts at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a concert violinist, originally from Joplin, Missouri.
Campaign and election in 2006
Though party officials usually remain neutral in primaries, Heller was endorsed over Liz McCallum by several Pinellas Democrats in the contest to decide who would run to succeed Frank Farkas. These included County Commissioner Calvin Harris, State Representatives Charlie Justice and Frank Peterman, Jr. as well as St. Petersburg City Council members James Bennett, Rick Kriseman, and Rene Flowers, and School Board member Linda Lerner. County Commissioner Ken Welch remained neutral as he sat on the county canvassing board. McCallum had narrowly lost to Farkas in the 2004 election, by less than 3,000 votes. Despite McCallum's strong showing in 2004, Heller was encouraged to run by colleague Betty Castor, a former president of USF and former Florida Secretary of Education. He came into the race at a time when McCallum had been running about a year. He had remained active in the community after stepping down as head of the St. Petersburg campus, with membership on the boards of directors of Bayfront Medical Center, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, Great Explorations museum, Florida International Museum and Pinellas Association of Retarded Children. He cited his education experience and ties to the community as important qualities.