Harold French, a renowned and well-loved University of South Carolina religious studies professor, passed away Friday after serving the university for 42 years.
French, known as “Hal” by students and colleagues, demonstrated a passion for teaching that enriched lives both inside and outside of the classroom. He maintained contact with many students after they completed his courses and even officiated at dozens of his former students’ weddings.
“He will be remembered by students as a very caring and concerned professor. One who was eager to learn from them as much as he was to teach them,” said Carl Evans, his longtime colleague and friend. “After a semester taking a class with Hal, they felt they gained much more than a body of knowledge. They were transformed personally with a sense of power to go out and make a difference in the world. And that doesn’t happen very easily, it’s a magical kind of transformation that takes place, and it takes a charismatic teacher to do that.”
French’s rare, even “magical” presence on campus was supplemented by his contributions to humanitarian work across the globe. His life story reveals an uncommon dedication to acting on the same principles he taught in the classroom. Evans recalls that after the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia in 2004, French garnered money and support from Columbia residents and traveled to India to personally donate the money to Project Hope.
“He went to work himself — worked for days and days and days in the hot, sweltering sun to help rebuild. That was a scholar who was also a passionate person about helping people who were in need,” Evans said. “He was not a stuffy academic. He believed in rolling up his sleeves and getting out and sweating to help where people need physical labor.”
Over the years, his volunteer endeavors took him around the world, from Nicaragua to Haiti to the rural United States.
French also acted on his passion for human rights and religious freedom by participating in decades of interfaith work. He facilitated international exchanges of religious and cultural ideas and participated in several interfaith organizations, including the International Interfaith Center in Oxford, England. At the time of his death, he was the chair of the North American chapter of the International Association for Religious Freedom, the oldest interfaith organization in the world.
“He appreciated the depth and dimension of each religion, and he could see that if you really get beyond the externals of a religion, to the depths of the tradition, you find that there’s a lot of similarity between traditions at that deeper level,” Evans said.
In his academic work, French focused mainly on eastern religions. He authored or edited eight books, including the critically acclaimed work “Zen and the Art of Anything.” French was also an associate editor of an 11 volume Encyclopedia of Hinduism, a monumental 25-year undertaking. The encyclopedia was launched at the university in 2013.
French’s leadership on the USC campus also earned recognition. Student voters named him the Preston College Faculty Associate of the year four times, and French earned several teaching awards from the Honors College and Mortar Board. His extraordinary classroom presence and personal approach to teaching encouraged students not only to deepen their academic knowledge, but to live richer and more examined lives.
“He’s had an impact on generations of people,” said Preston Residential College principal Bobby Donaldson. “Hal left an imprint on so many individuals. I think that that was his real calling. He was called to teach, but he was also called to inspire and to motivate.”
French collapsed Friday after arriving for a checkup at his cardiologist’s office. He was 84-years-old.
Having served the university for nearly half his life, French left an enduring legacy on campus. His sincere concern earned him remarkable influence in the lives of individual students, and he inspired hundreds to embrace life.
“I think Hal would want to say to students, this is it. This time, this moment, this place is where you have the possibility of living your life to the fullest. Don’t put it off.” Evans said. “This is it, now, now. And students responded to that.”