Harford, Jaggers to receive Distinguished Alumni Awards

Distinguished Alumni, Judge Russell Harford

Judge Russell Harford, a native of Lead, South Dakota, and a 30-plus year resident of Chadron, is a 2018 recipient of the Chadron State College Distinguished Alumni Award.

Harford began his law career as a night police dispatcher in his hometown, then worked for the FBI in Washington, D.C., for a time and earned his bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement from the University of Maryland in 1975. After taking a job with the Nebraska State Patrol in Lincoln, he transferred to northwest Nebraska and started taking classes at Chadron State College for a master’s degree in guidance and counseling. Soon after graduating in 1983, Harford began studies for a law degree at the University of Nebraska law school. He completed that degree in 1987 and in 1989 joined a Chadron law firm, where he worked until 2009 when Governor Dave Heineman appointed him to a County Judge position in Chadron.

Now in his 10th year as one of five county judges in the panhandle, Harford primarily serves Dawes, Sheridan and Sioux Counties. His numerous activities as judge, including a juvenile welfare initiative, mentoring of young lawyers and court staff, efforts to assist debtors and tenants who represent themselves in county court, and work to encourage lawyers to locate in rural areas, were recognized in 2016 with the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Distinguished Judge Award.

Harford stays involved with Chadron State. He participated in early conversations about the Rural Law Opportunity Program at CSC and helps with the annual Social Work conferences. Harford was instrumental in the Court of Appeals hearing oral arguments on campus in 2017. He is the president of the Chadron State College Alumni Board.

Harford has also been active in his community. A long-time member and past president of the Chadron Rotary Club, he is also treasurer of the Chadron Public School Foundation.

Distinguished Alumni, Dr. James Jaggers

Dr. James Jaggers, an Alliance, Nebraska, native and internationally known cardiac thoracic surgeon and specialist in repairing complex congenital heart defects in infants and newborns, is a 2018 recipient of the Chadron State College Distinguished Alumni Award.

Jaggers earned his bachelor’s of science degree from Chadron State in 1984 and his M.D from the University of Nebraska in 1988. He completed residencies in general surgery in Oregon and in thoracic surgery at the University of Colorado, as well as a post graduate fellowship in congenital heart surgery at the Children’s Hospital in Denver.

In 1996, Jaggers began working at Duke University Medical Center where he was professor of surgery and pediatrics and became chief of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery and a leading authority on neonatal heart surgery.

A Colorado resident since 2010, Jaggers practices medicine as the Barton-Elliman Chair of Pediatric Surgery at Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHC). He also serves as co-director of the CHC Heart Institute, among several other leadership positions for the institution.

In addition to his medical practice, Jaggers is professor of surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. As an educator, Jaggers teaches general surgery for medical students, cardiothoracic surgery for residents and fellows, and core courses for pediatric cardiology fellows and pediatric cardiac ICU nurses.

The co-author of a book on pediatric and congenital cardiology and cardiac surgery, Jaggers has also authored or co-authored nearly 150 papers published in peer-reviewed medical journals and lectures at medical conferences in the U.S. and abroad.  A member of numerous professional medical organizations, he serves as a director of Surgeons of Hope, is on the medical advisory board of the Childrens Heart Foundation and has participated in multiple mission trips to Nicaragua to provide free heart surgery to children.