Robert L. Harris papers

Collection

Identifier: 53-1-3880

No requestable containers
Staff Only
Ask a Question

Scope and content

Collection spans Dr. Harris's professional career from his time as a PhD student and lecturer at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne through his tenure as Vice Provost at Cornell.

Included are records of his activity on the Minority Undergraduate Affairs Council, 1996-1997; the Human Resources Development Council, 1996-1999; the Minority Student Affairs Council, 1997-2004; the Campus Climate Committee, 1999-2000; the North Campus Academic Issues Subcommittee, 1999-2000; the Staff Subcommittee, 2000-2001; and the NASA SHARP (Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program) Plus Program, 1998.

The Collection also includes records related to his research, writings, fellowships, and professional development.

Also included is memorabilia from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial including a hard hat, a commemorative poster, Founding Sponsor certificate, and two books: "Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial" and "Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. 2011 Year in Review: The Dedication." "Building the Dream: A Documentary about Building the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Washington, D.C., Collector's Edition" DVD about Alpha Phi Alpha's role in the building of the memorial, 2011.

Dates

1934 - 2013

Creator

Harris, Robert L., 1943- (Person)

Language of Material

In English.

Conditions Governing Access

Access to correspondence restricted during the lifetime of the correspondents.

Biographical / Historical

Robert L. Harris served as Africana Center director from 1986 to 1991 and was reappointed to that position in 2010. From 2000 to 2008, was Cornell's vice provost for diversity and faculty development. Key programs and initiatives established during his tenure as vice provost include the Provost's Academic Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, resulting in the hiring of minority scholars as tenure-track faculty; an annual list of open faculty searches to aid greater collaboration across disciplines and dual-career placement; the Upstate New York Higher Education Recruitment Consortium; and the National Science Foundation-funded CU-ADVANCE Center office. Among other honors and awards, he received the Perkins Prize for Interracial Understanding in 2000 and the Cook Award for Commitment to Women's Issues at Cornell in 2008. He also is the national historian for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, founded at Cornell in 1906.