Dr. William H. Harris, Former Alabama State University President, Dies at 79

The Birmingham Times Dr. William H. Harris, former Alabama State University President, died on Friday, April 19, the university announced. He was 79. “The university extends its deepest condolences to President Harris’ wife, former first lady Wanda Harris, his son Dr. William J. Harris, and his family, friends, former employees, alumni and the myriad people whom he impacted,” said ASU President Quinton T. Ross Jr., in a release Saturday afternoon. Dr. Harris was a native of Georgia, and prior to coming to ASU he served as president of Paine College and Texas Southern University. According to the university, Dr. Harris became president in June 1994. In April 2000, the then-56-year-old Dr. Harris issued a simple, short statement: “I am retiring.” However, he returned to the presidency position several times on an interim basis. Dr. Harris joined ASU as president in 1994, bringing 28 years of higher education experience to the university. He retired for the first time in 2000, but returned to work in 2005 as interim president of Fort Valley State University, where he served until 2006. In 2008, he again left retirement to serve as interim president of Texas College and returned to ASU as interim president the...