Gary L. Harris, professor of electrical engineering, former dean of the Graduate School and associate provost for research at Howard University, died on October 26. He was 67 years old and had suffered from colon cancer.
Professor Harris was a native of Colorado. He held a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He was among the first two African Americans to earn a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Cornell.
Dr. Harris served as an associate with the National Research and Resource Facility for Sumicron Structures and was a visiting scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory. In 1980 he joined the faculty at Howard University as an associate professor in the department of electrical engineering. His research focused on semiconductor fabrication of electronic and optical materials.
Dana A. Williams, interim dean of the Graduate School at Howard University, noted, “Dr. Harris is the epitome of the University motto – ‘Veritas et Utilitas,’ ‘Truth and Service.’ The contributions he made during his tenure as the dean of the Graduate School have had an unparalleled positive impact on the Howard University community.”
