Release date: Feb. 16, 2007
Contact: Elaine Justice at 404-727-0643 or elaine.justice@emory.edu

Emory Names First Senior Vice Provost for Community, Diversity

Ozzie Harris has been named Emory University's first senior vice provost for community and diversity. Harris, formerly director of Dartmouth College's Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, will begin the new position March 1.

"Ozzie Harris has dedicated his professional life and much of his personal life to exploring matters of diversity and building community, and we are delighted that he will lead this important part of Emory's future," says Emory Provost Earl Lewis of the appointment. "His past success in engaging dialogue, while respecting dissent and honoring intellectual discourse, will allow Emory to create new structures and envision new possibilities for community."

Harris will be charged with three broad areas of concern at Emory: building community through existing programs on campus in academic affairs, student life and presidential commissions; working with academic units to transfer theory to practice in the Atlanta community; and creating meaningful opportunities for interaction on campus.

"Emory has identified five broad themes on which to build its future, and building community and engaging society is fundamental to the success of the institution," says Emory President James Wagner. "Building community may begin with individuals, but it expands from there to encompass building community among health sciences and humanities, business and law, science and religion."

Harris earned an undergraduate degree in English from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and a law degree from Vermont Law School in South Royalton. Before moving to Dartmouth in 1992, he worked with the Boston Human Rights Commission and the New Hampshire Public Defender's office.

Harris began his tenure at Dartmouth in the financial aid office, but after a year moved to the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, where he served in several capacities before being named director in 2001.

Emory University is one of the nation’s leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Emory is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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