Dr.
Jean Harris’ journey to excellence began in Richmond, Virginia, where she was
born and raised. In 1951, the journey took her to the Medical College of Virginia
(MCV), where she was admitted as the first African American and one of six women
in a class of more than 100 students. Almost 50 years later, the journey has
taken the visionary to Eden Prairie, Minnesota, where she serves as mayor.
Dr. Harris graduated with honors
from Virginia Union University, where she received a B.S. in chemistry. Her
admission into MCV came at a time when women were not admitted into medical
schools, and no African Americans had ever been admitted into an institution
of higher education in Virginia.
Dr. Harris’ distinguished
career has spanned the academic, medical, corporate and public-service arenas.
She has taught at several universities and has headed Medicare and Medicaid
programs, foundations, medical school programs and private practices.
"Take the calculated
risk! Don’t let your
life just happen. Live it!"
In 1978, she was appointed
Secretary of Human Resources in the Commonwealth of Virginia — the first woman
and the first African American to hold such a post. In 1982, she became vice
president of a Minnesota corporation, becoming one of the first female vice
presidents of a Fortune 500 company. In 1992, she accepted her most recent appointment
as the first senior associate director and director of medical affairs at the
University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinics.
The mayor has been honored by Dollars
and Sense magazine as one of the Top 100 Black Business and Professional Women
and featured in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who Among American Women.
In addition to her board memberships
and civic activities in Minnesota, Dr. Harris continues to touch lives in Virginia.
At Virginia Union University, she has established the J.L. Harris Scholarship
for minority students in the sciences of math, physics, biology and chemistry.
A scholarship at MCV was created for minority students interested in medicine.
Dr. Harris confers these wise words
to America’s youth: "Retain some measure of control over your life by doing
everything possible to become a player rather than a bystander. Take the calculated
risk! Don’t let your life just happen. Live it!"
