William Hamilton Harris, Ph.D., whose tenure as president of Alabama State University was marked by significant growth and academic achievements, died on Apr. 19, in Hilton Head, South Carolina at the age of 79.

After serving two stints as president of Daniel Payne College in Augusta, Georgia in 1982 and president of Texas Southern University in Houston Texas in 1988, he became president of Alabama State University in 1994.

Upon arrival, Harris found himself on the front lines of the Knight v. State case, a landmark court case in which the district court found that Alabama’s allocation of funds in higher education perpetuated racial disparities and was a “vestige of discrimination.” Under his leadership, Before his retirement in 2000, he labored to position the school as a “comprehensive regional university” by overseeing the creation of a School of Health Sciences, the Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African American Culture, a Business and Technology Center, and establishing a basis for the college to offer doctoral degrees.

He would come out of retirement multiple times and would return to the university in 2008 to help lead it. Under his leadership, Alabama State University expanded its academic programs, and oversaw the construction of six new buildings:  John Garrick Hardy Center, Facilities One and Two residence halls, ASU football stadium, the Life Sciences building and the Ralph David Abernathy Building.

Sandra Malone, administrative assistant to the Harold Lloyd Murphy Graduate School served as Harris’ assistant.

“President Harris was an intellectual,” Malone said. “He was a scholarly man as well as a visionary, and he had the ability to make sound decisions, delegate with authority, and handle difficult situations with tact and diplomacy. So he was very confident in his abilities, and working as his assistant, I had the chance to see how he interacted with constituents both internally and externally.”

According to Malone, one of her most memorable moments working with Harris was during the Knight V. case.

“President Harris hired me in 1994 as the administrative assistant to the president, and I was grateful for that opportunity,” Malone said. “As my husband and my three young kids, we had just moved here from Atlanta, and having attended a predominantly white institution, I had never really had an HBCU experience. So I was grateful for the opportunity that he gave me to start working here at Alabama State University. And I can truly say that that started my journey, my career here at ASU. I’ve been here for 30 years. And for that, you know, I was eternally grateful for him to have afforded me this opportunity to have this experience here at ASU. It’s kind of like attending a university. But I had a HBCU experience in my career.”

Kenneth Thomas, the university’s attorney, also fondly remembered the Knight v. case as President Harris’ most memorable and impressive moment.

“President Harris was the mainstay for issues and legal positions throughout that lawsuit,” Thomas said. “And, you know, that litigation was for 25 years. And his relationship with the court and with Judge Murphy was definitely fantastic. Judge Murphy always credited his views and statements and testimony about matters that were involved. And I also think that’s what aided and helped the university do quite well in that lawsuit.”

Thomas continued.

“President Harris pretty much sought everybody’s input into how matters ought to be approached, but definitely always ultimately made the decision,” Thomas said. “All of his inner circle weighed on all important matters involving Alabama State University, and he ultimately made the ultimate decision on it.”

Rep. John Knight has represented District 77 in the Alabama House of Representatives since 1993. He served as the Executive Vice President for the university but retired in 2014. Knight was also the lead plaintiff or the Knight v. Alabama case, where he and Harris challenged Alabama’s allocation of funds to its public HBCUs, arguing that it perpetuated racial disparities and violated the constitutional rights of citizens, particularly in the realm of education funding.

During his time with the university he worked closely with President Harris.

“I was shocked by the news that he had passed,” Knight said. “I had talked to him about two weeks earlier, and we’d had good conversations. He was concerned about Alabama State, asking questions, interested in where we are at the present time. I mean, just like a normal conversation. I knew he had been ill and had had some problems, but he was in a good mood the last time I talked to him.”

He continued.

“He was a great leader. He was well respected. He was well thought of by students as well as faculty and community leaders. There was a presentation that was put together when he was ready to leave, and you could see what type of support he had all the way from City Hall to the state Capitol and other areas to include the Chamber of Commerce and people who really make a difference here. He was also very interested in the students, the faculty and the staff, making certain that he provided for them those things that are necessary to run a four year institution and to be the very best.”

During his life, Harris came out of retirement twice in order to lead the university when it was in need of direction. According to Knight, this just shows how much Harris loved the university.

“He wanted to leave a legacy at Alabama State University, and he wanted the people of Alabama State and the people of Montgomery and across this nation to understand that Alabama State was just as good or greater than many other institutions in this country,” Knight said. “I mean, he really wanted Alabama State to be on the forefront, to be the very best in every single thing. He was open to the community involved in community athletics. He wanted to support athletics, make sure that we had a strong athletic program. And he was very high on academics, research, working with the professors, and working with the faculty members as well as the students. He was so interested in the students that he took a personal interest in the Golden Ambassadors, because that was a group that represented the students of Alabama State University and made certain that they were at all functions and that they would have their gold jackets. He would even wear a jacket himself to have an image of what Alabama State University was all about.”

In the future, Knight believes that Harris would want him to carry on his legacy by doing the best he possibly can to support the university including the faculty, staff, students, and making sure the university continues to grow.

“The most important thing to him was the product,” Knight said. “Letting people know that the product that we send out is good or better than the one coming from anywhere else, so that all of our students would have an equal opportunity. The other thing is making certain that we fulfill the commitments that we made to the court in terms of the direction of Alabama State University, how we were going to enhance the academic programs, how we’re going to grow the university, and how we are going to make Alabama State one of the best institutions in this country.”

Current President Quinton T. Ross Jr., Ed.D., extended his condolences to the family.

“The University extends its deepest condolences to President Harris‘s wife, former First Lady Mrs. Wanda Harris, his son, William J. Harris, Ph.D., and his family, friends, former employees, alumni and the myriad people whom he impacted.”