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Harris named senior vice president of Morehouse School of Medicine

Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 | 

Bennie Harris, Lipscomb University’s vice president of development and alumni relations has been named senior vice president of institutional advancement at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.

harris, bennie, squareHarris, who joined the university staff in May 2007, will begin his role with Morehouse June 1.

“Bennie led us through two highly successful campaigns,” said Lipscomb University President L. Randolph Lowry. “He assembled an excellent team of development professionals to undertake a major capital initiative which many schools shied away from in the depth of the economic challenges the country has faced in recent years. Bennie and his family are an important part of the Lipscomb community and he will be greatly missed.”   

Harris led the development efforts for the Lipscomb 2010 campaign, a $54 million plan that dramatically advanced the institution’s academic programs and campus facilities, including establishing Middle Tennessee’s first College of Pharmacy; the renovation of Willard Collins Alumni Auditorium, Burton Health Sciences Center, Bennett Campus Center and Ward Hall; and construction of the Thomas James McMeen Music Center and The Village among other projects.

He has also been instrumental in managing the Lipscomb:Next campaign, an initiative to invest $125 million in the university by its 125th anniversary in 2016. Campaign projects include the construction of a new Nursing and Health Sciences Center and the Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center; the addition of new undergraduate and graduate programs; and endowment growth among other initiatives.

Harris also is an adjunct professor in Lipscomb’s College of Business and at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.  He also is involved in a variety of civic and professional organizations, including Tennessee Minority Health Summit and the Association of Fundraising Professionals and was recently named top in his field in the 2013 Nashville InCharge list.

The decision to leave Lipscomb was not easy, Harris said.

“My family and I have cherished the supportive, loving and Christian community we have been a part of here,” he said. “But, this is a very unique opportunity to for me to have a new experience in higher education that fits with my long-term career goals. I am excited about this new chapter in our lives.”