Averett community mourns loss of recently retired Executive VP, former Director of Athletics Charles S. Harris

Charles Somerville Harris, recently retired Averett University Executive Vice President and beloved Averett Family member, died on Dec. 7, 2022. Harris served Averett in numerous capacities for nearly 20 years, touching countless students’ and colleagues’ lives.

Harris had a long and distinguished tenure at the University, which began when he joined Averett in 2004 as Director of Athletics after decades of a storied career in collegiate athletics administration. He transitioned to Vice President of Student Services in 2007, and then into the Executive Vice President role in 2009. In this position, Harris oversaw corporate governance, strategic planning and major capital projects, especially construction and major renovations. Upon his retirement last year, Harris continued to work closely with Averett President Dr. Tiffany M. Franks and the Institutional Advancement team, as he and his wife, Lenora Billings-Harris, served as co-chairs on the Averett Ascending Comprehensive Campaign.

“From the interview process (for which he served on the search committee), throughout my entire presidency at Averett, Charles was a trusted advisor, confidant and a person with whom every conversation had a message not to be forgotten. He was a constant rock and loyal beyond measure,” Franks said. “‘Mr. Harris,’ as he was referred to by so many, was an inspiration to help others see ‘their’ possible. Our entire Averett community and every organization he served – and every person with whom he interacted – has suffered a great loss. He was one in a million, and he leaves a bountiful legacy.”

Harris’ career spanned more than 30 years of experience as a university administrator both in public and private institutions, as well as 20 years’ experience serving as a consultant to the private sector. A trailblazer in intercollegiate athletics across the nation, Harris has been recognized with countless prestigious awards. He was the first African-American Director of Athletics at both the University of Pennsylvania and Arizona State University. He also served as the Athletic Director and Commissioner for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. In addition, Harris was also recognized by the NCAA with the prestigious McLendon Award for his achievements while at Arizona State.

“I was lucky enough to know Charles since I was 21 years old, when we served as co-facilitators at an NCAA leadership conference together,” said Meg Stevens, Averett Vice President, Director of Athletics and Campus Operations. “He has helped me grow throughout my entire career. In fact, he is the one that contacted me about the position at Averett. I will be forever grateful for everything he has done for me and for the role he played in my life, both personally and professionally. He was a steadfast mentor who was always supportive.”

Similar sentiments were held by so many who have worked alongside Harris.

“I was so blessed to have worked with Charles at Averett,” said Buddy Rawley, former Vice President of Philanthropy at Averett. “He was a friend and a blessing to me, and will be missed by so many.”

“Mr. Harris was such an encourager, both as a person and as a professional. I am just so honored that I was mentored by him,” said Petrina Carter, former Director of Career Services at Averett. Harris served as her supervisor for a portion of her five years at the University. “You cannot be in his presence and not pick up something. He was a model of a professional, and a model of a great human.”

In addition to his work, Harris was committed to community. In 2008 he was selected to serve on the Board of Directors of American National Bank and American National Bankshares, a publicly traded company. He also served on the Regional Advisory Board of Branch Banking and Trust. He served the community as a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Tempe Sports Authority, The Greensboro Sports Commission, President of the Danville Pittsylvania County chapter of Habitat for Humanity and the Foundation board of the Danville Science Center. He was a Life Member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, the Sigma Pi Phi Boule, and is included in the NAACP list of Who’s Who in America.

“It was a privilege to have Charles Harris serve in such a strategic role for our community bank,” said Jeffrey Haley, President and CEO of American National Bank and Trust Company. “Charles was selective about the various groups to which he devoted time, so while the bank was a small part of his life, we are fortunate and forever grateful to him and his family for the time he shared with us. We are deeply saddened to have to say goodbye to such a respectable man who gave so much to the people and things he chose to surround himself with.”

Harris earned a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University in mass media arts. He is a native of Virginia’s Mecklenburg County, and lived in Greensboro with his wife.

Ensuring the Legacy: The Charles S. Harris Field House

In 2016, Averett University announced that the future construction of an athletic field house named in Charles S. Harris’ honor. Now, we can memorialize his lasting legacy and honor his remarkable impact not only at Averett, but across the country in intercollegiate athletics.

Harris was the consummate advocate for the student-athlete experience, and he understood coaches in ways that few can. Averett can think of no better tribute than by naming the new field house in his memory, allowing us to share the story of the example he has represented for years to come.

Visit averett.edu/giving/harrisfieldhouse/ to learn more and to give.

The Tribute Continues

“Poised. Caring. Supportive. Professional. Encouraging. Suave. Funny.”

These are just a handful of descriptions shared by so many who have worked with and learned from Charles S. Harris. Hear from other members of the Averett Family over time who have been touched by his lasting legacy:

A Storied Intercollegiate Athletic Career

On April 26, 2004, Harris was named the third Director of Athletics in Averett University history. He brought over 25 years of athletic administration to Averett, previously serving as Director of Athletics at University of Pennsylvania and Arizona State University. Harris also served as the commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

He also served as a partner in Excel Development Systems, Inc., a Greensboro, N.C.,-based management consulting firm that provides strategic advising and crisis management in the sports field.

From 1996 to July of 2002, Harris served as the commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. He initiated and distributed the first full season television package for football for the MEAC. The conference’s net sales revenue climbed from $150,000 to $1.5 million under Harris’ guidance. He is also credited with negotiating the first conference-wide licensing/sponsorship agreement with Nike.

As the director of intercollegiate athletics at Arizona State University from 1985-1996, Harris supervised 130 full-time and 350 part-time employees, while managing an operating budget of $15 million. He initiated the planning, financing and funding efforts for several major projects, including the construction of a $10 million golf course and clubhouse at ASU, a 100,000 square foot athletic office building, and a $12 million football press box with 60 luxury sky boxes.

Harris inherited and successfully guided the ASU program through a period of NCAA and Pacific-10 Conference probation, that at one time included seven separate sports programs. He also instituted a departmental re-organization, founded on the principles of academic success, equity, compliance, and maximum utilization of resources. Harris established a student services unit that has been used as a model by the NCAA and developed a student-athlete Code of Conduct that was subsequently adopted by nearly 50 colleges and universities.

Harris also had an influence on the National Football League. He served on the negotiating team that resulted in the relocation of the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals to the Phoenix area. Harris also participated on a 12-person committee that brought the 1996 Super Bowl to Arizona State.

Harris served as the director of the division of recreation and intercollegiate athletics at University of Pennsylvania from 1979-1985. During that time, the annual giving for athletics increased from less than $100,000 to over $600,000 in only five years. Harris was also credited with helping to bring the first live television broadcast contract to Penn.

He improved the overall competitive successes of the Quaker program from consecutive last place finishes to first place finishes three years in a row. Harris was also responsible for establishing an urban outreach program for student-athletes to provide counseling services to underprivileged children with academic potential.

Harris held many NCAA committee positions, including the Men’s Basketball Selection Committee and chaired the Committee on Financial Aid. He was a key member of several NCAA negotiation committees for television contracts. In January of 2002, Harris completed a term as chair of the NCAA Management Council –this is the most senior position not held by a college or university president in the NCAA hierarchy. He was named to the NCAA Division III Football Committee and began his appointment in January 2005. His responsibilities there included assisting the committee on selecting at-large teams for the tournament and assigning officiating crews to playoff games. Additionally, he assisted in staffing the Stagg Bowl, NCAA Division III’s National Championship game.

A recipient of numerous national and regional awards, Harris was recognized by the All-American Football Foundation for Lifetime Achievement as an athletics director. He was also awarded the Asa Bushnell Commissioner’s Award and served as a national board member of the National Association of College Directors of Athletics. Harris was listed in Who’s Who in America and was recipient of the Outstanding Young Philadelphian Award, and was also named as an Outstanding Young Phoenician.

Harris served as an Assistant Athletics Director at the University of Michigan prior to his appointment at Pennsylvania, and also served as a writer-researcher for Newsweek Magazine.

In 1979 he became the first African-American director of athletics at an Ivy League School and was subsequently the first African-American appointed as athletics director at a Pac-10 school in 1985. He was also the first African-American athletics director in USA South Athletic Conference history.