Franklin S. Harris
| Franklin S. Harris | |
|---|---|
Harris pictured in The Banyan 1923, BYU yearbook
|
|
| President of Utah State University |
|
|
In office 1945–1950 |
|
| Preceded by | Elmer George Peterson |
| Succeeded by | Louis Linden Madsen |
| President of Brigham Young University |
|
|
In office July 1921 – June 1945 |
|
| Preceded by | George H. Brimhall |
| Succeeded by | Howard S. McDonald |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 29, 1884 Benjamin, Utah |
| Died | April 18, 1960 (aged 75) Salt Lake City, Utah |
Franklin Stewart Harris (August 29, 1884 – April 18, 1960) was president of Brigham Young University (BYU) from July 1921 until June 1945, and president of Utah State University from 1945 to 1950.
His administration was the longest in BYU history and saw the granting of the first master's degrees. Under his administration the school moved towards being a full university. He set up several colleges, such as the College of Fine and Performing Arts with Gerrit De Jong as the founding dean.
Harris was an agricultural scientist, holding a doctorate in agronomy from Cornell University. He had served as the agriculture department head and head of the experiment station at Utah State Agricultural College and left BYU to become president of that institution.
The Harris Fine Arts Center on BYU's Provo campus is named after him.
Harris was born in Benjamin, Utah Territory, United States. In the 1890s his family moved to the Mormon colonies in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Harris did his early studies at BYU before going on to receive his doctorate from Cornell. His second son Chauncy Harris, born in 1914, became a geographer.
Harris authored four books: The Principles of Agronomy, 1915; The Young Man and His Vocation, 1916; The Sugar Beet in America, 1918; and Soil Alkali, 1920. He also wrote articles for scientific journals and contributed bulletins to the Agricultural Experiment Station.
In 1920, Harris was working as director of the Utah State Agricultural Experiment Station and was also head of the department of zoology and Entomology at Utah State Agricultural College (USAC). Although he held these administrative positions at USAC and was already the president of the American Society of Agronomy, the General Church Board of Education offered Harris the opportunity to take George H. Brimhall's place as president of Brigham Young University. After a thinking about his decision for a week or so, he accepted the offer on April 22, 1921.
...
Wikipedia