WEB UPDATE, March 22, 7:24 p.m.
After 14 years of service in the College administration, Ozzie Harris II '81, Special Assistant to the President for Institutional Diversity and Equity and Director of the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, resigned Wednesday.
Harris cited the need to spend more time with his seriously ill father, who resides in Oregon, as the reason for his resignation. Harris had directed the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity since 1999 and had served as the president's special assistant in that field since 2001.
Harris' responsibilities in his dual role included oversight of campus-wide diversity initiatives and membership on the President's Executive Committee. Harris reported directly to College President James Wright. Harris oversaw faculty and staff hiring policies as they related to issues of diversity and affirmative action, compiled reports and made recommendations related to diversity issues and developed many programs and initiatives with a focus on issues of social identity, including gender and race. Among the programs and initiatives Harris played a key role in developing are the Bildner Endowment for Inter-Group Relations and the Dartmouth Child Care Project and Center. Finally, Harris spent 11 years as the chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee.
Harris has been replaced by Michelle Meyers, director of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, on an interim basis while the College conducts a search for a permanent replacement.
In a press release Harris said, "It has been a privilege to work with the students, staff and faculty of Dartmouth. Matters of race, ethnicity, and gender are complex and can be difficult to address. But we must address them because they are critical to our increasingly heterogeneous society and affect the fabric and principles that shape our lives."
Harris, who has also worked as Assistant Director of the Office of Financial Aid, worked for the Boston Human Rights Commission and the New Hampshire Public Defender's Office prior to joining the Dartmouth administration. He holds a J.D. from the University of Vermont.
Harris was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
