Bill Text: VA HR105 | 2018 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Grace Victoria Edmondson Harris.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 22-3)
Status: (Passed) 2018-03-02 - Bill text as passed House (HR105ER) [HR105 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2018-HR105-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Grace Victoria Edmondson Harris, a compassionate social worker and a respected leader at Virginia Commonwealth University, died on February 12, 2018; and
WHEREAS, Grace Harris grew up in Halifax County and began developing her passion for lifelong learning at a young age; she graduated from Hampton Institute with highest honors in 1954; and
WHEREAS, Grace Harris applied to the Richmond Professional Institute during the beginning of massive resistance to school integration in the Commonwealth; denied entry, she instead attended Boston University, where she studied alongside the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and
WHEREAS, in 1959, Grace Harris reapplied to the Richmond Professional Institute, now known as Virginia Commonwealth University, to complete her master's degree and was accepted; she was later hired as one of the first African American professors at the university; and
WHEREAS, Grace Harris earned a second master's degree and a doctorate from the University of Virginia in the 1970s, but spent much of her career at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she served as dean of social work, two-time acting president, and the first African American woman provost at the university; and
WHEREAS, Grace Harris earned the admiration of her colleagues for her visionary, decisive leadership and her commitment to ensuring that all voices and viewpoints were heard; in recognition of her exceptional contributions to the university, the Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute was named in her honor; and
WHEREAS, Grace Harris will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her husband, James; her children, Gayle and James, Jr., and their families; her grandson, Jullian; her siblings, Williams, Marian, and Mamye; and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Delegates hereby note with great sadness the loss of Grace Victoria Edmondson Harris, a leader in higher education and social work; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Grace Victoria Edmondson Harris as an expression of the House of Delegates' respect for her memory.
