Purdue News

September 10, 1999 Founder of Society of Black Engineers to speak WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Purdue University Black Cultural Center will host a public lecture Wednesday (9/15) by Anthony Harris, a Purdue alumnus who is one of the founders of the National Society of Black Engineers. The free lecture is part of the Black Cultural Center's Alumni Speaker program and will be in the center's Multipurpose Room at 7 p.m. Harris will talk about his business experience, successes and lessons learned since the completion of his formal education. In 1975, Harris and five other Purdue engineering students founded the National Society of Black Engineers. His goal was to have a chapter in every region of the country. The organization now has 250 chapters in the United States, Canada, England, Nigeria and the Caribbean, with a membership of more than 10,000 students and 50 alumni extension chapters. Harris, who remains active in the organization, is vice president of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in San Francisco. Before his work in the utility industry, Harris worked in the automotive industry, holding various leadership assignments at Ford Motor Co. and as the president and chief executive officer of Sonoma Ford Lincoln-Mercury. He also was a project engineer with Standard Oil of Indiana. Harris received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue in 1975 and his master's in business administration from Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1979. CONTACT: Renee Thomas, Black Cultural Center director, (765) 494-3091; rathomas@hfs.purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page