Abram W. Harris

Who was Abram W. Harris?

Abram Winegardner Harris was the fourteenth president of Northwestern University, serving from 1906 to 1916. He was also the first President of the University of Maine from 1896 to 1906.

A graduate of Wesleyan University, Harris came to Northwestern after a time as President of Maine State College, where he oversaw the transformation of the school into the University of Maine in 1896. At Northwestern, he helped develop the School of Commerce in 1908. He retired from Northwestern after 10 years to take a position with the Methodist Episcopal Church in New York.