James T. Harris III

Who is James T. Harris III?

James T. Harris III is the ninth President of Widener University located in Chester, Exton and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as well as Wilmington Delaware. Previously, he was President of Defiance College, where he was named one of the top 50 character-building presidents in the United States by the John Templeton Foundation. While he was at Defiance, the College received the largest gift in its history when the McMaster family gave Defiance $6million to establish the McMaster School for the Advancement of Humanity. The College also achieved national recognition from U.S. News as one the nation's top 25 service-learning schools during Harris' tenure. Harris was also Vice President at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio. Harris started his career teaching social science at the Toledo Central Catholic High School.

Harris received his D.Ed. from Pennsylvania State University in 1988. In 2003 he was named an alumni fellow by the alumni assoication and in 2013 a distinguished alumni by the University's board of trustees, the highest honor given a graduate of Penn State.