“He is gone too soon, and he will be greatly missed.”
Dr. Walter Harris Jr., the newly appointed Chair of Austin Seminary's Board of Trustees, died following a heart attack on Saturday, November 21, in New Orleans. Dr. Harris served on the Austin Seminary Board of Trustees from 2006-2015 and from 2016-2020. The Vice-Chair since 2016, he was elected and installed as Chair of the Board on November 2 following the resignation as chair of G. Archer Frierson.
A higher education administrator at Knoxville College in Tennessee, Arizona State University in Tempe, and North Carolina Central University in Durham, Walter Harris was provost and vice president for academic affairs at Loyola University (2003-2008). In 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, he helped lead Loyola as students spent the fall of 2005 at universities across the country. Almost ninety percent of Loyola students returned in spring 2006 to a still-struggling city. One of the many accomplishments of Dr. Harris was his ability to help lead the university through such a difficult chapter with faith, perseverance, and expertise. Following his retirement from administrative duties in 2008, he served as distinguished professor of music at Loyola University until 2018.
Walter was a native of Selma, Alabama, received his bachelor’s degree from Knoxville College, and a master’s degree and a doctorate from Michigan State University. An accomplished musician, singer, and pianist, Harris studied choral conducting from such leading conductors as Robert Shaw, Charles Hirt, and Joseph Flummerfeldt. He directed a number of highly regarded choirs and choral ensembles—some of which performed internationally.
“During those years of leadership at Loyola, Dr. Walter Harris joined our board,” says President Ted Wardlaw. “From practically the very beginning of his tenure with us, he became deeply respected for his steady and authoritative demeanor, his wisdom and leadership experience, his faithful churchmanship, and his warm and welcoming spirit. Henrietta often joined him at board meetings, and she was also a delightful conversation partner and a friend to the Seminary.”
Harris served as an elder at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans, and he and his wife, Henrietta, were active in leadership there as well as in the greater New Orleans community. They are parents to two daughters and three grandchildren. Their daughter Ayana Harris Teter (MDiv’06) and son-in-law, Aaron Teter (MDiv’06), are Austin Seminary graduates.
“It is impossible to calculate what a loss Walter’s leadership will be to the Seminary,” added President Wardlaw. “He is gone too soon, and he will be greatly missed.”
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