Family Ties | Fall 2024

Alfred State College has played a significant role in the life of Timothy Harris, ’77, and his family. He grew up around the college, graduated from the college, and now continues to give back to the college to support future Pioneers.

Tim was familiar with the Alfred State campus from an early age. His father, Fred, started at the college in the registrar’s office, worked his way to full professor in mathematics, and taught for over thirty years.

With opportunities at MIT and RPI, Tim chose to study engineering science at Alfred State. He attended Alfred State with his best friend for life, Steuben County Judge, Chauncey Watches, ’77, and was influenced deeply by the teaching of SUNY Distinguished Professor Lawrence Burns.  

“My best memory here is my classes with Professor Burns. I really learned how to think, it just made me a better person, and a much deeper-thinking person in his classroom. When I look back, I think about him first and then all the wonderful professors and teachers that helped me.”

Not only did Tim’s father work at ASC, but his mother, Barbara, studied and earned a nursing degree in 1976. Four of his five siblings spent time studying or working at Alfred State.

“This institution gave us all that launch, that opportunity to get to our dreams and make a better life for ourselves and our families.”

After graduating from Alfred State in 1977, Tim went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering at Cornell University and an MBA at Northwestern University.

Tim went on to an amazing career. He started at Texas Instruments, and continued with sixteen years in the start-up company Compaq Computers Corporation, where he rose to the position of Vice President and General Manager for the commercial desktop division, and served as CEO of Questia Media. After retiring, he owned an RV Park in Wisconsin that was awarded the KOA Founder’s and President’s Award in 2022.

Alfred State continues to hold a special spot in the heart of the Harris family. Tim and his wife Wendy honored the impact that ASC has had on their life with a major gift to impact future Pioneers.

“It has been important to my wife and I to give back to Alfred State mainly because this institution is so interwoven with my whole family’s history.”

Tim and Wendy’s gift allowed the college to renovate the largest classroom on campus into a world-class, state-of-the-art learning environment. The project also renovated the lounge right outside the classroom into an inviting space for students to study, collaborate with others, or just relax in between classes.

A ribbon-cutting event for Harris Hall, located right inside the main entrance of the Engineering Science Building, was held recently and the focus of the celebration centered around the family bond between the Harris family and Alfred State.

The impact his parents had on their family was evident when Tim spoke at the event. “We were shown through their example that it is okay to strive for something greater than yourself, to search and strive for bigger ideals. We dedicate this space, as the best we can do because we can never repay it, to say thank you.”

Standing and seeing the renovated space was surreal to Tim. “I am going back in my own mind to what it was like when I was here, and my family was here, and this space did not exist, it was the breezeway."

Tim was full of mixed emotions. “It is not just about the Harris family. It was very important for us that others who come after us find the same opportunities here that we found. We want this institution and these amazing people to be here doing the same thing for others that they did for us.”

“Tim is incredibly proud of his education and hopes that this facility inspires countless generations of Pioneers to pursue their goals and dreams,” stated Vice President for Institutional Advancement Danielle White.

Alfred State President Dr. Steve Mauro has already seen students benefit from the new space. “On behalf of our administration, faculty, and our students, thank you to the whole Harris family for your incredible contribution that makes the impossible possible for us.”

Timothy Harris Honored with President’s Medallion

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On November 19, 2024, Alfred State College honored alumnus Timothy Harris (‘77) with the President’s Medallion at the annual President’s Society Dinner. Held at the Lake Lodge, the event celebrated Harris’s significant contributions to the college, including a $500,000 donation to renovate a major classroom and lobby in the Engineering Technology Building, now named Harris Hall. The updated facilities support a state-of-the-art learning environment for students.

The dinner recognized members of the President’s Society and Legacy Society, groups committed to supporting the college through annual contributions or planned gifts.

Tim struggles with accepting thanks for his gift. “Thanking us for this does not work, that is backward. This is our way of thanking this institution and these people.”

“What they do (at Alfred State) is so unique. The information and experience they impart to people is always rooted in the real and the practical. Wendy and I will never ever cease to try to help this institution for all we owe it.”

Current and future Pioneers will benefit from the Harris family.