Dr. Pheather R. Harris

Dr. Pheather R. Harris has worked in postsecondary education for over two decades and currently serves as the Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives | CAMP Statewide Director at the University of California, Irvine. She leads several National Science Foundation multimillion dollar grants, has raised money to provide scholarships to students from Edison International, has published peer reviewed journal articles focused on advancing equity and inclusion in postsecondary education, has written a book that humanizes the experiences of students while providing higher education professionals with information about inclusive ways of being, and is the President-Elect of the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates. She has served students, faculty, administrators, and staff in leadership capacities in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and has won numerous awards as a higher education scholar including the UCI STAR Award 2023 & 2020, Dynamic Womxn of UCI 2019, Order of Troy 2006; Golden Key International Honor Society 2006, USC African American Honor Society 2006, and is a 2022 NSF IASPIRE Leadership Fellow. Dr. Harris is the PI on TIME which provides faculty with a 2-year professional development series that advances inclusion in STEM, while directing a California Statewide Alliance that provides academic support, mentorship, conference sponsorship, and undergraduate research opportunities for students in STEM.

Pheather earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Southern California, a Master’s degree in Education from Harvard University, and a Doctoral degree in Higher Education Administration from The George Washington University. Her dissertation explores the relationship between faculty engagement and African American STEM persistence.  She is a critical methodologist that centers the voices of stakeholders while leading programs aimed at institutional transformation for more inclusive academic environments.