Harris Named Member of the Board of Directors for National GEM Consortium
Richard Harris, assistant dean of academic scholarship, mentoring and outreach, director of the NU Program in Multicultural Engineering (NUPRIME), co-chair DEI Committee, and special advisor for Educational Pathways Programs in the Office of the Provost, has been appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the National GEM Consortium, effective July 1, 2021.
The mission of The National GEM Consortium is to enhance the value of the nation’s human capital by increasing the participation of underrepresented groups (African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanic Americans) at the master’s and doctoral levels in engineering and science. GEM recruits high quality underrepresented students looking to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees in applied science and engineering, and matches their specific skills to the specific technical needs of GEM employer members.
Harris joined Northeastern in 2003, and has been an advocate, mentor, and innovator for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the College of Engineering and university. He has led many innovative programs and grants such as Northeastern’s flagship Summer Bridge Program, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Northeast Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program (NE-LSAMP), the LSAMP Bridge-to-Doctorate and STARS Fellowship program, and the NSF S-POWER scholarship and mentoring program for transfer students from HBCUs and community colleges pursuing energy fields. Additionally, Harris led Northeastern to becoming the only National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering university partner in Massachusetts.
The National GEM Consortium named Harris the university representative of the year in 2015. Additionally, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) named him Minority Program Director of the Year in 2019, and that same year he received the NSBE Boston Professional STEM Advocate Award.