Biography

Anne F. Harris, an energetic leader and gifted teacher, was appointed the 14th president of Grinnell College following a unanimous vote by the Board of Trustees. The news was shared via video during a virtual gathering on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. President Harris, who succeeds President Raynard S. Kington, joined the College in 2019 as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College and was most recently appointed by the Board to serve as acting president.

During her tenure at Grinnell, President Harris has quickly become a trusted and admired member of the College community. Among her many accomplishments, she has worked in partnership with more than 200 faculty members to fulfill Grinnell’s academic mission. She led a number of initiatives to complement the excellence of the College’s academic programs and to enhance the health and well-being of the Grinnell community. She co-directed the College’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, supported the development and implementation of a First Year Experience, chaired the search for a chief diversity officer, and oversaw the implementation of a $1 million Mellon Foundation Humanities in Action grant.

Before her time at Grinnell, Harris was a professor and vice president for academic affairs at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where she also held numerous faculty and administrative appointments over more than 20 years. Her work has been marked by leadership in the areas of diversity and inclusion, academic program and community development, and financial stewardship and fundraising. Harris holds a bachelor’s degree in art history and classical languages from Agnes Scott College where she earned Phi Beta Kappa honors. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in art history from the University of Chicago. A prolific researcher and author, she has published numerous articles and juried and invited papers. She is a co-author of a textbook of medieval art history coming out in 2021.