The Laura C. Harris Series
Laura C. Harris
Who was Laura C. Harris?
Dr. Laura C. Harris was a pioneer in the medical profession and embodied the Denison ideal of the value of a liberal arts and sciences education. A member of the Class of 1916 (earning the Ph.B., or Bachelor of Philosophy), Harris was the first woman to receive a medical degree from Syracuse University. She pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania before establishing her medical practice in New York in the 1920s.
A pioneer medical educator among women, Harris was appointed a clinical professor of pediatrics at the State University of New York Medical Center at Syracuse. Her teaching career spanned more than 30 years. Denison honored Harris with an Alumni Citation in 1951 and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 1981. She died in 1987 at the age of 93.
The Laura C. Harris Endowment, the result of a major bequest from Harris’ estate, stands as a tribute to her memory, evidence of her clear commitment to women’s achievement, and reinforcement of her belief in the importance of undergraduate education.
About the Laura C. Harris Series
The objective of the Laura C. Harris Series is to enhance and promote the education of young women as students and as professionals, and to promote career opportunities and carry on the pioneering spirit of women students at Denison University.
The Laura C. Harris Series annually invites a roster of thought leaders from diverse fields and perspectives to share their expertise with Denison students. Each year, the Harris Series establishes a theme to guide the selection of guest speakers. Additionally, the Harris Series offers co-sponsorships for various interdisciplinary academic events.
Notable speakers from past Laura C. Harris Series events
Alia Malek
Alia Malek is the author of A Country Called Amreeka, a set of profiles of Arab-Americans. Born in Baltimore to Syrian immigrant parents, she began her legal career as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Seyla Benhabib
Seyla Benhabib is the Eugene Mayer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University and director of the program in ethics, politics, and economics, and a well-known contemporary philosopher. She is the author of several books, most notably about the philosophers Hannah Arendt and Jürgen Habermas.
Joan Roughgarden
Joan Roughgarden is an adjunct professor at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, and a professor of biology, emerita at the School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford. She received her doctorate in biology from Harvard University. She has also been associate editor or co-editor since 2008 of Philosophy and Theory in Biology.
Angela Davis
Angela Davis is professor of feminist studies and distinguished professor emerita of history of consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Well-known for her activism, especially in the Civil Rights Movement, she focuses her work on women’s, gender, and racial equity and abolishing the prison-industrial complex.
