Awards

IU Indianapolis Spirit of Philanthropy Award - 2007

About Spencer Harris

Longtime University College donor, Spencer S. Harris, is a native of Evanston, Illinois. He has been married to his wife, Paulette, for 34 years, and they have a son, Brandon, who is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts. At the age of 17, Harris began his undergraduate studies at a local university in Chicago, Illinois, majoring in speech and drama with minors in business and music. Although he was the middle child of 10 in a working-class family, his loving and hardworking parents put a high priority on the importance of a good education. Even though the family was not financially wealthy, his parents found a way for all of their children to acquire a quality education.

Harris’s retail career began in high school as a stockroom clerk with the Kmart Corporation. After college, he was promoted into the store management program and shortly thereafter became a store director. It was at this point that he first saw the opportunity to give back to the community. He sanctioned "Good News Committees" to organize events and projects under his guidance that were receptive to the needs of the community. He served on several boards within Kmart and was awarded the Chairman's Distinguished Service Award and Customer Care Award from the chairman of the Kmart Corporation. After 30 years with Kmart, he was recruited by the Meijer Corporation in 1995. In his time at Meijer, Harris has been able to continue his dedication to give back to the community, which blended in well with the Meijer philosophy of community involvement. He has been highly recognized by the Meijer Corporation and multiple national and local community officials for his contributions to community service in the city of Indianapolis.

Harris received a Community Activist Award from Radio One in 2007. In the same year, he was featured on the cover of Indiana Minority Business and received an IUPUI Spirit of Philanthropy Award in recognition of his commitment to University College. At the time of receiving the Philanthropy Award, Harris was working with 14 local schools to help them reach new levels in educational excellence. His focus then was directed to the Mary Bryan Elementary School in support of its accelerated reading program. That program produced the highest reading scores in the state.