Venture capitalist and former NASA astronaut Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. will address students, faculty and students in an Oct. 20, 2010, ceremony to honor him with the Elon University Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Sponsored by the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, the program in Whitley Auditorium is free and open to the public.
Elon University Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
4:30 p.m. in Whitley Auditorium
Harris is the managing partner and CEO of Vesalius Ventures and founder of The Harris Foundation, a Houston-based nonprofit that supports math/science education and crime prevention programs for America’s youth. Vesalius Ventures invests in early to mid-stage healthcare technologies and companies.
An entrepreneur and innovator in biomedical research and technologies, Harris, the first African-American to walk in space, served at NASA for 10 years. He conducted the first telemedicine conference from space with the Mayo Clinic and logged more than 438 hours and 7.2 million miles in space.
He served as vice president and chief scientist of SPACEHAB, Inc., an innovative space commercialization company where he directed the company’s space science business. He also served as vice president of business development for Space Media, Inc., an informatics company, establishing an e-commerce initiative that is now part of the United Nations’ education program.
Harris holds a bachelor of science in biology from the University of Houston, a master of medical science from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, an MBA from the University of Houston Clear Lake and a doctorate of medicine from Texas Tech University School of Medicine. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic, a National Research Council Fellowship in Endocrinology at the NASA Ames Research Center and trained as a flight surgeon at the Aerospace School of Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
He is also a licensed private pilot and certified scuba diver.
The Elon University Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership is given to recognize an entrepreneur who is a leader in his or her industry and who exemplifies the values of Elon University, including integrity, innovation and creativity, passion for lifelong learning, and a commitment to building a dynamic community.
The recipient of the inaugural Elon University Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership is Jim Goodnight, CEO of Raleigh, N.C.-based software company SAS. He received the award in spring 2009.
Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership