Georgia Tech Athletics Donor Profile: Herky Harris

 • Alexander-Tharpe Fund Donor Profiles

These days fans can follow the Yellow Jackets in numerous ways, thanks to television, satellite radio and various online offerings. That wasn't always the case, but that didn't stop Hubert "Herky" Harris when he moved to Washington, D.C. in the 1970's.

Whenever there was a big Georgia Tech game, Harris was never far from the action.

"I'd call my mother, and she'd put the phone up to the radio so I could listen to it," he explained. "It was similar to the Internet before there was an Internet."

That's a perfect example of Harris' loyal allegiance to Georgia Tech, which dates back to his early years growing up in the Virginia-Highlands area of Atlanta. He sold Cokes and peanuts at Grant Field just to catch a peak at the action on the gridiron.

"I did anything I could to get into the games," he recalled. "I just remember that we were good, and we'd usually beat Georgia. My mother was from Athens, so that was particularly gratifying.

"I always liked Bobby Dodd's style. Everything he did was classy. I thought we were a cut above most other teams, so it was neat that there was a school full of smart people that could also play sports. That was something special about Georgia Tech."

That admiration fueled a singular focus while attending nearby Grady High School. He knew that he wanted to go to Georgia Tech, and there was no other school that even entered his thought process.

"From my earliest recollection, I wanted to go to Georgia Tech," he said. "I never applied to another college. It never crossed my mind that I wouldn't get in, and it never crossed my mind that I wouldn't graduate. I was naïve, I guess, but I never wanted to go anywhere else."

Harris started his freshman year in the fall of 1961 and like many Tech freshmen over the years, he found out quickly that the school's vaunted academic reputation was no joke.

"It was overwhelming initially," he remembered. "I had made reasonable grades in high school, and it was considered an academically challenging high school, so I felt like I would be able to compete. Just getting into Georgia Tech was tough in those days, so I was competing with a lot of people that were just as motivated and probably smarter that me. So it was a real struggle for the first year or so, but it got better after that."

Harris started out as an industrial engineering major, but it wasn't long before he changed his major to industrial management. What made him switch?

"Physics," he declared. "I didn't get it, and I realized then that engineering wasn't for me."

His father was in the banking industry, so pursuing business and management seemed like a more natural fit for Harris, who graduated in 1965.

Agriculture giant Monsanto lured him to St. Louis, and he stayed there for four years before returning to Atlanta to work for Citizen & Southern National Bank. His first assignment fresh out of the training program was a post at a branch near the state capitol. He started handling business for many state officials, and then later as the branch manager, he oversaw the state's accounts.

In 1973, he became the bank's lobbyist in an effort to pass a statewide banking bill. The relationships he built eventually turned into a job offer when then-Governor Jimmy Carter was elected President.

He joined the administration as the assistant director of the Office of Management and Budget. After Carter's term, he stayed in Washington to work with a trade association. Though his time inside the Beltway was interesting, Harris feels it wasn't necessarily the best fit for his skills.

"I don't think that business experience is necessarily helpful in government," he stated. "Government isn't run like a business. There are too many people helping to make decisions. If you're a decisive business person, government will frustrate you. I found that to be my experience. I enjoyed my time, and it was exciting to be working for the President of the United States and having him as a friend."

Harris came back to Atlanta in 1983 to serve as executive director of the International Association for Financial Planning. After five years, he joined investment management firm INVESCO and became the CEO of the company's North American operations. He recently retired from his post.

Throughout his remarkable career, Harris has maintained strong ties with Georgia Tech. He has served in various capacities with the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, including a term as president in 1996-97. He also has helped to steer the Georgia Tech Foundation's investment committee for several years.

Harris has contributed to the Alexander-Tharpe Fund since its inception, becoming a Life Member in 1997, and he is currently on the board of trustees for the fund.

"I think it's important that we recognize that our academic and athletic programs need financial resources, so people that have benefited from Georgia Tech need to put the Alexander-Tharpe Fund and the Georgia Tech Foundation at the top of their giving plans," he said. "That's because Georgia Tech has such a great opportunity to add value over time. We can't miss it because we don't have the financial resources."

"Those of us who graduated from Georgia Tech are a small group compared to other large universities in Georgia. The state of Georgia cannot meet the growing need for financial resources of its colleges and those of us who graduated from Tech should realize that when we make a contribution to the Foundation or the A-T Fund, we are making an investment in Georgia Tech's future."