Harrison has a long and impressive history inthis area.

He is director of Cities in Schools, a programto educate impoverished children in Georgia. Hesays he funds a scholarship for Atlanta studentswho get into Harvard but can't afford to go, andanother one for Black students.

And he used his position as publisher of dozensof newspapers to further awareness of socialproblems. In one eight-part series of editorialsin the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun, Harrison called fora minimum housing code in order to get urbanrenewal funds for low-cost minority housing. Theseries won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1965 andresulted in the construction of more than 8,000new housing units in the city after the code waspassed.

Harrison says his experience at Harvard led himto prioritize support of disadvantaged children.

While at the College, Harrison concentrated inEnglish and says he spent most of his timestudying.

"I was too serious. I was a bookworm," he says."If I had to do it over, I would have laughedmore, smiled more."

After graduating in 1955, Harrison moved acrossthe Charles River to attend Harvard BusinessSchool. But after a year, with some encouragementfrom his late father-in-law, a journalist,Harrison went to Florida as a printer.

Several years later, Harrison went to New Yorkand studied the annual reports of The New YorkTimes. He approached the management with a plan todiversify the corporation's holdings by purchasinga series of small newspapers. The company gaveHarrison the green light, and he wound up managingabout three dozen small papers in the South.

In 1972, he became a vice president, a positionhe held for 21 years.

Harrison's affiliation with Harvard is equallyimpressive.

He is a former director of the Harvard AlumniAssociation, as well as president of Georgia'sHarvard Club. He also serves on the Committee onUniversity Resources, the Boston Major GiftsCommittee and his 40th Reunion Class Committee.

He says he enjoys vacationing in hisKennebunkport, Maine vacation home with his wife,Mary ("Dr. Mary," he insists proudly. "She justgot her Ph.D."), as well as playing with theircats, Rhett Butler and Scarlet O'Harrison.

Asking Unusual Questions

Lisa M. Henson '82-'83, the president ofColumbia Pictures, could not be reached forcomment for this story.

But she discusses her ideas about Harvard in awritten statement for the ballot.