Featured Madisonian

Jeannette Harris, Alumnus

Jeannette Harris (SOCEC 1972) is Director of the Office of Community Planning and Development in the Detroit Office of Housing and Urban Development.  In this capacity, she uses the regulations to make an impact on community development, affordable housing and homeless programs in the State of Michigan.  In the 34 years since her Madison graduation, Jeannette has not lost interest in politics and how urban policies are developed.  It is still exciting to be on the implementation end and to fashion the policies to work in our communities. 

As she reaches the end of her Federal career, Jeannette has become very active in the Kiwanis #1 Club of Detroit.  This international group started in Detroit, and she is delighted to be part of a group that wants to change the world by helping children.  Her favorite project is Books for Kids, which promotes literacy.  Jeannette is also a reader on a weekly program for the Detroit Radio Information service (DRIS), a program that brings information to those who are blind or visually impaired.

Jeanette has the distinction of being the first African-American woman to graduate from James Madison College.  Her interest in Madison was sparked when she visited  Michigan State in the spring of 1968 and listened to Dean Garfinkel speak about the “new” residential college.  The idea of a small school within the university of 40,000 held instant appeal.  Dean Garfinkel spoke about James Madison as being the place for ideas and ideals.  She was hooked and changed her major immediately.  Jeannette loved the early days of “policy” where the reading and the discussions seemed endless, but allowed her to hone her writing and speaking skills. Chitra Smith was her favorite instructor.   She learned to write 20 page papers, including footnotes in a few days.  Those were the days of typewriters.  Word processing?  In those days, they used cards at the computer center.

Jeannette graduated in the spring of 1972, filled with the conviction that individuals can make a positive difference.  Her class was a class of three MSU presidents: Dr. John Hannah.; Professor Walter Adams, beloved Economics Professor; and Dr. Clifton Wharton.  It was an exciting time to be at MSU and to watch its growth and changes.

In the fall of 1972, she joined the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as an Urban Intern.  She spent a year traveling around the country completing short term assignments which provided an excellent overview of how housing and urban development policies were implemented at the local government level.  She spent several years working in different HUD Offices: Chicago, Cincinnati and in Washington DC.  Jeannette earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration at the University of Southern California’s Washington Public Affairs Center.  She was in Washington, DC during the last few months of the Jimmy Carter presidency and had a wonderful view of the first Ronald Reagan Presidential parade.  During that time, she learned that it really makes a difference who sits in the White House.  The devolution of influence and money from the federal government to the States was eye-opening to woman who had grown up in the socially activist federal government era of the 1960s. .

Jeannette married Sago Garrett, whom she met in Case Hall.  Her two sons, Jonathan and Geoffrey are students at the University of Michigan.  No one is perfect.