Imploring students to follow “their heart’s desire” when deciding how to best advance their communities and country in the years ahead, venture capitalist and former NASA astronaut Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. shared stories from his career Wednesday in a ceremony to honor him as the second recipient of 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 medal recognizes 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.
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.
It was those passions for helping and educating others through innovation that underscored his Oct. 20, 2010, remarks to a crowded Whitley Auditorium.
“Take advantage of this opportunity you have at Elon University. I don’t care what you major in, just make sure you add science or math or technology into it,” Harris said. “Set goals and have dreams and have desires. We are counting on you for the future.”
Harris talked about his modest upbringing, first in Texas and then in the Navajo reservation in the Southwest. His mother never discouraged him from pursuing his dreams. The moon landing in 1969 cemented for Harris a career path that would eventually lead him to become the first African-American to walk in space.
As Harris acknowledged, even a cursory read of his background – doctor, astronaut, venture capitalist – would indicate he has not stayed on one career pathway. There’s a reason for that, he said. “It’s important for us to always be looking for the next thing, a dream that we’re going after,” Harris explained. “If you’re living and breathing, there’s always something else to accomplish, there is always something else to contribute to this world.”
Now back on earth, Harris said his “terrestrial” mission is to advocate for math and science education, something he feels is woefully lacking. “We’re in the 21st century, ladies and gentlemen, and in the 21st century, technology drives everything we do,” he said. “Innovation now is occurring outside of this nation. Not all of it, but a large majority.”
What was his biggest nugget of advice to students? Listen to your heart, which will tell you what your role and contribution will be to mankind. Be sure to consider your interests, and then choose a career.
“If you don’t figure out what it is you want to do … it’s not only a loss to you, but it’s a loss to the rest of us,” he said. “I cannot let that happen.”
Elon University President Leo M. Lambert presented Harris with the Elon University Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership following the address.
Harris 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 has also 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 worked 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 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.