After five years of serving as a political science professor, Daryl Harris, Ph.D., has been appointed as chairman of the department.
The previous chair, Lorenzo Morris, Ph.D., is on a sabbatical and has traveled to a university in Paris, France for a fellowship through the Fullbright Program.
“I really do think this, as small as it might sound, but my general disposition will be good for the department,” Harris said. “I bring freshness, an open-mind, democratic mindset, and I am willing to listen and consider the perspective of others.”
According to Harris, when Morris returns to the university, he will not be returning as chair of the department of political science because his term has ended.
Prior to his sabbatical, Morris did tell The Hilltop he would not necessarily be returning as department chair, but he would return to the university.
Morris currently holds the spot of interim chair.
“Anytime you are in an organization, you should aspire to be at the top; so yes, I did want to be at the top,” Harris said. “But, I did not mean that in a selfish way at all.”
Harris plans to be more of an instrument in improving the department of political science than anything else.
Harris said he wants to create a group effort to be instrumental by creating an environment where the faculty is enthusiastic and visible to the public.
He also wants to invigorate the department by implementing conferences and symposiums so that students can get more of an idea in terms of what they do.
“This is not just a department objective, but an objective of the college,” Harris said.
Sophomore political science major Shenise Miller said one of the main problems in the department is that the academic advisors do not advise students.
“One of my priorities is to get a handle on this challenge and get all of the faculty to get a commitment to advising,” Harris said. “Students have a right to expect proper advising.”
Inspiring teachers and academic advisors in graduate school encouraged Harris, who originally wanted to be a lawyer or minister, to be in the position that he is today.
Harris said he wants to give that same inspiration to students at Howard University.
“I have had a positive effect on a number of students in the university –– not just in the classroom, but in the open,” Harris said. “I have an open door policy; I am accessible and I plan to keep it this way as I serve as chair.”
He said solving the issue with advising is not a problem he can fix overnight, but by the next full semester, it should be improved.
“There is no need to value dictatorship,” Harris said. “This is bigger than me and we need to work together as a whole.”
According to Harris, anybody can serve other people without a title, but the title allows it to be done in a bigger way.
Another problem that Miller noted was there not being spots available in mandatory classes.
Semester after semester, Harris said he sees students having to drag in chairs from other classrooms, trying to squeeze into a classroom filled to capacity.
According to Harris, this is not a problem of the department, but of the university.
“You should be able to go into a classroom and have enough seats,” Harris said. “Why this has not happened yet is beyond me.”
Harris said there has been some improvement this school year with the updating of classrooms.
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