Governor Joe Frank Harris

Governor, State of Georgia, 1983-1991
Distinguished Executive Fellow, Georgia State University
Public Affairs Professor in Public Administration and Urban Studies

Update: Governor Harris resigned from his Distinguished Executive Fellow Position at GSU in 1999, and now serves as Chair at the University System of Georgia Board of Regents. He visits GSU as guest lecturer on occassion.

Joe Frank Harris served as Governor of Georgia for two terms from 1983-1991. His administration was noted for improvements in education with the Quality Basic Education Act (QBE) and for economic development with over 850,000 new jobs. He served as Chairman of the Southern Governors Association, Southern Growth Policies Board, the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Southern Regional Education Board, and played a key role in the successful bid to hold the 1988 Democratic Convention in Atlanta, the 1994 Super Bowl, and the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Prior to his election as Governor, he served 18 years as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives. In his last eight years in the House, he served as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, a position where he became the acknowledged expert on the State Budget. His fiscal management brought higher bond ratings for the state. During his term as Governor, Georgia was named among the top 15 best managed states in the country by Financial World Magazine.

Barred by law from seeking a third term as Governor, Harris returned to his hometown of Cartersville and back to the business community. He is Chairman of Harris Georgia Corporation and is a member of the Board of Directors of AFLAC Incorporated, and Bankhead Railway Services, Incorporated. Appointed by Governor Roy Barnes, he is the first former Governor to be a member of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and currently serves as the Vice-Chairman.

Harris is honored to be the first Distinguished Executive Fellow at Georgia State University and Public Affairs Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies. The royalties from his autobiography, Joe Frank Harris- Personal Reflections on a Public Life, are being donated to The Georgia State University Foundation for the Governor Joe Frank Harris Scholarship Fund.

Joe Frank Harris received his B.B.A. degree from the University of Georgia, where he was named an Outstanding Business Alumnus and served as Co-Chairman of the Third Century Campaign that raised over $150 million dollars for the University. He married the former Elizabeth Carlock, and they have one son, Joe Frank, Jr., an attorney in Cartersville, and two grandchildren. He and his wife are United Methodists. The Harris Administration was marked by his strong moral stands arising from a deep religious faith and belief in the power of prayer.