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 Biographical Sketch & Bibliography

Dr. Kirk Edward Harris
Assistant Professor
Department of Urban Planning

keharris@uwm.edu

 

 

Education
Cornell University, City and Regional Planning: Ph.D., 1992
Thomas Jefferson School of Law, J.D., 1985
University of Kentucky, School of Graduate Studies, Martin Center of Public Administration: M.P.A., 1982
Rutgers University, Rutgers College: B.A. in Liberal Arts

 

Research Interests
Dr. Kirk E. Harris has been working on issues related to community development and families for over 20 years. Dr. Harris is a national expert on fathers, families and community building and is a national keynote speaker on issues related to fatherhood, family support and community development. As a former Legal Service lawyer and advocate, Dr. Harris has worked on a variety of public policy and social service practice issues related to families and communities.

Urban Planning Education Innovation
Dr. Harris is the Founder and Chairman of the Board for the School for Urban Planning and Architecture an innovative, award winning and first of its kind charter high school that is link to the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. The Wisconsin Daily Reporter named Dr. Harris Architectural Leader and Newsmaker of the Year for his work related to the charter school.

 

Academic Interests
For over a decade, Dr. Harris instructs courses on constitutional law issues in land use, mediation and negotiation and the political economy of race in the postindustrial city. Recently, Dr. Harris has contributed to a book on the Hope VI Project to be published by the Urban Institute. Dr. Harris' contribution addresses the issue of low-income fathers, housing and public policy. Dr. Harris has done writing in the areas of community development, social welfare policy and poverty, and urban policy and politics.

 

Professional Experience
Dr. Harris served as a consultant to the Paternal Involvement Demonstration Project (PIP). PIP promoted strategies for family strengthening and worked to remove policy barriers negatively affecting low-income fathers and their families. Subsequently, Dr. Harris co-founded and co-directed the Center on Fathers Families and Public Policy. The Center served as the policy arm of the Strengthening Fragile Family Initiative, which was a Ford Foundation sponsored national demonstration focused on the intersection between welfare reform, family support, and father involvement. Dr. Harris also served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Family Support America and pioneered the concept of the “shared leadership” process for family support, which promoted the mandate of parent leadership within the community. Additionally, Dr. Harris directed an innovative employment audit program for the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago and worked as a consultant for South Shore Bank, one of the country’s leading community development organizations.

 

Teaching Area
Constitutional issues & Land Use Law, Mediation, Negotiation, Political Economy of Race & Class in the Post-Industrial City

 

Memberships
U.S. Supreme Court Bar, and the Bars of Georgia and Washington, DC.
Member, National Bar Association
Panelist, American Arbitration Association
Graduate, National Institute of Trial Advocacy (N.I.T.A.)
Member, American Planning Association (Planning and the Black Community Division)
Member, Urban Affairs Association

 

Academic and Professional Honors
Special Fellowship, Graduate School, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1990-91

Dissertation Fellowship, Doctoral Associate Appointment, Community Service Society, New York, New York, 1989-90

Tuition Award, Graduate School, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1987-89

Sage Fellow, Graduate School, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1986-87

Award for Leadership and Support, Black Law Student Association, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, California, 1985

Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges,
1984-85

Honor's Award for Superior Academic Performance, Negotiations, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, California, 1984

Graduate Fellow Scholarship, University of Kentucky School of Graduate Studies, Lexington, Kentucky, 1981-82

 

Teaching Experience
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Urban Planning, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Milwaukee, WI Instruct “Constitutional Issues in Land Use Law,” Negotiation & Mediation, and Political Economy of Race and Class in Post Industrial City

Adjunct Professor/Lecturer, Departments of Sociology & African-American Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois: Instruct “Senior Linkage Seminars,” entitled, “The Political Economy of Post-Industrial America: Race, Class, Poverty, and Community,” and “Race, Law, Politics, and Social Conflict.”

Visiting Scholar, African American Research Center & American Studies Program, DePaul University, Chicago, IL

Visiting Assistant Professor, Public Administration Program, School of Policy Studies, Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois. Instructed courses entitled, “Urban Policy,” “Cities and Citizenship,” “Public Service in the United States,” and “Local Government Law.”

Adjunct Professor, Department of Political Science, DePaul University, Chicago, IL. Instructed courses entitled, ”Community Politics in Urban America” and “Urban Politics.”

Instructor, Summer Urban Affairs Program, Department of City & Regional Planning, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Developed and taught a course a course, entitled, “The Political Economy of Race In the Post-Industrial City.”

 

Professional Experience
Senior Group Vice President and General Counsel, Family Support America 1997-Present

Director, Center on Fathers, Families, and Public Policy, Chicago, Illinois: 1995-1997

Director, Innovation Center, Austin Labor Force Intermediary, Chicago, Illinois: 1994-95

Consultant, Shorebank Advisory Services, Chicago, Illinois: 1993-94
Project Director, Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois: 1991-93

Assistant Director, Summer Research Scholars Program, Graduate School, Office of Minority Affairs, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York: Summer 1987

Research Associate/Attorney, Legal Aid Society of San Diego, San Diego, California: 1985-86

 

Publications (Selected)
Harris, Kirk E. “The Marriage Debate: An Overview.” America’s Family Support Magazine 21 (2002): 8.

Harris, Kirk E. and Frances Ross. “Fathers Behind Bars: Social Inequity, Fathering and Family Support.” Family and Corrections Network Report 28 (2001): 3-4, 10.
 
Harris, Kirk E. and Ignacio Lopez. “Lobbying Q & A for Nonprofits: How to Make Sure You’re Playing by the Rules.” America’s Family Support Magazine 19 (2000):41-42.

Harris, Kirk E. “Crafting Cooperative Agreements: Community Based Organizations and Child Support Enforcement”, The Collaborator, The Newsletter of the National Practitioners Network for Fathers and Families, National Center on Fathers and Families, and Center on Fathers, Families, and Public Policy 4 (1998).

Harris, Kirk E. “Integrating Community Development and Family Support: The Practice, the Challenge, the Possibilities.” Report 16 (1997): 4-5.

Harris, Kirk E. (1997). The Search for Common Ground: Strands in the Discourse on Father Involvement & Public Policy, Chicago: Center on Fathers, Families, and Public Policy.

Harris, Kirk E. book review of Separate Societies: Poverty and Inequality in U.S. Cities by William W. Goldsmith and Edward J. Blakely in American Journal of Sociology, (May 1993), pp. 1515-1517.

Harris, Kirk E. The Paradox of African-American Mayoral Leadership and the Persistence of Poverty in the African-American Community, Dissertation, Cornell University, (August 1992), pp.338.

Harris, Kirk E. A Paradigmatic Understanding: Civil Rights Wrongs, Economic Injustice, Political Empowerment, and the African-American Community, IMHOTEP: An Afrocentric Review, Vol. 3, No. 1, (Spring 1991), pp.15-24.

Harris, Kirk E. "The Decline of the African-American Community: The Result of Local Economic Development Policies," Organizing: The Quarterly Magazine of the Regional Council of Neighborhood Organizations, Vol. II, No. 3/4 (Fall/Winter 1991), pp.35-41.

Harris, Kirk E. "A Paradigm of Black Political Economy and the Significance of Race: Looking for the Truly Disadvantaged," review of The Declining Significance of Race and The Truly Disadvantaged by William J. Wilson in Colloqui: Journal of Planning and Urban Issues, (1988): 74-79.

Harris, Kirk E. "Planning and The Black Family," Colloqui: Journal of Planning and Urban Issues, (Spring 1987), pp. 8-13.
Written several newspaper articles and editorials.

Harris, Kirk E. Roxton: A Multi-Party, Multi-Issue Negotiation Simulation. A simulation game and teaching exercise dealing with racial and political conflict. Re-submission to the Program On Negotiations Clearinghouse, Harvard Law School.

Works in Progress

 

Dr. Harris has contributed to a book on the Hope VI Project to be published by the Urban Institute.

Harris, Kirk E. Black Capitalism and Black Community Development Revisited: A Paradox of Black Community Change.

Forman, Tyrone and Kirk E. Harris. Color Blind: Racial Factors in the Hiring Practices of Chicago Employers and Its Implications for Low Skilled Black Workers.

 

Presentations (Selected)
Panel Presentation at National Legislator’s Symposium on Child Support. “Fatherhood, Custody, Visitation and Child Support.” National Conference of State Legislators. September 13, 2003. Vail, CO.

Keynote Speaker at Access and Visitation Conference. 10th Judicial Court of Illinois. September 12, 2003. Peoria, IL.

Presenter at Forum on Black Fathers, Families and Urban Poverty: Bridging Research, Community-based Strategies and Public Policy. University of Illinois at Chicago. June 20, 2003. Chicago, IL.

Keynote Speaker at Strengthening Fathers, Families and Communities Statewide Fatherhood Conference. North Carolina Practitioners Network for Fathers and Families. June 11, 2003. Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Workshop Presenter at This is Family Support: Past, Present & Future 1993 – 2003. “Fatherhood and Family Support Practice.” University of Pittsburgh. June 9, 2003. Pittsburgh, PA.

Panel Presentation at Community Forum VIII. “Raising our Children in the 21st Century.” The Village for Families and Children. June 5, 2003. Hartford, CT.

Keynote Speaker at Born to Learn Conference Presentation “Engaging Fathers in Early Childhood Parent Education and Family Support Programs” – Parents as Teachers 12th Annual Conference. April 27, 2003. St. Louis, MO.

Speaker at Early Education Exchange Presentation “Set for Success: Towards Family-Centered Early Education” – Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. February 5, 2003. Kansas City, MO.

Visiting Scholar Presentation at Fathers, Incarceration & Re-Entry Presentation – University of Illinois at Chicago Institute for Research on Race & Public Policy Working Group on Fathers, Families and Urban Policy. January 28, 2003. Chicago, IL.

Presenter at Midwest Hub Youth Conference. “Social Policy, Fatherhood and Family Support.” Administration for Children and Families. June 26, 2002. Chicago, IL.

Panel Presenter at FRP Canada National Biennial Conference. “Issues in Family Support Evaluations.” Canada Family Resource Programs. October 17, 2002. Ontario, CANADA.

Keynote Speaker at The 2nd North American Conference on Fathers Behind Bars and on the Street. “Coming Home to Children, Family and Community” and “Mentoring Children of Prisoners: A Policy Discussion.” Family and Corrections Network & National Practitioners Network for Fathers and Families. November 6, 2002. St. Louis, MO.

 

Community and Public Service
Dr. Harris has served as the Chairman of the Board for the National Practitioner Network for Fathers and Families and has been appointed by Illinois’ Governor, Rod Blagojevich, to the Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood. Dr. Harris has also served as Vice President of the Board for the Chicago Jobs Council, and served as a Board Member for the Crossroads Fund, which is a charitable foundation focused on promoting progressive grassroots activities and services.