Pearl River Community College is welcoming back one of its own, Delana Harris, as the new Executive Director of Development Foundation and Alumni Services. In her new role, Harris will be building relationships within the community, providing alumni services and raising funds for the institution.
PRCC is looking forward to welcoming Harris as she fills the shoes of another Wildcat alum, Ernest Lovell, who held the position for fifteen years before retiring.
“We are thrilled to bring Delana back home, said Dr. Adam Breerwood, Pearl River Community College President. “Her energy, innovation and experience will have an immediate impact on our college. She is a forward thinker with a tremendous passion for Pearl River. We have been blessed with outstanding leadership in our Foundation for many years and I have the utmost confidence in Delana’s ability to continue that trend.
Harris plans to nurture and grow alumni chapters and participation. This push will include finding ways to best meet people where they are instead of waiting for them to come to the chapter.
Another central point for her plans is to create unique experiences that develop an inclusive culture the alumni and community members want to be a part of.
“My personal definition of alumni is family,” said Harris. “I am excited to come home and work with our ‘family’ through the Foundation and Alumni Association. Ask any former Wildcat about their days at PRCC and many will say that it was the best two years of their life. I am excited to use my recruiting and marketing experience to connect our past, present and future Wildcats.”
Harris is a graduate of the Business Marketing program at PRCC. She was an active member of the student body, including membership in DECA and the String of Pearls dance team.
After PRCC, Harris attended University of Southern Mississippi and then William Carey University, earning both her bachelor’s and master's degrees. She then returned to PRCC as an instructor in the Business Marketing program before moving into the role of Director of Recruitment. Her four years in that role added marketing responsibilities and a drive to see PRCC be at the top of the state for both enrollment and recruitment. She met this goal when the college was designated as the “fastest growing college in the state.”
Harris left PRCC for a few years to serve as Dean of Enrollment and Registrar for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. In that role, she oversaw admissions, enrollment services, recruitment, enrollment data and communication and registrar functions at the district level for the college.
Cooper (son, age 11) Jared Harris (PRCC Alumnus), Delana Harris, and Grant (son, age 8)
“PRCC is a special place. It was special almost 20 years ago when a scared, first-generation college student was just embarking on her educational journey and it remains a place that I have the privilege of calling home,” Harris said.
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