Ten facts about Bill Harris, ASL’s third Head of School (ASL 1986-91)

During the 2020-21 school year, we're celebrating ASL’s 70th anniversary with a series of 70 stories highlighting our school’s vibrant past, present and future.

Bill Harris, 1987

“I would like to be able to help people work together well. I would like to help resolve problems. I would like to be the liaison among parents, administration, faculty, trustees and students. I hope to be the person who helps people put everything together. The three most important things at a school are the teachers, the subject matter and the students. If I can help the relationships among these three things work well, then I believe I am fulfilling my job as ASL Headmaster.” — Bill Harris, as told to Jonathan Schwartz ’86, The Standard, 27 November 1985 

1. Bill was raised in New York and Ohio. He moved to Massachusetts for college, graduating from Amherst in 1952, but returned to the Buckeye state to teach English and coach at Western Reserve Academy, then at an all-boys boarding school. During his 16 years there, Bill earned a master’s at Columbia University in 1958.
    
2. A Fulbright Award recipient, Bill spent a year teaching in Australia early on in his career.
    

   Bill's photo from the 1991 yearbook

3. ASL was Bill’s third headship. From 1974 to 1986, he served as head of St. Paul Academy & Summit School, an independent co-ed K-12 school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Prior to this, Bill was the headmaster of private girls’ school Hathaway Brown in Shaker Heights, OH, where current Head Robin Appleby (ASL 2017-present) formerly worked as upper school director. When asked by a student journalist what inspired him to lead ASL, Bill’s answer was simple: “I like London, and my children [Susan, Katherine and Frederick] are all grown.”
    
4. In honor of Bill’s tenure, the William E. Harris Award is presented annually to a senior who has excelled in both academics and athletics. This is in recognition of Bill’s own prowess in these areas.
    
5. When asked by a middle school student to share which ice cream flavor best described Bill’s personality, his response was, “fresh strawberry.”
    

   Bill was interviewed for the MS newspaper, The Quoi de Neuf, in November 1987

6. Bill was committed to being a visible leader who participated in all aspects of student life. He reportedly ate lunch with first graders, attended school dances, met regularly with middle school advisees, cheered on the rugby team and went on Alternatives trips. “The students [at ASL] are very friendly,” he once commented, “...but they should eat a better lunch, not just chips and Coke.”
    

   A photo of Bill and a group of Grade 9 students appeared in The Standard on 1 October 1986, a month into his first year as the head. "Mr. Harris is off to an enthusiastic start in taking over as ASL's new headmaster," the editorial began.

7. An avid sportsman, Bill’s pastimes included tennis, fishing and walking, often with his wife Susan in one of London’s parks. An English teacher by trade, Bill also enjoyed reading. Among his favorite books in 1987 were The Magus by John Fowles, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, and Agatha by Janet Morgan.
    
8. Sadly, Bill passed away from cancer during his ASL headship in March of 1991. Clayton Lewis (ASL 1980-94), high school principal, stepped in as acting headmaster for the remainder of the year until the arrival of Dr. William Greenham, ASL’s interim head from 1991 to 1992. The School held a memorial service for Bill on 17 April 1991, which took place in the school’s gym. 250 students, faculty, staff and parents attended. Administrators spoke highly of their former colleague following his death. “Mr. Harris had a special gift of relating to people on a personal level with empathy and compassion,” praised Clayton Lewis to a Standard reporter (17 May 1991). MS Principal Tony Marlow (ASL 1964-96) reported that Bill “...brought a sense of openness and trust to all students and faculty.” “He brought the three [divisions] together as one,” said Bruce Balas (ASL 1971-95), then HS dean of students. 
    
9. Bill loved baking. Though he was critical of his ability (“I’m not very good”), Headmaster Harris took home first place for the adult category in the apple pie baking contest held in the fall of 1986, wowing judges with his whole meal crust. Clayton Lewis recalled that Bill used to serve his homemade scones at Bruce House meetings. Bill’s memorial service reception in the Commons was catered with all of his favorite baked goods, courtesy of the faculty.

   Bill dons a chef hat in the 1988 yearbook

10. The unpredictability and wide variety of his daily schedule was a contributing factor for why Bill enjoyed being a head. “Weekly formal meetings and almost daily informal meetings...constitute dealing with the business of ‘running’ the School,” he once wrote. “In a way it all seems simple; in another way it seems mysterious how 1,200 students, 135 faculty and 40 plus support staff weave through a day without creating overwhelming chaos.” Imagine what Bill Harris would think of the 1,350 students weaving through today’s campus, wearing masks and ascending staircases in single-file? Quite proud, is this writer’s guess.