Justin Harris, who most recently worked at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was named an athletic academic advisor for the Tigers in the spring of 2014.
Harris came to the Tigers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he was an academic counseling intern during the 2013-14 school year. There he tracked the progress towards degree completion and eligibility for 130 men’s and women’s cross country and track & field athletes. He met weekly with the academically at-risk student-athletes to enhance their success. He assisted with major declaration, course registration and organized weekly schedules. Harris supervised study hall for the football student-athletes and met with prospective athletes during their official visits.
Harris has a knowledge of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) as both his bachelors and masters degrees are from James Madison. He earned a bachelors in kinesiology in 2010 and his masters in sport and recreation leadership in 2013.
Harris worked both in the athletic department and on the main campus at James Madison while working on his degrees. While he was working on his masters degree, he was a graduate assistant and mentor with the Centennial Scholars Program. There he mentored and advised a cohort of 11 multicultural undergraduate college students. Harris provided academic assistance through weekly study halls, advising class schedules and academic meetings with freshman and at-risk students.
He also worked as an athletics administration graduate intern. There he complied student-athlete course completion, GPA, eligibility and senior exit interview reports. He served on the Athletics Department Diversity Speaker Committee and oversaw marketing and promotion for that committee.
Harris did two different stints with the Center for Multicultural Student Services. He was the Male Academy Administrative Assistant. In that position he corresponded with parents of high school male participants, coordinated the scheduling and payment of overnight weekend trips for staff and participants and documented the program activities through photos and video recordings. He was also a graduate assistant for that office. In that position, he co-advised the National Pan-Hellenic Council and multicultural Greek lettered organizations on campus.
