(Richmond, Virginia – AUGUST 30, 2021) – Virginia Union University is hosting the 2021 Ruth Coles Harris Leadership Institute Leadership Awards Luncheon on Saturday, September 18, 2021, at 11:30, AM at the Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center on the university’s campus. The institute is named in honor of Dr. Ruth Coles Harris, the first African American female to pass the C.P.A. Examination in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and among the first 100 African Americans in the United States to pass the exam.
Additionally, she was the founding Dean of the Sydney Lewis School of Business, and she served as a member of the faculty for 48 years and is still active within the University. The Ruth Coles Harris Leadership Institute offers lecture series’ to deepen students’ understanding of business and workshops and seminars for the community and certificate programs for professionals in entrepreneurship, organizational change and leadership, and nonprofit and church administration. “We are fortunate enough that Dr. Ruth Coles Harris will be in attendance at this year’s event and help us celebrate this year’s honorees,” said Dr. Robin Davis, Dean of Sydney Lewis School of Business at Virginia Union University. “Her legacy and the example she set will live on in the community for decades to come. This year’s honorees have made a lasting impact in their communities and the Virginia Union University community that future generations will look up to.”
This year the Ruth Coles Harris Leadership Institute Leadership Awards Luncheon will honor: Roslyn M. Brock: Former Board Chairman for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Chief Global Equity Officer for Abt Associates, Carlos M. Brown: Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Dominion Energy, Beverly Brown Davis: Associate Professor at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, and Chief Operating Officer of Davis Brothers Construction Company, Greta J. Harris: President & CEO, Better Housing Coalition, and member of the Markel Corporation Board of Directors and the Virginia Tech University Board of Visitors, Richard A. Lambert, Sr.: President and Owner of Robert C. Scott, Incorporated, which is the parent company of Scott’s Funeral Home, and President of Richard A. Lambert Investments, LLC, N. Scott Phillips, Esq.:Managing Member, N. Scott Phillips Legal and Business Consulting Services LLC, Director of the Mid-Atlantic Region MBDA Advanced Manufacturing Center and Board of Trustees, Virginia Union University “
The Institute is dedicated to highlighting the stories and accomplishments of women within leadership,” said Ricky Parker, Executive Director, Ruth Coles Harris Leadership Institute and Adjunct Professor of Marketing at the Sydney Lewis School of Business. “This has been seen in workshops we have been able to conduct this year to even our current search for an Executive-In-Residence.” Tickets for the luncheon are available to purchase by visiting www.vuu.edu/register. All attendees will be required to wear a mask while attending the event.