Valerie I. Harrison, vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion and community impact at Temple University, believes we are strengthened when we embrace our connections to each other. Her intellectual curiosity has made her a lifelong learner who seeks opportunities to learn from others and also share what she has learned.

Inspired by her own passion for learning, Valerie was easily drawn to higher education. She came to Temple University as a member of its in-house legal team and now serves as vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion and community impact, providing leadership to a portfolio of dedicated persons striving to strengthen the university’s engagement and positive impact in North Philadelphia and beyond. Valerie was one of the architects for the university’s Center for Anti-Racism and is helping to shape the university’s violence reduction strategies and initiatives. Under her leadership, the university has made resources and services related to diversity and inclusion more accessible and has achieved notable supplier diversity objectives in its construction endeavors. The portfolio also includes the Lenfest North Philadelphia Workforce Initiative, which sponsors programs that train and place thousands of persons in jobs and helps hundreds of young people who have aged out of foster care transition to independent living.

A Philadelphia native and proud graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Girls, Valerie benefitted from a tight-knit community that supported her and nurtured the ideals that have guided her in life. In turn, Valerie has found her volunteer roles, including providing free community legal services ranging from criminal record expungements to wills preparation, to be rewarding opportunities to continue that tradition.

Valerie is the co-author and co-editor of Color Him Father: Stories of Love and Rediscovery of Black Men, a collection of short stories celebrating African American men. Her second book project is Do Right by Me: Learning to Raise Black Children in White Spaces. Valerie and her co-author, Kathryn Peach D’Angelo, have gathered some of the best scholarship, research and ideas and wrapped them in their personal stories in a way that helps readers better understand racism and helps them find their place in and contribute to a more just society.

Valerie’s formal pursuit of knowledge includes earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia, a juris doctorate from Villanova University School of Law, and a master’s degree in liberal arts and a doctor of philosophy degree in African American studies, both from Temple University.