Franklin Harris

Franklin Stewart Harris was president of Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1921 to 1945, and president of Utah State Agricultural College (USAG) from 1945 to 1950. His administration was the longest in BYU history and saw the granting of the first master's degrees. Under his administration the school became an accredited university. He set up several colleges, such as the College of Fine and Performing Arts, with Gerrit De Jong as the founding dean. Harris was an agricultural scientist, holding a doctorate in agronomy from Cornell University. He had served as the agriculture department head and head of the experiment station at USAC and left BYU to become president of that institution. Harris also traveled to Russia and to Iran and other parts of the Middle East in order to provide expert advice on agriculture issues. The Harris Fine Arts Center on BYU's campus was named after him.