Greg S. Harris
{{Short description|President of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
{{for|the Illinois politician born Gregory S. Harris|Greg Harris (politician)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Greg S. Harris
| image = Marcia Fudge and Greg Harris.png
| alt =
| caption = Harris, at right, with Marcia Fudge in 2015
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|10|06}}
| birth_place = West Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| other_names =
| occupation = Museum executive
| years_active =
| spouse =
| children =
| known_for = President of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
| notable_works =
| alma_mater = Temple University
SUNY Oneonta
| awards =
}}
Gregory Scott Harris (born October 6, 1965) is an American museum executive. He is currently the president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.{{cite web | title=Rock Hall CEO on Change, Controversy -- and Whitney Houston's Induction | website=Variety | date=January 30, 2020 | url=https://variety.com/2020/music/news/rock-roll-hall-fame-2020-greg-harris-interview-1203487021/ | access-date=2021-03-03}}
Biography
Harris was born West Trenton, New Jersey.{{cite web | last=Cosentino | first=Matt | title=Rock Star | website=South Jersey Magazine | url=https://www.southjerseymagazine.com/article/2101/Rock-Star | access-date=2021-03-03}} His family moved to Morrisville, Pennsylvania, when he was 10 years old. He graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in history in 1989, and earned a Master’s in history and museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program at SUNY Oneonta.{{cite web | title=Greg Harris | website=Temple Now | news.temple.edu | date=2015-04-23 | url=https://news.temple.edu/publications/temple-magazine/2015/spring/alumni-spotlight-greg-harris | access-date=2021-03-03}}
Harris was a senior executive at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for 14 years. Harris co-founded the Philadelphia Record Exchange in 1985 with Jacy Webster, a notable retail outlet which specialized in hard-to-find vinyl records. He also worked in the live music business as the road manager for Ben Vaughn.{{cite web | last=Perry | first=David | title=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame President: Music, Entrepreneurship A Natural Combo | website=UMass Lowell | date=2021-02-09 | url=https://www.uml.edu/news/stories/2021/music-entrepreneurship-panel-harris.aspx | access-date=2021-03-03}}{{cite web | last=DeLuca | first=Dan | title=The Philadelphia Record Exchange celebrates 30 years with outdoor party | website=Philadelphia Inquirer | date=2015-09-18 | url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/music/20150918_The_Philadelphia_Record_Exchange_celebrates_30_years_with_outdoor_party.html | access-date=2021-03-03}}
Harris joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (HOF) in 2008, starting out as vice president of development; he was named president and CEO in late 2012 and started those roles in 2013.{{cite web | title=Greg Harris Named President/CEO of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | website=The Hollywood Reporter | date=2012-12-03 | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/greg-harris-president-rock-hall-fame-397466 | access-date=2021-03-03}} Harris has expanded programming at the HOF, partnering with more traditional museums such as New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2019 to create a gigantic collection of musical instruments and photographs to accompany them.{{cite web | last=Meszoros | first=Mark | title=Rock Hall rocks out with massive exhibition 'Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll' | website=The News-Herald | date=2019-12-04 | url=https://www.news-herald.com/entertainment/music/rock-hall-rocks-out-with-massive-exhibition-play-it-loud-instruments-of-rock-roll/article_af70c0ae-15ec-11ea-a537-eb040efce71f.html | access-date=2021-03-03}} During the COVID-19 pandemic, the HOF expanded its educational outreach and put more of its programming on YouTube where they were able to reach hundreds of teachers daily.{{cite web | last=Meszoros | first=Mark | title=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame CEO talks reopening, feeling confident in the new coronavirus-related protocols | website=The News-Herald | date=2020-06-17 | url=https://www.news-herald.com/entertainment/rock-roll-hall-of-fame-ceo-talks-reopening-feeling-confident-in-the-new-coronavirus-related/article_511d9630-b097-11ea-8d56-33e3e877cbab.html | access-date=2021-03-03}}
Harris was instrumental in planning an expansion of the HOF scheduled to break ground in 2022.{{cite web | title=New York architect tapped for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame expansion | website=Real Estate Weekly | date=2020-12-22 | url=https://rew-online.com/new-york-architect-tapped-for-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-expansion/ | access-date=2021-03-03}}
References
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Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Category:People from Ewing Township, New Jersey
Category:People from Morrisville, Pennsylvania