After more than 10 years of dedicating herself to recruiting and retaining under-represented engineering students at Auburn University, Shirley Scott-Harris retired as the director of the Alabama Power Academic Excellence Program in May. Harris was responsible for implementing the academic support program that assists engineering students in their transition and adjustment into the Auburn Engineering environment.

Since its inception in 1997, the program has been the catalyst for graduating some of the nation’s brightest minority engineering students. Harris’ commitment to this task can be seen in Auburn Engineering’s recent ranking of seventh in the nation in engineering degrees awarded to African-Americans, according to the Journal of Diverse Issues in Higher Education.