Valerie Harrison, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel, was elected to the 2013-2014 Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) on March 8.  She is one of 20 cabinet officers, drawn from all divisions of the institution—half from Council of Independent Colleges member institutions and half from American Association of State Colleges and Universities institutions.

Cosponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI), the ELA is a year-long program is designed to prepare experienced provosts and vice presidents to become successful presidents.

Harrison also was recently honored by the Villanova University School of Law Black Law Students Association (BLSA) with the Second Annual BLSA Legal Achievement Award (BLAA). BLSA presents the BLAA award each year to a diverse attorney who has blazed a pathway for minority attorneys and in recognition to their contributions to the legal profession.

Harrison is the former Associate University Counsel for Temple University. She also practiced as an associate at Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP and served as in-house corporate counsel to two multi-national corporations.