Provost, Vice Presidents, & Secretary of the University
Beth Harris
Vice President and General Counsel
5801 S. Ellis Ave., 619
Chicago, IL 60637
Ph: (773) 702-7243
Fax: (773) 702-0934
bharris@uchicago.edu
As Vice President and General Counsel, Beth Harris is chief legal counsel at the University of Chicago, a leading research and teaching institution with an endowment of $6 billion, 13,000 students and over 12,000 employees. In addition to advising the President and the Board of Trustees of the University on issues of governance, research oversight, technology transfer and institutional structure, she participates in the formation of University policy as a member of the President’s senior executive staff.
She also is General Counsel and Secretary of UChicago Argonne, LLC, the entity created by the University to be solely responsible for management of the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory.
In addition to her legal responsibilities, she is responsible for the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, an independent school run by the University for students in grades N-12. In this role she is an ex officio member of the Governing Board of the Schools and the University’s liaison for all matters involving the Schools, the Director and the Board.
She oversees a staff of seven attorneys with expertise in such areas as litigation, employment, intellectual property, the law of higher education, taxation of exempt organizations, tax exempt financing, and student affairs. She has practiced in the areas of higher education and health care for over 20 years, and in the Office of Legal Counsel at the University of Chicago for the past 12 years. Prior to her role at the University, she was Associate General Counsel in the legal office at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Before joining the Medical Center, she had a corporate and securities practice at a law firm in Chicago.
She has a B.A. in Human Development from the University of Chicago, a Masters Degree in Psychology from the University of Houston and a J.D. from Northwestern University.
She is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago and The Chicago Network, an organization of metropolitan Chicago’s most distinguished professional women.
She is active in the Hyde Park Community. She serves as President of the Hyde Park School of Ballet and on the University of Chicago’s Charter School Board. She is married and has 3 children.