By Barbara Rea
A generous bequest to Washing- ton University from Jane Freund Harris, a longtime supporter and community advocate, has established a community service award program in the St. Louis region.
When she died in April 1999, Harris left $1 million to the University to establish the Jane and Whitney Harris Saint Louis Community Service Award. The award is to honor a husband-and-wife couple who have contributed in an outstanding way to the culture and welfare of the greater St. Louis community, exemplifying the best qualities of service to their fellow citizens.
"Jane and Whitney Harris have been great friends and have been very generous to Washington University," said Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton in announcing the gift. "We are pleased to administer this gift, which is a gift to all St. Louisans. It gives us the opportunity to honor Jane and Whitney and to recognize their exemplary service here and throughout the community."
Jane Harris and her husband have been well known for their support of civic and charitable organizations throughout the metropolitan area.
"Jane's career was devoted to charitable causes in St. Louis; she gave her life to these causes," Whitney Harris explained. "She loved St. Louis and never tired of helping to improve the quality of life for all who live here."
Jane Harris, also known as the "Orchid Lady" for the home-grown orchid she sported in her hair, provided leadership for a host of local institutions, among them Fontbonne College, the Saint Louis Symphony Society, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Harrises have given their time and talents to everything from Hope International House to the Judevine Center for Autism.
Their support for Washington University has been broad-based as well. Over the years, Whitney and Jane Harris have contributed to the law school, the ophthalmology department in the School of Medicine, internships in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, and the Danforth Scholars Program, a universitywide scholarship fund established in honor of William and Elizabeth Danforth. The Harrises also were involved in the cultural life of the University, supporting Edison Theatre and the Friends of Music. They were life members of the William Greenleaf Eliot Society, and Jane Harris was a member of the Women's Society.
Perhaps their most notable gift to the University was the Whitney Robson Harris Collection on the Third Reich, housed in the Jane and Whitney Harris Reserve Reading Room on the fourth level of Olin Library. Whitney Harris donated his personal collection, including his own 1954 memoir, "Tyranny on Trial," detailing his experience as a young naval officer in the Nuremburg Trials. Assigned to the OSS (Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of the CIA), he served on the American team at the trial of Nazi war criminals.
After leaving the service, he taught law at Southern Methodist University, then became a lawyer for Southwestern Bell before joining the St. Louis firm of Sumner Harris and Sumner.
"St. Louis is a better place because of the dedicated efforts of Jane and Whitney Harris," said William H. Danforth, longtime friend and neighbor and the University's chancellor emeritus. "Thanks to this wonderful gift, their contributions will continue to benefit our community."
Danforth heads a committee created by Wrighton to select the recipients of the Jane and Whitney Harris award. The first award went to Lucy and the late Stanley Lopata, and the cash gift was designated for Habitat for Humanity.
Nominations are currently being solicited for next year's awardees. To nominate a husband-wife couple for the award, send a letter of support by Nov. 1 to David T. Blasingame, vice chancellor for alumni and development programs, Washington University, Campus Box 1228, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis MO 63130-4899.