Meet Faimous Harrison
Faimous Harrison
President, Wenatchee Valley College District
Dr. Faimous Harrison is a
passionate and methodical teacher-student-
scholar.
Dr. Faimous Harrison is a purpose-driven higher education executive, scholar, and systems theorist with more than 35 years of experience advancing access, equity, and institutional excellence across two-year and four-year colleges and universities. A seasoned leader who has served at the campus, district, state, national, and international levels, Dr. Harrison is recognized for his collaborative leadership style, strong fiscal stewardship, and unwavering commitment to inclusive excellence.
Dr. Harrison’s Approach
Dr. Faimous Harrison serves as District President of Wenatchee Valley College (WVC), a multi-campus Minority-Serving and Hispanic-Serving Institution that delivers short-term credentials, associate degrees, and baccalaureate programs across more than 10,000 square miles of North Central Washington. As chief executive officer, Dr. Harrison provides leadership for all academic, administrative, and student support operations, advancing the college’s mission, vision, values, and strategic priorities with a strong focus on community responsiveness and student readiness, achievement, and success.
Since assuming the presidency in 2023, Dr. Harrison has led the development and launch of WVC’s new strategic plan and mission and secured more than $50 million in funding to construct the Center for Technology, Education, and Innovation—scheduled to open in 2027—and to modernize the college’s athletic facilities. His leadership emphasizes shared governance, inclusive excellence, and collective ownership, ensuring broad participation in shaping the college’s vision and shared values.
In 2025, Dr. Harrison launched WVC’s first academic-year Leadership Development Academy, a grow-your-own initiative designed to prepare faculty and staff for future leadership roles and strengthen institutional continuity. His priorities include enrollment growth; expanding a business- and industry-centered portfolio; strengthening workforce-aligned and experiential learning opportunities; diversifying revenue streams; increasing credential attainment and career exploration pathways; enhancing campus culture; and advancing educational and workforce partnerships across Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan Counties, including with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Dr. Harrison is widely recognized for pragmatic systems thinking, strategic communication, and principled leadership grounded in WVC’s role as a community anchor institution.
Before joining Wenatchee Valley College, Dr. Faimous Harrison served as Campus Dean and Chief Executive Officer of the California State University, Stanislaus Stockton Campus, where he provided executive leadership for academic programs, student services, community engagement, and fiscal operations. During his tenure, the campus secured more than $60 million in capital investment, performance-based funding, and revenue growth, including $54 million to construct a new academic building. Dr. Harrison also established the Public Education Advisory Board for San Joaquin County and developed a public-private partnership with Dignity Health and Saint Joseph Hospital that expanded workforce training on emerging medical technologies located on the Stockton Campus, strengthening career pathways for current and future healthcare professionals.
As Senior Advisor to the Community Equity Research Center for the Central Valley, Dr. Harrison advanced participatory action research, public policy development, and equity-centered partnerships, including support for securing the campus Mansion as the Center’s permanent home. A trusted higher education leader, he convened state and regional officials, educators, and community leaders to advance dual enrollment, cradle-to-career pathways, and workforce development initiatives. He also expanded private funding partnerships and diversified revenue streams that strengthened healthcare education, workforce training, and regional job creation. Dr. Harrison is a strong advocate for cradle-to-career education and expanded access to programs, community-based partnerships, services, classes, and campus resources for P–14 students, adult learners, educators, and community residents.
Dr. Harrison is a pragmatic practioner.
Before his service in California, Faimous Harrison held senior leadership roles at Central Washington University as Regional Director and Site Director, overseeing multiple campuses, enrollment management, academic partnerships, and community engagement initiatives. His earlier career included faculty, staff, and administrative roles at Edmonds College and Seattle Colleges, where he taught for more than fifteen years while leading programs in health, wellness, student life and development, athletics, classroom operations, and faculty mentorship. While serving as faculty and a director, he was voted on by his peers and students as the student services and lifetime administrator of the year, two years in a row, one of his proudest student-centered accomplishments. He began his career at the University of Washington as an Environmental Health Research Laboratory Assistant.
Nationally, Dr. Faimous Harrison has contributed to the field through leadership with the National Association of Branch Campus Administrators, including service as President, Vice President, and twice as Chair of the Research Division. He has served on numerous boards, advisory councils, and statewide committees, including the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges’ Presidents and Chancellors groups, capital planning committees, and statewide equity and allocation review teams.
Guided by a leadership philosophy rooted in purpose-driven and transformational servant leadership, Dr. Harrison emphasizes shared governance, collective ownership, and the belief that every member of an institution contributes to its success. He values integrity, creativity, academic freedom, accountability, and the power of inclusive collaboration. Whether navigating crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic or championing long-term institutional transformation, Dr. Harrison leads with humility, courage, and a steadfast commitment to student and community success.
Dr. Faimous Harrison holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration Leadership from Oregon State University, a Master of Science with an emphasis in Health, Physical Education, and Leadership from Seattle Pacific University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Washington.
