GAINESVILLE, Fla. and
MELBOURNE, Fla., May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The University of Florida has conferred an honorary
doctoral degree on Howard L. Lance,
chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harris
Corporation (NYSE: HRS), in recognition of his industry leadership
and commitment to higher education.
University of Florida Provost and
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Joe Glover, conferred the doctor of science in
engineering degree on Saturday, May
1, during the university's Advanced Degree Commencement
Ceremony.
"Howard Lance has guided Harris
through unprecedented growth and achievement since joining the
company in 2003, and has been instrumental in supporting education
and research in engineering and science in Florida and nationally," Glover said.
Later in the day, Lance was the keynote speaker at the Order of
the Engineer induction ceremony, where engineering graduates accept
an "obligation" to take pride in their profession, act with
integrity and use their skills to serve humanity.
In his address, Lance emphasized the importance of ethical
behavior. "There are no gray areas when it comes to
integrity," he told the graduates and their families. "You
must be prepared to walk away from an opportunity if it means you
must compromise your values to attain it."
He also encouraged graduates to seek out challenging
assignments, take risks and ask for help in order to achieve
success.
In addition to leading Harris to increased revenue and
profitability, Lance has expanded the company's presence in
adjacent markets through organic growth and acquisitions during the
past seven years. Under his leadership, Harris also has
expanded its community outreach by completing challenge grants to
benefit local youth, and within the past year alone has committed
to more than $13 million in donations
to Florida universities.
Before joining Harris, Lance was president of NCR Corporation
and chief operating officer of its Retail and Financial Group.
Previously, he spent 17 years with Emerson Electric Co., where he
held a number senior management positions. He has a bachelor
of science degree in industrial engineering from Bradley University, and a master of science degree
in management from the Krannert School of Management at
Purdue University. He received an
honorary doctorate of science degree from the University of Central Florida in 2009.
Lance was appointed by President George
W. Bush to serve on the National Security Telecommunications
Advisory Committee. He is a director of Stryker Corporation
(NYSE:SYK) and Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN); former chairman
of the Board of Directors of the United Way of Brevard County, Florida; and former chairman
of the Board of Trustees of the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI.
He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Florida Institute of Technology, and the Board of
Governors of the Aerospace Industries Association.
About Harris Corporation
Harris is an international communications and information
technology company serving government and commercial markets in
more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has
approximately $5 billion of annual
revenue and more than 15,000 employees — including nearly 7,000
engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing
best-in-class assured communications® products, systems, and
services. Additional information about Harris Corporation is
available at www.harris.com.
SOURCE Harris Corporation