The Colby Echo

Issue date: 2/9/07 Section: News & Features

Media Credit: Courtesy Dan Harris '93

Dan Harris '93 was named anchor of ABC's "World News Sunday" last fall, and in January the Board of Trustees elected him as an overseer of the College. In his six year career at ABC News, Harris has reported from Ground Zero, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the West Bank in addition to covering numerous presidential campaigns.

When addressing the Class of 2005, Harris gave a glimpse into his time as a student. The Echo finally caught up with him to learn more about his promotion, his experiences and his life on Mayflower Hill.

Since the promotion, Harris said his life has only changed in that he now works an extra day. He still reports world news during the week for ABC online and radio in addition to appearances on "Nightline." "I now have my own privilege of having my own show on Sunday. It's great," he said.

With so many stories of global import under his belt, I asked Harris to pick the assignment that was most meaningful to him on a personal level. "The big story of our time is Iraq," he said. Though he acknowledged the danger of associating the current war to Vietnam, he said that they were comparable in the sense that they are each the "defining story" of their eras. Harris has traveled to Iraq six times, some of which he discussed in the 2005 commencement address.

When on assignment in Afghanistan, Harris found himself at the bottom of a mountain range where U.S. forces believed they had Osama bin Laden cornered. "The al-Qaeda soldiers didn't agree and started shooting at us," Harris said. The reporter jumped to the ground to cover up and escaped scot-free.

"There are a lot of people who are doing a lot of incredible work under horrible circumstances on a war that is unpopular," he said of journalists covering the Iraq war. More journalists have died in Iraq than in any other conflict ever, and Harris knows several reporters who have lost their lives covering the story.

Harris' career in journalism, surprisingly, did not start with the Echo. "I had very little journalism experience on campus in high school and college." As a student, he spent a semester at New York University's film school. "I sort of conflated journalism and the movies," he said. "I just thought TV was cooler. I was a kid, I didn't have much to lose."

After Colby, and some meaningful internships in television, he went on to report for NBC affiliates in Bangor and Portland. In 2000, after honing his anchoring skills at New England Cable News, he joined ABC News where he has earned an Associated Press Award for political coverage and a duPont award for in-depth coverage.

As for becoming an overseer of the College, Harris seemed pleasantly surprised that he would be chosen for the honor. "All of this is somewhat ironic for me given that I was such a moron in high school. Dad's relationship with [then Dean Earl Smith] had no small impact on my admission," he said. Humility permeated through just about everything the former summa cum laude Government major discussed. He acknowledged that he "really enjoyed the academics."

After some prying as to his involvement in on-campus happenings, Harris divulged his time spent on the debate team, his "pretty active social life" and a woefully unsuccessful campaign for presidency of Mary Low Hall featuring ads on bathroom stalls depicting himself seated on a toilet. Though he is full of stories that reflect self-deprecatingly on his success, he takes none of it for granted. He graciously accepted his role as overseer of the College with "some irony, and a lot of gratification."

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