Don Ricardo Harrison, Jr., director of the Provost’s Summer Mentorship Program (SMP) in the Division of the Vice Provost for Student Engagement (VPSE), died unexpectedly on April 9. He was 39.

A native Philadelphian, Mr. Harrison attended Philadelphia’s Fitler Academics Plus elementary school and graduated from Philadelphia’s Central High School. He earned his bachelor of arts in sociology, with a focus in race and ethnic diversity, from Pennsylvania State University in 2006.

Mr. Harrison’s work at Penn spanned from 2004 to 2012, then from 2016 until his death. He began his work with SMP in 2008, the first year VPUL was assigned responsibility for the program. SMP began in 2006 as a summer college preparatory program for Philadelphia 10th and 11th grade public and charter school students.

Mr. Harrison was central to increasing and expanding the program’s offerings and served as the late Gail Oberton’s right-hand partner in the growth and enhancement of SMP. He created a college prep guide and brought a variety of innovative approaches to recruitment of participants, support to school partners, and creative joint activities for students. At Penn, Mr. Harrison received a Penn Models of Excellence Award in 2013 for the Summer Mentorship Program Team.

Mr. Harrison was an accomplished artist and sculptor of several mediums, including paint, ice, wood, and collage. That work took him around the United States and across the world, including Hawaii, Australia, and the Netherlands. He created “pop-up” sculptures including a figure of Neptune in the fountain in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and an ice angel along Kelly Drive.  

Mr. Harrison served as a team member on the construction of a 38-foot tall replica of the Disney Castle made of ice for the “Limited Time Magic” promotion in NYC’s Times Square for CBS in October 2012 and was a subcontracted performance sculptor for “Fear No Ice” performance events. He also was a specialist in “live-carving” for performances for various winter ice festivals. Mr. Harrison developed his own company, Liquid Matters LLC, to further his career as an artist and a sculptor.

Mr. Harrison is survived by his son, Alec Chase; his daughter, Zarah Lavender Gail Harrison; his father, Don Ricardo Harrison, Sr; his sister, Donielle Nicole Harrison; his great-great aunt, Annie Mae Blagmon; his great aunts, Gloria Lindner Jordan and Anita Swain; his grandmother, Sarah Harrison; his aunt, Valarie Swain-Cade-McCoullum (Henry); his uncles, William Arch Swain, Jr. (Charlotta), Brian A. Swain (Michele), Dirk Harrison (Yvette), Anthony Harrison, and J.R. Harrison; and many cousins and close friends.