
Chuck is the guest speaker for The 8th Annual African Heritage Celebration Luncheon. Chuck graduated from Phoenix's Carver High School in 1948 at age 16. He credits his Art Teacher, internationally recognized Artist Dr. J. Eugene Grigsby Jr., as key to his design career. This event will also mark the celebration of Dr. Grigsby's 91st birthday.
Chuck shared the Make/Think (http://designconference2009.aiga.org) main stage with design student Ethan Bodnar to co-present on building their careers in an engaging and thoughtful look at the differences and similarities of these two uniquely successful designers.
From the designer's mind to reality we conceive of environments, communications and products that essentially shape the world we live in. Chuck Harrison, industrial designer and educator will provide insight into how designers can impact change in the 21st century. The first Black design executive to work for a major corporation, Harrison improved the quality of life of millions through the breadth and innovation of his designs for more than three decades. He received the Cooper-Hewitt 2008 National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement. A book signing of his insightful memoir, A Life's Design, will follow.

Chuck will receive an honorary doctorate from his undergraduate alma mater, present brief remarks during the commencement ceremony and participate in the dedication of the highly anticipated Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago's.
The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt honors the prolific industrial designer with its Lifetime Achievement Award
In 1966, Charles "Chuck" Harrison, an industrial designer at Sears, Roebuck & Company, got rid of an everyday nuisance—the early-morning clanging of metal garbage cans—by creating the first-ever plastic garbage bin. "When that can hit the market, it did so with the biggest bang you never heard," wrote Harrison in his 2005 book, A Life's Design. "Everyone was using it, but few people paid close attention to it."
I still have my 1972 Kenmore sewing machine as pictured in the [Smithsonian] article and it still stitches beautifully. It has become quite collectible nowadays; and I am thrilled to know more about the gentleman who designed it. Good Job, Mr Harrison! The style and quality has endured.
"I try to keep in mind, when I am designing, that ultimately, someone else is going to use it."