Bill Harrison

Brice Smith

2024

Bill Harrison

BSIE ‘66

CEO

Harrison Energy Partners

Bill Harrison is a 1966 industrial engineering graduate. He serves as CEO of Harrison Energy Partners, a commercial air conditioning firm with operations throughout Arkansas and Oklahoma. Bill has been involved with air conditioning since graduating. He worked for a firm in Shreveport, Louisiana, for 17 years. Bill then returned to Little Rock in 1983 where he founded the business known today as Harrison Energy Partners. The business expanded into Northwest Arkansas in 1988 and into Tulsa and Oklahoma City in 2017. The company has 202 employees in five locations and provides services such as application engineering advice to design engineers and owners. Harrison Energy Partners also designs and installs building automation systems to control building systems in a sustainable manner.

Bill married Margaret Armstrong (BSE 1966) when they were juniors at the University of Arkansas. They have four children and eight grandchildren. All four children attended the university and three grandchildren chose the university. Margaret passed away in 2018 after a battle with cancer, shortly after their 54th wedding anniversary.

Bill has been active in leadership roles in many industry associations. He served as president of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Arkansas and as chair of the Arkansas Construction Industry Coalition. He served as president of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, a global engineering society focused on heating, ventilating and air conditioning. While serving as a society officer, Bill spoke at meetings in 25 states, four Canadian provinces and 16 countries promoting his theme of enhanced building operations.

Bill has instilled a profound legacy in his own family with the University of Arkansas and its industrial engineering program. Two of his children are active members of the Arkansas Academy of Industrial Engineering. Five members of Bill’s immediate family have BSIE degrees from U of A and a sixth member is currently enrolled in biomedical engineering. Bill is a 2011 recipient of the College of Engineering’s Distinguished Alumni Award and serves on its Dean’s Advisory Council. He is a passionate advocate for the college, frequently arranging tours and hosting high school students who are considering engineering. He has endowed three scholarships through the academy and is a member of the Towers of Old Main, an honorary group celebrating major donors to the university.