Joel W. Harnett died August 11, 2006, at his home in Phoenix. He was a noted publisher, poet, civic leader, and art collector. The University’s art museum — the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art — is named in honor of him and his wife, Lila, as is the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center. The exhibition, Lasting Impressions: Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center,
September 27 to December 8, 2006 is dedicated to the loving memory of Joel Harnett for his generosity, nurturing, and leadership of the museums at the University of Richmond.
A 1945 graduate of the University of Richmond, Joel Harnett was a former vice president of Look magazine and founder in 1969 of Media Horizons, a public radio broadcasting and magazine company. A civic leader in New York, he ran for mayor in 1977. Moving to Arizona in 1988 to focus on publishing, he and his wife launched and ran several prominent regional magazines. He served on the board and executive committee of the Heard Museum in Phoenix.
