From: GARY BUSH [mailto:gary.bush@aamu.edu] Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 9:30 AM To: Sandra Phoenix; Sanders, Blanche Subject: Emailing: AAMU Mourns Death of Former President Morrison ion is: Alabama A&M University</> Alabama A&M University</pages/default.aspx>News</news/pages/default.aspx> Good morning, Please distribute this press release to the network. Thanks, gary bush Funeral Services for President Emeritus Morrison Wednesday Page Content Huntsville, Ala. ---- The extended Alabama A&M University family is mourning the Saturday, July 30, 2011, death of the man who served as fifth president for more than two decades of the institution’s nearly 140-year history. Dr. Richard David Morrison, 103, assumed the presidential post of AAMU on March 1, 1962, and served until 1984. Funeral services for Dr. Morrison will be held Wednesday, August 3, at 12 noon at the Union Hill Primitive Baptist Church, 2115 Winchester Road, NW, in Huntsville, Ala. Rev. Dr. Oscar L. Montgomery will officiate. During his 22-year term, Morrison [cid:image006.jpg@01CC51B9.13A2AE90] monitored the construction of more than a dozen major buildings. For instance, the construction of the L. R. Patton Building in 1971 marked the first time that AAMU had an administration building to serve as the heart of its busy hillside campus. Other building projects stamped by the productive Morrison administration include the Walter T. Gravitt Faculty Apartments; Robert B. Prentice dining hall; Buchanan Hall, a women’s residence hall; the J. F. Drake Memorial Learning Resources Center; the house for home management training; the George Washington Carver Multipurpose Complex; Morris Hall, a residence hall for men; Terry Hall, a residence hall for women; and the T. M. Elmore Health Science Complex (gym). Decades ago, AAMU’s fine arts building was named in Dr. Morrison’s honor. Today, the structure houses the telecommunications center; classrooms; art, band and choral facilities; a theatrical auditorium, and WJAB-FM radio. The former AAMU president was named honorary chairperson of the school’s 10th annual Black Tie Scholarship Gala in April 2010. Current AAMU President Andrew Hugine, Jr., in May 2010, unveiled a photograph of Morrison for permanent display in the building. Dr. Morrison was revered as an exemplary educator and legendary advocate for [cid:image007.jpg@01CC51B9.13A2AE90] 1890 land-grant institutions of higher education. That devotion found its genesis in his small hometown of Utica, Miss., where he developed a love for agriculture and its potential for bringing about economic freedom. After meeting while still in high school his mentor, the famed botanist/inventor George Washington Carver, Morrison enrolled at Tuskegee University and graduated in 1931. His love for Tuskegee was so strong that his financial contributions to the school exceeded $500,000. In 1937, Dr. R.E. Cammack, state supervisor of vocational agriculture, and Dr. Joseph Fanning Drake, Morrison’s presidential predecessor at A&M, convinced the promising young Morrison to join the A&M faculty and to direct its agriculture department. While on staff at AAMU, Morrison was granted leaves to complete his master’s degree from Cornell University in 1941 and later his Ph.D. degree from Michigan State University in 1954. AAMU literally flourished under the Morrison administration. In addition to a thriving physical plant, AAMU and Tuskegee publications note that 15 new undergraduate programs were added to the curriculum, along with 11 master’s degree programs. Despite these successes, Morrison was most proud of his herculean efforts that led to U.S. President Jimmy Carter signing into law the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977. The historic act secured permanent funding to the 1890 land-grant institutions and placed his Alma Mater, Tuskegee, among that distinguished group for its undeniable contributions to agriculture and American prosperity. Morrison authored two books, “The History of Alabama A&M University” and the autobiographical “Walking in the Wilderness.” He was preceded in death by Ethel, his wife of 50 years. Although the couple had no biological children, many “children” and dedicated admirers nonetheless laughed with, tended to, and enjoyed the witty company of the educator and agriculturalist for numerous years. ​ Office of Marketing and Public Relations Alabama A&M University P. O. Box 1027 Normal, AL 35762-1027 (256) 372-5654 (256) 372-5034 (Fax) Jerome Saintjones, jerome.saintjones@aamu.edu<mailto:jerome.saintjones@aamu.edu>, (256) 372-5607 Shirley Alexander, shirley.alexander@aamu.edu<mailto:shirley.alexander@aamu.edu>, (256) 372-5607 Interns/Bi-Weekly Students: (256) 372-5625