Barbara Jean Morris is an American academic administrator who currently serves as the 18th president of
Prescott College
Prescott College is a private college in Prescott, Arizona.
History
In 1965, the Ford Foundation brought together a group of educators from around the United States. Prescott College was the result of this gathering.
The college was originall ...
.
Education
Barbara Jean Morris completed a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in political science at
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
. Morris earned an
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
and
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
at the
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...
.
Career
For 16 years, Morris worked at the
University of Redlands
The University of Redlands is a private university headquartered in Redlands, California. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Califo ...
, and later as dean of the college of arts and sciences. In 2011, she became provost and vice president for academic affairs at
Fort Lewis College
Fort Lewis College is a public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado. Because of its unique origins as a military fort turned Indian boarding school turned state public school, FLC follows a 1911 mandate to give qualified Native Americans a ...
and was the elected representative from the academic council to serve on the
Colorado Commission on Higher Education
The Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) was established in 1965 by the Colorado General Assembly. The Commission replaced an association which met informally to consider matters related to higher education. The Colorado Department of Hig ...
.
On July 1, 2018, Morris succeeded
Nancy Kleniewski as the 8th president of the State University of New York at Oneonta. She is the second woman to serve in this role at SUNY Oneonta.
During her tenure at SUNY Oneonta, Morris led the reimagining of the college’s mission statement: "We nurture a community where students grow intellectually, strive socially, and live purposefully". Morris also created the first Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with United University Professionals (UUP) in New York State, acknowledging the importance of adjunct teaching faculty, giving the title and salary increase. She also collaborated with UUP to create uniform tenure and renewal policy and guidelines. Morris worked toward the inclusion of all students, administrators, and faculty staff, and brought into leadership people of different races, ethnicity, sex, marital status, and more. She broadened governance representation on the president’s cabinet and reformulated the Budget Committee to give it more influence, and added more faculty voices. She provided students with a voice in decision-making including giving the Student Association a seat on Cabinet and the Budget Committee. Morris also created a campus police task force at SUNY Oneonta to explore the relationship of the college's police department with students, staff, faculty, and the community.
In October 2020, Morris resigned from SUNY Oneonta under criticism that her administration mishandled planning for students to return to campus during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
The university had a coronavirus outbreak that infected more than 740 students in the weeks after reopening.
On July 15, 2021, Morris succeeded John Flicker to become the 18th president of Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona. After arriving at Prescott, Morris led the campus community in updating the Mission, Vision, and Values to reflect the College's experiential and student-centric leaning model. The six new values include Inclusive Community, Experiential and Field-Based Learning, Culture of Creativity, Justice, Individualized Education, and Regenerative Sustainability.
Works and publications
Morris co-authored the manuscript, ''Recreating the Circle'', which was published with The University of New Mexico Press. This book is a collaboration centering on the relationship between tribal, state, federal, and local governments. In addition, her co-authored article “Faith and Sex: Presidents under Pressure: Electoral Coalitions and Strategic Presidents” looks at the Executive Office of the President and women’s and religious interest groups. Organizational theory, leadership practices, and strategies for cooperation all inform her research. Her co-authored article “Feminist Organizational Structure in the White House: The Office of Women’s Initiatives and Outreach,” investigates how organizational cultures impact leadership styles has helped her to recognize the importance of identifying organizational cultures in the practice of leadership.
Personal life
Morris' father, Bobby Morris, is
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
and
Comanche
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
. She has 3 children.
In July 2019, she climbed
Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...
.
See also
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Barbara Jean
Living people
Heads of universities and colleges in the United States
Women heads of universities and colleges
Place of birth missing (living people)
San Diego State University alumni
University of California, Santa Barbara alumni
University of Redlands faculty
Fort Lewis College faculty
State University of New York at Oneonta faculty
American people of Cherokee descent
American people of Comanche descent
Women deans (academic)
American university and college faculty deans
Year of birth missing (living people)
20th-century American academics
21st-century American academics