Now accepting nominations for the 2020 Mary Morris Award
In honor of Dr. Mary Morris, this award is presented to a member of the Lipscomb Community who exhibits a spirit of volunteerism and commitment to Christian service
Cate Zenzen |
In honor of Dr. Mary Morris, this award is presented to a member of the Lipscomb Community who exhibits a spirit of volunteerism and commitment to Christian service
At the core of the Lipscomb community is a dedication to help others. Programs like SALT, BAM and Lipscomb Missions have encouraged students, faculty and staff to serve the community and the world. The Mary Morris Award for Exemplary Service to Society recognizes those people who have worked hard not for their own benefit, but to help someone else.
Dr. Mary Morris was a faculty member in the College of Education and founder and director of the Center for Character Development at Lipscomb. In her honor, her family established an award to be given each year to a member of the Lipscomb Community who exhibits a spirit of volunteerism, engages in meaningful civic activities in the community that help spread God’s light, demonstrates a commitment to Christian missions wherever they may be and shows vision in creating new avenues to expand Christian principles in unconventional ways.
Nominations for the 2020 Morris award are being accepted through Feb. 4 at 5 p.m. CST. Anyone may nominate individuals for the award and may nominate more than one person. Click here for the nomination form.
Recipients from recent years include: Charles Bone and the team at Bone McAllester Norton (2018); Ed Pack Global, founded by students Luke Benda, Macy Cottrell, Kayla Ford and Ben Siebold (2017); Carrie Thornthwaite, professor of education, Lipscomb (2016); and Rob Touchstone, director of Business as Mission, College of Business, Lipscomb (2015).
Morris, an associate professor of education at Lipscomb and an advocate for character education, died in September 2005 following a lengthy battle with cancer. A professional educator for more than 14 years, Morris helped train hundreds of teachers as a faculty member in Lipscomb’s Teacher Education program.
A West Virginia native, Morris graduated from Lipscomb University in 1991 with a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education. She received a Masters of Arts degree and a doctorate in education from West Virginia University.
She began her teaching career in 1991 as a fourth grade teacher at Williams S. James Elementary School in Abingdon, Maryland. While at West Virginia University, Morris was a graduate research assistant for the West Virginia University Extension Service and was a graduate teaching assistant at WVU’s Department of Educational Psychology and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
In 1998, Morris joined Lipscomb’s education faculty as an assistant professor of education. At Lipscomb, she taught reading methods courses for elementary education majors as well as classroom management for all education majors. In addition, she supervised student teachers in the Metro Nashville Public School System and managed and facilitated the materials and curriculum lab for educational use.
This award not only honors Lipscomb community members who have committed themselves to service, but also a woman who selflessly advocated for education.