Courtesy of Unotes

Former Hartt School Dean Malcolm Morrison passed away last Friday, Nov. 8.

Those in the UHa community who worked with Morrison during his time here are expressing their regrets. Morrison “left his stamp on the Hartt School and the University, and changed so many of our lives for the better,” said President Walter Harrison.

Morrison came to the University as theatre professor in 1996 and became Dean just two years later.

He served as Hartt School Dean from 1998 to 2008. During that time Morrison oversaw the expansion of Hartt “from a distinguished music conservatory to a comprehensive performing arts conservatory including dance and theatre divisions,” says current Hartt School Dean Aaron Flagg.

“He also oversaw the design and construction of the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center, which observes its fifth anniversary this month.”

Harrison states that these developments “enhanced the school’s national and international standing and dramatically (pun intended) improved its finances.”

Before joining the UHa community, Morrison served for ten years as the founding Artistic Director of the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival.

He also directed at the Utah Shakespearean Festival and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, where he received a Best Director award for his production of Shakespeare’s “Loves Labours Lost.”

Harrison notes, “I will forever be thankful for his production of ‘King John,’ which allowed me to complete my life-long goal of seeing all of Shakespeare’s plays performed live.”

Morrison’s passion for the performing arts was unmistakable. Him and his wife Johanna, along with his friend Alan Rust, showed unremitting care for the theatre program. Morrison “cared lovingly for the [Hartt] School, and poured his energy into nurturing talent and providing opportunity,” says Harrison.

“He attended student and faculty performances of all sorts almost every evening,” Harrison reminisces. “I marveled at his energy and real enjoyment of so many genres of art.”

“The last play under his direction that I saw was ‘Antigone’,” Harrison stated. “[It was] the most stirring performance of that classic Greek drama I have ever seen … I thought then, as I watched the play in the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center, that Malcolm had had the real privilege of creating a performance space and then using it to such perfection.”

Harrison expressed that this in itself is “a real testimony to [Morrison’s] genius and leadership.”

While Morrison was dean, Alfred and Primrose Fuller donated $18.6 million to the Hartt School. Harrison notes that while it is due to the extreme generosity of the Fullers that made the Hartt School is what it is today, “it was Malcolm’s deep understanding of the needs of the arts that applied it so well.”

Morrison was probably one of the most involved deans this University has ever seen, and his legacy will live on through the accomplishments of Hartt students for years to come that would not have been possible without the contributions he made to the performing arts programs.

Harrison says that Morrison “was more than the dean of the Hartt School; he was an educational leader of the entire University. He was someone who understood intellectual curiosity and learning in many, many forms, and his colleague deans, three provosts, and I all benefited from his academic leadership. The entire University is deeply in his debt.”

Last spring, the University presented Morrison with the University Medal for Distinguished Service. This followed a similar honor presented to him by his alma mater, Rose Buford College of Theatre and Performance in England.

Dean Flagg acknowledged that even while battling illness, Morrison was a beacon of wit and good humor in the Hartt School.

Other administration members agree that Morrison was a pleasure to work with. “He had a brilliant mind and a wicked sense of humor,” said Arosha Jayawickrema, Vice President of Finance and Administration, who was fortunate enough to work with Morrison for several years.

The UHa community sends its deepest sympathy and support to Morrison’s wife, Johanna, his daughter, Nikki, and their entire family.