March 03, 2015
In Memoriam: Rev. Robert A. Morris, O.P. ’46, beloved friend and administrator
Rev. Robert Alan Morris, O.P. ’46 & ’82Hon., a former executive vice president at Providence College who taught English and theology and formed lifelong friendships with students, especially basketball players and students in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Program, died Monday, March 2, 2015, at Mount St. Rita Health Centre in Cumberland, R.I.
“Father Morris held almost every job on this campus, from chaplain to English teacher to fundraiser, study abroad director, and executive vice president,” said College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80. “In all the years here, I don’t know any greater ambassador for Providence College than Father Morris. People just loved him. They loved him because he was a great priest. And he was the kind of regular guy you could tell anything to. He never took himself too seriously. He just loved PC with every fiber of his being.”
Funeral arrangements for Father Morris took place on campus. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Dominic Chapel, with burial following in the Dominican Friars’ Cemetery.
Father Morris was born in Jersey City, N.J., on April 20, 1923, a son of the late Thomas and Ann (McGovern) Morris, who were immigrants from Ireland. He attended Sacred Heart High School in Jersey City and Regis High School in New York City, graduating in 1941.
Following two years in the pre-ecclesiastical program at Providence College, he entered the Dominican novitiate at St. Rose Priory in Springfield, Ky., receiving the religious name Alan. One year later, he made his simple profession of vows. He then studied at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio, and the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., where he received a bachelor’s degree, licentiate, and lectorate in sacred theology.
He was ordained a priest in the Dominican Province of St. Joseph on June 10, 1950, at St. Dominic Church in Washington. He was to celebrate the 65th anniversary of his ordination this year.
Lifelong ties to early basketball players
Father Morris joined the PC faculty in 1957, first as a special lecturer in religious studies and then as a full-time faculty member in the Department of English. He also served as assistant chaplain and chaplain. During that time he became a friend and mentor to players in PC’s burgeoning basketball program, which won national titles in 1961 and 1963.
The friendships were enduring. When Father Morris celebrated his 90th birthday, a group of former players drove to Providence to take him to lunch.
“He wasn’t just a friend, he was our hero,” said Timothy C. Moynahan ’61, now a lawyer in Waterbury, Conn. “Even then he stood out by virtue of his kindness and his thoughtfulness. He was a moral giant. His kind and gentle service made him indispensable to us. He shines as an exemplar of Dominican priesthood. He was, and always will be, a hero to us.”
In February, Lenny Wilkens ’60 & ’80Hon., a PC star and member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, stopped by St. Thomas Priory to have lunch with Father Morris on a visit from the West Coast. Even nearing his 92nd birthday, Father Morris was active and alert.
“We talked about the world,” said Wilkens. “We talked about how Providence has changed and grown. He was always very, very interested in our lives, what we were doing, world news, everything. He was a guy who was on top of everything.”
Wilkens said Father Morris “brought out the best of everything about Providence. He was always encouraging the young athletes and letting them know they were part of the fabric of the school. He had a great sense of humor as well. It’s just a huge loss.”
Father Morris also was a friend of John Thompson, Jr. ’64, the former Georgetown University basketball coach whose jersey was retired by PC last month. Their friendship was the subject of a column by sportswriter Kevin McNamara in The Providence Journal two weeks ago.
“Few people connected to Providence College have ever owned the institutional knowledge of the Rev. Robert A. Morris,” McNamara wrote. “Back in the ’50s and ’60s, the now 91-year-old Morris owned a bird’s eye seat as coach Joe Mullaney ushered major college basketball onto the campus. … To this day, he serves as the tie that binds many of those players.”
The two spoke regularly by telephone. “I loved him,” Thompson said.
Founder of the MLK Scholarship Program
In 1963, Father Morris left PC for assignment as assistant chaplain and chaplain at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He returned in 1967, this time as an administrator. He was vice president for institutional development from 1967-1982, executive vice president from 1974-1982, and acting president in 1982. From 1982-1985, he was resident director of the Providence-in-Europe program in Fribourg, Switzerland.
It was during that period that Father Morris helped to found the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Program. In 1968, after the assassination of Dr. King, a group of professors began to raise money to create a scholarship for African-American students, with some pledging a portion of their salaries. The College agreed to match their efforts and to raise additional funds.
Father Morris became the program’s first administrator, and more than that, a “father” to the scholars, said Dr. Wanda S. Ingram ’75, an MLK scholarship recipient who now is senior associate dean of undergraduate students at PC. She arrived on campus in 1971, the first year PC admitted women, as one of 12 women of color.
At the first sign of a problem, students would say, “Let’s go see Father, he’ll know what to do,” Ingram said. “When we showed up in his office, (his assistant) would say, ‘Father, one of your kids is here.’ Down through the years, Father Morris attended our weddings, baptized our kids, was present at our social gatherings on campus, blessed us before passing, and unfortunately, attended many of our funerals.
“He was a very kind and humble man who gave of himself and was always behind the scenes for us,” said Ingram. “We loved him and will miss him greatly.”
The MLK Scholarship Program, which continues to award scholarships today, honored Father Morris and co-founder Dr. Francis P. MacKay, retired professor of chemistry, in 2012.
“He was an exemplary priest and Dominican,” said MacKay. “He was the godfather of the program. When a student needed a textbook for the program or needed clothing, they went to Father Morris. Over the years, you always saw his involvement and interest. It was his baby. He kept in touch with many of the alums of the program. They treasured him so much.”
A lifetime of service
From 1985-1988, Father Morris was superior and pastor at St. Thomas Rectory at the University of Virginia. He returned to PC in 1988 as a faculty member in the theology department. He also served on the PC Board of Trustees and the Providence College Corporation, as assistant dean of undergraduate studies, and as the NCAA faculty athletic representative.
Outside the College, he was socius to the provincial and vicar provincial of the Province of St. Joseph at St. Joseph Ferrer Priory in New York City from 1993-1997. His community, civic, and religious affiliations included the Provincial Strategic Planning Steering Committee, the Provincial Dominican Friars Guild’s Board of Directors, the Rhode Island Governor’s Award Panel on the Arts, the Trinity Repertory Company Board of Directors, and Summit House Board of Directors.
From 1951-1952, while assigned to St. Mary Priory in New Haven, Conn., Father Morris studied in the drama department at Yale University’s School of Fine Arts. From 1952-1957, while assigned to St. Vincent Ferrer Priory in New York City, he worked with the New York Chapter of the Blackfriars Guild as a production director and co-author of plays.
He wrote several books, including College Enrollments in Rhode Island (1969) and General Principles and Particular Problems in the Relations to Church and State (1951), and many published articles.
Among the awards he received from PC are an honorary doctoral degree in literature, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarship Program Service and Dedication Award, the Balfour Center for Multicultural Affairs Gift of Appreciation, and the Alumni Association Bishop Harkins Award, among many others. In his honor, the College established the Robert A. Morris, O.P., Scholarship Fund to allow students from a Catholic high school in the New York City metropolitan area to attend PC.
Father Morris is survived by a brother, Thomas, and by his Dominican brothers. His parents and two brothers, Harold and Joseph, predeceased him.
Donations in his memory may be made to Providence College, Office of Institutional Advancement, Providence, RI 02918, for the Rev. Robert A. Morris, O.P., Scholarship Fund.
— Vicki-Ann Downing
