By Rhiannon Potkey. Photography by Shawn Poynter.
Ronald T. Morris never forgot how much he benefited from his educational experience at the University of Tennessee. As soon as he retired from a long and fulfilling engineering career at DuPont, Morris was determined to give back to UT and play a more active role as an alumnus.
From serving on the college’s advisory boards to funding scholarships, Morris has helped to ensure that future generations of students will have a solid foundation for success on UT’s campus. His generosity is being recognized with the 2024 Nathan W. Dougherty Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Tickle College of Engineering.
Given annually since 1967, the Dougherty Award singles out those who have “brought honor and distinction to the college through their achievements or who have made significant contributions to the engineering profession in Tennessee through their professional activities.”
“I would never in my wildest dreams have thought my name would ever come up as being a potential candidate for the award,” Morris said. “I am flattered, and I am very humbled to receive it.”
Morris received his BS in electrical engineering from UT in 1969 and participated in the co-op engineering program during his studies. He served from 1971 to 1974 in the US Navy, where he was a Civil Engineering Corps officer and obtained his professional engineer’s license.
It’s about if you have done a really good job at what you are supposed to be doing, and I feel like I have. I was never searching to be praised, but it does feel good I can provide help that would be recognized”
His professional career included time at Exxon, Southern Bell Telephone, W. R. Grace & Co., and DuPont. After retiring from DuPont, Morris worked as a consulting engineer domestically and internationally.
“My résumé doesn’t compare with the kinds of positions all the other Dougherty winners have, but that doesn’t bother me,” Morris said. “It’s about if you have done a really good job at what you are supposed to be doing, and I feel like I have. I was never searching to be praised, but it does feel good I can provide help that would be recognized.”
Morris served on the college’s Board of Advisors from 2013 to 2019. He and his late wife, Jessica, established the West Tennessee Engineering Day Initiative Endowment Fund, the Ron and Jessica Morris Endowed International Travel Fund, and the Ron and Jessica Morris Engineering Scholarship Endowment.
At ConNEXTion Day in April, the Women in Engineering Program was officially named the Jessica M. Morris Women in Engineering Program.
Morris knows from personal experience how beneficial a visit to the UT campus can be for prospective students. During his junior year of high school in 1963, Morris traveled to Knoxville with a group of Memphis students on a trip sponsored by a local doctor.
The doctor, a UT Health Science Center graduate, accompanied the group, driving ahead of the bus in his 1963 Studebaker Avanti.
“That is why I started sponsoring kids to come up from Memphis and West Tennessee, because of what that doctor did for us,” Morris said. “I knew how influential that trip was in me knowing I wanted to go to UT. I wanted to make sure kids today have the same chances.”
Financial Gift Leads to Jessica M. Morris Women in Engineering Program
Ronald T. Morris (BS/EE, ’69) was looking for inspiration on ways to properly honor his late wife, Jessica Morris, at UT. He found it during a visit to the Tickle College of Engineering after he spoke to three female engineering students.
They provided Morris with their insight on what they needed to succeed in school. They convinced him that more support for students like them could make a significant impact.
On April 6 at ConNEXTion Day, the Women in Engineering Program was officially named the Jessica M. Morris Women in Engineering Program in recognition of the Morris family’s significant gift toward an endowment for the program.
The Morris family gift will facilitate student attendance at conferences, seminars, and workshops related to engineering.
“I have no doubt in my mind she would have really appreciated all we are doing right now,”
Ron Morris said. “She was very supportive of the University of Tennessee and always wanted to help female engineering students excel in the field. That was very important to her.”
Jessica, who passed away on February 15, 2023, at age 76, graduated from UT in 1971 as a math major with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She worked for Exxon for 17 years in Memphis and in Baytown, Texas, and was a trailblazer for professional women in computer system support.
“Supporting UT was really a team thing,” Ron said. “She was with me every step of the way for as long as she could. Everything our family has contributed to UT has been done together.”