2006 Zenith Medal for Service: Bob Morrison

Robert W. Morrison, Jr. received the 2006 Zenith Medal for Service from the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (PAMS). He was honored at the PAMS Awards Dinner, attended by members of his family.

The award recognizes alumni or friends of the college for distinguished contributions or advocacy that significantly advance the college’s ability to make powerful impacts on science, the economy, the environment and the quality of human life.

“This award recognizes our College’s greatest champions,” said Daniel L. Solomon, dean of PAMS. “And there are few individuals who have championed our cause with as much determination, and over as many years, as Bob Morrison.”

Morrison, a longtime senior executive with Burroughs Wellcome Co., has maintained a close connection with the college since moving to the area in the late 1960s.

Over the years, he served the Chemistry Department as visiting and adjunct faculty, and as a member of the department’s board of visitors. A dedicated student mentor, he advised countless students over the years, many of whom made career decisions based on his counsel.

Morrison has been an enthusiastic advocate for the college, and was a vocal supporter of the need to provide updated laboratory facilities for students. The results are represented by the Marye Anne Fox Undergraduate Science Teaching Laboratory building, and a plaque in the Fox lobby bears Morrison’s name.

Morrison also obtained corporate funding for the Chemistry Department’s first graduate student fellowships. After retiring, he served the college through short-term administrative assignments.

Morrison also established two scholarship endowments for the college. One has been supporting chemistry students since 1996. He recently established a meteorology scholarship in honor of his wife, Dicky, and her life-long fascination with weather.