Bearcats fan honors family by creating scholarship

Northwest Missouri State University has always had a presence in the life of Fred Morris. Fred and his wife, Leslie, of Birmingham, Ala., are not Northwest alumni, but equally important, they are friends of the University.

Most recently, Morris has connected with Northwest in Florence, Ala., attending five of the six playoff and national championship football games the Bearcats have played in at Braly Stadium. The one game he missed was the day of his daughter’s wedding -- although he was able to watch the game at the reception!

Morris initially took interest in Bearcat football because of his family’s connection. His original affiliation with Northwest started before he was even born with his father, Buel Morris, graduating from Northwest in 1953 after 23 years of taking classes, which included correspondence with Northwest from Korea. After graduating from Northwest, his father later served as principal in Burlington Junction.

Many other family members also attended Northwest and pursued careers in the field of education. His uncle, Clinton Morris attended, as did an aunt, Frances Morris Rodecker, who graduated after 24 years of taking classes and, in 1974, retired from a 47-year teaching career. Robert Rodecker, Morris’s cousin, attended Northwest for a year before being accepted into the United States Naval Academy. The most recent Northwest graduate in the Morris family is Fred’s sister, Jean Morris Mairs ’63, of St. Joseph.

In honor of these family members, as well as members of both Fred and Leslie’s family who enjoyed careers in the field of education, the couple contacted Northwest with the desire to establish an endowed scholarship that will be available to students during their semester of student teaching.

“All children deserve to have the best education possible, and that can’t happen without having quality teachers in the classroom,” Fred Morris said. “We wanted to give a little extra boost to some deserving students as they enter the teaching profession and to continue a commitment to quality education that has been so important to our families for generations.”

The first $450 scholarship from the Morris Rodecker Haley Scholarship Fund will be awarded to a student completing his or her student teaching during the 2009 spring semester.

For more information or to find out how you can support the Northwest Foundation, call (660) 562-1248 or e-mail advance@nwmissouri.edu.

For more information, please contact:

Mitzi Lutz
Advancement Communications Specialist
Northwest Missouri State University
800 University Drive, Alumni House
Maryville, MO 64468
660.562.1248 (phone)
660.562.1990 (fax)
www.nwmissouri.edu/alumni

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