# Richard L. Morrill

Richard Leslie Morrill (born June 4, 1939) is an American educator and former academic administrator who is the chancellor of the University of Richmond. He was president of Salem College, Centre College, and the University of Richmond for various periods between 1979 and 1998. He also currently holds the position of distinguished university professor of ethics and democratic values at Richmond.

## Early life and education

Richard Leslie Morrill was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, on June 4, 1939. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Brown University in 1961, graduating magna cum laude. He earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree in religious thought from Yale University in 1964 and a Ph.D. in religion from the Duke University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where he was named a James B. Duke Fellow.
Morrill studied at the Paris Institute of Political Sciences as an undergraduate and later received an honorary degree from the École des Hautes Études Internationales.

## Career
### Start in academia and president of Salem, 1967–1981

Morrill began his career in academia when he joined the faculty at Wells College in Aurora, New York, in 1967. Afterwards, he taught at Chatham College—now Chatham University—in Pittsburgh. He was appointed to his first position in administration at Chatham as executive assistant to president Edward D. Eddy and later associate provost. In 1977, he became executive assistant to the provost at Pennsylvania State University while also holding a faculty position as associate professor of religion; he remained at Penn State for two years.
Morrill was elected president of Salem College, a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in April 1979. He took office on August 1 of that year, making him Salem's sixteenth president. His formal inauguration was held on October 16, 1979; during his inaugural address, he focused on the importance of keeping Salem a small liberal arts college. He also noted his focus of Salem exclusively a women's college, in contrast to an "unspoken expectation" of coeducation nationwide. In December 1980, Salem received a $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He began a five-year fundraiser with a $12.2 million goal, of which Salem raised approximately half before Morrill's departure. In June 1981, Salem broke ground on a new student life center, which was scheduled to open by September 1982 at a total cost of $2.1 million.

### Centre College, 1982–1988

Morrill accepted the presidency of Centre College, in Danville, Kentucky, on November 2, 1981. He was the commencement speaker at the school's graduation on May 30, 1982. He officially assumed office on June 1, 1982, and he was formally inaugurated as Centre's 18th president on Apri 23, 1983. In 1987, Centre hosted former US president Jimmy Carter as its commencement speaker. During his time at Centre, he completed the "Fund for the Future" fundraising campaign, begun by Thomas A. Spragens, with nearly $40 million raised. In October 1982, Governor John Y. Brown Jr. announced the founding of what would become the Kentucky Governor's Scholars Program; Salem had hosted North Carolina's version of the program since 1962, and Morrill secured Centre's place as the first host of the Kentucky program. The program ran as planned on Centre's campus from July 3 to August 5, 1983, with 250 rising high school seniors in attendance. In September 1986, the college received a $3 million grant from the F. W. Olin Foundation, which was dedicated to a new sciences building. After receiving a subsequent $500,000 grant from the Olin Foundation a year later, the college dedicated Franklin W. Olin Hall in October 1988. In March 1987, Morrill and the college announced a $33 million fundraiser which would allow Centre to raise faculty salaries and financial aid for students and also included funds to renovate Grace Doherty Library, Young Hall, and several dormitory buildings.
Morrill announced his departure from Centre on April 22, 1988, in order to take the presidency of the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. Speculation had arisen several days earlier as to whether Richmond would offer the job to Morrill, who was publicly a finalist for the position, and as to what Morrill's final decision would be. Morrill's resignation was effective September 30, 1988; Centre's vice president, William H. Breeze, was appointed acting president and Michael F. Adams, then the vice president for university affairs at Pepperdine University, was ultimately selected to succeed Morrill. By the time he left Centre, the school's endowment had reached $230 million, faculty salaries had grown by 60 percent, and enrollment reached a record-high 850 students.

### University of Richmond, 1988–1998

Morrill took office as Richmond's seventh president on September 30, 1988. Within the first two weeks of his presidency, the school's board of trustees approved the creation of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.
Upon leaving Richmond's presidency, he became the school's chancellor and was titled distinguished university professor of ethics and democratic values.

### Post-presidency, 1998–present

Morrill became president of the Teagle Foundation in 2010. He is currently a member of the advisory board of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University and a senior consultant with the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. During his career, he was president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and he was a member of the board of the Library of Virginia Foundation.

## Personal life

Morrill married Martha Leahy in New Haven, Connecticut, on June 27, 1964. They have two children. Morrill is a member of the Ordre des Palmes académiques.

## Publications

* Teaching Values in College. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 1980. ISBN 0875894755.
* Strategic Leadership in Academic Affairs: Clarifying the Board's Responsibilities. Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. 2002. ISBN 9789990932850.
* Strategic Leadership: Integrating Strategy and Leadership in Colleges and Universities. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2010. ISBN 9781607096542.