Tuskegee University President Charlotte Morris will retire after nearly 40 years at TU
For many people who work in higher education, ascending to the top position of university president at a prominent HBCU would be a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For Charlotte Morris, it was not.
In Morris's 39 years of service to Tuskegee University, the board of trustees selected her to fill the role, not once, not twice, but three times. In 2010 and 2017 she stepped up as interim president, and in 2021, she became the second female president in the university's history.
Now, after a total of four years a few months in the office, Morris will retire.
She announced on Nov. 3 that she plans to step down once the Class of 2024 graduates in the spring.
“My hope is that I am leaving a legacy that shows the power of collaboration, the importance of integrity and the value of servant leadership,” Morris said in a statement.
What she considers to be one of her greatest accomplishments is the development of a five-year plan with the slogan "Embracing the Legacy, Transforming the Future." Morris completed the first two years of that plan while in office, and she hopes that her successor will see it to full fruition.
“Outlining the roadmap for the university’s success was an essential, collaborative mission and I am confident the planning and two-year implementation has provided a foundation to support the 10th President and our next generation of students,” Morris said in a statement. “I am also proud of raising millions to expand research, providing resources to ensure students in need are able to continue their academic pursuits, and watching our enrollment grow.”
Tuskegee received one of its largest research grants last month from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities in the amount of $25 million. That money is funding the development of obesity, breast cancer and cervical cancer solutions for minority populations.
Morris will continue to watch closely for the potential good to come out of this and other studies funded during her tenure.
Within Morris' retirement announcement, the Tuskegee University board of trustees thanked her for her dedication to the school over the years.
“Your selfless service to Mother Tuskegee over the past 40 years, as a professor and interim dean in the business school and your tenure as the chief of staff to Tuskegee’s fifth president, Dr. Benjamin Payton, demonstrate your unwavering commitment and devotion to the university’s founding principles of knowledge, leadership, and service,” board of trustees Chair Norma Clayton said.
Moving forward, the board is on the lookout for Morris' replacement.
A third-party consulting firm is on the board's payroll and is tasked with conducting the official search, and the university said the firm will maintain "a particular interest" in taking community feedback into account.
University trustee, Alabama Power senior vice president for customer operations and Class of 1995 alumnus Jonathan Porter will head up the 15-person search committee. The group of community members will deliver a recommendation to the board once it comes to a decision.
Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Tuskegee University President Charlotte Morris announces retirement
