Jim Morrison is an alumnus of Florida State University and Southern Scholarship Foundation. Hailing from Winter Haven, Florida, Jim joined SSF and lived in the CLO #1 Scholarship House (1956-60), Selby II Scholarship House (1960-62), and the Lion’s Scholarship House (1965-66). His favorite SSF memory was hosting FSU President Robert Strozier for a house dinner.
After graduating with a B.S. in Social Studies Education; M.S. in Social Science; and a Ph.D. in Higher Education, he pursued a career in higher learning. Jim has served on the faculties of the University of Maryland, Florida State, Penn State, and UNC-Chapel Hill, where he retired. He and his wife Sherry live in Durham, NC.
In 2014 Jim received the distinguished educator award from FSU’s College of Education (see https://vimeo.com/109513312) and in 2015 he received the FSU Emeritus Alumni Society’s Commitment to Excellence Award (see https://vimeo.com/146543344). According to Jim, SSF had a profound impact on his life: “My father died when I was seven and my mother supported us on a secretarial salary. In conjunction with a state teaching scholarship, SSF enabled me to attend FSU when I graduated from high school; otherwise, I am not sure how/when I would have obtained the resources to enter any college (there was no community college in my home town).”