Robert Morris

MORRIS, REV. ROBERT ALAN, O.P. 91, died Monday evening, March 2, at Mount St. Rita Health Centre in Cumberland. He was a member of the Dominican Friars (Order of Friars Preachers) of the Province of St. Joseph and the Dominican Community at Providence College. Born Robert Eugene Morris in Jersey City, N.J., he was the son of the late Thomas Morris and Ann (McGovern) Morris. He attended Sacred Heart School in Jersey City and Regis High School in New York City, graduating in 1941. Following two years at Providence College, he entered the Dominican novitiate at St. Rose Priory in Springfield, Ky., receiving the religious name Alan. One year later he made his simple profession of vows. He then studied at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio, and the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. On June 10, 1950, he was ordained a priest in the Dominican Order by the Most Rev. Edward C. Daly, O.P., bishop of Des Moines, Iowa, at St. Dominic Church in Washington. In 1946, Father Morris earned his A.B. in pre-ecclesiastical studies from PC. He later earned his bachelor's, licentiate, and lectorate degrees in sacred theology from the College of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. In 1951-1952, Father Morris studied at Yale University's School of Fine Arts in the drama department while assigned to St. Mary Priory in New Haven, Conn. From 1952-1957, he was assigned to St. Vincent Ferrer Priory in New York City. During this time, he worked with the New York Chapter of the Blackfriars Guild as a production director and co-author of plays. Father Morris joined the PC faculty in 1957, where he served until 1963 as a special lecturer in religious studies and full-time faculty member in the English department. He also served as assistant chaplain, then chaplain, during this time. From 1963-1967, he was assistant chaplain, then chaplain, at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., before returning to PC in 1967. Upon his return, Father Morris served as vice president for institutional development from 1967-1982, executive vice president from 1974-1982, and acting president in 1982. From 1982-1985, he was resident director of the Providence-in-Europe Fribourg (Switzerland) program. From 1985-1988, he was superior and pastor at St. Thomas Rectory and Church at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He again returned to PC in 1988 as a member of the theology department faculty. Among his other duties at PC have been a member of the Board of Trustees and Corporation, assistant dean of undergraduate studies, and the NCAA faculty athletic representative. He also co-founded the PC Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarship Program and administered the program from 1968-1972. Among his assignments outside Providence College during this time were as socius to the Provincial and vicar provincial of the Province of St. Joseph at St. Vincent Ferrer Priory in New York City from 1993-1997. He then served as a part-time faculty member in the theology department at PC for several years from 1997, until his retirement from the classroom. His community, civic, and religious affiliations included the Provincial Strategic Planning Steering Committee, the Provincial Dominican Friars Guild's Board of Directors, the Rhode Island Governor's Award Panel on the Arts, Trinity Repertory Company Board of Directors, and Summit House Board of Directors. Father Morris authored a number of books including College Enrollments in Rhode Island (1969) and General Principles and Particular Problems in the Relations to Church and State (1951). He also co-wrote several plays and had several articles printed. Among the awards he received from PC are the Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarship Program Service and Dedication Award, the Balfour Center for Multicultural Affairs Gift of Appreciation, and the Alumni Association Bishop Harkins Award, among many others. In 1982, the College awarded him an honorary doctorate in literature, and, in 2006, the College established the Rev. Robert A. Morris, O.P., Scholarship Fund. He was a singular fan of PC's varsity athletics teams, especially men's basketball, and was much loved by generations of PC alums. He was predeceased by his parents and two brothers, Harold and Joseph. He is survived by his brother Thomas and his family, as well as by his Dominican brothers. His body will be received into the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary in St. Thomas Aquinas Priory at Providence College at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 6, with visitation following until 7:00 p.m., when the Office of the Dead will be celebrated. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for him at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 7, in St. Dominic Chapel on campus, with burial in the Dominican Friars' Cemetery taking place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Providence College, Office of Institutional Advancement, Providence, RI 02918, for the Rev. Robert A. Morris, O.P., Scholarship Fund. Arrangements by Russell J. Boyle & Son Funeral Home, 331 Smith St., Providence. boyleandsonfuneralhome.com