As Hassel Morrison strode into the Dean of Students Office Friday morning, he greeted the half dozen students waiting in the lobby.
He shook some hands, said some “hellos” and made small talk before stepping into his office, cluttered from days of packing.
“I’ve had a great opportunity to be a part of this family,” he said. “I’ve had great experiences here. I’m really going to miss it here, and I’ve got a feeling the future is going to be bright.”
After three years as associate dean of students at UI, Morrison will depart for Minnesota, where he will serve as vice president of student life at St. Olaf College. His last scheduled day at UI is Sept. 7.
Morrison, who made his career helping young people navigate tricky educational paths, said his days begin — and end — with students.
“I’m always pushing students to do more, be better, to help change the world,” he said. “I believe that every student that comes to college has the ability to do something great.”
Morrison said he strictly abides by a self-imposed 24/7 open-door policy. No student who reaches out to his office will feel abandoned, he said. From the time he began studying criminal justice at Radford University in Virginia, Morrison said he always felt a connection with people.
After changing majors and completing an undergraduate degree in media studies, he slowly began to realize his natural born skill of connecting with others might be better suited for a different career path.
Recalling interactions with mentors and advisers during his time in college, Morrison credited much of his decision to pursuing a career in education to the help he received from older individuals at Radford.
“I connected with this faculty person that was really influential. I felt like he cared about me as a person,” he said “He wanted me to be successful. I felt like whether I went to Radford or not, he wanted to see me succeed.”
From Radford, Morrison then traveled to Virginia State University to pursue his master’s degree in educational leadership. After completing his graduate studies, then earned his doctorate from North Carolina State University.
During his time at school, Morrison joined Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, an organization whose notable alumni include Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall and jazz artist Lionel Hampton, the namesake of University of Idaho’s annual Jazz fest. Morrison said he took his positive experiences among the Greek community into his professional life, especially when he joined the UI staff in 2015.
Courtesy | Melissa Hartley
Hassel Morrison throws at the dunk tank to raise funds for scholarships.
“I think the Greek community is very vibrant. It brings a lot of excitement and energy to campus,” Morrison said. “Typically, we can lean on the Greek community when we need something to get done. They do a lot of service in the community, they raise funds. They’re a good group, and I’m glad I’ve had the experience of working with them.”
UI has 33 Greek chapters across three councils — Interfraternity Council, Multicultural Greek Council and Panhellenic — including ten sororities, 16 fraternities and seven multicultural Greek chapters.
Morrison said many faculty and staff, much like himself, are still proud members of Greek life, something many students might not take into account. He said he made it his mission to change that narrative when he arrived in Moscow, with the hope of making the administration appear more accessible to Greek students.“I think it’s good to know that you’ve got people that were a part of the Greek system in some key positions. It’s not just the people that live on Greek Row, it’s people intertwined throughout the university,” he said. “We’re stronger together.”Morrison also advocated for increased diversity within the Greek system, and said the chances of Native American and LGBTQ Greek organizations joining the UI community looked promising. When it comes to students outside of the Greek system, Morrison said it can be emotionally draining, yet incredibly worth the time, to seek out individuals who may be struggling and help them along their educational path.
Nicole Skinner, president of ASUI, said Morrison will be sorely missed once he departs.
“He never trivialized the issues that students cared about and spent hours working through solutions with me,” Skinner said. “He was a professional faculty member when we needed him to be, and a friend when we wanted him to be. He really lights up any room that he’s in and sought to make lives better every day.”
Morrison said he hopes his idea of putting students first continues to hold strong after his departure to St. Olaf College. Morrison floated the idea of a more involved search for UI’s next president, one that would include, students, staff, faculty and even Moscow community members.“I would like to see a diverse pool,” he said. “I’d like to see some people of color, some men, some women. I’d like to see different age diversities. I want the decision to be hard.”
Morrison said regardless of who is selected to lead the university in the future, his confidence in UI students will keep the institution going in the right direction.“I think colleges and universities are a wonderful place to really change the world. Young people, they don’t go to college for the heck of it,” Morrison said. “Those are the next leaders. I’ve got a feeling that the future is going to be bright.”
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill