A tribute to Clarence Morrison.

On August 6, 2008, Clarence C. Morrison (age 76) passed away. With his passing, many of us lost a trusted and honorable friend and/or mentor, the International Atlantic Economic Society (IAES) lost a past President and long-time supporter and friend, and the economics profession lost one of its more capable, insightful, and productive scholars.

Clarence began his life in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1932. He graduated from Davidson College in 1954 and finished his doctoral training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1964. His career included being an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia (1964-1967), an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Georgia (1967-1970), and Professor of Economics at Indiana University (in Bloomington) from 1970 until his retirement. Thus, at age 38 he had reached the rank of full professor, an uncommonly early age for such a milestone.

I first met Clarence (Professor Morrison to all of the graduate students) in the Fall of 1967, when I began graduate studies. Clarence taught graduate microeconomic theory. The class was filled with analytical and mathematical rigor (one did not dare miss a class) and aside from the exams there was a term paper requirement that everyone (including Clarence) took very seriously. It was in this class that I first learned to write, i.e., to write well. Clarence encouraged my ideas and mentored me both in writing and analytical thinking on the one hand and in appreciating the elegance of mathematics properly applied and the fruits of hard work on the other hand. Indeed, based on an idea I developed in his class, I received my first refereed publication, accepted in the Spring of 1968, and published in 1969 in The American Economist. Clarence also taught our class something else: perspective. He was clear in teaching us that as important as devotion to one's studies and career must be, devotion to one's family was the number one priority. At the time of his passing, Clarence was en route to celebrating a 53rd wedding anniversary to his sweet and charming wife, Geraldine. To teach by example is a beautiful thing! Over the years, his professional advice to me (and to many others I am sure) consistently proved both wise and realistic. My career and even my personal life benefited from knowing Clarence.

So far as the IAES is concerned, he was a devoted member. He served on the Atlantic Economic Journal Editorial Board since 1977. In that capacity he reviewed numerous papers, and the ones that passed muster with him were destined to be only of first-rate quality. Clarence commonly attended the conferences of the IAES since his first involvement in the society and generally participated in its activities, bringing his energy and good will to the conference every time he was there. He also served IAES by assuming the roles of Vice President (1979-1995) and then President (1995-1996), bringing the prestige of his professional reputation and the strength of his character to our organization.

Finally, as a scholar, Clarence distinguished himself with original and high-quality works for his entire career. He served as a referee for several scholarly journals, most commonly Economic Inquiry, Explorations in Economic History, and the Journal of Economic Education. He also served in the role of referee for the University of North Carolina Press, The Dryden Press, and Business Publications, Inc. Much more impressive, however, is his publication record. He published an astonishing 15 refereed papers in the Atlantic Economic Journal. However, he also published extensively in a variety of other highly regarded scholarly refereed journals, including the following: Southern Economic Journal (eight times), Economic Inquiry. (twice), the International Economic Review, Public Choice (twice), the American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Metroeconomica (three times), the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Public Finance Quarterly (three times), the History of Political Economy, the Journal of Economics and Business, and the Indian Journal of Economies (nine times).

Clarence Morrison's publication record was impressive, not only in quantity but also in quality. But, like his mentoring, his teaching, his service to the IAES in particular and to the discipline generally, the key descriptors were dedication, quality, prioritizing, value, and teaching us all not merely by words or equations but also by example. Clarence C. Morrison, Ph.D., will be missed by many in all of his myriad roles.

Richard J. Cebula

Armstrong Atlantic State University

Print Get the Mag Weekly Updates