Richard L. Morrill, University of Richmond chancellor, elected chair of The Teagle Foundation board of directors
September 5, 2008
Richard L. Morrill, chancellor of the University of Richmond, has been elected chair of the board of directors of The Teagle Foundation.
With assets of $180 million, the New York-based foundation is dedicated to providing intellectual leadership and financial support to strengthen educational opportunity and undergraduate learning in the liberal arts and sciences.
Morrill has served on the foundation's board since 1989, complementing his long career of leadership in higher education. He was president of Richmond from 1988-98 and previously held the same position at Salem College in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Centre College in Danville, Ky.
Morrill has been president of the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges, a board officer of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and a member of the national panel sponsored by AAC&U that issued the influential 2002 report, "Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College."
Morrill currently serves as the non-executive chairman of the Tredegar Corporation, president of the Richmond Symphony Foundation, and a board member of Albemarle Corp., Williamsburg Investment Trust and the Library of Virginia Foundation. He previously served as chairman of the board of the Richmond-based Christian Children's Fund, one of the country's largest charities serving at-risk children around the globe.
Walter C. Teagle III joins Morrill in the foundation's leadership as vice-chair.
"For the past several years, the foundation has focused many of its resources on colleges and universities willing to ask tough questions about whether their students are learning at the highest possible levels, to look unflinchingly at the evidence they gather, and then strive to do even better," said the Teagle Foundation's president, W. Robert Connor. "All of our programs speak to this overarching goal, and they are starting to yield encouraging results.
"The keen insight, innovative thinking and enthusiasm for the foundation's mission brought by Mr. Morrill and Mr. Teagle ensure that our programs will continue to develop and thrive."
Morrill has authored numerous publications on values, leadership and liberal education, including his recent book, "Strategic Leadership: Integrating Strategy and Leadership in Colleges and Universities." He earned his bachelor's degree in history magna cum laude from Brown University, the B.D. in religious thought from Yale University and a doctorate in religion and ethics from Duke University.