Richard L. D. Morse papers, 1912-2005

Summary

Creator:
Morse, Richard L. D.
Physical description:
193.00 Linear Feet, 218.00 Boxes
Language:
English
Latin

Background

Scope and content:

The Richard L.D. Morse Papers provide a broad spectrum of material, which reflect the donor's academic career, topical interests, and professional avocation of consumer service. While some of the papers briefly note his tour of service with the United States Navy in the Second World War and his family life, most of the documents in this collection pertain to Morse's academic endeavors as an educator and consumer advocate. Certain sections of the collection relate to his time as a student and a young professor at Iowa State University and Florida State University, including Morse's own doctoral dissertation and academic correspondence. Other sections collect Morse's records as chair of K-State's Department of Family Economics, mentored student projects and his assistance with the university's Agricultural Experiment Station and the development of several grant projects as well as his own course syllabi, notes, and other related educational material.
Another substantial section of this collection highlights Morse's personal interests on behalf of local and statewide consumers. In places, readers will find correspondence, articles, reports, and newspaper clippings related to the protection of working class and poor Kansans from fraud, credit reporting irregularities, differing interest calculations by area banks, family fiscal planning theories, and advocacy for the aging. For example, several files relate to his work on the behalf of the Kansas Citizens Council on Aging, challenging age-discrimination and advocating for new measures to ensure the proper financing, dignity, medical care, and a level of personal utility for the regions elderly population. Other files relate to his petitioning for the implementation of long overlooked federal food programs to alleviate hunger in Kansas. Still others demonstrate his commitment to many Kansas State University Libraries' educational initiatives, including Treasurer for the Friends of K-State Libraries and co-chairmanship of the Essential Edge Fundraising campaign.

Biographical / historical:

Richard Lawrence Day "Dick" Morse was born in Grinnell, Iowa, on December 27, 1916. He was raised in New Jersey and moved to Ohio in 1933 to attend Oberlin College for two years. Dick received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1938 before attending the University of Chicago (1938-1939), Columbia University (during the summer of 1940), and Iowa State College, where he earned a doctorate in consumption economics in 1942. Following distinguished service with the U.S. Navy on the Pacific front during World War II, Morse held teaching positions at Iowa State College (1945–1947), Florida State University (1947–1955), and Kansas State University (1955–1987), where he served as professor and head of the Department of Household Economics (later Family Economics).

He married Marjorie Johnson in Oklahoma in 1943 while on leave from the U.S. Navy. They had three daughters, Nancy, Mary, and Susan.

With a background in family and home economics, Morse served as a lifelong advocate for families and consumers and, eventually, became nationally and internationally known as an expert in the field of protecting consumer rights. Many of Morse's most notable accomplishments involved his tireless efforts to have legislation passed on the federal and state levels to benefit citizens in the areas of truth-in-savings and truth-in-lending, including serving as a consumer and banking counselor for the United States Congress and Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. A "crusader" for the consumer, Morse held numerous important positions on the local, regional, and national levels including, President of Consumer Education and Protection Association for Kansans, twenty years of service on the Board of Directors of Consumers Union, appointee to Presidents John Kennedy’s and Lyndon Johnson’s U.S. Consumer Advisory Council, a founding member of the Kansas Citizens Council on Aging, member of the Governor's Advisory Council on Aging, and Commissioner of the Manhattan Urban Renewal Agency. In 1987, Morse donated his personal papers to the Special Collections Department of Kansas State University Libraries and collaborated with the staff to establish the Consumer Movement Archives as a repository for the collections of consumer leaders and organizations.

Following his retirement from K-State in 1987, Dick and wife, Marjorie, dedicated their time and energy to improving the K-State Libraries through their service as co-chairs of the Essential Edge fund-raising campaign (1988–1993), leaders in the Friends of the K-State Libraries organization, and by enhancing the collections and programs of the Special Collections Department. In recognition of their financial support of Special Collections and involvement with the Consumer Movement Archives, the Richard L. D. and Marjorie J. Morse Department of Special Collections was named in their honor in 1997. During K-State's commencement activities in 2000, the College of Human Ecology bestowed its initial Public Policy Award upon Dick, and a Marjorie J. and Richard L. D. Morse Family and Community Public Policy Scholarship was established jointly by the Libraries, College of Human Ecology, College of Business Administration, College of Arts and Sciences, and Leadership Studies. Reports written by scholarship recipients may be viewed on the Kansas State Research Exchange (K-REx) at https://hdl.handle.net/2097/20453.

Dick Morse passed away on June 3, 2000. Marjorie Morse followed a few years later, dying on March 4, 2003.

Acquisition information:
Acqusition Source: Richard L. D. Morse Acqusition Method: Donation Acqusition Date: 19870101
Processing information:

Finding Aid Author: Jarrod Kuckelman
Processing Info: Processed by Jarrod Kuckelman, October 2017

Arrangement:

The arrangement of these records reflects the diversity of Morse's professional interests. They are organized in the series: : 1) Correspondence, 2) Kansas State University Correspondence, 3) Iowa State University Academic Records, 4) Florida State University Academic Records, 5) Kansas State University Academic Records, 6) Truth-in-Savings, 7) International Organizations, 8) National Organizations, 9) State Organizations, 10) Conferences, 11) Literary Works-Dissertations at Kansas State University, 12) Literary Works-Thesis Reports at Kansas State University, 13) General Literary Works, 14) The Federal Executive and Legislative Branch Offices, 15) State of Kansas Government Documents, 16) Richard L.D. Morse Speeches, 17) Alphabetical Speeches by Others, 18) Reports and Publications-Printed Material, 19) Studies/Research-Printed Material, 20) Homemaker/Home Health Aid Service Reports-Printed Material, 21) Newsletters/Bulletins-Printed Material, 22) Newspapers and Clippings-Printed Material, 23) Subject Files, 24) Study: Savings Advertisement Analysis, 25) Journals and Magazines.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
General note:

Published

Dacs citation:

Preferred Citation: [Item title], [item date], Richard Morse papers, Box [number], Folder [number or title], Morse Department of Special Collections, Kansas State University Libraries.

Subjects

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Subjects:
Consumer movement

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