About President Morse

Karen W. Morse became Western's 12th chief executive in 1993. Responsible to the Board of Trustees and in collaboration with the campus community, she leads in development and fulfillment of institutional goals and the university's long-term strategic plan. Her key objectives are to enhance the quality of programs and courses, promote a positive learning environment, increase resources, create a climate that supports diversity, and encourage community service.

Morse is a member and past chair of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Policies and Purposes Committee, and has served on AASCU's Council of State Representatives; as a member of the American Council on Education commission on international education; and was twice the chair of the Council of Presidents, a voluntary organization of the presidents of the state's higher education institutions.  Morse just completed a seven year term on the NCAA Division II President's Council and has served as president of the PACWest Conference, the predecessor of the current Great Northwest Athletic Conference. She is currently a member of the NCAA Committee on International Membership and is a charter signatory and member of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment Leadership Circle.  Morse recently began a term on the American Council on Education (ACE) Commission on Women in Higher Education and serves on the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) Tenth Anniversary Commission and its board and the National Council for Research on Women Presidents Circle. She also serves on the American Association of State Colleges and Universities' Task Force on Science and Mathematics Education; and the Board of Directors of the Whatcom Symphony and the Bellingham Whatcom Economic Development Council.  She serves on the Puget Sound Blood Center Community Campaign Council and is a member of the Bellingham Rotary Club.

In April 1997, Morse received the Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Award, one of the American Chemical Society's highest honors. She has published extensively in the field of chemistry and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. Morse came to Western from Utah State University where she was Provost.  She served as a professor of chemistry, head of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, and Dean of the College of Science before being named Provost in 1989.

She earned her doctorate and master's degrees from the University of Michigan and her bachelor's degree from Ohio's Denison University, which awarded her an honorary degree in 1990.

Karen Morse is married to retired Western chemistry professor and Director of Science Education, Joseph Morse, whom she met while both were pursuing their doctorates at Michigan.  The couple has two adult sons, Robert, an attorney in Washington, D.C., and Geoffrey, a faculty member in the Department of Biology at Arizona State University West. They also enjoy two granddaughters, Sophia and Victoria.