Meet Jim Bob Morris

 

"K-State was there for me. I'm going to be there for them."

The Center was made possible by Jim Bob Morris. With the hope and understanding that a multicultural student center would cultivate great thought, connections and success, Jim Bob Morris was honored to make the lead gift for the Morris Family Multicultural Student Center.

Morris is a former K-State student of Cherokee Nation descent. He grew up poor in the tiny southeast Kansas town of Virgil and experienced first-hand how inequality creates barriers to progress. He credits a K-State Athletics scholarship for his pathway to success. “We were on welfare, 15 miles in any direction on a gravel road to get out, so access was limited. K-State was there for me, so I’m going to be there for them.”

During his time at K-State, he was recognized with All Big Eight honors as a safety and in 1982, he led K-State to its first bowl appearance in school history. He went on to play professionally for the Green Bay Packers and Houston Oilers.

Morris credits the finance education he received at K-State for giving him the “good business base” that led him to be president and owner of Morris Packaging, a leading supplier of packaging products as well as founder of several technology and consumer product companies. A businessman at heart, Morris acknowledges that inclusion drives success — and you cannot have inclusion without diversity. He knows that diversity brings success to the workforce and to humanity.