LIVES THAT IMPROVED LIFE
PHOTO CREDIT: COURTESY OF ROSALIND MORRIS, AGRONOMY PAPERS, ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN LIBRARIES
Mary Rosalind Morris Leaving the family farm near Forest, Ont., in 1938, Mary Rosalind Morris enrolled in horticultural studies at the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) with plans to become a tree fruit breeder. After completing her BSA in 1942, she continued grad studies in plant breeding at Cornell University. There, she got her first look at chromosomes under the microscope, an experience that changed her career plans. Morris completed her PhD in genetics studies in 1946, becoming one of the first two women to receive a doctorate from Cornell’s plant breeding department. She accepted a faculty position at the University of NebraskaLincoln (UNL), becoming the first woman faculty member hired by the agronomy department, where she spent a 43-year-long career. Early in her studies, she looked at the effects of radiation on crops including
Rosalind Morris in the UNL wheat greenhouse in the 1970s.
AS A CYTOGENETICIST WITH UNL’S WHEAT TEAM, MORRIS DEVELOPED AND TESTED CHROMOSOME LINES IN BREAD WHEAT VARIETIES.
corn genes. Keen to improve her technical skills, she completed a fellowship at the California Institute of Technology in 1949-50. She also spent several months in
Albert Andrews, BA ’93, June 30, 2021 Koren Murray, B.A.Sc. ’94, April 2, 2021 Linda Taylor, DVM ’94, Oct. 30, 2021 Robert (Rob) Sexton, B.Comm. ’96; MA ’12, Nov. 17, 2021 Cindy Graham, B.Sc. ’97, Feb. 24, 2021 Dorothee Osmond, B.Sc. ’97; DVM ’02, Aug. 8, 2021 Jennifer Cutler, B.Sc. ’98, May 13, 2021 2000s Iris Mitten, BA ’01, Jan. 21, 2021 Kevin Finney, BA Hon. ’02, March 20, 2022 Melanie Freeman, MA ’02; PhD ’09, Nov. 12, 2021
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1956-57 on a Guggenheim scholarship in Sweden and England. As a cytogeneticist with UNL’s wheat team, Morris developed and tested chromosome lines in bread wheat varieties. “This involved meticulous microscope observations by Rosalind and her assistants,” read her obituary. “Many of these lines were shared with wheat scientist in different countries.
Tiffany Redwood, B.Comm. ’06, Sept. 30, 2021 Jeffrey (Jeff) Beaton, MLA ’09, Sept. 29, 2021 Frank Hasenfratz, Hon. D.Sc. ’10, Jan. 9, 2022 Olabanji Akinola, MA ’11; PhD ’17, Jan. 10, 2022 Matthew (Matt) Kowalchuk, BA (Gen.) ’12, Sept. 17, 2021 Cornelia Oberlander, Hon DLaw ’15, May 22, 2021 Shelbi Link, B.A.Sc. ’16, Oct. 24, 2021 Kaitlin Williams, B.Sc. ’18, Jan. 19, 2022 Nelia Scheeres, B.Sc. ’19, Aug. 16, 2021
“Rosalind was a trailblazer for women in agronomy when it was unusual to see women in such roles.” Morris died March 26, 2022, just over a month before her 102nd birthday. Born May 8, 1920, in Wales, she moved to Canada with her family in 1925. The move came after her father, a teacher, had contracted flu following the First World War; a doctor had advised him to find an outdoor occupation. By 1930, the family was living on a fruit farm in Lambton County. In 1997, she established the W. Penri Morris Memorial Scholarship at U of G, named for her brother, who was killed during the Second World War. A longtime member of the Nebraska Academy of Scientists, Rosalind Morris belonged to the local branch of the American Association of University Women and to the St. David’s Society of Nebraska. Her cytogenetics work continues to provide a resource for researchers studying functional genomics.
Nathan Adams, BA ’20, Nov. 6, 2021 Katherine (Katie) McElweenie, B.Sc. ’21, May 10, 2021 Garry Glowacki, BA Gen. ’21, Jan. 27, 2021 Manuel Gomez, D.Sc. ’21, June 8, 2021
To honour alumni who have passed away, the University of Guelph Alumni Association makes an annual donation to the Alumni Legacy Scholarship.
Summer 2022 PORTICO | 37
