Phillip Morris, currently the project director for UCCS-based SoColo Reach, will lead the Office of Veteran and Military Student Affairs.
Morris was selected following a national search. His appointment was announced by Brad Bayer, executive director, Student Life and Leadership.
“Phillip’s combination of experiences, including service as a member of the U.S. Army and the Army National Guard, will benefit UCCS students,” Bayer said. “I know he will work diligently to ensure that students, and their families, receive the benefits and the support their service has earned them.”
Since 2011, Morris has served as project director for SoColo Reach, a UCCS-based project designed to encourage southern Colorado youth to enroll in either a two-year colleges or four-year universities in the region. He also worked as a veteran and military student orientation coordinator and taught a statistics and research methods course in the College of Education.
Previously, Morris was an alumni research fellow, program coordinator, training coordinator and assistant lecturer at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He served for five years as a paralegal specialist for the West Virginia Army National Guard and completed three years of active duty in the U.S. Army where he was an ammunition specialist and driver.
Morris earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Florida, a master’s in geography from the University of Florida and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Concord University, Athens, W. Va.
“I am honored to fill this important position for UCCS,” Morris said. “My aim is to continue to effectively and efficiently provide financial and academic benefits to eligible students, and seek out new opportunities and experiences that will help these students find success beyond service to our country.”
The Office of Veteran and Military Student Affairs recently moved to the Forster House on the eastern edge of main campus. Morris believes the office’s location a plus, offering veterans and active duty military a special place where they can receive counseling in a confidential and comfortable environment while remaining in proximity to related student services offices in Main Hall.
Morris replaces Lee Ingalls Noble who was named interim director of the Office of Veteran and Military Student Affairs in February. Noble, who retired in 2009 after 31 years in the Office of Student Financial Aid, plans to re-enter retirement after assisting with transition duties within the office.
Phillip, Congrats on the new job. My experience as a veteran in applying for admission at UCCS was dismal. I was treated as a non-resident applicant. My error was that I didn’t apply for admission BEFORE I retired. I was overseas as my retirement date approached. I took terminal leave and arrived in Colorado Springs with only two weeks to find a new home for my family, get moved in, and find a job. Admission to UCCS was low on my list of things to do. I had a couple of unfinished BS degrees, and UCCS seemed like the place to go. I was three months into my retirement before I made time to apply to UCCS. I was told that I could not apply as a resident. I would have to fulfill the one year resident requirement. It wasn’t enough that I was a veteran. It wasn’t enough that I owned property in Colorado, had a job in Colorado, had a Colorado Driver’s license, had done my banking business for several years in Colorado, paid income tax to Colorado, and was a registered voter in Colorado. I spoke directly to the Chancellor, she gave me the tough luck treatment. My twenty years of Air Force service wasn’t good enough. I would have qualified for resident status if I had applied BEFORE I retired. There was no sense in pleading my case any further, the lady was a knot headed bureaucrat. Guaranteed GI Bill money to pay for tuition and books just wasn’t good enough either. I took my GI Bill entitlement and applied elsewhere. Although I had to pay more on tuition, I wasn’t given any crap about resident or non-resident status. Two years later I graduated with two BS degrees, and with honors. My next education objective was an MBA. My first stop to find an MBA program was UCCS. In inquired at the UCCS College of Business. I asked the young lady there what admission requirements were for their MBA program. She stated that the college would accept any BS degree with a GPA of 2. I asked “why such a low GPA requirement”. She answered–“We have to accommodate graduates from our College of Engineering”. My response was–“No wonder our bridges and highways are falling apart”. I could see the smoke coming out of her ears, she must have been one of them. I didn’t want to be surrounded in class by a bunch of dummy engineers. I left immediately and went to Chapman University’s extension unit and applied there and was accepted. The bottom line is–UCCS didn’t get any of my GI Bill money. When my son graduated from high school, I took him to apply at Colorado Tech. He finished there with a Bachelor of Science in IT, followed by two MS degrees. All with honors. Bottom line is–UCCS didn’t get that tuition money either. It’s all because of the poor treatment this veteran received from the staff at UCCS. There is a steady stream of vets looking to follow up on their military service with a college education. Like me, many of them joined the military for the education benefits. UCCS really fouled up with me. I had an objective, and I had the money benefit to pay for it–but that wasn’t good enough for UCCS. If things haven’t already changed, then you have the opportunity to make things right for veterans interested in attending UCCS. Get the word out to active duty personnel that they should enroll BEFORE retirement in order to beat the bureaucratic requirement for resident status. Many of those vets bring families with them. Their spouses and children might also have education objectives that could include UCCS. The university would do well to treat them all with respect. UCCS lost out on me, and my son, because of a stupid bureaucratic requirement. I’m enjoying my second retirement now. I’d consider seeking work at UCCS as a recruiter to approach active and veteran military and bring them to UCCS for their follow on education. Something about having to work with the same bureaucracy that shunned me before seems a bit odd. I’ll volunteer my services somewhere else in the community.