UCLA Anderson’s Morrison Center Founders Pledge a New Gift

UCLA Anderson Professor Emeritus Don Morrison and his wife Sherie, a distinguished professor emerita and former chair of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics in the UCLA College, have donated real estate valued at $15.4 million to UCLA. The deferred gift adds to the Morrisons’ decades of philanthropic support of the campus that has been their academic and professional home for more than 30 years. The Morrisons’ donation will be shared equally among four areas: UCLA Anderson School of Management, the UCLA College Division of Life Sciences, UCLA Athletics and the UCLA Faculty Club.

“Sherie and Don Morrison have been outstanding supporters of UCLA, continuously demonstrating their belief in our university and their commitment to its success,” said UCLA Chancellor Gene Block. “Their remarkable legacy of giving will help shape UCLA’s future for generations to come.”

“The Morrisons are exemplary Bruins who have made an extraordinary impact here at UCLA and well beyond. Sherie’s scientific discoveries have improved the lives of countless patients around the world and Don has, directly and indirectly, through his many distinguished students, changed the course of the marketing field,” said UCLA Anderson Dean Tony Bernardo. “Our community has been enriched by the generosity that both Sherie and Don have shared in so many ways: their scholarly contributions to the intellectual life here, mentorship and guidance to generations of students, extraordinary philanthropic support for so many important causes, and warm and lasting friendship to all of us.”

Don Morrison said when he and Sherie joined their respective faculties on the UCLA campus, early relationships forged with the late Chancellor Charles Young and UCLA Anderson Dean Clay La Force established familial connections for the Morrisons beyond their academic roles. Don would eventually become UCLA’s Faculty Athletic Representative and a member of Anderson’s Board of Advisors (then the Board of Visitors). In the collegial Anderson environment, Sherie was considered a member of the family as well, the pair rarely missing board-related events. That collegiality is a hallmark of the Morrisons’ tie with Anderson, where Don’s many close relationships included board members, fellow faculty, the numerous doctoral students he taught and mentored, and members of the Anderson staff.

“We want our legacy to reflect who we are and what we care about,” Don Morrison said. “UCLA has been hugely important to both of us. Not only did we build our careers here — participating in the university’s rich and invigorating culture of thought and study — but our daughters, both Heather (Felix, ’94) and Michelle (Oliva, ’95), are part of the Anderson family.”

In 2019, the Morrisons’ academic achievements and servant leadership earned them the UCLA Medal, the university’s highest honor.

UCLA Anderson’s share of their new gift will benefit the Morrison Family Center for Marketing Research and Data Analytics, which was established in 2015 thanks to a previous gift from the couple. The funds will support research on customer loyalty and retention analytics, as well as the launch of new initiatives, including a health care analytics symposium.

Their gift will establish the Sherie L. and Donald G. Morrison Endowed Graduate Support Fund in Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics within the UCLA College Division of Life Sciences; a portion of the gift will endow the Sherie L. and Donald G. Morrison UCLA Track & Field/Cross Country head coach position and support the women’s basketball program; and a portion will create the Sherie L. and Donald G. Morrison Quasi-Endowed Fund for the Faculty Club, that will fund remodeling projects at the club.

“We directed our gift to these areas,” Sherie Morrison said, “in particular because our vision of UCLA is one of academic excellence — hence our decision to support both the fields of study to which we devoted our careers — but also one of athletic achievement and, ultimately, of collegiality and friendship.”