Robert S. Morris, a 1976 Hamilton College graduate, has been named recipient of the College's Volunteer of the Year Award. The award was announced during Hamilton's annual Fallcoming weekend, on Oct. 17.
Morris is the founder and managing partner of Olympus Partners, a private equity fund manager based in Stamford, Conn.
Morris has been a member of Hamilton's Committee on Investments for more than 10 years. He has served Hamilton in numerous other volunteer capacities, including capital campaigns, the Annual Fund and Career Center program. In 1999 he established an endowed faculty chair at Hamilton, The Irma M. and Robert D. Morris Professorship of Economics, named in honor of his parents. He has also been an active volunteer in efforts to provide resources for research on polio and post-polio syndrome.
After receiving his bachelor's degree in economics from Hamilton, Morris earned a master's degree from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College in 1980. He held various management positions in General Electric (G.E.) manufacturing and financial services businesses, before being named senior vice president/general manager-private placements at G.E. Investment Corp. in 1983. In 1988, he founded Olympus Partners, which now manages $1.6-$1.7 billion in private equity funds.
While a senior at Hamilton, Morris was awarded the Senior Traveling Fellowship that enabled a student to perform research work on a project internationally. He received the Hadley S. DePuy Award for Outstanding Campus Service, was co-chair of the campus fund drive, a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, chair of the Publications Board, a resident advisor, and writer for the student newspaper, The Spectator. He also served as emcee for the Monday Morning Community Chapel, a program of humor and campus-wide information, and played varsity golf and baseball.
Morris resides in Riverside, Conn., with his wife, Mary Helen, and their three children.
