The Morse Society

The Morse Society and graduate student fellowships for training and research in Childhood Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities have been established through an endowment with the University of Wisconsin Foundation. The program is operated under the guidance of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Waisman Center. The Morse Society supports a group of 12 or more members (doctoral candidates and several postdoctoral fellows) for interdisciplinary study of childhood mental health and the psychiatric aspects of developmental disabilities. Two faculty advisors are permanently part of the Society.

Scholars are referred by their academic mentors and may come from all UW departments and professional schools and must demonstrate the intent to bridge two or more related fields of  research. The group meets as a Society on a regular basis for dinner and seminars for scholars and guests to present their work. A yearly Visiting Professorship is also planned. Recently, a Life Fellowship Program has also been established to include the now numerous graduate alums for participation in the Society with a newsletter, reunions, and social as well as academic activities with the current scholars, thus completing a unique scholarly continuum through the years of research, thesis, teaching, and post-graduate careers.

The Morse Society was founded under its charter in 2012 and initially co-directed by Professors Marsha Mailick and Seth Pollak, who have complementary and overlapping areas of scientific expertise. Dr. Pollak is an internationally-renowned scientist focused on factors that compromise brain development and functioning, whereas Dr. Mailick’s research is on specific IDD syndromes and disorders. Each has been a longtime investigator at the Waisman Center, which greatly facilitated their administration of the program. The present director of the Waisman Center, Qiang Chang, PhD, is a professor and researcher in genetics and neurology and actively oversees the selection of fellows and their work.

The $17 million life and estate bequest by Richard H. Morse, MD (UW School of Medicine) and his lifelong partner Lawrence Connor, MSW,  honors Dr. Morse’s alumni parents Herbert and Freda (UW Law and UW Social Work); the Visiting Professorship and the Life Fellowships are from Larry Connor.  Dr. Morse is a retired professor after 40 years of faculty service in the departments of Child Psychiatry and PM&R at Louisiana State University and also is specialist in the management and rehabilitation of pain and disability syndromes. Larry Connor practiced with Dr. Morse’s staff throughout both of their careers.

“We wish the Society conviviality, toast you at the dinners and regret our own absence from the program, since we, too, share a vivid penchant for dialectical challenge. We wish you an exciting journey through your many disciplines and hope that your scholarship will be impactful in improving children’s lives.”

— Richard H. Morse, MD