Bio

Richard Morse competed for the College s cross country team during the 1953-54 and 1954-55 seasons. He served as team captain of the 1954-55 squad.

During his career, he set a new State Hospital Course record by covering the 3.2-mile circuit in 15:48 and eclipsing the previous mark by 13 seconds. During the 1954-55 season, he finished ninth in the National Junior College Athletic Association meet at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. His time in that race was 16:21. Morse was named the college's Athlete of the Year in 1955.

Morse was a science teacher in both the Waterloo and Schoharie school districts of New York, spending a total of 30 years in the classroom. He coached track and cross country in those districts for 20 years, bringing home several league championships. He has long been a valuable contributor to his community in many ways, including serving as a firefighter, Boy Scout Scoutmaster, planning board member, local Republican Party vice chairman, union negotiator, hunter safety instructor, and boater safety instructor.

He was elected as town justice for the Town of Carlisle from 1979 to 1990 and spent 10 years as president of the Seneca Lake Waterways Association. He also received four National Science Foundation grants, with stipends, to study the ecology of the Finger Lakes with a focus on extensive research on the Eurasian watermilfoil, a grouping of invasive freshwater aquatic plants.