In Our Prayers: Susan S. Morrison

Susan Schmid Morrison, a longtime University of St. Thomas benefactor, passed away on March 31 surrounded by family. She was 86.

Sue Morrison cared deeply about the success of St. Thomas and its students. She and her husband, John, who has served on the university’s Board of Trustees since 1996, devoted more than 30 years to advancing the university’s mission.

Their leadership and generosity shaped some of the university’s most transformative initiatives. The couple co-chaired the Opening Doors campaign from 2007 to 2012, raising more than $500 million to support scholarships, academic programs and campus development. Over the decades, the Morrison family has been among the university’s most significant benefactors and, through the personal introduction of their friends and networks, helped inspire more than $1.5 billion in philanthropic support for St. Thomas.

Their legacy resonates across the university’s three campuses. The Morrisons were lead benefactors of the Morrison Family College of Health, the John M. Morrison Center for Entrepreneurship in the Opus College of Business, Morrison Residence Hall and Morrison House, the residence of the university’s president. They established the Morrison Law School Fund, the Dougherty Family College Morrison Endowment and the Pio Cardinal Laghi Distinguished Chair in Law. They also played a pivotal role in securing the location of the university’s Rome campus.

Sue Morrison’s experience as a nurse helped inspire one of the university’s most significant advances in health education: the Morrison Family College of Health, which prepares future professionals and expands access to care while advancing a whole-person approach to health using community-engaged strategies.

The Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing, named in her honor, reflects an especially personal part of that legacy. In her own career, Sue worked in obstetrics, a teen clinic, chemical dependency and other areas of care.

“Sue shared our belief that health care must focus on the dignity of the whole person, said Dr. MayKao Y. Hang, Distinguished Chair and founding dean of the Morrison Family College of Health. “Her generosity continues to advance our vision of transforming health care through whole-person healing, advocacy and systems change while preparing graduates who care about the conditions that can help people to be and stay well, as well as intervening when this is illness.”

Sue also served on the inaugural advisory board for the School of Nursing.

Announced in April 2022, the Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing welcomed its first cohort of students that September and celebrated its inaugural class of graduates in May 2024. During the first pinning ceremony, Sue was presented with the inaugural nursing pin — the same type St. Thomas nursing graduates now receive.

In recent years, the Morrisons continued to deepen their support for health education at St. Thomas. More recently, their support helped expand learning space and resources for the university’s growing nursing programs, and influenced the Morrison Lecture series.

Sue attended Metro State University and later earned a Bachelor of Arts in human services from St. Catherine University in St. Paul. In 2012, St. Thomas awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in recognition of her leadership and service. She once told the St. Thomas Newsroom that she “was fortunate enough to stay home to be a full-time mom” and that her nursing experience shaped the calm, practical care she brought to parenting.

That compassion extended well beyond her professional life. Sue and John Morrison welcomed single mothers into their home when they needed support and stability. On one occasion, she even helped deliver a baby on her living room floor.

“Sue Morrison lived the mission of St. Thomas in both quiet and extraordinary ways,” said Rob Vischer, president of the University of St. Thomas. “Through her compassion, her faith and her generosity, she created opportunities for students and strengthened programs that will serve communities for generations to come.”

Although she and John spent much of their time as residents of Florida, Sue remained closely connected to the university community and frequently returned to campus. She attended the unveiling reception and tour of the School of Nursing academic building that bears her name and observed demonstrations in the state-of-the-art simulation center where students learn patient care skills.

As someone who said patient contact was her favorite part of nursing, she offered this advice to future graduates: “Get out of [your] zone a little bit and meet the patients where they are – you will learn so much from them.”

Sue Morrison is survived by her husband, John; children John (Carolyn), Julie ’19 MSL, Jeanne Cook (Mitch) and Mary Morrison; 12 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

A funeral and celebratoon of life will be held at the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday, April 10, with visitation at Noon, service at 1 p.m. and reception to follow. The celebration will be livestreamed.

There will also be a visitation from 3-6 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, at David Lee Funeral Home in Wayzata, Minnesota.

Memorial gifts in her name may be made to the Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing.