deteriorated during the night and died the following morning, July 16, 1983, at the age of 83. Morris’ passing marked the end of the beginning of landscape architecture education in the Intermountain West, but the acknowledgement of his achievements had begun many years prior to his death. The ASLA Committee on Education was dubious about the ability of individuals such as Morris, at remote colleges like Utah State, to maintain high standards in small departments of landscape architecture. The quality of education in isolated programs was a concern of the Committee on Education as early as 1924, when the following statement appeared in its annual report:
list. As a personal acquaintance of Morris, Bradford said that he had “high regard for his ability as a teacher,” and that “both he and his instruction are thought well of by those who are acquainted with him and his work.” Just prior to his sabbatical Morris received an accolade from his students and colleagues at USU in recognition of his contributions to the landscape architecture profession. At the annual LAEP awards banquet on May 13, 1961, Morris was honored, as stated in the LA Club Newsletter Spring 1961, “as the individual who has contributed the most to Landscape Architecture in the State of Utah.” Carlton Culmsee, Dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences, added his voice to the chorus of praise for Morris in a letter dated 11 March 1964, as Morris prepared for retirement:
Usually but one instructor is responsible for this series of courses, in plants, planting plans, elementary and advanced design, construction, and even city planning. On the face of such a condition, one is apt to infer low standards of teaching, as it is not possible for an individual to teach such a variety of courses.
We have esteemed you for your gifts as painter, sculptor and writer, and as a leader of real prowess in your profession. You have contributed much in campus planning. But the splendid way in which you have focused these abilities and others upon teaching students must, in my estimation, rank as most important.
If that were so, Morris must have done the impossible during his years at Utah State. Students and colleagues alike lauded the results of his teaching performance. When Earl Reed Wyatt, a 1960 LAEP graduate, wrote to the ASLA in 1957 inquiring about landscape architecture programs, Bradford Williams, Corresponding Secretary, sent him a list of approved schools and a vote of confidence in Morris and the program at Utah State, even though it was not on that
Morris was feared, respected and loved by the students who endured his classes. Those who persevered later acknowledged their gratitude for his leadership and for the demands he made on them. Clark Ostergaard, one of Morris’ former students, made the following comments when responding to a 1987 Alumni Survey: He was the master and we were the students. Deep down he had a great concern about all
his students. He was really soft under that hard exterior. He would make an example of things students did well or more often did poorly. He enjoyed having the students to his home and was very kind to all in that environment. We all respected him and his great knowledge of landscape architecture. He is without question the father of landscape architecture in the Intermountain area. Stuart Loosli characterized Morris as the quintessential educated man of his day: In a very general way, Prof. Morris seemed to me to be the archetypical “educated man” of the early 20th century. He had acquired the knowledge and manners of the educated through conscious effort. His speech was precise...almost elocution; his social graces were formal...studied but not unnatural; and his swagger stick must have given him the security of military order. There was a properness to his life. His manners transcended rural childhood roots, ethnic, culture and religious background. His education produced his manner. His wit, sharp tongue, enthusiasm for culture and refinement, and his devotion to the scientific and the learned were all enhanced thru his education. He was only one of several such prototypes on campus....I think these were all very intelligent pioneer farm boys who left for the city and education and then returned home with a missionary zeal for education, culture and the intellect. Laval Morris was a man of tremendous stature despite his slight size. He was capable of physically intimidating 49