Honorary Degree Recipients

HONORARY DOCTORAL DEGREE LINDA SKIDMORE DAINES

Linda Skidmore Daines is known for her passion for two worlds: the arts and business. An alumnus of Utah State University, Daines has risen to the upper echelons of high finance through her work at Goldman Sachs, but she has always retained her love of the arts and humanities.

A native of Logan, Utah, Daines majored in cello performance at USU and married Richard F. Daines. Together they moved to New York City where she worked at The Spence School, a leading private girls school, as a music teacher and music department chair. Her passion for self-education continued as she studied under Claus Adam of the Juilliard String Quartet and performed with The New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra. While raising three children, she also pursued a master’s in arts administration and obtained an MBA from Columbia University.

In 1984, Daines joined Goldman Sachs and in 2001 became one of the first female Managing Directors in Private Wealth Management at the firm. Over her 35-year career at Goldman Sachs, she has advised significant families, foundations, endowments, private companies and pensions on their investments.

She serves as a trustee of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The School of American Ballet, and The Utah Journalism Foundation. She also serves on the Board of Cache Valley Bank, the National Advisory Council for Brigham Young University and on USU’s Leonard Arrington Council and the Dean’s Advancement Council at the Caine College of the Arts.

Throughout her career in business and her pursuit of community impact, Daines has maintained extensive involvement with USU’s Caine College of the Arts, committing her time and resources to scholars in all fields. Her dedication to preserving and celebrating history and heritage provides students a role model of passion, generosity, and community impact.

For her professional achievements, her contribution to the world as a humanitarian and lifelong learner, and her commitment to advancing women in the studies of both arts and business, Utah State University is proud to bestow upon Linda Skidmore Daines the honorary degree of Doctor of the Arts.

HONORARY DOCTORAL DEGREE KAREN W. MORSE

Karen W. Morse is a proven leader thanks to an illustrious career that included numerous accolades from the scientific community due to her expertise in chemistry, but also because of her work alongside many peers to change the status of women on the university campus.

From a career beginning as a research chemist at the Ballistic Research Lab at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, and culminating in her serving as the first female president of Western Washington University, Dr. Morse has been known as a trailblazer and inspiration for women pursuing science careers in academia.

Dr. Morse joined Utah State University’s Department of Chemistry in 1968 as a part-time lecturer, one of only two female faculty in the College of Science at the time. Her time at the university would create many opportunities to lead in a time of great change. During her quarter of a century at USU, Dr. Morse was named the first female department head of chemistry, one of just three women in the United States at the time serving in that capacity in the area of the sciences; was the first female dean of science, the only female dean of science at a research university; and was the first female vice president and provost of academic affairs.

Throughout her career in academia, Dr. Morse continued to pursue and further her chemistry research. She has three patents to her name, has been published extensively in the field of chemistry, and was actively involved with the American Chemical Society and the National Science Foundation, serving on numerous committees, boards, and review panels. In April 1997, Dr. Morse received the Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Award, one of the American Chemical Society’s highest honors. She is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Involvement with female colleagues early on in her career led Dr. Morse to become an advocate for issues facing women in academia. She became an integral part of the USU Status of Women Committee in order to help improve the standing of female faculty and students. Dr. Morse’s role as a mentor to fellow women on campus, including female students, would play an ever-increasing role throughout her life. Early in her career, she served as faculty advisor to the newly formed female physics students club, still in existence today as the USU Women in Physics Group. This passion would lead Dr. Morse and her husband Joseph, who served as director of Honors and as an associate professor of chemistry, to create the Morse Scholarship at USU, an endowment to assist future generations of students in the Honors Program. Later, at Western Washington University, Dr. Morse established the Karen W. Morse Institute for Leadership at Western Washington University to provide opportunities for students to learn about and develop their leadership potential through academic courses, professional speakers, and a collaborative learning and leading experience.

During Dr. Morse’s tenure as president from 1993 to 2008, Western Washington University experienced tremendous growth – of the campus, the faculty, and the student body – while elevating its national reputation. She credits her success as a leader to the foundation Utah State University provided for her, particularly with its focus on student involvement in scholarly activity and excellence and commitment in the classroom.

For her inspirational leadership and success in research, as well as for her unwavering commitment to provide opportunities for supporting and advancing women in the studies of science, Utah State University is proud to bestow upon Karen W. Morse the honorary degree, Doctor of Science.