RSJ News
Distinguished Advertising Professor Bourne Morris retires
05-28-2009
Advertising professor Bourne Morris attends the graduation of the Class of 2009.
Professor Bourne Morris is retiring this year after a distinguished professional and academic career that spanned five decades and took her from prestigious advertising agencies in New York City and Los Angeles to Reno and the Reynolds School of Journalism.
Here, she built a nationally recognized Advertising program, served the University in multiple capacities including chair of the faculty senate and was a low-key but effective community leader.
Her professional advertising career began in New York City where she was a copywriter for Interpublic and BBDO. She went to work for legendary ad man David Ogilvy in 1964 first as a copywriter, then creative supervisor and senior vice president. In l977, she moved west as President of Ogilvy & Mather Los Angeles, one of only a handful of women to reach such a lofty position in the advertising industry.
She has been teaching here since 1983 nurturing the Advertising program through a period of growth and development. Bourne initiated a return to UNR’s participation in the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition and served as faculty advisor to the team along with colleagues Professor Judy Strauss from the College of Business Administration and Assistant Professor Bob Felten from the Reynolds School. In ten years of competing, UNR’s team has won the regional competition five times and finished in the top ten in the country four of those years. The team won the national championship in 2003.
Bourne has received the Nevada Semenza Christian Award for Excellence in Teaching and been honored three times as mentor to the Journalism School’s Senior Scholar. She has also received the Thomas C. Wilson Award recognizing lifetime achievement from the Advertising Association of Northern Nevada.
RSJ advertising assistant professor Bob Felten has been collecting memories and appreciations from Bourne’s former students and colleagues, which follow. These can also be read at the Reynolds School's Soup du Journalism site, where you can contribute your own stories and best wishes for Bourne.
B.C. Le Doux ‘00 - Bourne is one of those professors who you remember. Who you go back and see. Who you want to make proud. Yes, it's because she's accomplished a phenomenal amount in her career, so she commands a great deal of respect, but mostly it's because she cares. She cared about making me better--yes, in her classroom, but mostly in my future. She has, for the last 10 or 11 years, always wanted me to succeed. Always pushed me to be as successful as I could be. Not for her but for me. I love that about Bourne, and she'll always be one of my favorites. One of those people I attribute any of my successes to. Congrats on an amazing career, Bourne. And thank you. (Creative Director, The Glenn Group, Reno & Las Vegas)
Dylan Krenka ’07 - Bourne had an amazing impact both on my career and college experience. She was a great teacher who was compassionate and demanding at the same time. She always found a way to make students strive for excellence without blatantly giving them the answer. Bourne made a remarkable impact on me as well as I'm sure hundreds of students. She is an amazing teacher, mentor, and friend (for) whom I will always be grateful. Thanks Bourne. (Currently interning with DDB Chicago)
Matt Fiske ’09 - Bourne challenged me to do better work, to really look at what it is I do and question if it really achieves its intent. Taking a critique from her was always helpful, because she'll not only tell you if something doesn't work but also how to go about making it better, or to abandon it entirely and just plain start over.
Her experience made you listen, but her kind delivery made you care. She was always incredibly patient, and encouraged all of us to learn off of each other in discourse.
Her advice helped me become a better leader, to appreciate some of the nuances of the creative process, and to better see things from the viewpoints of others. I feel privileged to have had her as a professor across two years. My only regret is that future students at the RSJ will not get the same opportunity to learn from her. (Creative Director with 2009 UNR IMC team. Seeking work.)
Miranda Gerlock ’02 - - Bourne Morris will always be someone I remember when I think about how I became interested in advertising. She sparked something inside of me that got me interested and eventually passionate about advertising. Bourne encouraged me to have strong opinions and take chances. I will always remember her for her wit, toughness, and her unwavering class. She broke boundaries during her time at Ogilvy and she will always serve as inspiration that I can accomplish anything in this business. (Senior Art Director, Cramer – Krasselt, New York)
Jamie Kingham ’93 - My clearest memory of Bourne was her telling our ad competition team that the campaign we had worked on for three days straight was really not original enough and that we should go back to the drawing board... five days before the competition. I don't think this story is particularly unusual. Looking back it was one of the closest experiences to the "real world" that I had had at that point. That always seemed to be a common thread through Bourne's teachings, the concept of what will work when you're really doing it, not for a class deadline, not for a teacher but for a client. That idea stuck with me long after I left UNR and is something that truly helped when it came to dealing with clients in the professional world. Bourne's retirement leaves big shoes to fill but with the end of her chapter lies the beginning of another, one which I'm sure will only compliment her legacy and expand on everything she stood for. Congratulations Bourne and thank you. (Returned to Reno after a decade in London and has his own photography business.)
Rachel C. Milon ’01 - From the second I first walked into Bourne's class I knew I was lucky. She didn't even have to explain her years of experience for us to recognize that she knew what she was doing. We were pushed to be thoughtful, creative and, most importantly, ethical - not just as advertisers but as people. She knows the secrets of the trade and if you're lucky occasionally shares a few she was sworn to keep...glue in the cereal?!? rocks in the soup?!? I learned to trust my abilities in her classes and how to improve upon them. Bourne's retirement truly marks the end of an era at the J-School...and she will be greatly missed! (Executive with RKPR in Reno.)
Ashley Graves ’09 - I am trying to think of something to say but nothing seems good enough! Bourne is just so quietly inspiring...I don't know anyone who can deliver harsh criticism in such a graceful way. I really learned so much from her, she taught me how to not be afraid of presenting my work, and to not be afraid of critique. I think that whatever I end up doing professionally, creative or not, what she taught will always stick with me. (Account Executive with this year’s NSAC IMC Team. Attending IMC Master’s Program at Medill next fall.)
Kayee Tam Dredla ’03 - Bourne opened the path to where I am today in my advertising career. With the insight and experience she shared, I became intrigued by the world of advertising and developed a passion for it. I always looked forward to attending each class. She never failed to deliver - from the breadth of knowledge she offered to the great stories she told (my favorite was the Campbell's one). Bourne was not only a professor but also a mentor, who helped guide my way through college and ultimately to my career. I give my thanks to Bourne and wish (her) the best in her retirement. May she enjoy every minute of it! (Senior Media Planner/Buyer at SK+G in Las Vegas)
Joey Vestal ’08 - Bourne Morris is truly one-of-a-kind. No other teacher was ever able to inspire, entertain and intimidate me as she did. Bourne always challenged me and really showed me what it takes to work in advertising. Most importantly, she taught me how to take criticism and to learn from it. She isn't afraid to admit she's wrong. Nor is she afraid to tell you when you're wrong. I feel so fortunate to have had Bourne as a teacher, mentor and friend. She has made more impact on my life than she will ever know. (Art Director, David Branby Advertising, Reno)
Mark Curtis Jr. (Mark Curtis and Friends, Reno)
1. Bourne is maybe the clearest thinker I've ever been around. I remember doing ad campaigns (when she was a partner in curtis+rogers with Jim Rogers, my dad and me) and we'd nail TV, print and radio, but she'd say, "the outdoor's off. What does that have to do with the rest of this?" So we'd rethink the outdoor.
2. I always liked the way she could talk about advertising like it was just as important as medicine or the law. It just came out of her that way. I hope I learned something about that from her.
3. When we introduced the comma in the "University of Nevada, Reno" name, it was my dad's idea. He felt that a university's name at least ought to be grammatically correct. The newspaper ran a headline, "The $250,000 comma." Anyway, we invited the newspaper over to the agency and asked them why they were running these stories. The reporter replied that his editor wanted to know "who screwed up." Bourne told him, "You did."
4. Bourne could always join a group of leaders in a room (I experienced this with the Forum for a Common Agenda and One Region) and she could be the most articulate, and the funniest exec. in the room. Her mere presence made us all think a little more clearly.
Shannon Mead ’03 - As I look back at the J-school, my time spent learning from Bourne was absolutely a highlight. Her feedback - always given in a straightforward and therefore slightly terrifying manner - consistently drove me to work toward ideas that were truly new. She taught me to never settle for "good enough." And for that I will always be grateful. (Seattle)
Joe Crowley (Retired President, University of Nevada, Reno) - I have known Bourne since she arrived in Reno and got involved in the community and in the life of the university. We signed her on early for a campus position. You would know better than I how much she has meant to the Reynolds School, but, clearly, she has been a major presence. Ability, experience, personality, hard work, a caring attitude toward colleagues and students have marked her career in the school. I recruited her to serve as acting director of affirmative action, a job at which she performed most ably. Indeed, I told her the job was hers if she wanted it. She preferred, understandably, to go back to journalism. I also encouraged her to serve as acting dean on one occasion; indeed, she could have served as “permanent” dean if she wished. I often sought her advice on an assortment of matters, within the school and across the campus. But the classroom was/is where she felt most at home and where her impact has been so important for so long. As you know, she has received a number of awards for her teaching and, of course, there is that regional and national competition that our students, thanks to you and Bourne and College of Business collaboration, have enjoyed such notable and continuing success. Bourne is much admired by colleagues around the campus, which helps to explain her selection to serve as Faculty Senate chair and her chairmanship or co-chairmanship of key committees. She was a critical leader during the tense times brought on by initiatives launched under the Lilley-Frederick administration, serving the campus well and helping to educate both president and provost.
Chris Ford ’93 - Well, I'd say I met Bourne Morris during a critical shit-or-get-off-the-pot moment in my life.
I'd almost gone to Berkeley under civil engineering, came back to Nevada as an art major who was un-good at art, left Nevada to study graphic design, went abroad and did a semester in England and then returned to Nevada with no major and two parents who were seeing less and less comedy in their once promising son's increasingly less promising college career.
Had Bourne not been so engaging a teacher, and someone with legit real world experience, I fear I would have no doubt embarked on yet another failed major, dropped out, and been cut off by my parents. As I see it, without Bourne, best case scenario I'm the assistant night manager at Jimboy's Tacos on 2nd Street rather than a creative director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners here in San Francisco. It's really hard to believe she's retiring.
Jackie Ruiz Shelton ‘87- It was always expected that I would go to college and work in whatever career I chose, but I didn’t fully realize how earlier generations of women, like Bourne, had prepared that path for me. I wrote an article on Bourne about 12 years ago and that’s when I got to know her and truly appreciate what an amazing woman she is. Not only did she lead in advertising at a time when women didn’t do that, but she did it without sacrificing her femininity. I’m so glad she brought her professionalism and expertise to Reno to educate our up-and-comers. Her influence is apparent every time I watch Nevada’s NSAC team present or see one of her advertising interns out in the community. She has made a big difference for Reno and I’m grateful for that. (Publisher RLife and Family Pulse magazines, Reno)
Rob Gaedtke ’05 - Bourne never told me how to solve a problem… instead she asked me the right questions and let me find the answer on my own. That alone has proved invaluable in an ever changing industry where only those who can adapt and find the answers quickly survive. Without Bourne’s insight and guidance it would have been a much longer and slower road to where I am now and for that I thank her. (Account Executive, Twelve Horse, Reno)
The career of Bourne Morris
Professor, Reynolds School of Journalism, 1983 to present
President, Ogilvy & Mather, Los Angeles (1977-1981), senior vice president, copywriter, creative supervisor, Ogilvy & Mather, New York, 1964-1976
Copywriter, Interpublic and BBDO, New York
Published articles in Advertising Age, Adweek, Nevada Public Affairs Review, and The ASJMC Journal.
Author of "Advertising Ethics" in The Encyclopedia of Advertising
