Robert Earle Morgan

Professor Emeritus of French and Mathematics

Dr. Robert Earle “Bob” Morgan, professor emeritus of French and mathematics, was born March 2, 1935, in Rutherfordton, N.C., the middle of three sons of Roy Gilbert and Sue Hampton Morgan. He attended Green Hill Elementary School. He was an honor graduate of Rutherfordton-Spindale Central High School, where he was a junior marshal and was awarded the J. R. Anderson Memorial Mathematics Award at his graduation.

Morgan is a 1956 honor graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, N.C., where he double-majored in French and mathematics. He was awarded the M.Ed. in 1961 and the Ph.D. in 1971 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Morgan’s teaching career includes three years (1956-1959) at Wadesboro (N.C.) High School, eight years (1959-1967) at Wingate College (now Wingate University), and 31 years (1967-1998) at Gardner-Webb University. He taught both French and mathematics at each of the three institutions. In addition, he taught multiple classes in French culture and mathematics in the GOAL Program (now the Degree Completion Program) at GWU.

At Gardner-Webb, Morgan was faculty sponsor for many FOCUS (Fellowship of Christians United in Service) teams to Florida during extended campus breaks from 1968-1985. He was the faculty representative for the United Way of Cleveland County for 12 years. He served on almost all of the Gardner-Webb faculty committees during his time at the University, serving as chair of many of them.

For many years, Morgan and Dr. Charles Andrews took students to Canada (Montreal and Quebec City) and Paris, France, for Fall and Spring breaks for cultural immersion. Morgan feels these opportunities provided invaluable experiences for the students and others who attended. He believes we can all develop a sense of “international unity with people” from these excursions. “One of the major things I think one learns from foreign travel is that people in other countries and cultures are much more like us than they are different. Basic needs of human beings are basic needs of human beings,” said Morgan.

A big interest of Morgan’s was Alpha Chi National Honor Scholarship Society; he was faculty sponsor for the Gardner-Webb chapter for 12 years. During this time he was vice president of Region III (eight southeastern states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia) 1994-1996 and president from 1996-1998. He was also recognized for his long-time and pioneering service to the organization in 2021. 

Morgan has been listed in nearly 50 biographical listings, including “Outstanding Educators of America,” “Dictionary of International Biography,” “The International Who’s Who of Intellectuals,” “Personalities of the South,” “Who’s Who in the South and Southwest,” “Notable Personalities of America,” “Men of Achievement,” “5,000 Personalities of the World,” “Two Thousand Notable Americans,” and “The Directory of Distinguished Americans.”

Morgan has endowed four scholarships at Gardner-Webb, with three of these in the Christian Service Organization (CSO), of which he is a charter member and has served as board member, board chair, vice president, and president. The fourth endowed scholarship is in the Academic Fellows Program. In addition to his four scholarships, he joined Dr. Charles Andrews in endowing a fund to help foreign language students to study abroad in total-immersion programs during the summer period.

Travel has been one of Morgan’s greatest interests. He has visited 50 nations in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. In addition to visiting the world’s seven continents, he has visited the subcontinent of India. He served as a team member on two mission trips to Russia with Campus Crusades for Christ.

Religious work is very important
 to Morgan. At Green Hill Baptist
 Church in Rutherfordton, N.C., he
 has served multiple terms on the Deacon Board,
 having served as chair of the board, vice chair of the board, 
and secretary of the board. He
 has also served as a Sunday school
 teacher for an adult class, has served as moderator of church conference meetings, and on a number of committees, including chairmanship of some committees.

In August 1998, Morgan retired from Gardner- Webb and was awarded the title of professor emeritus of French and mathematics. He now lives in the family home in the Green Hill section of Rutherford County, N.C.

Morgan has been on the Board of Directors of the Green Hill Volunteer Fire Department and served as the chair. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Green Hill School Community Center Organization, for which he served as the president, secretary, program coordinator, and chairman of the board.

Morgan served as the treasurer and, thereby, as a member of the budget committee and the administrative council of the Green River Baptist Association.

In his spare time, he has been involved with the making of crafts for many years. He designs and makes hand-pieced quilts, table runners, and bed runners.

Source: Personal Interview—Doris Banner

Updated: September 2014—Bob Morgan

Updated: Personal Interview – Noel T. Manning II, Feb. 2022