He believed in fighting for his principles despite conventional
thought, and above all else he believed people should rise above
politics to find the greater good.
Today, deceased U.S. Sen. Wayne Morse’s legacy lives on through
the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics at the University
School of Law.
“The slogan that really sums Wayne Morse up is ‘principle above
politics,’” said Margaret Hallock, the faculty director of the Wayne
Morse Center. “We operate in the tradition of Wayne Morse, so we
try to incorporate that.”
Hallock added that she thinks Morse would be proud of the center.
“As long as we’re taking on important topics, taking strong moral
and principle stances that are in his tradition of progressive
politics, I think he’d approve,” she said.
The Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics officially opened its
doors in November 2000. Short of being a year old, the
independent center devotes itself to interdisciplinary research on
critical issues of law and politics. The center expands upon the
Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics that, established in 1981,
serves as a living memorial to the former dean of the University
School of Law.
“Wayne Morse was unquestionably a man who was not afraid of
tackling a difficult question,” law school Dean Rennard Strickland
said. “I don’t think there’s any question that he casts a very long
shadow over the law school and center’s activities.”
Through inquiry and debate, Strickland said Morse left University
members with a willingness to ask the questions that needed to
be asked and to challenge commonly accepted dogmas.
“The center is very effective at extending Morse’s legacy,” said
Jennifer Greenough, a University graduate who will start law
school this fall at Cornell University. “Through their activities,
attention is brought to current critical issues that impact lives.”
Greenough, who worked for the Wayne Morse Center as a student
liaison, said during Morse’s political career, he voted in
accordance with his conscience rather than along political party
lines.
The center offers a revolving professorship to teach on key topics.
Past themes have examined global labor issues, human rights,
constitutional law and the role of representative government.
“We want to make sure that the center rotates among disciplines
and that we constantly update it with new themes and activities,”
Hallock said. “That’s why we created this type of center. It’s
somewhat unique.”
During the academic years 2001-02 and 2002-03, the center’s
theme will be “Race, Class, and the Criminal Justice System.”
One of the Morse Center’s guests will be Charles Ogletree, a
scholar from Harvard University and a critic on race and justice
who works to explore issues within the American justice system.