Morristown Beard School’s new Head of School, Liz Morrison, is here and ready to join the community. While she worked for five years as Head of School in St. Thomas at the Antilles school, she is no stranger to the East Coast as she was Assistant Head of School in Millbrook, New York at the Millbrook School before her time in the Virgin Islands. When asked why she decided to leave such a paradise like St. Thomas, she claimed that to her, “New Jersey is its own version of paradise.”

Morrison’s love of nature has been a large part of her career and her personal hobbies and passions. Some of her hobbies include sailing and hiking. Throughout her career, Morrison developed a strong passion for the environment and sustainability, one she wishes to share with the rest of the school. Additionally, she said that when first discovering MBS, she found both the Frelinghuysen Arboretum and our access to nature to be striking differences from most schools in our area.

While the stunning environment was a part of what drew her to MBS, Morrison said that she truly knew she wanted to be a part of the community when she first saw the school’s appreciation for balance with both in and out of classroom activities. Morrison said that although academics are important, a complete education must teach the arts, athletics, and character to its students, not just simply how to memorize the right answer for a test, which can leave students feeling depleted.  In addition to the importance Morrison places upon balance, she values the involvement of students in order to create the best learning environment possible. She said “I was looking to find a school community that valued having really involved students.”

Morrison not only values creating well-balanced individuals who take active roles in their communities, but also she is invested in raising the overall morale of the school in order to achieve a better educational experience. She said that activities such as running clubs, being a part of teams, and joining in on theater productions are “part of the fabric of the life of the school,” which she hopes to reinforce in her new position.

At home, Morrison has two black Labrador Retrievers, Hunter and Tucker. A self-described Labrador connoisseur, she has had a yellow as well as a chocolate lab in the past and now often brings Hunter and Tucker on family hikes, even taking them to swim in the summer. Sporting MBS dog jackets, Hunter and Tucker were attendees at this year’s Homecoming Game. While Morrison has a sweet tooth for candy, her go to food for comfort is mashed potatoes. When Morrison was without power in St. Thomas for several months, mashed potatoes cooked from a stove quickly became her favorite source of comfort as she was unable to cook much else. Throughout her career in education, Morrison said that she has come to learn the values of dedication as well as balance; values she hopes to nurture at MBS.