Wilson Center Newsletter, October 2011

Alumnus of the Month

Harvey B. Morgan '52
Virginia House of Delegates

Harvey B. Morgan, first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1979, represents the 98^th Legislative District which includes all of Gloucester, Mathews, Middlesex and Essex Counties and portions of King and Queen William Counties.  A native of Gloucester, Harvey graduated from Gloucester public school; Hampden-Sydney College, BA; and the Medical College of Virginia, BS in pharmacy.  In 2008 Virginia Commonwealth University conferred the Doctor of Humanities Honorary Degree.  A veteran of the Navy, he was co-owner with his father and brother of Morgan's Drug Stores in Gloucester and West Point until 1990.

Delegate Morgan serves as Chairman of the Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee, is the ranking member of the Commerce and Labor Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee.  He also serves on the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, is Chairman of the State Water Commission, a member of the Joint Commission on Health Care, the Rappahannock River Basin Commission and the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee.  Harvey was named Legislator of the Year by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District in 2009 and received the Emily Couric Legislative Leadership Award from the American Cancer Society in 2003.  In 2002, he received the Excellence in Advocacy Award from the American Lung Association and the Whole Village Award from the Virginia Education Association. 

Delegate Morgan was selected as Legislator of the Year in 1998 by the Virginia Chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons.  One year earlier, Hampden-Sydney College awarded him the Patrick Henry Award for Distinguished Service to the People of Virginia.  A lifelong member of the Kiwanis, Harvey received the West Point Kiwanis' Distinguished Service Award in 1969 and the A. H. Robins Bowl of Hygeia Award for community service in 1966.  He received the Order of the Arrow Award from the Boy Scouts of America in 1976. 

 In tribute to Harvey B. Morgan '52 and his life of public service, his wife Mary Helen established an award in his honor at Hampden-Sydney College in May of 2000.   The Morgan award is presented each spring to a senior who has completed all the requirements of the Wilson Center's Public Service Certificate Program at Hampden-Sydney College, and who intends to pursue a public service career.

In the spring of 2011, Delegate Morgan announced that he would not seek reelection to the Virginia House of Delegates.  His service to the Commonwealth of Virginia and its citizens will be greatly missed.