SIU System bestows McNeese ADEI Lifetime Achievement Award to SIUC’s Morris, SIUE’s Rambsy 

Dr. Marc Morris and Dr. Howard Rambsy, center, with the awards they received at the recent SIU System board meeting.

Two distinguished faculty members have been honored by the Southern Illinois University System for their longtime efforts to advance antiracism, diversity, equity and inclusion (ADEI).

Marc E. Morris, Ph.D., JD, and Howard Rambsy II, Ph.D., each received the prestigious Dr. Wesley G. Robinson-McNeese ADEI Lifetime Achievement Award during the SIU Board of Trustees meeting Feb. 5, 2026, on the SIU Edwardsville campus.

Morris is dean of the College of Business and Analytics at SIU Carbondale. He earned three degrees from SIU, including a doctorate in accounting, and received a law degree from the University of Wisconsin.  Starting at SIU Carbondale in 2004 as an instructor in the School of Accountancy, he earned several promotions and served as co-acting provost in 2023. His university service includes membership on the Chancellor’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and the Chancellor’s Leadership Council. He has been active in the community as well, serving on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Illinois and the Eurma C. Hayes Center in Carbondale.

Rambsy is a faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of English Language and Literature and was named SIUE’s Distinguished Research Professor in 2022. Throughout his career, Rambsy has combined scholarship, mentorship, and creative programming to elevate Black literary studies and broaden perspectives on cultural consciousness. His projects, publications, and student collaborations have helped shape SIUE’s engagement with equity and representation across the humanities.

Photo courtesy of SIU System.