Loden Named Morrison Chair of Science

Headmaster Pete Sanders has announced the selection of Science Department Chair Lee Loden as the Ruth McCaughan Morrison Chair of Science. Since arriving at MUS in 2011, Loden has taught Honors Physics and Honors Physics II: Robotics, and he leads an extracurricular robotics program.
“Lee is an accomplished classroom teacher who is gifted at making the often-difficult subject of physics meaningful and fun for his students,” Sanders said. “As chair of the Science Department, he has shown himself to be a solid leader of colleagues and an insightful contributor to curriculum discussion and the specifications for what will be the new science building.”

Loden expressed his gratitude for the honor. “I am very grateful to the Morrison family for endowing this chair and to Mr. Sanders for his selection. I appreciate the opportunities that MUS has afforded me over the years, and I’m honored to be awarded the Ruth McCaughan Morrison Chair of Science.”

A teacher for more than 25 years, Loden has served as FIRST Robotics sponsor for MUS since 2012, and in 2020 he led the team to a state championship. In 2021 he was one of 10 grand prize winners nationwide in the Teacher Innovator Awards presented by the Emmy-winning show “The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation.”

In search of ways to provide new and relevant content for his physics students, Loden used the 2017 MUS Hale Fellowship for Faculty Development to learn the physics of sailing firsthand by earning American Sailing Association 101, 103, and 104 certifications that summer in Florida. He not only gained knowledge about how a sailboat is propelled by the wind but also new applications of simple machines to show his students.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and physics at Mississippi State University and worked in engineering and manufacturing for two years. Before coming to MUS, he taught science at Chamberlain Hunt Academy (Port Gibson, Mississippi), Cordova High School, and Lausanne Collegiate School.

Former chairman of the Board of Trustees William P. “Buddy” Morrison, along with his sons, John, Price ’75, and Joe ’78, established the Ruth McCaughan Morrison Chair of Science in 1984 to honor his wife and their mother.
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