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OBIT---DeWITT S. MORGAN
DeWitt S. Morgan, superintendent of the Indianapolis public schools, was born June 27, 1890 at Middle Point, Ohio, the son of P. Schuyler Morgan and Agnes Foster Morgan. He obtained his early education in the public schools of Scott, Ohio and in the Canfield, Ohio preparatory school. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Henry Kendall College (now University of Tulsa, Oklahoma) in 1912, and the Master of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1916. Later he studied in the graduate school at Indiana University. The honorary degree of Doctor of Law was awarded him by DePauw University in June 1934 and also by Wabash College in May 1943.
Mr. Morgan served as secretary to the president of Henry Kendall College from 1912 to 1915. The following year he was a graduate student and an assistant in ancient history at the University of Wisconsin under Dr. W.L. Westermann.
In 1916, Mr. Morgan began his career with the Indianapolis public schools as a instructor in history at Arsenal Technical High School. Two years later he became head of the history department, and in 1921 was made assistant principal. He served in that capacity until 1930 when he succeeded the late Milo H. Stuart as principal of the Arsenal Technical Schools.
In July 1937, Mr. Morgan was elected by the Board of School Commissioners to succeed the late Paul C. Stetson as superintendent of the public schools. He assumed his position as superintendent on September 1, 1937.
For many years Mr. Morgan has lectured on various phases of school administration and supervision in several of the universities, and is widely known for his studies in pupil personnel, guidance work, and for his ability as a school administrator. He has lectured
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in the summer sessions of Indiana University, the University of California, at Los Angeles, and at Berkeley, at Teachers College, Columbia University, at Ohio State University, and at the University of Chicago.
He is the author of two books, co-author of two others, and author of many monographs and articles dealing with guidance, civics, citizenship, and other important problems in the field of education. He was a member of the State and National Educational Associations and has served upon scores of committees dealing with policies and problems in the local and national educational fields. Mr. Morgan was a past president of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and a member of its Executive Committee. He was a member of the Executive Committee for the National Study of Occupational Placement of the National Secondary School Principals' Association. He was a member of the Problems and Plans Commission, of the American Council on Educaton, and was chairman of the 1943 Yearbook Commission of the American Association of School Administrators.
Mr. Morgan was very active in educational, civic, and social agencies of the city and state. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Indianapolis Family Welfare Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the Methodist Hospital, a member of the Board of Directors of the Boy Scouts of America, was a past president of the Indiana Council on Education, and of the Indiana City and Town School Administrators Association. He was a member of the Indiana Council on Religion in Higher Education, a member of the Board of Directors of the John Herron Art Institute, and of the Advisory Boards of Flanner House and the Salvation Army.
Mr. Morgan was a member of Rotary Club of Indianapolis,
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Phi Delta Kappa, honorary educational fraternity, the Mystic Tie Lodge of the Masonic order, and of the Scottish Rite. He was a member of the Fairview Presbyterian Church and served on the Committee on Christian Education for Indiana in the Presbyterian churches.
He was a member of the Contemporary Club and the Indianapolis Literary Club.
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have made their home at 4504 Broadway. They have two sons, Robert, age 29, a lieutenant in the Army Air Forces, and Donald, 19, who is in the Navy V-12 pre-medical training program.