[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 26 (Thursday, February 9, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E313-E314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        HONORING MORRIS L. SIMON

                                 ______


                           HON. VAN HILLEARY

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 9, 1995
  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Mr. 
Morris L. Simon, cofounder of the Tullahoma News in Tullahoma, TN, and 
honorary lifetime vice chairman of the University of Tennessee Space 
Institute Support Council. It is both an honor and a privilege to ask 
that this body join me in tribute to Morris L. Simon, an extraordinary 
man who made a very significant impact on the lives of numerous people 
in middle Tennessee and who served his fellowman so admirably through 
the years.
  [[Page E314]] Morris L. Simon was born in Bristol, TN, on June 12, 
1911. Mr. Simon originally planned to become a lawyer and entered the 
University of Tennessee at Knoxville when he was 18 years old. But 
times were rough in east Tennessee and throughout the country, and the 
Great Depression dealt Morris' father Mr. Jake Simon, a Bristol 
merchant, a bitter hand.
  Eager to help with the family's finances, Morris walked into the 
newsroom of the Knoxville News-Sentinel and informed the editors that 
he wanted to learn to be a reporter. Sorry, they said, they were not 
hiring.
  ``You don't understand,'' the young Simon said. ``I said I want to 
learn to become a reporter.'' They agreed he could go to work, but 
without pay. As a green reporter, Simon was given night assignments. A 
lack of sleep and an increasing work load forced him to abandon his 
studies at UTK after about 2 years.
  While at the News-Sentinel, Simon earned a reputation for being an 
aggressive and competent reporter. By 1945 he was acting managing 
editor. In spite of his success, he was restless, and the next year he 
and J. Ralph Harris founded the Tullahoma News, a twice-weekly 
newspaper that would become the flagship paper of several weeklies 
started by Simon.
  Simon was hard-nosed about news coverage, but he was known as a 
staunch supporter of projects benefiting the Tullahoma area. After the 
Air Force established the Arnold Engineering Development Center [AEDC] 
on the outskirts of town, several efforts were made to establish a 
graduate school and research institute there. In 1956, UT began a 
graduate program at AEDC for employees. The success of this program 
provided the basis for what became the UT Space Institute on September 
24, 1964.
  When efforts to raise private funds for an institute had failed, 
Simon became a strong advocate for State involvement. He worked closely 
with his friend, the late Dr. B.H. Goethert, and community leaders to 
garner public and political support for the Space Institute. It was 
Simon's idea to create the UTSI Support Council. He was the group's 
first vice chairman and now holds the honorary position of lifetime 
vice chairman.
  In addition to supporting the Space Institute financially--he 
contributed enthusiastically to the establishment of a chair of 
excellence at UTSI and helped make the B.H. Goethert Professorship a 
reality--Simon has tirelessly championed causes to foster UTSI's growth 
and autonomy. In the early 1970's Simon convinced the Tennessee Higher 
Education Commission to complete the final phase of UTSI's Industry/
Student Center. He led efforts in 1975-76 to have the institute 
recognized as a distinct funding entity within the State's budget 
process. And in the late 1980's he argued that the institute should be 
granted full campus status within the university system and that it's 
chief executive officer be deemed a vice president. in 1987 the UT 
Board of Trustees approved elevating the institute's chief officer to 
vice president rank.
  UTSI has honored Morris Simon many times over the years. Most 
recently, the institute's faculty recognized his leadership and vision 
by contributing more than $20,000 toward establishment of the Morris L. 
Simon Fellowship. The fellowship announcement at a lecture on November 
12, 1993, took Simon by surprise. he accepted the applause in silence, 
prompting old friends to remark that it was the first time they had 
seen him speechless. After recovering himself, Simon said simply, ``You 
could not have done anything to please me more.''
  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to bring to the 
attention of the House the accomplishments of Mr. Morris L. Simon, a 
truly extraordinary individual whose legacy runs deep in the State of 
Tennessee.


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