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Robert Morin (January 3, 1938 – March 31, 2015) was a librarian at the
After Morin retired in 2014 he lived in an assisted-living home for 15 months.
His entire estate of $4 million was left to UNH. Most of it was in unrestricted funds, that is, not mandating the University use it to any specific end; Morin dedicated $100,000 for the library and library science scholarships. UNH earmarked $2.5 million to expand its career center, while $1 million was budgeted for a video scoreboard at the campus stadium. Use of the bequest for a video scoreboard drew broad criticism, with one alumna stating "the school’s administrative decision to spend a quarter of Morin’s generous donation on a inconsequential trinket for the athletic department is a complete disgrace to the spirit and memory of Robert Morin." Others drew attention to the absurdity of spending $1 million on a scoreboard when "adjuncts in the English department there... receive $3,000 per class." Administrators defended the decision by saying that the gift was used "for NH'shighest priorities and emerging opportunities," and it was pointed out that this was saying to such adjuncts that they "weren’t a high priority."
Advertising revenue from the scoreboard, the administration argued, proved a good return on the investment.
Robert Morin (January 3, 1938 – March 31, 2015) was a librarian at the University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, m ...
's Dimond Library
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
from 1965 to 2014 where he catalogued DVDs, CDs, and music scores. He donated $4 million to the university in his will, and a scandal later emerged after the university spent a quarter of it on a new football scoreboard.
Life
Morin was born inNashua, New Hampshire
Nashua is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester. Along with Manchester, it is a seat of New Hampshire's most populous ...
to Louis and Gabrielle Morin. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
in 1961, and earned a master's degree in library science
Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...
from Simmons College
Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include:
* Simmons University, a women's liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts
* Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky
* Har ...
. He then began his career as a librarian at the Dimond Library.
He lived a frugal life, driving an old car, a 1992 Plymouth, and did not go out for entertainment. He regularly ate Fritos
Fritos is an American brand of corn chips and dipping sauces that was created in 1932 by Charles Elmer Doolin and produced since 1961 by the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo. Fritos are made by deep-frying extruded whole cornmeal, unlike the simi ...
with a Coke for breakfast and TV dinner
A frozen meal (also called TV dinner (Canada and US), prepackaged meal, ready-made meal, ready meal (UK), frozen dinner, and microwave meal) is a packaged frozen meal that comes portioned for an individual. A frozen meal in the United States an ...
s in the evening. He enjoyed reading and read every book published in the United States between 1930 and 1938, excluding children's books, textbooks, cookbooks and books on technology. He also viewed over 22,000 videos from 1979 to 1997, averaging three videos/movies per day.
A UNH spokesperson said that he smoked a pipe and loved sitting in front of the library talking with students. "He was very committed to the student workers who worked in our main library."
Bequest
After Morin retired in 2014 he lived in an assisted-living home for 15 months.
His entire estate of $4 million was left to UNH. Most of it was in unrestricted funds, that is, not mandating the University use it to any specific end; Morin dedicated $100,000 for the library and library science scholarships. UNH earmarked $2.5 million to expand its career center, while $1 million was budgeted for a video scoreboard at the campus stadium. Use of the bequest for a video scoreboard drew broad criticism, with one alumna stating "the school’s administrative decision to spend a quarter of Morin’s generous donation on a inconsequential trinket for the athletic department is a complete disgrace to the spirit and memory of Robert Morin." Others drew attention to the absurdity of spending $1 million on a scoreboard when "adjuncts in the English department there... receive $3,000 per class." Administrators defended the decision by saying that the gift was used "for NH'shighest priorities and emerging opportunities," and it was pointed out that this was saying to such adjuncts that they "weren’t a high priority."
Advertising revenue from the scoreboard, the administration argued, proved a good return on the investment.
See also
*Albert Lexie
Albert Lexie (August 1, 1942- October 16, 2018) was a shoeshiner from Monessen, Pennsylvania, United States, who was known for his donations to charity.
Lexie worked at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh since the early 1980s. As of February ...
* Ronald Read (philanthropist)
*Dale Schroeder
Dale Schroeder (April 8, 1919 – April 12, 2005) was a carpenter from Iowa, United States, who worked 67 years for the same firm. He lived frugally, owning only two pairs of blue jeans: one for work and one for attending church on Sundays. He neve ...
*Richard Leroy Walters
Richard Leroy Walters (May 3, 1931 – August 19, 2007) was a jet propulsion engineer who died homeless in Phoenix, Arizona and left a bequest of $4 million to charities, including National Public Radio and the Mission of Mercy, in Phoenix.
Duri ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morin, Robert American librarians 1938 births 2015 deaths University of New Hampshire faculty People from Nashua, New Hampshire