Campus News

‘Perfect Renaissance duo’

In an interview with Widewalls, Margaret Morrison, an associate professor at UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art, reflected on her first UGA teaching experience.

“Back in 2009, I was invited for the first time to teach painting for the University of Georgia Cortona Study Abroad Program in Tuscany, Italy,” Morrison said. “Our beautiful campus in Cortona is housed in an ancient convent that overlooks the valley where Hannibal battled the Roman Legion.

“My husband, Richard, accompanied me as my guest for the entire summer. As luck would have it, when the book arts teacher found out that Richard was the director of organic chemistry at the University of Georgia, she asked him to present a lesson to her students on the chemistry behind paper making. It was a huge hit, so he and I started considering the possibilities. We realized that we could teach all the basics of a general chemistry course through the generation of artwork. We are the perfect Renaissance duo: my husband directs the chemistry and I direct the art making.”