Michael Morrison
Introduction
Michael Morrison of the Department of Marketing, Monash University, has passed away
: : : Posting
Message from the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University
It is with great sadness that I advise of the unexpected death of a faculty staff member from the Department of Marketing, Mr. Michael Morrison. Michael died in his sleep overnight on Thursday whilst he was leading a group of 15 departmental students on a study tour, the Australian Study Program, in Queensland.
Departmental staff who could be contacted met with Irene Powell (Deputy Head of Marketing) on Friday afternoon to be told the sad news and to comfort each other. Suzanne Wolf and Winifred Cunningham provided wonderful support and counselling at Caulfield on Friday afternoon (and ongoing). The students who were on the study tour flew back to Melbourne on Friday and are receiving support from University counsellors. To their credit, the students have reaffirmed their commitment to complete the unit to the best of their ability – in Michael’s memory. They also had a Facebook page up-and-running as early as Saturday morning –in Michael’s memory. The University, through Peter Marshall’s Office, provided exceptional support and assistance to the students and staff in this difficult time. Mike Ewing spoke with Michael’s wife, Karin, over the weekend to pass on our thoughts and condolences.
Michael joined Monash as a sessional staff member in July 1990. After a successful stint in the Department of Management, he found his niche in Marketing. A passionate teacher, researcher and industry consultant, Michael worked with retailers, architects, designers, property developers and brand managers, helping them to create unique brand experiences. He was a regular commentator in the media on current retail trends, the future retail landscape and experiential retailing and emotional branding. Michael travelled extensively and frequently visited leading retailers around the world to study the latest retail and marketing trends, store formats, retailing methods, operational practices, marketing concepts and in-store shopping experiences. Michael coordinated the retailing specialisation in the Master of Marketing degree and was heavily involved in both the Australian and International Marketing Study Programs. He was also involved with the ACRS over the years. His research interests included emotional branding, experiential retailing, store space design and the influence of in-store music and aroma on retail brands and shopper behaviour. An accomplished researcher, Michael’s work appeared in the Journal of Business Research, the International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, the International Journal of Technology Management, Business Horizons, Total Quality Management, the Learning Organization, Management Decision and the Journal of Workplace Learning.
Michael’s sudden death is no doubt a shock to all who knew him and his passing will be a great loss to the staff, students, alumni, the profession and the wider industry all of whom respected him greatly.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Karin and his daughters, Rebecca and Jordana.
Stephen King