News Releases

Leaders in banking, financial services industries named Distinguished Alumni by KU School of Busines

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

LAWRENCE - Two outstanding business leaders were honored as Distinguished Alumni of the University of Kansas School of Business at a banquet on April 16. The 2009 honorees are Joe C. Morris, founder and past chairman of The Capital Corporation, and Bill Taylor, past partner at Ernst & Young LLP.

The Distinguished Alumni Award was created in 1998 to honor outstanding graduates from the School of Business. Recipients are chosen from nominations by fellow alumni and by the School's Board of Advisors. Candidates are nominated based on leadership, business contributions and involvement with the community and the School.

Morris founded The Capital Corporation, which assists clients with mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, strategic planning, and information technology risk assessment. Morris was born in Emporia, Kansas, and received Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration "with highest distinction" from The University of Kansas in 1961. In addition, he was designated a "Distinguished Military Graduate," served three years as an officer in the United States Air Force and later received his graduate degree from Indiana University Graduate School of Business.

Morris still serves as a KU Endowment Trustee and a member of the KU Endowment Investment Committee. He is the immediate Past National Chairman of the KU Alumni Association. In 2006, Joe was the recipient of "The Fred Ellsworth Award" for distinguished service to the University of Kansas.
Taylor retired in 2003 as a partner in Ernst & Young LLP. Since retirement, he has joined the Boards of Tamarack Funds and a private captive insurance company; consulted with Ernst & Young on a major Sarbanes Oxley project; and serves on the leadership team for Citizens for Higher Education, a group of executives advocating for state funding of higher education in Kansas. Taylor was a cofounder of the School of Business Ernst & Young Center for Audit Research and Technology at the University of Kansas and coordinated activities between the Center and the Firm's national office.

Taylor is a graduate of the University of Kansas, earning his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Accounting in 1967, and Master's in Accounting in 1969. He currently serves as Chair of the School of Business Board of Advisors, Chair of the Alumni Association Audit Committee, Finance Committee and Board member of the KU Research Institute at the Medical Center and member of the University Multicultural Scholars Advisory Council.

To view the 2009 Distinguished Alumni Program, click here.

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