James T. Morris, a veteran faculty member in biology and marine science, has been named director of the Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Studies, succeeding Madilyn Fletcher who has accepted a new position as director of USC's School of the Environment.

Morris joined USC's faculty in 1981 and has conducted research in intertidal wetlands for more than 25 years, including in Baruch's North Inlet Estuary. His active research program, which has ranged from the physiological ecology of plants, to the biogeochemistry of sediments and geomorphology, has established his reputation as one of the foremost experts on the effects of sea level rise on coastal wetlands.

Morris was appointed to the recent scientific and engineering task force that met in New Orleans to make recommendations concerning wetland restoration in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The task force's recommendations are presented in Envisioning the Future of the Gulf Coast.

Morris' current research is largely focused on wetlands but also includes work on the carbon cycle in forests around the contaminated Chernobyl nuclear reactor in Ukraine. He is co-principal investigator of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Long-Term Ecological Research project at Plum Island estuary in Massachusetts, principal investigator of a similar NSF project at North Inlet, principal investigator of a NOAA sea level rise project in North Carolina, and principal investigator of a research project in Chernobyl.

In addition to teaching and research, Morris has been an active participant in professional societies, has served scientific agencies as an ad hoc reviewer, and recently completed a two-year appointment as program director, NSF Division of Environmental Biology.

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