Former Morris Arts Executive Director Ward Remembered For Passion

MORRISTOWN, NJ – Carolyn Ward, who served as the executive director of Morris Arts for 15 years and who was known for her passion and visionary skills, passed away last month, the arts organization announced on Monday.

Ward, who was 79, retired to Colonial Williamsburg, is survived by two children, four grandchildren and one great-grandson. Funeral services are scheduled for Oct. 11, according to her obituary. She passed away on Sept. 27 in Virginia, where her love of her community continued after her retirement from Morris Arts.

Ward, who served as executive director between 1991 and 2006, came to the position with plenty of experience in the not-for-profit world. Prior to joining Morris Arts, Ward served as the President of the Junior League of Morristown and of Homeless Solutions, which was previously known as the Morris Shelter.

During her tenure with Morris Arts, Ward oversaw a number of changes in the organization, which saw its budget quadruple under Ward, who helped to develop of staff of seven full-time employees after starting with mainly volunteers, the organization said in a news release.

In her tenure as executive director, Ward made it her priority to educate the community about the value of arts in the lives of local residents rather than the “arts as a frill” mindset that existed before she started with the organization, officials said.

“Her years as Executive Director of Morris Arts were seminal in so many ways and we all owe her a tremendous debt of gratitude for establishing our organization on such firm footing and securing our reputation for excellence,” Lynn Siebert, a former Morris Arts board member and staff member said in the release. “Those of us privileged to work with her never forgot her kindness, her deep knowledge of the arts and our community, and her ability to lead by example.”

Ward’s efforts helped to create a number of community partnerships with a number of groups, and she was a founding member of First Night Morris, the New Year’s Eve celebration of the arts for which Morris Arts provided 29 years of artistic programming, officials said in the release.

She partnered with United Way on the Unity Quilt project after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks which , demonstrated the healing power of the arts, involving the entire community to create quilts for families of those lost, the release said. Ward also worked with Homeless Solutions – offering arts activities for teens and middle school students to connect peers, provide a sense of family and offer an opportunity for individual expression and she also partnered Head Start (Dover) and worked to organize arts projects designed to strengthen family bonds, the group said.

Under Ward’s leadership, Morris Arts distinguished itself on both a local and state level, garnering top awards such as the multiple New Jersey designations as “a major arts organization” and repeatedly receiving the state’s “Citation of Excellence,” in recognition of its “artistic excellence, substantial programming and broad public service,” the release said.

During her tenure, Morris Arts also saw the fruits of its supportive efforts in the substantial growth and successes of many area arts organizations and professional artists. She said at the time of her retirement that Morris Arts had made a significant impact on her as she watched as the community’s love of the arts flourished under her leadership.

Her impact will be felt for years, according to a number of tributes that were released by Morris Arts on Monday.

“My first impression was more about Carolyn than the board because it was quite apparent that she was passionate about the arts and about what she was doing,” said Alan Levitan, a former Morris Arts board member and Board President. “In other words, using today’s vernacular, she was totally ‘mission focused.’ This provided instant inspiration for me which I hope has continued in the role I have played fulfilling Morris Arts’ impact in our community and, when I thought about it this morning, has continued Carolyn’s vision.”