Professor Tom Morgan is a teacher who inspires others. 

Morgan is a professor who teaches music at Washburn, specializing in percussion. He holds a bachelors and masters degree in music from the University of Northern Colorado and a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Oklahoma.

Morgan  teaches mostly percussion-oriented classes and jazz history. He has also composed his own music. 

Freshman music education major, Nathaniel Baker, believes Morgan is an instructor who knows music inside and out.

“He is a guy that knows what he’s talking about for sure. He always has an answer for every question you ask. He’s very good at getting his point across to students,” Baker said. “His teaching style is more of a monkey-see-monkey-do type thing.”

Morgan has an outlook on teaching where students earn as much as they are willing to put in. 

“Seeing people get better, but not just getting better but finding their own voice and to have it become something that is an integral part of what they do…all that is involved in being a musician, it is really a lifestyle,” Morgan said. 

He enjoys teaching and studying jazz. 

“With teaching jazz history, you feel connected with somebody who maybe never listened to jazz and they tell you, ‘I’m going to be listening to jazz for the rest of my life’,” Morgan said. “It’s something that’s become important to me. It’s really satisfying. We need a Jazz audience. We need listeners just as much as we need players.”

Morgan is a teacher who students really deserve, and others should really try to meet the standard of care and skill that Morgan puts into his job. Student feedback shows that he really goes the extra mile.