Abstract
This collection contains material that documents the career of technology educator Jerry Morlan (1938-2000), primarily in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bulk of the materials date between 1986-1996 and refer to Morlan's role in integrating technology into the classroom in the Clark County, Nevada School District. They include numerous letters of thanks and recommendation from schools throughout the county, as well as Morlan's professional writings and newspaper clippings related to his advocacy of vocational learning in the industrial arts. Also included in the collection is a group of photographs that visually document student projects Morlan directed during the 1980s, as well as a videocassette program from 1991 that offered an introduction to technology.
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Scope and Contents Note
This collection contains material that documents the career of technology educator Jerry Morlan (1938-2000), primarily in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bulk of the materials date between 1986-1996 and refer to Morlan's role in integrating technology into the classroom in the Clark County, Nevada School District. They include numerous letters of thanks and recommendation from schools throughout the county, as well as Morlan's professional writings and newspaper clippings related to his advocacy of vocational learning in the industrial arts. Also included in the collection is a group of photographs that visually document student projects Morlan directed during the 1980s, as well as a videocassette program from 1991 that offered an introduction to technology.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Advanced notice is required.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain in original order.
Biographical / Historical Note
Jerry Duane Morlan (1938-2000) was born and raised in Victorville, California. He worked as a letter carrier for the U.S. Post Office from 1960 to 1965 before his eight-year tenure as an industrial photographer at Teledyne Semiconductor in Hawthorne, California. After Teledyne, Morlan was a successful general supervisor of the graphic arts department of leading toy manufacturing company Mattel, continuing to work as a photographer and sometimes acting as a consultant for the Yankee Photo Products company.
In 1974, Morlan became operations manager for a security camera service company. The following year Morlan enrolled in college to become an educator; he received an Associate of Arts degree from El Camino College and graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts; some years later he completed his Master of Science through Nova University.
After a year of teaching Industrial Arts in Lancaster, California, Morlan relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he took a similar position at Garside Junior High School in August 1978. There Morlan taught Industrial Arts, Life Science, Physical Science, Health, Photography, and Service Art for more than fourteen years. He created a pilot program for technology education in the early 1990s that was very well-received by the Clark County School District. During this time he also published articles in trade journals and newspapers, and was an advocate for vocational education throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. This involvement led to his position as Administrative Specialist for Technology and Technical Education Curriculum and Instruction from 1992 to 1997, an important role in the growing city’s school district.
Preferred Citation
Jerry Morlan Professional Papers, 1956-1998. MS-00486. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2004 by Kathy Morlan; accession number 2004-011.
Processing Note
Material was processed and inventoried in 2006 by Dana Miller. In 2018, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Melise Leech revised the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards.