The annual Faculty Senate lectureship is named in honor of the late Dr. Marcus W. Orr, Professor of History, but is not placed under the aegis of the Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities. Dr. Orr, a remarkable scholar with a broad range of knowledge, is remembered as a brilliant mind and a superb teacher. Marcus W. Orr was Chair of the Faculty Senate from 1967 to 1968. The lectureship committee, ad hoc Marcus W. Orr Lecture in Higher Education was established in 1989. At his death in 1990, the University name its Center for the Humanities in Orr’s honor, and the Memphis Brooks Museum named its print room after him. 

The ad hoc Marcus Orr Lecture Committee and its chair-person shall be appointed by the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate. The membership of the Committee should broadly represent the faculty, and one half of the members shall be senators. Members of the committee will serve two years, staggered to allow for continuity in long-term planning. The committee will report to the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate. The Committee should have responsibility of selecting the speaker and of organizing and planning the Senate Lecture in Higher Education. The committee will authorize expenditure of the lectureship with funding provided with allocation from the Office of the President.