Morrie K. Abramson

Morrie is a native Houstonian whose parents were born in Galveston, his roots in the local area go back to the late 1800s. He attended the University of Texas and graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Business. After graduation, he joined Sterling Electronics and enjoyed a successful career, ultimately becoming an executive vice president and a director. In 1973, he founded Kent Electronics Corporation by purchasing a small division of his former employer. Kent grew into the largest national specialty electronics distributor and network integrator in America and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Kent was merged into Avnet, Inc. on June 8, 2001. Avnet is the world’s largest distributor of semiconductors; interconnect, passive and electromechnical components; computer products and enterprise solutions. Abramson is the retired chairman of Kent Electronics Corporation.

Abramson currently serves on the Boards of the Methodist Hospital, the University of Texas Health Science Center development, and has served on the Greater Houston Community Foundation, and the Greater Houston Partnership. Abramson formerly served as vice chairman on the Baylor College of Medicine Board of Trustees. He founded and served as chairman of the college's Prostate Cancer Research Initiative. Abramson also served on the University of Houston Board of Regents, where he completed his term as chairman of the board. He served on the UH Bauer College of Business advisory board and received the business school’s “Outstanding Alumnus Award” for 1991. In 1998, he was honored by the Houston Alumni Organization with its “Alumnus of the Year” Award. In 1996, he was the recipient of the Anti-Defamation League's prestigious "Torch of Liberty" Award. He is involved with various civic, charitable and philanthropic organizations. He is married and has two daughters and two grandchildren. His love for medicine and education remains his passions today.