Michael Morris brings more than 27 years of federal law enforcement leadership to the classroom, having served with the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) from 1998 until his retirement in December 2025. He began his career as a Special Agent in the Los Angeles Field Office, conducting financial investigations into tax evasion, money laundering, identity theft, structuring, and international financial crimes, and served as lead agent at trial, before the Grand Jury, and on affidavits supporting search, seizure, and arrest warrants. In 2019, Michael was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent in Austin, Texas, where he oversaw the first federal indictment and guilty plea of a U.S. taxpayer solely for failing to pay taxes on cryptocurrency gains. He was over four field groups during the COVID-19 pandemic and most recently led IRS-CI's national Workforce Development team, overseeing leadership training, professional staff development, recruiting initiatives, and a nationwide employee wellness program.

Alongside his law enforcement career, Michael has spent more than a decade in higher education, teaching over 100 unique courses at more than ten universities and supporting five doctoral programs as a faculty mentor and doctoral project chair. His subject matter expertise spans Business Administration and Strategy, Accounting and Finance, Leadership and Ethics, Criminal Justice, Research Methods, and Organizational Development, with coursework ranging from principles of accounting and strategic management to qualitative research design and dissertation mentoring. He has served as an instructor, faculty mentor, and doctoral committee chair at institutions including California Southern University, Capella University, Columbia Southern University, Saint Leo University, and Walden University. As a detailed instructor and Supervisory Special Agent at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, he also trained new IRS-CI Special Agents in investigative techniques, forensic tax accounting, and cybercrime investigations. Michael has been an instructor with Law Enforcement Training Solutions since February 2019, teaching Racism and Racial Profiling, Coaching, Leadership, and Mentoring, and Ethics 2.1.

Michael holds a Doctor of Business Administration from California Southern University (2013), a Master of Business Administration in Accounting from National University (1997), and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from California State University, Dominguez Hills (1995). He is a graduate of the FLETC Law Enforcement Instructor Training Program and holds more than ten professional certifications, including extensive POST and FLETC training in asset forfeiture, surveillance, and technical investigative equipment. Michael's teaching honors include the Stephen Shank Faculty Award from Capella University (2026), Outstanding Faculty of the Year from Capella University (2024), and Faculty Mentor of the Year from California Southern University (2017), alongside multiple Raising the Bar Awards from Columbia Southern University and numerous IRS-CI Performance and Special Act Awards. He has co-authored conference research on entrepreneurial leadership in higher education and is a member of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.