Morgan State University
Encyclopedia
Morgan State University, formerly Centenary Biblical Institute (1867–1890), Morgan College (1890–1939) and Morgan State College (1939–1975), is a historically black college (HBCU) in Baltimore
, Maryland
, United States
. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland. Though it is a public institution, Morgan is not a part of the University System of Maryland
; the school opted out of becoming a part of the system and possesses its own governing Board of Regents.
, to train young men in the ministry. At the time of his death, Thomas Kelso
, co-founder and president of the board of directors, endowed the Male Free School and Colored Institute through a legacy of his estate. It later broadened its mission to educate both men and women as teacher
s. The school was renamed Morgan College in 1890 in honor of the Reverend Lyttleton Morgan
, the first chairman of its Board of Trustees, who donated land to the college.
In 1915 Andrew Carnegie
gave the school a grant of $50,000 for a central academic building. The terms of the grant included the purchase of a new site for the College, payment of all outstanding obligations, and the construction of a building to be named after him. The College met the conditions and moved to its present site in northeast Baltimore in 1917. Then a controversy exploded: in 1918, the white community of Lauraville
was incensed that the Ivy Mill property, where Morgan was to be built, had been sold to a "negro" college. It attempted to have the sale revoked by filing suit in the circuit court in Towson
, which dismissed the suit. They then appealed the case to the state Court of Appeals
. The appellate court upheld the lower court decision, finding no basis that siting the college at this location would constitute a public nuisance. Despite some ugly threats and several demonstrations against the project, Morgan College was allowed to be constructed at the new site and later expand. Carnegie Hall, the oldest original building on the present MSU campus, was erected a year later.
Morgan remained a private institution until 1939. That year, the state of Maryland purchased the school in response to a state study that determined that Maryland needed to provide more opportunities for its black citizens. Morgan College became Morgan State College. In 1975, Morgan added several doctoral programs and its Board of Directors petitioned the Maryland Legislature to be granted University status.
The school has undergone numerous renovations, including building a new communications building, a new student union, a new parking garage, and a new library. The Carl J. Murphy Fine Arts Center has also become a much used venue for plays and concerts that come to Baltimore, as well the home of a museum of African-American art.
s. More than 6,600 students are enrolled at MSU.
Recently, emphasis has been placed on the urban orientation of the university. This emphasis has been incorporated into the graduate programs. At the graduate level, the university offers the Master of Arts degree in African American studies, economics, English, history, international studies, mathematics, music, museum studies and historical preservation, sociology, and teaching. The Master of Business Administration is offered in accounting, finance, hospitality management, information systems, international business, management, and marketing and taxation. The Master of Science degree is offered in bioinformatics, educational administration and supervision, elementary and middle school education, psychometrics, science, sociology, telecommunications, and transportation. The Master of Science degree program in science is offered in biology, chemistry, and physics. Professional master’s degrees are offered in architecture, city and regional planning, engineering, landscape architecture, public health, and social work. The Doctor of Education degree is offered in community college leadership, mathematics education, science education, and urban educational leadership. The Doctor of Philosophy degree is offered in bioenvironmental science, business administration, English, higher education, history, and psychometrics. The Doctor of Engineering degree is offered in civil, electrical, and industrial engineering. In addition, the Doctor of Public Health degree and master’s and doctoral degrees in social work are offered.
, New Jersey
, and Pennsylvania
.
The School of Engineering admitted its first class starting in 1984. The first graduates received degrees in 1988. Dr. Eugene M. DeLoatch, is the first Dean of the School of Engineering. He accepted the position and left Howard University where he had been the Chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department.
The Morgan State University, School of Engineering has fully ABET accredited undergraduate programs in civil engineering; electrical and computer engineering; and industrial, manufacturing and information engineering. The school also offers graduate programs that confer the Master of Engineering Degree, Doctor of Engineering Degree, and Master of Transportation Degree.
By 1991, the 35000 sq ft (3,251.6 m²). Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr.
building was added with its sixteen teaching laboratories and five research laboratories. The William Donald Schaefer
Building is a 40000 sq ft (3,716.1 m²). addition to the Engineering School and was completed in April, 1998. It provides instructional laboratories, classrooms, a student lounge, research laboratories and a 2200 sq ft (204.4 m²). library annex. The Morgan State University School of Engineering graduates more than two-thirds of the state's African-American Civil Engineers; 60 percent of their African-American Electrical Engineers; 80 percent of their African-American Telecommunications specialists; more than one-third of their African-American Mathematicians; and all of the Maryland's African-American Industrial Engineers and Physicists. Nearly one third of the nation's top black engineering students have graduated from historically black institutions, like Morgan, in the past decade.
Baldwin, Cummings, Harper/ Tubman and O'Connell are traditional style housing.
Blount Towers (all female classifications) and Rawlings Hall (male upperclassmen) are high- rise (six to eight floors) residence halls. Thurgood Marshall (co-ed upper-class) is an apartment style complex located on-campus. Both Morgan View Apartments and Marble Hall Gardens are the co-ed upper-class apartment style residence hall complexes located off-campus.
Morgan's athletic teams are known as the Bears, and they compete in the Mideastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
From the 1930s through 1960s, led by coach and then athletic director Edward P. Hurt
, Morgan's athletic teams were legendary. More than thirty of its football players
were drafted by and played in the NFL and many of its track athletes competed internationally and received world-class status. By the late '60s most white colleges and universities ended their segregation
against black high school students and many top black high school students and athletes started matriculating to schools from which they had been barred just a decade prior. While achieving a national goal of desegregation
, integration
depleted the athletic strength of schools like Morgan and Grambling State University
. For example, the annual contest between Morgan and Grambling played in New York City in the late '60s drew more than 60,000 fans. Today, the two teams do not even play each other and Morgan's home football games rarely draw as many as 10,000 fans with the exception of the school's homecoming game.
team. Lacrosse, a sport that, up until then, had been dominated by white athletes. Black high school lacrosse players in Maryland and New York still had trouble getting into non-black schools. Morgan was the first (and until the turn of the 21st century, the only) historically black university to field a lacrosse team.
Several members of the team now coach lacrosse in local high schools. Tony Fulton and Curt Anderson
were elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. Dr. Miles Harrison and Coach Howard "Chip" Silverman collaborated on the book, Ten Bears; which is being made into a movie.
In 2005, students organized a lacrosse club which plays other college's lacrosse clubs, but the team has yet to qualify to become an NCAA sanctioned team. The University will not allow the new club team to use any of its fields or facilities. The club team has played more than twenty games in the last three years, most of them "away" because of the Bears' lack of a home field, locker rooms or visiting team amenities.
In 2010, the Morgan State men's basketball team again won the MEAC regular season and tournament championship and qualified for the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
, again as a 15 seed. Morgan State lost to West Virginia University
in the first round by a score of 77-50.
and the coach of the legendary Ten Bears
lacrosse team Howard "Chip" Silverman.
, Canary Islands
, Canada
, Africa
, Asia
and Europe
. Their most recent international appearance was in St. Petersburg, Russia
at the invitation of Maestro Yuri Temirkanov, music director and conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
. In Russia, the Choir performed in the 5th International Festival Arts Square and was received enthusiastically by their Russian audiences. The Choir has appeared at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC and the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall
(in New York City) on numerous occasions, performing and premiering works such as John Corigliano
’s “Poem On His Birthday,” “Too Hot to Handel” arranged by Broadway composers Bob Christianson and Gary Anderson
and Hannibal Lokumbe’s “African Portraits,” led by music director Leonard Slatkin
, as part of the Kennedy Center’s African Festival. One of the Choir’s most historic moments came with the opportunity to sing under the baton of Robert Shaw, conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's
and joined by Jessye Norman and others in Carnegie Hall’s One Hundredth Birthday Tribute to Marian Anderson
. A major milestone and historical movement occurred in the 1996-1997 season with the sounds of the “Silver Anniversary” concert being broadcast into households throughout the state of Maryland. The concert won three Emmy Awards for Maryland Public Television
(MPT). MPT continues to air this hallmark performance during select sections of their membership drives.
Known for their consistency of performances, the Choir probably does more annual appearances with major orchestras of the United States than any other university choir. For example, the 1998-1999 season included performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic
, the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Buffalo Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Knoxville Symphony. During the 1999-2000 season, the Choir was featured with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in a then-newly commissioned work for the millennium, “All Rise,” by Wynton Marsalis
. The Choir reprised “All Rise” in Prague, in October 2000 and recorded it with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic
and, in 2003, the Choir recorded the piece in Paris. In December 2003 the Choir performed “African Portraits” with the Baltimore Symphony at the Gala Concert for the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture. In their May 2004 issue, Reader’s Digest named the Morgan State University Choir as the “Best College Choir" in its list of “America’s 100 Best.”
In January 2005, under the leadership of Dr. Eric Conway, the choir performed Felix Mendelssohn
’s Symphony #2, “Lobgesang,” with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
, as well as performing at the State Department at the personal invitation of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
, to wide acclaim. Most recently, the Morgan State University Choir performed for the service honoring Rosa Parks, the unassuming matriarch of the civil rights movement, who became the first woman to lie in state at our nation’s Capitol Rotunda. In July 2006, the Choir traveled to Prague
, Czech Republic
, for two concerts with Maestro Paul Freeman. In November 2006, the Morgan State Choir participated in a concert celebrating the Bicentennial Celebration and Re-opening of the Basilica of the Assumption—the first cathedral in America.
The Morgan State University Choir has shared its musical gifts on many grand stages all over the world -– with numerous dignitaries and celebrated performers -– making them cultural ambassadors for Morgan State University, the city of Baltimore, and the state of Maryland. Each spring, the Choir concludes its season at home with its annual Spring Concert, which large audiences enthusiastically anticipate and receive. The University Choir was recently in Ghana
under the invitation of Morgan State alumni and US ambassador to Ghana Mrs. Pamela Bridgewater. They have performed in other major cities including Accra
, Kumasi
and Takoradi.
On November 24, 2008 members of the choir appeared with country singer Faith Hill
on NBC
's Today show. They also made appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and Christmas in Rockefeller Center 2008. On January 20, 2009 the choir performed at the War Memorial Plaza
in downtown Baltimore as a warm-up act to President Barack Obama's whistlestop tour speech.
The Morgan State University Band Program consist of six ensembles: the marching band, the symphonic band, symphonic winds, pep band, jazz ensemble and jazz combo. Self-titled the Magnificent Marching Machine, the marching band has performed at MSU football games, NFL games, Presidential Inaugurations, World Series and in regional and local television appearances. The band also made a cameo appearance in the 2003 American movie Head of State
and appeared on The Skyshow, a television show featuring Tom Joyner
.
organizations.
Morgan State University houses a variety of other fraternal organizations. These organizations are apart of the Council of Independent Organizations (CIO).
, The New York Times
columnist William Rhoden, and David E. Talbert
, who is a playwright, TV producer and entrepreneur.
Prominent faculty currently teaching at Morgan State University include author/filmmaker M. K. Asante, Jr.
, gerontologist Gaynell Simpson, and scholar Raymond Winbush
who directs the institute of Urban Research.
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland. Though it is a public institution, Morgan is not a part of the University System of Maryland
University System of Maryland
The University System of Maryland is a public corporation and charter school system comprising 12 Maryland institutions of higher education. It is the 12th-largest university system in the United States, with over 125,000 undergraduate, 43,000 graduate and roughly 13,000 combined full-time and...
; the school opted out of becoming a part of the system and possesses its own governing Board of Regents.
History
Morgan was founded in 1867 as the Centenary Biblical Institute, a Methodist Episcopal seminarySeminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
, to train young men in the ministry. At the time of his death, Thomas Kelso
Thomas Kelso
Thomas Kelso was born in Clonis, Ireland, August 28, 1784. He died July 26, 1878 at his home on East Baltimore St. in Baltimore, Maryland.-Life:...
, co-founder and president of the board of directors, endowed the Male Free School and Colored Institute through a legacy of his estate. It later broadened its mission to educate both men and women as teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s. The school was renamed Morgan College in 1890 in honor of the Reverend Lyttleton Morgan
Reverend Lyttleton Morgan
Reverend Lyttleton Morgan was the first chairman of the board of trustees of Morgan State University, which was renamed in his honor .-Career:...
, the first chairman of its Board of Trustees, who donated land to the college.
In 1915 Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
gave the school a grant of $50,000 for a central academic building. The terms of the grant included the purchase of a new site for the College, payment of all outstanding obligations, and the construction of a building to be named after him. The College met the conditions and moved to its present site in northeast Baltimore in 1917. Then a controversy exploded: in 1918, the white community of Lauraville
Lauraville, Baltimore
Lauraville is a neighborhood located in northeast Baltimore, Maryland. The neighborhood is bounded on the east by Harford Road, on the north by Echodale Avenue, on the south by Argonne Drive and Herring Run Park, and on the west side by Mount Pleasant Park and Morgan State University, with East...
was incensed that the Ivy Mill property, where Morgan was to be built, had been sold to a "negro" college. It attempted to have the sale revoked by filing suit in the circuit court in Towson
Towson, Maryland
Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 at the 2010 census...
, which dismissed the suit. They then appealed the case to the state Court of Appeals
Maryland Court of Appeals
The Court of Appeals of Maryland is the supreme court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief judge and six associate judges, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital, Annapolis...
. The appellate court upheld the lower court decision, finding no basis that siting the college at this location would constitute a public nuisance. Despite some ugly threats and several demonstrations against the project, Morgan College was allowed to be constructed at the new site and later expand. Carnegie Hall, the oldest original building on the present MSU campus, was erected a year later.
Morgan remained a private institution until 1939. That year, the state of Maryland purchased the school in response to a state study that determined that Maryland needed to provide more opportunities for its black citizens. Morgan College became Morgan State College. In 1975, Morgan added several doctoral programs and its Board of Directors petitioned the Maryland Legislature to be granted University status.
Improvements
Academics
Morgan awards Baccalaureate, Master's and Doctorate degreeAcademic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
s. More than 6,600 students are enrolled at MSU.
Recently, emphasis has been placed on the urban orientation of the university. This emphasis has been incorporated into the graduate programs. At the graduate level, the university offers the Master of Arts degree in African American studies, economics, English, history, international studies, mathematics, music, museum studies and historical preservation, sociology, and teaching. The Master of Business Administration is offered in accounting, finance, hospitality management, information systems, international business, management, and marketing and taxation. The Master of Science degree is offered in bioinformatics, educational administration and supervision, elementary and middle school education, psychometrics, science, sociology, telecommunications, and transportation. The Master of Science degree program in science is offered in biology, chemistry, and physics. Professional master’s degrees are offered in architecture, city and regional planning, engineering, landscape architecture, public health, and social work. The Doctor of Education degree is offered in community college leadership, mathematics education, science education, and urban educational leadership. The Doctor of Philosophy degree is offered in bioenvironmental science, business administration, English, higher education, history, and psychometrics. The Doctor of Engineering degree is offered in civil, electrical, and industrial engineering. In addition, the Doctor of Public Health degree and master’s and doctoral degrees in social work are offered.
Enrollment
Of the approximately 6,000 undergraduates and 616 graduate students who attend Morgan, about 35% are from outside of Maryland, including many from foreign countries. The largest sources of its enrollment outside of Maryland are New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Schools and colleges
The university operates nine colleges, schools and institutes.- College of Liberal Arts
- School of Business and Management
- School of Education and Urban Studies
- School of Engineering
- School of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences
- School of Graduate Studies
- School of Architecture and Planning
- School of Community Health and Policy
- Estuarine Research Center
College of Liberal Arts
The College of Liberal Arts is the largest academic division at the university. In addition to offering a wide variety of degree programs, it also offers a large portion of the courses in the General Education Requirements. The College of Liberal Arts offers twelve (12) undergraduate degree programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree and the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree. It offers the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree in: Economics, English, Fine Art, History, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology, Speech Communication, Telecommunications, and Theater Arts. It offers the Bachelor of Science Degree in: Economics, Psychology, and Telecommunications. The College of Liberal Arts offers minors in fifteen areas: African Studies (Interdisciplinary), Anthropology, Criminal Justice, East Asian Studies (Interdisciplinary), English, Environmental Studies (Interdisciplinary), World Languages and International Studies, Gender Studies (Interdisciplinary), Geography, History, Journalism, Museum Studies (Interdisciplinary), Music, Philosophy, Pre-Law, Religious Studies, Sociology and Speech.School of Business and Management
The Earl Graves School of Business and Management (SBM) is named in honor alumnus Earl G. Graves. Sr., class of 1958 and is located in McMechen Hall in the academic center of campus. Originally constructed in 1972, it was renovated in 1996 as a state-of-the-art classroom, laboratory, and office building. McMechen Hall recognizes George W.F. McMechen, Morgan's first graduate, who received his degree in 1895. The SBM offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Marketing, Human Resource Management, Hospitality Management, and Information Science and Systems; a Masters in Business Administration; and a Ph.D. in Business Administration.School of Education and Urban Studies
The School of Education and Urban Studies is located in the Jenkins Behavioral Science Building. The school offers programs in Family and Consumer Sciences, Health, Physical Education & Recreation, Social Work (Mental Health, Gerontology), and Teacher Education & Administration (Elementary Education, Secondary Education). Additionally, programs are offered within the Center for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Education (C.E.M.S.E). Master level program are offered in Masters in Educational and Administration Supervision and Masters in the Art of Teaching.School of Engineering
The Morgan State University, School of Engineering has fully ABET accredited undergraduate programs in civil engineering; electrical and computer engineering; and industrial, manufacturing and information engineering. The school also offers graduate programs that confer the Master of Engineering Degree, Doctor of Engineering Degree, and Master of Transportation Degree.
By 1991, the 35000 sq ft (3,251.6 m²). Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr.
Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr.
Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. was a civil rights activist and was the chief lobbyist for the NAACP for nearly 30 years. He also served as a regional director for the organization. Mitchell, nicknamed "the 101st U.S...
building was added with its sixteen teaching laboratories and five research laboratories. The William Donald Schaefer
William Donald Schaefer
William Donald Schaefer was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. A Democrat, he was mayor of Baltimore from 1971 to 1987, the 58th Governor of Maryland from January 21, 1987 to January 18, 1995, and the Comptroller of...
Building is a 40000 sq ft (3,716.1 m²). addition to the Engineering School and was completed in April, 1998. It provides instructional laboratories, classrooms, a student lounge, research laboratories and a 2200 sq ft (204.4 m²). library annex. The Morgan State University School of Engineering graduates more than two-thirds of the state's African-American Civil Engineers; 60 percent of their African-American Electrical Engineers; 80 percent of their African-American Telecommunications specialists; more than one-third of their African-American Mathematicians; and all of the Maryland's African-American Industrial Engineers and Physicists. Nearly one third of the nation's top black engineering students have graduated from historically black institutions, like Morgan, in the past decade.
School of Architecture and Planning
The School of Architecture and Planning has three graduate programs (Architecture, Landscape Architecture, City & Regional Planning)and two undergraduate programs (Architecture and Environmental Design and Construction Management. The School prepare students to address the challenges associated with systems of the built environment and their integration with systems in the natural environment. The objective is to link domains of environmental (natural patterns and flows), economic (financial patterns and equity), and social (human, cultural, and spiritual) as related to the professional practices of planning, design and management. Morgan's education is directed towards a sustainable urban environment that is beautiful, humane, socially appropriate, and restorative.Library
The Soper Library’s holdings constitute more than 660,000 volumes, including works in special collections. One such collection includes books on Africa, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. The African American collection is a body of historically significant and current books by and about African Americans and includes papers and memorabilia of such persons as the late Emmett P. Scott, secretary to Booker T. Washington, and Arthur J. Smith, who was associated with the Far East Consular Division of the State Department. The Forbush Collection, named for Dr. Bliss Forbush, is composed of materials associated with the Quakers and slavery. The Martin D. Jenkins Collection was acquired in 1980. Together, these collections provide both a contemporary and historical view of African Americans in education, military service, politics, and religion.Residential facilities
Approximately 2,000 students are housed in four traditional residence halls, two high rise buildings and three apartment complexes.Baldwin, Cummings, Harper/ Tubman and O'Connell are traditional style housing.
- Baldwin (upper-class male)
- Cummings (honors males)
- Harper/ Tubman (honors females)
- O'Connell Hall (freshman male)
Blount Towers (all female classifications) and Rawlings Hall (male upperclassmen) are high- rise (six to eight floors) residence halls. Thurgood Marshall (co-ed upper-class) is an apartment style complex located on-campus. Both Morgan View Apartments and Marble Hall Gardens are the co-ed upper-class apartment style residence hall complexes located off-campus.
Athletics
From the 1930s through 1960s, led by coach and then athletic director Edward P. Hurt
Edward P. Hurt
Edward Paulette Hurt, A.B., M.S., LL.D., was the head football coach, the head basketball coach and the head track coach at Morgan State College, in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1929 to 1959...
, Morgan's athletic teams were legendary. More than thirty of its football players
Morgan State University football
The Morgan State Bears football team competes in American football on behalf of Morgan State University. The Bears compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision, currently as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference...
were drafted by and played in the NFL and many of its track athletes competed internationally and received world-class status. By the late '60s most white colleges and universities ended their segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
against black high school students and many top black high school students and athletes started matriculating to schools from which they had been barred just a decade prior. While achieving a national goal of desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
, integration
Social integration
Social integration, in sociology and other social sciences, is the movement of minority groups such as ethnic minorities, refugees and underprivileged sections of a society into the mainstream of societies...
depleted the athletic strength of schools like Morgan and Grambling State University
Grambling State University
Grambling State University is a historically black , public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.-Academics:Grambling State University provides over...
. For example, the annual contest between Morgan and Grambling played in New York City in the late '60s drew more than 60,000 fans. Today, the two teams do not even play each other and Morgan's home football games rarely draw as many as 10,000 fans with the exception of the school's homecoming game.
Lacrosse
By 1975, Morgan became noted for its lacrosseLacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
team. Lacrosse, a sport that, up until then, had been dominated by white athletes. Black high school lacrosse players in Maryland and New York still had trouble getting into non-black schools. Morgan was the first (and until the turn of the 21st century, the only) historically black university to field a lacrosse team.
Several members of the team now coach lacrosse in local high schools. Tony Fulton and Curt Anderson
Curt Anderson
Curtis Stovall Anderson is an American politician, lawyer and former broadcast journalist. Anderson was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1983, is the chairman of the Baltimore City Delegation, and past chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. After serving 12...
were elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. Dr. Miles Harrison and Coach Howard "Chip" Silverman collaborated on the book, Ten Bears; which is being made into a movie.
In 2005, students organized a lacrosse club which plays other college's lacrosse clubs, but the team has yet to qualify to become an NCAA sanctioned team. The University will not allow the new club team to use any of its fields or facilities. The club team has played more than twenty games in the last three years, most of them "away" because of the Bears' lack of a home field, locker rooms or visiting team amenities.
Basketball
In 2009, the Morgan State men's basketball team won the MEAC regular season and tournament championship and qualified for the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. In their first tournament appearance, the 15 seeded Bears lost to the 2008–09 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team Oklahoma Sooners, 82-54, in the first round of the South Regional.In 2010, the Morgan State men's basketball team again won the MEAC regular season and tournament championship and qualified for the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The first and second round games were played at the following sites:*March 18 / 20*March 25 / 27*March 26 / 28Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held on April 3 and 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium, hosted by the Horizon League and Butler University, as per the NCAA's...
, again as a 15 seed. Morgan State lost to West Virginia University
West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball
The West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represents West Virginia University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. It is a member of the Big East Conference. West Virginia most recently reached the Final Four of the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, led by...
in the first round by a score of 77-50.
Athletic Hall of Fame
More than two hundred male and female Morgan State athletes have been inducted into the Morgan State University Hall of Fame including National Football League Hall of Famer Leroy KellyLeroy Kelly
Leroy Kelly was an American football player. A Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, he played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League from 1964-73....
and the coach of the legendary Ten Bears
Morgan State University Lacrosse
The Morgan State University Lacrosse Bears was the only lacrosse team established to play NCAA-level lacrosse at a historically black institution. The team, from Baltimore, Maryland, defeated schools like Harvard and Notre Dame and upset a #1 ranked team in 1975...
lacrosse team Howard "Chip" Silverman.
Choir
The Morgan State University Choir, was led for more than three decades by the late Dr. Nathan Carter, celebrated conductor, composer, and arranger, is one of the nation’s most prestigious university choral ensembles. The groups that are subdivisions of the critically acclaimed choir include the University Choir, which is over 140 voices strong, and The Morgan Singers (approximately 40 voices). While classical, gospel, and contemporary popular music comprise the majority of the choir’s repertoire, the choir is noted for its emphasis on preserving the heritage of the spiritual, especially in the historic practices of performance. The Morgan State University Choir has performed for audiences throughout the United States and all over the world—including the Bahamas, Virgin IslandsVirgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
, Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Their most recent international appearance was in St. Petersburg, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
at the invitation of Maestro Yuri Temirkanov, music director and conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...
. In Russia, the Choir performed in the 5th International Festival Arts Square and was received enthusiastically by their Russian audiences. The Choir has appeared at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC and the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
(in New York City) on numerous occasions, performing and premiering works such as John Corigliano
John Corigliano
John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...
’s “Poem On His Birthday,” “Too Hot to Handel” arranged by Broadway composers Bob Christianson and Gary Anderson
Gary M. Anderson
Gary Michael Anderson is an American musician.He attended Berklee School of Music as a Down Beat Hall of Fame Scholarship recipient, and went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude...
and Hannibal Lokumbe’s “African Portraits,” led by music director Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Edward Slatkin is an American conductor and composer.-Early life and education:Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His father Felix Slatkin was the violinist, conductor and founder of the Hollywood String Quartet,...
, as part of the Kennedy Center’s African Festival. One of the Choir’s most historic moments came with the opportunity to sing under the baton of Robert Shaw, conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's
Orchestra of St. Luke's
The Orchestra of St. Luke's is an American chamber orchestra based in New York City.It was founded in the summer of 1979 at the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York....
and joined by Jessye Norman and others in Carnegie Hall’s One Hundredth Birthday Tribute to Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson was an African-American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century...
. A major milestone and historical movement occurred in the 1996-1997 season with the sounds of the “Silver Anniversary” concert being broadcast into households throughout the state of Maryland. The concert won three Emmy Awards for Maryland Public Television
Maryland Public Television
Maryland Public Television is a non-profit, state-licensed Public Broadcasting Service non-commercial educational public television state network which serves U.S. state of Maryland. Its six transmitters cover nearly all of the state, plus Washington, D.C...
(MPT). MPT continues to air this hallmark performance during select sections of their membership drives.
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Buffalo Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Knoxville Symphony. During the 1999-2000 season, the Choir was featured with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in a then-newly commissioned work for the millennium, “All Rise,” by Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
. The Choir reprised “All Rise” in Prague, in October 2000 and recorded it with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
and, in 2003, the Choir recorded the piece in Paris. In December 2003 the Choir performed “African Portraits” with the Baltimore Symphony at the Gala Concert for the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture. In their May 2004 issue, Reader’s Digest named the Morgan State University Choir as the “Best College Choir" in its list of “America’s 100 Best.”
In January 2005, under the leadership of Dr. Eric Conway, the choir performed Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
’s Symphony #2, “Lobgesang,” with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...
, as well as performing at the State Department at the personal invitation of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
, to wide acclaim. Most recently, the Morgan State University Choir performed for the service honoring Rosa Parks, the unassuming matriarch of the civil rights movement, who became the first woman to lie in state at our nation’s Capitol Rotunda. In July 2006, the Choir traveled to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, for two concerts with Maestro Paul Freeman. In November 2006, the Morgan State Choir participated in a concert celebrating the Bicentennial Celebration and Re-opening of the Basilica of the Assumption—the first cathedral in America.
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
under the invitation of Morgan State alumni and US ambassador to Ghana Mrs. Pamela Bridgewater. They have performed in other major cities including Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, Kumasi
Kumasi
Kumasi is a city in southern central Ghana's Ashanti region. It is located near Lake Bosomtwe, in the Rain Forest Region about northwest of Accra. Kumasi is approximately north of the Equator and north of the Gulf of Guinea...
and Takoradi.
On November 24, 2008 members of the choir appeared with country singer Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Today show. They also made appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and Christmas in Rockefeller Center 2008. On January 20, 2009 the choir performed at the War Memorial Plaza
War Memorial Plaza
War Memorial Plaza is a landmark in Downtown Baltimore across from City Hall.-History:Construction began in 1917.Barack Obama made a stop at War Memorial Plaza on the way to his inauguration. He chose the site because he wanted to trace Abraham Lincoln's path....
in downtown Baltimore as a warm-up act to President Barack Obama's whistlestop tour speech.
Band
Head of State (film)
Head of State is a 2003 comedy film directed, written by, and starring Chris Rock and also co-starring Bernie Mac. The film's title refers to that function of the President of the United States, the other two functions being head of government and commander in chief.-Plot:Mays Gilliam is an...
and appeared on The Skyshow, a television show featuring Tom Joyner
Tom Joyner
Thomas "Tom" Joyner is an American radio host, host of the nationally syndicated The Tom Joyner Morning Show, and also founder of REACH Media Inc., the Tom Joyner Foundation, and BlackAmericaWeb.com.-Early life:...
.
Greek letter organizations
Morgan State University has chapters from each of the National Pan-Hellenic CouncilNational Pan-Hellenic Council
The National Pan-Hellenic Council is a collaborative organization of nine historically African American, international Greek lettered fraternities and sororities. The nine NPHC organizations are sometimes collectively referred to as the "Divine Nine"...
organizations.
| Organization | Chapter name |
|---|---|
| Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ... Fraternity |
Beta Alpha |
| Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle... Sorority |
Alpha Delta |
| Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin... Fraternity |
Alpha Iota |
| Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi is a fraternity and is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. The founders were three Howard University juniors, Edgar Amos... Fraternity |
Pi |
| Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University... Sorority |
Alpha Gamma |
| Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I... Fraternity |
Gamma |
| Iota Phi Theta Fraternity | Alpha |
| Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean... Sorority |
Gamma |
| Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana... Sorority |
Beta Tau |
Morgan State University houses a variety of other fraternal organizations. These organizations are apart of the Council of Independent Organizations (CIO).
| Organization | Chapter name |
|---|---|
| Alpha Nu Omega Alpha Nu Omega Alpha Nu Omega is a national Greek letter organization founded in 1988 that comprises both a fraternity and sorority under one Constitution. The Constitution mandates that both branches of ANQ are Christian social Greek letter organizations.-History:... Fraternity |
Alpha |
| Alpha Nu Omega Sorority | Alpha |
| Groove Phi Groove Groove Phi Groove Groove Phi Groove is a social fellowship founded at Morgan State College as an alternative to mainstream Black fraternities... Social Fellowship |
Mother Bear |
| Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Kappa Psi is a fraternity for college and university band members. It was founded on November 27, 1919 at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in Stillwater, Oklahoma. William Scroggs, now regarded as the "Founder," together with "Mr. Kappa Kappa Psi" A... National Honorary Band Fraternity |
Eta Gamma |
| Malaika Kambe Umfazi Sorority | Njeri Zubari Queendom |
| Pershing Angels Coed Affiliates Pershing Rifles The Coed Affiliates Pershing Rifles was established in 1966 as the first officially recognized female auxiliary to the National Association of Pershing Rifles. It was disbanded in the early 1980’s when women were fully integrated into Pershing Rifles... Sorority |
Company J-8-5 |
| Pershing Rifles Pershing Rifles The Pershing Rifles is a military fraternal organization for college-level students, founded by then 2nd Lieutenant John J. Pershing in 1894 as a drill unit at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln... Fraternity |
Company J-8 |
| Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music... Fraternity |
Pi Eta |
| Sigma Alpha Iota Sigma Alpha Iota Sigma Alpha Iota , International Music Fraternity for Women. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its members and the general public... Music Fraternity for Women |
Kappa Xi |
| Swing Phi Swing Social Fellowship | Marali Nubia Bear |
| Tau Beta Sigma Tau Beta Sigma Tau Beta Sigma is a co-educational national honorary band sorority dedicated to serving college and university bands. The Sorority, headquartered at the historic Stillwater Station in Stillwater, Oklahoma, numbers over 3,500 active members in 145 active chapters, and over 40,000 alumni... National Honorary Band Sorority |
Epsilon Omega |
Notable alumni and faculty
Alumni of Morgan State University have achieved notability in the fields of athletics, science, government and the military including four members of the NFL Football Hall of Fame (Willie Lanier, Roosevelt Brown, Leroy Kelly, and Len Ford), Black Enterprise Magazine publisher Earl Graves, the Chief Judge of Maryland's highest court, nearly a dozen U.S. Army Generals including General William "Kip" Ward, the first Commanding Officer of the United States Africa CommandUnited States Africa Command
The United States Africa Command is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands of the United States Armed Forces, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U.S. military operations and military relations with 53 African nations – an area of responsibility covering all...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
columnist William Rhoden, and David E. Talbert
David E. Talbert
David E. Talbert is an American playwright.. Talbert is a graduate of Morgan State University and attended the New York University film program....
, who is a playwright, TV producer and entrepreneur.
Prominent faculty currently teaching at Morgan State University include author/filmmaker M. K. Asante, Jr.
M. K. Asante, Jr.
MK Asante is an African-American author, filmmaker, and professor. He has been described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "a rare, remarkable talent that brings to mind the great artists of the Harlem Renaissance." He was described by CNN as "a master storyteller and major creative force." He is...
, gerontologist Gaynell Simpson, and scholar Raymond Winbush
Raymond Winbush
Raymond A. Winbush is an American-African, scholar/activist who is Director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University....
who directs the institute of Urban Research.