Morgan State University
Bears | |
Sporting affiliations | National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA Division I – Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) |
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Website | www |
Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a
Morgan State is a member of Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Although a public institution, Morgan State is not part of the University System of Maryland. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".[8]
History
Centenary Biblical Institute | |
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1869–1882 | J. Emory Round |
1882–1888 | W. Maslin Frysinger |
Morgan College | |
1888–1901 | John J. Wagner |
1901–1902 | Charles Edmond Young (acting) |
1902–1937 | Dwight O.W. Holmes |
1948–1970 | Martin D. Jenkins |
1970–1971 | Thomas P. Fraser, II (interim) |
1971–1974 | King Virgil Cheek |
1974–1975 | Thomas P. Fraser |
Morgan State University | |
1975–1984 | Andrew Billingsley |
1984–2010 | Earl S. Richardson |
2010–present | David Wilson |
Morgan State University (MSU) is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1867 as the Centenary Biblical Institute, a Methodist Episcopal seminary, 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.[9][10][11]
It later broadened its mission to educate both men and women as teachers. The school was renamed as Morgan College in 1890 in honor of the
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.
In 1918, the white community of
Morgan remained a private institution until 1939. That year, the state of Maryland purchased the school. Morgan College became Morgan State College. In 1975, Morgan State added several doctoral programs and its board of directors petitioned the Maryland Legislature to be granted university status.
In 2020, MacKenzie Scott donated $40 million to Morgan State. The donation is the largest in Morgan State's history and one of the largest ever to a HBCU.[15] The following year, Calvin E. Tyler Jr. donated $20 million to endow scholarships for financially needy students at Morgan State. Tyler donation's is believed to be the largest single donation a former student made to a historically black institution.[16]
21st century construction
In the 21st century, the university has seen the construction of a new student union, two dedicated parking garages, the Earl S. Richardson Library, the Dixon Research Center, the Communications Building, and the Center for the Built Environment and Infrastructure Studies. The latter two buildings, plus one of the two parking garages, are in the far north of the campus, connected by a new Communications Bridge over Herring Run. The central quad was also rebuilt, completed in early 2012, and includes a direct connection between the two main bridges on campus and many new bicycle racks.
The Carl J. Murphy Fine Arts Center has become an important venue for plays and concerts visiting Baltimore, and is also the home of the James E. Lewis Museum of Art, a museum of African-American art. In September 2012, Morgan State opened the Center for the Built Environment and Infrastructure Studies (CBEIS) which houses the School of Architecture and Planning, School of Transportation Studies, and the School of Engineering.
The university's Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management opened in 2015.
Academics
Morgan State awards baccalaureate, master's, and doctorate degrees. More than 9,800[17] students are enrolled at Morgan. At the graduate level, the university offers the Master of Arts, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science, Master of Education, Doctor of Education, Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Engineering, and Doctor of Public Health.
Enrollment
As of the spring of 2024, there were 9,808 students, being 8,300 undergraduates and 1,508 graduate students enrolled at Morgan, [17] [18] and 45% were non-Maryland residents.[19] Almost 10% of the student population is international, including many from countries like Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Jamaica. The largest sources of enrollment outside of Maryland are New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.[19]
From 2006 to 2019 the number of African-American students remained constant, but the numbers of other racial groups, including Hispanic/Latinx and non-Hispanic white students increased. In 2006 the student count was 6,700, including 60 Hispanic/Latinx students, in 2019 it was up to 7,700, including 260 Hispanic/Latinx students, and in 2024 it was up to 9,808, including 476 Hispanic/Latinx students.[20] International students also increased in that period, up to 9.8%.
Schools and colleges
The university operates twelve colleges, schools, and institutes.
- College of Interdisciplinary and Continuing Studies
- 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
- Patuxent Environmental & Aquatic Research Laboratory
- School of Social Work
- School of Global Journalism and Communication
- Dr. Clara Adams Honors College
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 university's general education requirements. The College of Liberal Arts offers three doctoral programs (PhD), six Master of Arts (MA), two Master of Science (MS), eleven Bachelor of Arts (BA), two Bachelor of Science (BS), one Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), and twenty-three minors, all in topics such as
The College of Liberal Arts hosts also two museums: James E. Lewis Museum of Art and
School of Business and Management
The Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management (GSBM) is named in honor of alumnus
School of Education and Urban Studies
The School of Education and Urban Studies is located in Banneker Hall. The school offers undergraduate and Masters-level degree programs.
School of Engineering
The School of Engineering admitted its first class starting in 1984. The first graduates received degrees in 1988. Eugene M. DeLoatch (retired 2016) was the first Dean of the School of Engineering, having previously been Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Howard University. He was succeeded by Dr. Michael G. Spencer who was previously a professor of electrical engineering at Cornell University.
The Morgan State University, School of Engineering has ABET-accredited undergraduate programs. The school's graduate programs confer the Master of Engineering Degree, Doctor of Engineering Degree, and Master of Transportation Degree.
By 1991, the construction of the 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2)
School of Architecture and Planning (S+AP)
In 1997, it is the only
Library
The Earl S. Richardson Library's is the main academic information resource center on the campus. The new building covers approximately 222,517 square feet which opened in 2008. The library's holding constitutes over 500,000 volumes, and access to over 1 million e-books and 5,000 periodical titles. There are 167 online databases that are subscribed to the Library. Reading and studying spaces are provided with wired and wireless access to databases for research.[25] One such collection in the volumes includes books on Africa, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. The African-American collection includes papers and memorabilia of such persons as Emmett Jay Scott, secretary to Booker T. Washington. The Forbush Collection is composed of materials associated with the Quakers and slavery. The Martin D. Jenkins Collection was acquired in 1980.[25]
Student life and activities
Athletics
Morgan's athletic teams are known as the Bears, and they compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Between 1926 and 1928, a young
In 2023, Morgan State revived its wrestling program thanks to the largest donation in Bears history.[30] Kenny Monday was hired as head coach.
Lacrosse
By 1975 Morgan State became noted for its lacrosse team. Morgan State was the first—and, until the turn of the 21st century, the only—historically black university to field a lacrosse team.[13]
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.[31]
Basketball
In 2009, the Morgan State men's basketball team won the MEAC regular season and tournament championship and qualified for the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. In their first tournament appearance, the 15th-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.[32]
In 2010 the Morgan State men's basketball team again won the MEAC regular season and tournament championship[33] and qualified for the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, again as a 15 seed. Morgan State lost to West Virginia University in the first round by a score of 77–50.[34]
Athletic Hall of Fame
More than two hundred men and women Morgan State athletes have been inducted into the Morgan State University Hall of Fame including National Football League Hall of Famers Rosey Brown, Leroy Kelly and Willie Lanier, two-time Olympic Gold medalist George Rhoden, and the coach of the Ten Bears lacrosse team Howard "Chip" Silverman.
Choir
The Morgan State University Choir is one of the nation's most prestigious university choral ensembles and was led for more than three decades by the late Dr. Nathan Carter, celebrated conductor, composer, and arranger. 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). The Morgan State University Choir has performed for audiences throughout the United States and all over the world—including The Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Canada, Africa, Asia, and Europe. [35]
Band
The Morgan State University Band Program consists of six ensembles: the marching band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, pep band, jazz ensemble, and jazz combo. Self-titled the Magnificent Marching Machine, the marching band has performed at Morgan State football games, NFL games, Presidential Inaugurations, World Series games and in regional and local television appearances.[36] 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.
On November 28, 2019, the Magnificent Marching Machine, made its first-ever appearance the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.[37]
Greek life
Morgan State University has many fraternity and sorority chapters.