President’s Letter

Alumni and Friends,

Although a graduate of Howard University, in Washington, D.C., Ejijah Cummings was a pillar of Baltimore City and Morgan State University. His loss is still keenly felt, as is the absence of pioneering scholar and former Morgan State University Professor of History Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, Ph.D. But having read of Dr. Terborg-Penn’s tremendous contributions to her field and having experienced firsthand Congressman Cummings’ outstanding commitment to his hometown and MSU, I know that the greatest tribute we can pay them is to continue our work of growing the future and leading the world.

The stories in this issue provide clear examples of that work and “The Morgan Way.” Long before his groundbreaking election as Howard County executive, Calvin Ball, Ed.D., profiled in these pages, experienced the transformational power of a Morgan education, first through his father then for himself as a doctoral student here early in his political career. Our article about Morgan’s Entrepreneurial Development and Assistance Center tells how EDAC and its longtime director, MSU graduate Omar Muhammad, have cultivated success, often against the odds, by promoting business ownership.

Morgan’s School of Social Work has long benefited communities in Baltimore and beyond with its research and treatment to address addiction, including the opioid crisis. The article in this issue spotlights that work as well as its importance to MSU students and faculty. Morgan’s outsize impact on humanity through science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) also continues, as exemplified by the cutting-edge pancreatic cancer research of Simon Nyaga, Ph.D., and his team in Morgan’s School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences.

Our scholarship and research require financial supporters, and the County Engineers Association of Maryland, featured in this issue’s “Donor Profile,” is one of our strongest. Our work needs good direction as well, such as that provided by the four new MSU administrators — all women — profiled in our “Leadership Spotlight.”

With the holidays now past, but with the memories of the first-ever performance of Morgan’s Magnificent Marching at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade still fresh, I am delighted to present this publication to you and yours. I look forward to seeing and working with you in 2020!

Sincerely,

David Wilson
President