MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY CELEBRATES 132nd COMMENCEMENT 

Nearly 1000 students will reap the benefits of years of hard work and academic excellence, as Morgan State University celebrates its 132nd Commencement on May 18, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in the W.A.C. Hughes Memorial Stadium on the University’s main campus.  Individual degrees will be conferred to all graduates during the main commencement exercise.

This year’s commencement speaker is Loida N. Lewis, Chairperson and CEO of TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc. A professional lawyer, accomplished author and noted philanthropist, Lewis was named by Working Woman Magazine as its “Top Female Business Owner in America” in 1994. She is the widow of Reginald F. Lewis, Baltimore native and one of America’s most notable African-American entrepreneurs.
“We are excited and honored to have Mrs. Lewis as the keynote speaker for this year’s commencement exercises,” says Morgan State University President Earl S. Richardson. “Her example of intellect, compassion and courage is one that all of our graduates should be proud to emulate and even surpass in their own careers and lives.” Lewis will join Dr. James L. Fisher, President Emeritus of Towson University; and Gloria Richardson, civil rights activist and leader of the 1960’s Cambridge Movement on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, as honorary degree recipients.  

Notable graduates include Carla Steppe, a candidate for an undergraduate degree in Architecture and Environmental Design. Confined to a wheelchair since the age of 16, Morgan State University provided the foundation for a career ambition she developed in a high school drafting class.

“Morgan was one of two colleges in Maryland that provided what I wanted,” says the Baltimore native. “It was difficult, but it helps you to be independent.” Steppe plans to pursue a career developing and designing handicap-friendly facilities.

Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie classified Doctoral Research Institution offering more than 70 academic programs leading to bachelor's degrees as well as programs at the master's and doctoral levels.  As Maryland's public urban university, Morgan serves a multi-ethnic and multi-racial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible.  For more information on Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.