FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE:
MORGAN LAUNCHES
FIRST-EVER CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
-
Ray Charles and the BSO are Campaign's Opening Act -
Morgan State University
will host the legendary Ray Charles, with Victor Vanacore conducting
the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, at 6:30 p.m. on May 12, 2002 in the
stylish new Gilliam Concert Hall in Morgan's Carl J. Murphy Fine Arts
Center.
The special Mother's
Day concert officially launches New Horizons: The Campaign for Morgan
State University. It is the University's first capital campaign and
the most ambitious private fundraising effort in the school's history.
"Our goal is
to raise $25 million over the course of this five year campaign and
I am confident that we can do it," said James H. Gilliam, Jr. who
is one of the co-chairs of New Horizons, along with his wife, Dr. Linda
G. J. Gilliam. The Gilliams kicked off the silent phase of the campaign
last year by making the largest individual gift ever given to the University.
"Linda and I have often said that we wanted our financial contribution
to Morgan to inspire others to make similar commitments. This capital
campaign is one way that we felt we could contribute even more to the
school's future success."
Enrollment numbers
at Morgan State University have increased dramatically over the past
ten years, while at the same time, the number of applicants who have
been denied admission has also gone up. According to President Earl
S. Richardson, it is an indication that the University has been very
effective in its efforts to attract the best and brightest students
in Maryland and across the country. Dr. Richardson points out, however,
that in achieving its mission as an institution that is accessible to
all deserving students, regardless of their financial circumstances,
the fiscal strain it places on the University makes that mission more
difficult to fulfill.
"More than
90 percent of undergraduate students attending Morgan require some form
of financial aid," said Dr. Richardson. "In fiscal year 2000,
we awarded over $45 million in financial aid, averaging $8,500 per student.
It is just one of the reasons that this capital campaign is so vitally
important to this university."
With New Horizons:
The Campaign for Morgan State University, President Richardson predicts
the University will be able to build on its record of past achievements
- a record that places Morgan in the forefront of higher education in
Maryland. For example, the record shows Morgan leading all other Maryland
schools in awarding bachelor's degrees to African-Americans; Morgan
is one of the leaders nationally in the number of applications from
African-Americans; and, the record shows Morgan to be among the top
ten schools in the country for the number of baccalaureate degrees awarded
to African-Americans in computer and information science, the physical
sciences and communications.
Morgan State University,
founded in 1867, is a coeducational institution offering more than 60
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.
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