June 26th 2023.
Morgan State University is taking strides towards becoming one of the nation's leading universities. The Baltimore Business Journal has reported on the plans of David Wilson, the president of the university, to expand the campus to incorporate an abandoned building, the once-known Lake Clifton Eastern High School.
The school has been closed for twenty years, but Wilson sees something beyond the broken-down building and overgrown shrubbery. He has set his sights on the former high school as the site of a new technology and research park. Wilson has expressed to the Journal that he wants to “bellow across the state and nation” that this transformation is how a public anchor institution leads.
In order to achieve these goals, Morgan State aims to raise up to two billion dollars in capital investment and private fundraising. This money is set to go towards renovations of the Lake Clifton school, as well as other improvements around the university. These efforts have already seen success - between 2009 and 2022, the university's enrollment has increased from 7,226 students to 9,100.
These changes have been inspired by the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League. Wilson researched the school’s history and discovered that it contributed significantly to the growth of its neighborhood. He realized that Morgan State needs to advance its surrounding neighborhoods in order to experience similar growth.
But Wilson's approach differs from the University of Pennyslvania in some areas. He wants to solidify Morgan State's reputation and prestige through research, not exclusion. “Prestige is not about closing the door of opportunity and Xeroxing privilege”, he said to the Baltimore Business Journal.
New research centers have risen at Morgan State in recent years, with the university receiving around $42 million in research awards during the first half of fiscal year 2023. Wilson's mission differs from other universities as he plans to expand the campus without displacing people and homes. In the future, Morgan State wants to dedicate research projects to addressing disparities within Baltimore and increasing economic opportunity.
State funding had previously posed a problem, but since Wilson became president, Maryland has granted him the funding his predecessors did not have. Wilson wants to see Morgan State grow in stature and influence while maintaining its integrity and remaining accessible. He is determined to succeed and make Morgan State one of the nation’s leading universities.
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