Morgan State Hosts President Obama’s Science and Technology Advisor

Morgan State University added a notable first to its distinguished history in the sciences on Feb. 28, when the campus hosted Dr. John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), in its Center for the Built Environment and Infrastructure Studies (CBEIS).

Dr. Holdren, who also serves as the Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, is one of the world’s foremost authorities on energy policy and climate science. Morgan officials praised his visit an opportunity to showcase Morgan’s standing as one of the nation’s great academic resources in the sciences, and to launch a national conversation on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) value in global STEM development.

This trip is part of OSTP’s “week of action” in honor of Black History Month, to help accelerate, support, and raise awareness of STEM opportunities for African American students, schools, and communities.

“Morgan is proud of its partnerships with state and federal agencies in developing innovation in the STEM fields,” said Morgan President David Wilson. “We are honored to host Dr. Holdren and to boldly serve as a premier national research institution meeting the challenges and creating opportunities in critical global industries.”

Dr. Holdren visited faculty and students from Morgan’s School of Engineering and its School of Architecture and Planning to discuss STEM capacity building at historically black colleges and universities. Dr. Holdren also toured Morgan’s CBEIS facility, which houses one of only two earthquake simulators on the East coast, and can register up to nine points on the Richter scale.

“One of the smartest things we can do to keep our Nation globally competitive is ensure that our science, technology, engineering, and math workforce taps into America’s extraordinarily diverse talent pool,” Dr. Holdren said. “Morgan State is helping to cultivate the next generation of discoverers, builders, inventors, and thinkers that will keep America innovating on the cutting edge.”