Morgan Hosts Senator Ben Cardin and Leaders of Maryland HBCUs

Morgan President David Wilson hosted a meeting convened by Maryland U.S. Senator Ben Cardin with the leadership of Maryland’s four historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The meeting, held on the campus of Morgan State University, represents the first of what will be a series for discussions to further the growth and development of HBCUs in Maryland, according to Senator Cardin.

“Maryland’s HBCUs are providing a world-class education to many of the State’s brightest students. I look forward to working even closer with all our HBCU campuses in the years to come,” said Senator Ben Cardin. “I believe there is no greater priority for government than to provide a high-quality, yet affordable, education for all of Maryland’s students.”

In addition to Senator Cardin and Morgan’s David Wilson, the meeting included Dr. Mickey Burnim, president of Bowie State University; Dr. Maria Thompson, president of Coppin State University; and, University of Maryland Eastern Shore President Juliette Bell. The group discussed ways to strengthen mission-driven universities such as HBCUs to enable them to play an even greater role in producing the talent America needs to remain globally competitive in the future.

“As Maryland’s designated public urban research university, it is critically important that Morgan continues to receive the necessary federal support, in the way of grants, that will allow us to build capacity and fulfill our mission and promise as an institute of higher education. Sen. Cardin understands this all too well and he wants to help HBCUs in Maryland to that end,” said President Wilson. “Additionally, we are pleased that the Senator is an advocate for the restoration of the year-round Pell Grant, as it is an important resource for students seeking to complete their college education. It is also encouraging to learn that the Senator is dedicated to assisting Maryland’s HBCUs further develop as research hubs, which something that Morgan supports and looking forward to seeing flourish.”

Senator Cardin says he considers this initial meeting to be very helpful. He hopes to hold more such meetings in the future to help build on the success of HBCUs through continued federal and state investment.

“Education is a game changer,” Cardin says. “I’m convinced that if we want the American dream to remain intact for all Americans we must look to provide a debt-free education for hard working students. There must be a strong partnership between the federal and state governments with our universities for this to be a reality.”