The Morgan State University community is mourning the death of Earl Richardson Sr., the school’s ninth president, whose death was announced earlier this month.

A memorial service honoring his legacy will be held on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., and will be live streamed for the public.

Richardson led the university from 1984 to 2010, serving 26 years — the second-longest tenure in Morgan’s history.

When he took office, the university was reeling from financial mismanagement and leadership turmoil that forced the resignation of then-President Andrew Billingsley in 1984.

“The campus was in disarray. Hurt Gym was closed, my science classes used to be in trailers where the student center garage is now,” said Edwin T. Johnson, special assistant to the provost and university historian.

During Richardson’s presidency, Morgan faced housing shortages, rising tuition and campus security concerns. In 1990, student frustration erupted in a sit-in at Holmes Hall.

In the 1990s, Morgan joined other historically Black colleges in suing Maryland for decades of underfunding. The state settled the lawsuit in 2021 for $577 million.

“Maryland had a history of not doing their job for Black institutions and their students. This is a long history of institutional, systemic and systematic racism that goes back to slavery,” Johnson said.

Despite those challenges, Richardson led Morgan through a period of major growth. He expanded academic programs, built new facilities and secured the Northwood Shopping Center, which has become a commercial hub for students.

That era of transformation became known as the “Morgan Renaissance.”

“He is the second coming of an ongoing renaissance that starts with Holmes and blossoms under Jenkins. He holds the ribbon like Michael Jordan and dunks that ball,” said Ida Jones, associate director of special collections and archives.