Students, faculty and staff gathered in the Carl J. Murphy Fine Arts Center for the 2017 Honors Convocation, where not only were students celebrated but also Morgan State University.
MSU President David Wilson took the moment to recall the history of Morgan as the university continues to honor its sesquicentennial celebration.
“We began as the vision in the minds of the white supporters in the Methodists chided with nine students and one professor,” said Wilson. “Today as we stand here celebrating our 150 what was once a modest class of nine male students in a church lecture hall to now an institution with nearly 8000 students.”
“For those of you who have seen our December commencement you have witnessed our 50,000 graduate [in Morgan’s history].” Wilson added, “ Morgan is an institution that is committed first and foremost to its students.
For the fall 2016 semester, over 1,000 students have achieved Dean’s list and/or achieved a perfect grade point average for up to seven semesters.
The keynote speaker was MSU alumnus William “Bill” Rhoden, who is an award-winning columnist and Editor-At-Large for The Undefeated. Rhoden believes in standing for something and following the truth, a mantra for anyone, not only journalists.
“You’re in it you’re writing and you’re following the truth where it leads,” said Rhoden. “You survive by telling the truth and doing it well. In truth telling you get better at in and you’ll find a voice. And people will listen to a new voice.”
Rhoden concluded his speech to with a message about giving back to the people who have paved a way to the students’ success.
“You’re life means something but it means nothing if you don’t share and give back. Professors [at Morgan] set the tone for me to give back and give back. It’s all about helping each other out and helping each other along,” said Rhoden.
Rhoden did not just talk about giving back, this year he has. Apart of his time at ESPN’s The Undefeated, he has launched a Rhoden Fellows program. It is a sports journalism internship program focused on identifying the next generation of sports journalists at Historically Black College’s and Universities. Morgan’s own Simone Benson, a junior multimedia journalism major, is apart of the inaugural class of the fellowship.
