Morehouse's growth may hinge on its n...

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Author Message   Tonya "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Tonya Post Number: 5076 Registered: 07-2006 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 06:29 pm:        March 30, 2007 Morehouse's growth may hinge on its next leader Expansion of the male, historically black college may end with president's retirement this spring. Shaila Dewan / New York Times ATLANTA -- At an unspeakably early hour for college students on a Sunday, several dozen young men recently boarded buses here, dressed so elegantly they appeared to be engaged in silent sartorial combat. One even wore an ascot. The buses were bound for Augusta, Ga., where the men, all students at Morehouse College, would gather around the grave of the Baptist minister who founded the institution 140 years ago, hold hands, and sing the college hymn -- a tribute that recurs every five years to celebrate the founding of the college. "Gentleman," the dean would remind them, "remove your hats, please." Morehouse, the only all-male historically black college in the country, has long possessed an aura of impeccability and privilege. Founded to serve newly freed slaves, it has educated generations of the black elite, counting among its graduates Maynard Jackson, the first black mayor of Atlanta; David Satcher, a former surgeon general; the film director Spike Lee; and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But if its place in history is secure, Morehouse's future has often, in the past decade, seemed precarious. And it will reach a milestone this spring, when Walter E. Massey, who became president in 1995, retires. Massey has been credited with helping the college rebound from hard times. As Morehouse searches for a replacement, many students and faculty members say the stakes are high if the college is to consolidate its gains. When Massey took over, applications were declining because the country's top colleges had stepped up their pursuit of black men. The historic campus in the heart of Atlanta was aging. The endowment, at $118 million, is relatively tiny; Swarthmore, a smaller institution, has more than $1 billion. This year, applications are expected to reach 3,100, up from fewer than 2,700 last year. Four new buildings have been completed, and the ground will soon be broken for a fifth, a performing arts center. Last year, the college took custody of the papers of King, bought with $32 million raised by Atlanta's mayor, Shirley Franklin. And the college completed its largest fundraising effort to date, a capital campaign taking in $120 million. Not all the news has been good. In August, Morehouse dropped in an annual ranking by Black Enterprise magazine, from the top institution for African-Americans to No. 45. Massey said this was because the magazine placed more weight on graduation rates and used data from a Morehouse class that had a particularly low one. The college has since introduced a scholarship for upperclassmen to help increase the graduation rate, now at 61 percent. It has also received a $500,000 grant to recruit Hispanic students. Over the summer, four former students were charged with murdering a student in what prosecutors say was a robbery attempt. In September, students from Spelman, Morehouse's sister school, marched on campus in protest after rumors of multiple rapes, which later proved unfounded, by Morehouse students. The result was soul-searching throughout the campus. "The guys just felt, you know, that the world was collapsing," Massey said. "I tried to put it in perspective" by explaining that the timing of the episodes was coincidental. This year, Morehouse began requiring interviews for applicants, a move that some students on campus viewed as a response to the murder indictments, but that the administration says was done to match the practices of other exclusive colleges. Naturally, the college wants a new leader who will continue to raise its profile. But alumni and students, some of whom fret over the inroads of hip-hop and gangsta cultures on campus, have also wondered whether the choice of someone like the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City, would signal a renewed emphasis on moral leadership. Butts, who is also president of SUNY College at Old Westbury, is one of the many influential black pastors still minted at Morehouse. Other frequently mentioned candidates include Michael L. Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund; Robert Franklin Jr., a professor at the Candler School of Theology at Emory; and John S. Wilson, a faculty member and former executive dean at George Washington University's Virginia campus. All are, like Massey, "Morehouse men," or graduates of the college. Massey left the post of provost of the University of California system to return to Morehouse because, he said, he thought he could have a greater impact at a small institution. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070330/SCHOOLS/703300314/102 6   Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 9113 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Sunday, April 01, 2007 - 12:28 pm:        Tonya, The big problem with this article, and, perhaps, with Morehouse itself is there's no mentioning of WHY young Black men should be any more inclined to attend Morehouse than they would any other school. And until THAT question is adequately answered, the school will continue to struggle. For example, are there many (any) great Black businesses and enterprises that are especially inclined to employ Morehouse grads like what occur with White schools? Many - if not MOST - of the very best Black male students are more likely to attend White schools because they're perceived to offer the better post-collegiate employment and networking opportunities. I ALSO think that if we Black foks gave as much to HBCU's and our elementary and secondary school as we give to our churches and hair stylists, we'd as whole be much better for it.   Tonya "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Tonya Post Number: 5081 Registered: 07-2006 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Sunday, April 01, 2007 - 08:03 pm:        ABM, I agree that our focus and money should be spent on more than solely our image. Our problems can't be concealed or solved by mere images.