Morehouse College is a private, historically black, men's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Anchored by its main campus of near downtown Atlanta, the college has a variety of residential dorms and academic buildings east of Ashview Heights. Along with Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Morris Brown College, and the Morehouse School of Medicine, the college is a member of the Atlanta University Center consortium.

Founded by William Jefferson White in 1867 in response to the liberation of enslaved African Americans following the American Civil War, Morehouse stressed preparatory and religious instruction in the Baptist tradition for students who had been prevented from receiving education by former slave laws. Growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to strengthened finances, higher enrollment, and focus on the liberal arts. The college has played a key role in the development of the civil rights movement and racial equality in the United States.

The largest men's liberal arts college in the United States, Morehouse alumni include 11 Fulbright Scholars, six Rhodes Scholars, and five Marshall Scholars, and is the alma mater of many celebrated African Americans, including civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and filmmaker Spike Lee. The college has graduated numerous "African-American firsts" in local, state and federal government, as well as in science, academia, business, and entertainment.

History

Establishment In 1867, two years after the American Civil War, the Augusta Institute was founded, by William Jefferson White, an Atlanta Baptist minister and cabinetmaker (William Jefferson White's half-brother, James E. Tate, was one of the founders of Atlanta University, now Clark Atlanta University), with the support of the Rev. Richard C. Coulter, a former slave from Atlanta, Georgia, and the Rev. Edmund Turney, organizer of the National Theological Institute for educating freedmen in Washington, D.C. The institution was founded to educate African-American men in theology and other subjects, at Springfield Baptist Church (Augusta, Georgia), the oldest independent Black church in the United States. The institution moved from Augusta to Atlanta in 1879. The school received sponsorship from the American Baptist Home Mission Society, an organization that helped establish several historically Black colleges. The institute's first president was the Rev. Joseph T. Robert (1871–1884) (father of Brigadier General Henry Martyn Robert, author of Robert's Rules of Order). An anti-slavery Baptist minister from South Carolina and 1828 graduate of Brown University, Robert raised funds, taught the classes, and stabilized the institution. + Morehouse's history 1867Augusta Institute established 1879Institute moved to Atlanta and name changed to Atlanta Baptist Seminary1885The seminary moved to its present location1897The school was renamed Atlanta Baptist College 1913School renamed to Morehouse College1929Morehouse entered into a cooperative agreement with Clark College and Spelman College (later expanded to form the Atlanta University Center) 1975The Morehouse School of Medicine established 1981The Morehouse School of Medicine became independent from Morehouse College

Early years

In 1879, the institute moved to Atlanta and changed its name to the Atlanta Baptist Seminary. It later acquired a campus in downtown Atlanta. In 1885, Samuel T. Graves became the second president. That year the seminary moved to its present location, on land given by a prominent Baptist and industrialist, John D. Rockefeller. In 1890, George Sale became the seminary's third president. In 1899, William E. Holmes, who had been the first African-American faculty member at the school, left to become the first president of Central City College in Macon, Georgia.

In 1906, John Hope became the first African-American president and led the institution's growth in enrollment and academic stature. He envisioned an academically rigorous college that would be the antithesis to Booker T. Washington's view of agricultural and trade-focused education for African Americans. In 1913, the college was renamed Morehouse College, in honor of the Rev. Henry L. Morehouse, corresponding secretary of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, who had long organized Rockefeller and the Society's support for the college. Morehouse entered into a cooperative agreement with Clark College and Spelman College in 1929 and later expanded the association to form the Atlanta University Center.

Samuel H. Archer became the fifth president of the college in 1931 and chose the school colors, maroon and white, to reflect his own alma mater, Colgate University. Benjamin Mays became president in 1940. Mays, who became a mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., presided over the growth in international enrollment and reputation. In the 1960s, Morehouse students were involved in the civil rights movement in Atlanta. Mays's speeches shaped the development of Morehouse students during his tenure.

In 1967, Hugh M. Gloster became the seventh president. The next year, Morehouse became the third historically Black institution (HBCU) to establish a Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society. In 1975, Gloster established the Morehouse School of Medicine, which became independent from Morehouse College in 1981. Gloster also established a dual-degree program in engineering with the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, and Boston University.

Modern history

Leroy Keith Jr., was named president in 1987. In 1995, alumnus Walter E. Massey, became Morehouse's ninth president. His successor, alumnus Robert Michael Franklin Jr. was the tenth president of the college. In November 2012, alumnus John Silvanus Wilson was announced as the institution's 11th president. In January 2018, David A. Thomas took office as the college's 12th president.

In 2006, Morehouse graduated 540 men, the largest class in its history. On May 16, 2008, Joshua Packwood became the first white valedictorian to graduate in the school's 141-year history.Marcus K. Garner, "White valedictorian makes Morehouse history", 18 May 2008. Ajc.com Archived by WebCite In August 2008, Morehouse welcomed a total of 920 new students (770 freshmen and 150 transfer students) to its campus, one of the largest entering classes in the history of the school.

Morehouse celebrated several historic milestones in 2013. One century prior, in 1913, Atlanta Baptist College was renamed Morehouse College after Henry Lyman Morehouse, corresponding secretary for the American Baptist Home Mission Society. 2013 was also the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, when Morehouse graduate Martin Luther King Jr., class of 1948, delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The year also marked the 50th anniversary of King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail". The college also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the "A Candle in the Dark" Gala, which is an annual event that honors some of the world's leaders and raises scholarship funds for Morehouse students.

In May 2013, President Barack Obama became the first sitting president in three-quarters of a century to deliver a commencement address in Georgia when he took part in Morehouse College's 129th Commencement ceremony. Franklin Delano Roosevelt had given a summer commencement address at the University of Georgia in 1938. President Obama received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Morehouse.

In April 2019, Morehouse announced that they will begin admitting transgender men for the first time in the year 2020. In May 2019, Robert F. Smith who received an honorary degree at Morehouse College's 135th commencement ceremony, promised to pay the educational loan debt for every spring 2019 graduate which totaled about $34 million. Smith's gift is one of the largest single donations from a living donor to a HBCU in history.

In June 2020, Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin donated $40 million to Morehouse College to be used as scholarship funds for students enrolled at Morehouse. Their single donation is one of the largest in HBCU history and the largest ever for Morehouse. In July 2020, Morehouse received a $20 million donation from MacKenzie Scott.

In early February 2021, Morehouse announced its online degree completion program for adult learners. Later in the month, the school launched its first online certificate course focused on athletics and social activism.

In January 2022, Morehouse announced the establishment of the Black Men's Research Institute. It is the first research institute of its kind focusing on the cultural, economic, personal and social outcomes of issues affecting Black men, particularly where disparities exist in the world. In February 2022, Morehouse launched a $500 million capital campaign to fund scholarships for students from low-income households (majority of students), pay for infrastructure and technology improvements, produce research, and to recruit and retain faculty.

Administration and organization Morehouse's governing body is its board of trustees. The Morehouse Board of Trustees has 37 members, including three student trustees and three faculty trustees. As of December 2014, five of the six executive board members and seven of the 31 general trustees are Morehouse alumni.

The current president of Morehouse is F. DuBois Bowman.

Morehouse is also a member of the Atlanta University Center. The AUC campuses are co-located in the city of Atlanta, which provides an opportunity for cross-registration, particularly for undergraduates.

Campus

Morehouse is located on campus near downtown Atlanta.

Buildings

Archer Hall, named after the fifth president of Morehouse College, Samuel H. Archer, holds the college's recreational facilities such as its gymnasium, swimming pool, and game room. The gymnasium seats 1,000 people and was used by the college's basketball team before Franklin Forbes Arena was built. B. T. Harvey Stadium/Edwin Moses Track is a 9,000-seat stadium built in 1983. The track is named after the only alumnus to win an Olympic gold medal. At the time of the stadium's completion, it was the largest on-campus stadium at any private HBCU in the nation.1983 Morehouse Torch (Yearbook) Brawley Hall, named after Benjamin Griffith Brawley, houses the college's History, English, Language, and Art departments. Brazeal Hall is a dormitory built in 1991. It housed athletes during the time of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Brazeal Hall originally housed upper-class men, though it currently serves as a freshman dorm. Ray Charles Performing Arts Center and Aretha Robinson Music Academic Building is a facility dedicated on September 29, 2010. The Emma & Joe Adams concert hall is named after Ray Charles' longtime manager and his wife. Joe Adams was president of the Ray Charles Foundation and played a significant fundraising role in the construction of the center. Chivers Hall/Lane Hall is the cafeteria of the college and has been featured in many movies. It seats 600 people and is attached to Mays Hall. The Sadie Mays lounge, named for the wife of Mays, connects Mays Hall and Chivers Hall. Dansby Hall houses the school's Physics, Psychology, and Mathematics departments. Douglass Hall (also known as LRC (Learning Resource Center)), named after Frederick Douglass was originally built as the school's student center but today serves as an academic readiness center, which features study spaces, conference rooms, and a computing lab. Most of the college's tutoring and academic support programming takes place here. DuBois Hall is a freshman dorm erected in 1973, named after philosopher W. E. B. Du Bois.