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Morehouse College

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©Morehouse College

Motto: Et Facta Est Lux ("And There Was Light")
Founded 1867
School type Private, men only
President Walter E. Massey
Location Atlanta, Georgia
Enrollment 3,000 undergraduates
Annual Fees $31,200 (2005–2006)
Campus surroundings Urban, park
Campus size 61 acres (247,000 m²)
Sports teams Maroon Tigers

Morehouse College is a private, four-year, liberal arts college for African-American men located on a 61 acre (247,000 m²) campus in Atlanta, Georgia. The college has an enrollment of 3,000 students. Morehouse is one of 5 remaining all-men's colleges in the United States.

Along with nearby Clark Atlanta University, Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse School of Medicine and Spelman College, Morehouse is part of the Atlanta University Center.

Ranked #1 three times in a row by Black Enterprise Magazine as the best school for African Americans for undergraduate study, its prestige has lead to it often being dubbed by many as the "black Harvard" or "Harvard of the South". This little tidbit has lead many students to joke with T-shirts that Harvard is the "Morehouse of the North". The college was rated by the Wall Street Journal as #29 out of the top 50 "feeder schools" for elite graduate study.

History

In 1867, two years after the end of the American Civil War, the Augusta Institute was founded by William Jefferson White for the education of black men in ministry and teaching. The Augusta Institute was located in Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia, the oldest independent black church in the nation. The school's first president was Rev. Dr. Joseph T. Robert.

In 1879, the institute moved to the basement of the Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta and changed its name to Atlanta Baptist Seminary. The seminary later gained a four-acre campus in downtown Atlanta. In 1885, Dr. Samuel T. Graves became the school's second president. The same year, the seminary moved to its present location, which was a gift from the John D. Rockefeller. In 1890, Dr. George Sale became the seminary's third president and in 1897, the school was renamed Atlanta Baptist College.

Dr. John Hope became the school's first African-American president in 1906 and led the institution's growth in size and academic stature. He envisioned a 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 school was again renamed Morehouse College in honor of Henry L. Morehouse, the corresponding secretary of the Northern Baptist Home Missions Society. Morehouse entered into a cooperative agreement with Clark College and Spelman College in 1929 and later expanded the association to create the Atlanta University Center.

Dr. Samuel H. Archer was named as the fifth president of the college in 1931 and selected the school colors, maroon and white, to reflect his own alma mater, Colgate University. Dr. Benjamin Mays became president in 1940. Mays, who would become a mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr., presided over the school's growth in international enrollment and reputation. Mays also served as founding advisor to Psi Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. During the 1960s, Morehouse students became involved in the civil rights movement in Atlanta.

In 1967, Dr. Hugh M. Gloster became the seventh president. In 1968, the school's Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society was founded. Gloster established the Morehouse School of Medicine in 1975, which became independent from Morehouse College in 1981.

Dr. Leroy Keith, Jr was named president in 1987. The school's first Rhodes Scholar was named in 1994. In 1995, alumnus Dr. Walter E. Massey, became Morehouse's ninth president.

Sports, clubs, and traditions

In sports, Morehouse is affiliated with the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Division II. The mascot is the Maroon Tigers.

The Morehouse College Maroon Tiger Marching Band is known for their halftime performances which combine dance and marching with music from various genres, including rap, traditional marching band music, and pop music. They have performed at Super Bowl XVIII, the Today Show, and Atlanta Falcons games. Founded in 1911, the Morehouse College Glee Club has sung at Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral, President Jimmy Carter's inauguration, Super Bowl XXVIII, and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. They have also appeared on the soundtrack for Morehouse alum Spike Lee's movie School Daze. The College's student-run newspaper, "The Maroon Tiger," has won several state and national awards.

Notable alumni


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