Last month, The Wharton School announced a new collaboration with Morgan State University’s Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. The partnership, which will allow both schools to share faculty and student conferences, curricular development, and research, marks the first time Wharton has collaborated with a Historically Black College or University (HBCU).
Wharton Dean Geoffrey Garrett, Morgan State President David Wilson, Provost Wendell Pritchett — Photo courtesy of Shira Yudkoff for the Wharton School
The arrangement is designed to enhance the faculty and student academic programs at both schools. In addition, the collaboration embodies both schools’ missions: to build academic excellence through diversity and to address the most pressing challenges facing global society today.
In a press release, Wharton Dean Geoff Garrett spoke about the partnership and expressed his excitement for the steps to come. “We are proud to collaborate with the Graves School at Morgan State University, one of the country’s leading HBCUs,” he said. “I’m excited at the potential for this relationship to create numerous curricular and research learning opportunities for Wharton faculty, students, and our entire community.”
Each school brings unique perspectives and opportunities to the partnership. Graves is housed in a $79-million state-of-the-art building called the Morgan Business Center. It was founded in 1937 and formed into a school in 1975. It offers accredited undergraduate, masters, and doctoral programs, and has conferred more degrees upon African-American business students than any other Maryland school. Wharton was founded in 1881 as the nation’s first collegiate business school. With 5,000 undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students, as well as 9,000 executive education program participants, Wharton is recognized as one of the top schools in the world.
“This unique collaboration between an Ivy League institution and a Historically Black College and/or University will serve as a blueprint, creating innovative educational opportunities for students and faculty, spurring academic research,” David Wilson, president of Morgan State University, said in the press release. “We look forward to growing this relationship and seeing it remain fruitful in the years to come.”
Dr. Omar Khan, Deputy Dean Michael Gibbons, Provost Wendell Pritchett, President David Wilson, Dr. Marybeth Gasman, Dean Geoffrey Garrett, Dr. Gregory Ramsey, and Dr. Erica Anthony —Photo courtesy of Shira Yudkoff for the Wharton School