Morehouse College Aims to Provide Global Experience for Students - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Jan 18, 2001

ATLANTA

A Push toward globalism is bringing students from all over the world to Morehouse College.

The school has stepped up recruitment of international students and is providing more opportunities for students at the Atlanta campus to study abroad, college president Dr. Walter E. Massey says.

"We're already one of the best historically Black colleges," he says, "st) we need a larger goal, a higher ambition."

International students make up about 5 percent of the Morehouse student body. Those students have traditionally come to Morehouse from Africa, especially the nation of Liberia.

Today students from 20 countries, including Germany, Bangladesh, Laos and India, make up the estimated 180 international students. More than half come from Trinidad and Tobago, lured to Atlanta by college recruiters and by alumni who return home to the island nation in the West Indies.

Massey has forged ties with the College of Islington in London and with Prince Charles' youth development program to boost international enrollment. As a result, the school now has several students from the United Kingdom.

"If our students are to compete in a world market and in a world environment, they have to be prepared," Dr. Julius E. Coles says. "They have to understand the world that they're going to function in. We need to diversify our student populations so our African American students can also benefit from a more diverse student body."