BLACK COLLEGE PRESIDENTS: Pioneering On The Frontiers Of Education

Ebony, Sept, 2001

For information or to arrange a visit, call 800.260.5956 or 803.536.7185. You may also visit our Web site to apply on-line at www.scsu.edu.

MORRIS COLLEGE Committed To Developing Students

Morris College is an historically-black coeducational, liberal arts college owned and operated by the Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina. The College, established in 1908 in Sumter, is committed to promoting the intellectual and personal development of every one of its students.

Morris College provides a sound program of education in selected curricular areas, undergirding this education with a Christian philosophy of life. The mission of the College is to prepare its students for full and productive careers, enhancing both their lives and the society in which they take their place.

Presently, Morris College offers programs of study leading to the baccalaureate degree with major programs or major combinations of programs in Biology, Broadcast Media, Business Administration, Christian Education, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, English, Health Science, History, Journalism, Liberal Studies, Mathematics, Organizational Management, Pastoral Ministry, Political Science, Recreation Administration, Social Studies, and Sociology.

Under the leadership of Dr. Luns C. Richardson, now in his 27th year as president, Morris' enrollment has doubled from 450 to more than 1,000 students; a half million dollar indebtedness has been liquidated; the curriculum has been expanded from 10 to 20 major areas of study; the library holdings have been increased from 21,000 to more than 200,000 volumes; the faculty has been upgraded, with 62 percent holding earned doctorate degrees; the endowment has been strengthened from $31,488 to $4.8 million; 10 new building have been constructed and all other campus facilities have been renovated; and the college has been fully accredited by the Commission on College of the Southern Association of College and Schools and admitted to membership in the United Negro College Fund.

Morris College has more than justified the faith, the labors, and sacrifices of the founding fathers. The services it has rendered have been extensive and beyond value. In the early years of its history, Morris College provided elementary and high school training for Negro youth at a time when such opportunities were meager or nonexistent in many communities.

From its beginning, the College has been a center for training ministers and teachers for the pulpits and schools of the state and nations. Its more than 4,000 graduates have added to the ranks of professionals and businessmen.

Hundreds of young people who might never have attended college have been enabled by Morris College to receive the benefits and reap the rewards of higher education. Many communities and state agencies have used the facilities of Morris College to carry out programs of general welfare and social uplift. The College thus occupies a unique and significant position in the American social order.