CSU East Bay to honor baseball legend Morgan

Oakland Tribune, Apr 2, 2008 by Kristofer Noceda

HAYWARD -- California State University, East Bay, will present Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan with an honorary doctorate of humane letters during commencement ceremonies in June, the university announced

Tuesday.

Morgan, 64, graduated from the university in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology, one week before he was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame.

"They both mean a lot to me. The Hall of Fame honor was a culmination of a lifelong dream," he said. "Education is something I believe you have to have to move forward in the world and be successful."

University President Mo Qayoumi said the degree that will be presented to Morgan is reserved for individuals who embody the objectives and ideals of the California State University.

"This degree is awarded to one who has demonstrated intellectual and humane values that are consistent with theaims of higher education, and with the highest ideals of a person's chosen field," Qayoumi said in a statement.

Morgan, an Emmy-award-winning broadcaster for ESPN, will be given the honor on June 14 during the 2 p.m. graduation ceremonies for the university's College of Business and Economics.

"This honor is important for me and my family because of a promise I made to my mom that I'd go back to school after I went away to play baseball," Morgan said during a telephone interview. "This is an extension of that promise."

The resident of Danville found himself at the university thanks to childhood friend Stan Clark, a longtime educator who retired from the campus in 2005.

Morgan is a native of Texas, but was raised in Oakland. He played 22 years of professional baseball -- including stints with the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants -- and serves as an advocate for young people and as a philanthropist through his Joe Morgan Youth Foundation.

He also left his mark on the university by establishing a scholarship fund in 1984 for the department of kinesiology and physical education, contributing more than $150,000 towards an endowment for the fund.

"I've always said the quality of your life is directly related to the quality of your education," he said.

Kristofer Noceda can be reached at 510-293-2479 or knoceda@bayareanewsgroup.com.