Opening Convocation Celebrating the Start of the 2021-2022 Academic Year Thursday, September 16, 2021 | 10:45 a.m. Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College
DAVID A. THOMAS, PH.D., is the
12th president of Morehouse College. Since his installment in January 2018, he has led dynamic, purpose-driven advancement in Morehouse’s strategic and operational effectiveness, programmatic reach, and pedagogical innovation. Among other transformational successes, Dr. Thomas has overseen a fundraising acceleration which has generated approximately $190 million since his arrival—a giving total during his tenure that is higher than during any other presidential tenure in the history of the college. Under his leadership, Morehouse has extended its reach by launching its first online degree programs and has amplified its positioning as a center of intellectual discourse and social engagement in areas such as global leadership, professional equity, social justice, and innovation. Dr. Thomas is internationally recognized for his expertise in organizational management and higher education leadership. Before becoming president of Morehouse, he served as the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, as dean and William R. Berkley Chair at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, and as an assistant professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. While at McDonough, Dr. Thomas led a successful $130 million capital campaign, a redesign of the MBA curriculum, and the launch of the school’s first online degree program. He has
KENDRICK BROWN, PH.D., is
the provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. He has more than 20 years of experience as a professor and senior administrator, having served students and faculty with distinction at private liberal arts colleges on the West Coast and in the Midwest. A published scholar and a sought-after speaker on issues of race, identity, diversity, and inclusion, Dr. Brown earned his doctorate and master’s degree in psychology at the University of Michigan. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology at Mount Union College in Ohio. During his tenure in higher education, Dr. Brown has worked to create and implement effective strategic plans, manage $50-million budgets, launch new academic majors, and empower faculty to become national instructional leaders who innovate and inspire students to excel. Dr. Brown comes to Morehouse after serving as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Redlands in Redlands, California, a mid-sized institution with more than 260 faculty members and 5,000 students. During his five years at Redlands, Dr. Brown led a multi-phased strategic planning process for the college
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Morehouse College: Opening Convocation 2021
consulted on issues relating to organizational change, diversity, and inclusion for 100 of the Fortune 500 companies. An award-winning author and contemporary thought leader in organizational management and executive development, Thomas cowrote three books: “Race, Work, and Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience;” “Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America;” and “Leading for Equity: The Pursuit of Excellence in Montgomery County.” He has written or co-written almost eighty book chapters, cases, and teaching notes, along with more than two dozen scholarly articles, including “Getting Serious About Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case,” which won the 2020 HBR McKinsey Award as the best Harvard Business Review article of the year. Atlanta Magazine named him one of “Atlanta’s 500 Most Powerful Leaders.” He is the recipient of Washington Business Journal’s “Minority Business Leader of the Year” award and the National Executive Forum’s 2020 Beacon Award, among other honors. He serves on the boards of DTE Energy, Commonfund, Vanguard, and Yale Corporation, where he is the alumni fellow. He is also a senior advisor for Grain Management. Dr. Thomas earned a Ph.D. in organizational behavior studies and a Master of Philosophy in organizational behavior, both from Yale University. He also earned a Master of Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Administrative Sciences from Yale College.
that reimagined the institution’s mission and vision and expanded academic programs. He also implemented strategies to improve recruiting and talent development, which resulted in a more diverse workforce. Prior to his tenure at Redlands, Dr. Brown served as a senior administrator at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he worked as acting provost and chief academic officer, as well as associate dean of the faculty. Dr. Brown shares a commitment to the Morehouse mission to develop men with disciplined minds who will lead lives of leadership and service. It is, in fact, what attracted him to the College. Among his priorities are the expansion of virtual education and study abroad opportunities, the creation of innovative programs for students studying on campus, and development of the esteemed Morehouse faculty. Brown has written a number of scholarly articles that have appeared in several publications, including Current Psychology, The Journal of Applied Social Psychology, and The Journal of Black Psychology. He also has appeared as a panelist at the 2020 Naval Academy Leadership Conference, the 73rd and 74th annual meetings of the American Conference on Academic Deans, and the 31st International Congress of Psychology in Japan, and a host of other conferences.
Program Presiding Dr. David A. Thomas
12th President, Morehouse College
PROCESSIONAL
War March of the Priests
By Felix Mendelssohn
OPENING PRAYER*
PRESENTATION OF COLORS*
Dr. David Francis Oliver
College Organist
The Reverend Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr.
Dean, Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel
The Star-Spangled Banner
Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps
Text by Francis Scott Key | Music by John Stafford Smith
Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing
Text by James Weldon Johnson | Music by J. Rosamond Johnson
President Thomas
WELCOME AND OCCASION MUSICAL SELECTION
Sit Down, Servant
Morehouse College Glee Club Dr. David Edward Morrow ’80
Arranged by Stacey Gibbs
Director, Morehouse College Glee Club Professor of Music
President Thomas
INTRODUCTION OF SPEAKER ADDRESS
Academics at Morehouse: Liberal Arts as Foundation and Innovation
CLOSING REMARKS COLLEGE HYMN* RECESSIONAL
Dr. Kendrick Brown
Provost and Senior Vice President Academic Affairs
Dear Old Morehouse
God of Our Fathers
By George Warren
President Thomas J.O.B. Moseley ’29 Dr. Oliver
Macebearer Dr. Lance Shipman Young ’95
Morehouse College: Opening Convocation 2021
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Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Lift every voice and sing, till earth and Heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won.
Dear Old Morehouse Dear old Morehouse, dear old Morehouse We have pledged our lives to thee; And we’ll ever, yea forever, Give ourselves in loyalty. True forever, true forever To old Morehouse may we be; So to bind each son the other Into ties more brotherly. Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit Make us steadfast, honest, true To old Morehouse and her ideals And in all things that we do.
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