Transformation Morgan

Enhancing the Built Environment

Visiting alumni often comment on the visual appeal of Morgan’s campus, and even for those of us who work here daily, the environment seems to get better by the day. The improvement is intentional. Morgan’s state-of-the-art facilities, and the aesthetics of the nation’s only campus designated a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, attract talented students and faculty, and savvy investors, and are vital to the University’s progress toward its strategic goals.

If you haven’t been with us in person in the past 10 years, you’ll see many new sights when you return, sights such as:

• The Center for the Built Environment and Infrastructure

Studies (CBEIS), completed in 2012; • The Morgan Business Center, home of the Earl G. Graves

School of Business and Management, opened in 2015 on the new West Campus; • The Martin D. Jenkins Behavioral and Social Sciences Building, opened in 2017, also on the West Campus; and • Our newest facility, the Calvin and Tina Tyler Hall student services building, which opened officially last fall — an attractive gateway to the main campus.

The current Facilities Master Plan is being implemented to help carry out Morgan’s new strategic plan, “Transformation Morgan 2030: Leading the Future.” With continued strong support from the State of Maryland, more good things on campus are soon to come, among them:

• A new Health and Human Services Building, at the northwest corner of Argonne Drive and Hillen Road, on the former site of Turner’s Armory; • A new Science Center, on Cold Spring Lane, on the current site of the Washington Service Center; • Renovation of the Carter-Grant-Wilson administrative building, to house the Graduate School and the

International Affairs Division; and • $20 million in deferred maintenance and site improvements for recently constructed facilities.

Nearly 155 years into Morgan’s journey, the best is yet to come!

Excitement Rises at Northwood Commons

If you haven’t visited Morgan’s West Campus lately and looked next door at the redevelopment of Northwood Plaza Shopping Center, “You’re in for a treat,” says Sidney Evans, Morgan’s senior vice president for finance and administration.

The $50-million project, driven by Morgan’s partnership with two development firms, the shopping center’s owners, the local community and the city and state government, is transforming a long-blighted strip mall into an attractive retail and office venue named Northwood Commons. The groundbreaking celebration for the redevelopment, in November 2019, spotlighted the historical significance of the site, which is where many Morgan students engaged in successful civil rights activism to racially integrate facilities in the 1950s and ’60s.

Confirmed tenants of Northwood Commons include, among others, a Lidl grocery store, IHOP, Georgia Peach (a Black-owned soul food restaurant chain), Fulton Bank, Chipotle and the Barnes & Noble Morgan State University Campus Store — a seller of clothing, gifts and accessories as well as books. More retail confirmations are to come, Evans reports. The MSU Police and Public Safety Department is also on track to move into its state-of-the-art facility at Northwood Commons this summer.

“What’s significant about this project is Morgan’s involvement to meet the needs of our students and the Morgan Community Mile,” Evans says. “We’ve successfully converted a food desert into numerous retail options and a better community environment. The other thing that I believe is significant is several of the businesses at Northwood will be owned by Morgan State alumni. I am excited for the Morgan students,” Evans adds. “They’ll be able to just walk across the street to a safe environment to have a number of options that they’ve never had before. And I think that is going to help the University’s recruitment of students and make Morgan another attractive college option for many.”