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MOREHOUSE
A CAMPUS NEWSLETTER FOR FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS
Ambassadors view the Morehouse College
Martin Luther King Jr. Collection
Andrew Young named Distinguished
Scholar-in-Residence
The Rev. A1 Sharpton speaks at the King Chapel
Homecoming 2010
Tailgating, Football and Other Events Bring Alumni Home
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
Homecoming tent? Check.
Food and drink? Check.
It is the annual ritual for
Brock Mayers ’99 and his
friends who each year plan
their Morehouse/Spelman
homecoming tailgate party to
eat, drink and fellowship with
old and new friends from their
college days.
“It’s about the camaraderie
and just plugging back into the
campus and seeing old faces,”
said Mayers, the program man
ager for the Ronald E. McNair
Program. “It is really an oppor
tunity for us to come back and
just reconnect with the College
and old friends we haven’t seen
in a long time.”
Nearly 20,000 people, most
clad in maroon Morehouse
gear, will fill West End Avenue
and Welborne Street during the
annual Homecoming Tailgate
Experience, one of many events
during Homecoming 2010 at
Morehouse.
This year’s activities include
the annual parade, Crown
Forum featuring Dr. Corey
Hebert ’92, concerts featuring
Chrisette Michele and rapper
Rick Ross, the Miss Maroon
and White Coronation, Alumni
“Welcome Back to the ‘House”
party. One of the biggest events
will be the Saturday football
game against Albany State
University. The winner will be
in first place in the Southern
Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference.
It all makes for one of the
most important times of
the year for the Morehouse
community, said Henry
Goodgame ’84, director of
alumni relations, special
events and annual giving.
“It’s that one time to come
back, engage, be re-inspired
and re-connect to the institu
tion,” he said “Morehouse
homecoming is about welcom
ing people home. The students’
job is to prepare home for those
people who have been away and
let them know that this house is
standing and still in great
shape. Those alums become an
example for students who can
then say, ‘Wow, I can’t wait until
I become and come back for my
first homecoming.’ It becomes
a rite of passage.”
The Homecoming Tail- gate
Experience has become on of
the most popular events. Not
only do alumni participate, but
also many of the College’s pro
grams and offices host their
own tents. For the first time,
the Morehouse faculty will have
their own tailgating tent area.
“I’ve been to quite a few
other homecomings,” Mayers
said. “But there’s no other place
I’d rather be than homecoming
at Morehouse.”
Go to page 4 for the full
homecoming schedule of
activities.
Morehouse Cuts Ribbon on Ray
Charles Performing Arts Center
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
U zee Brown ’72 was all
smiles as he walked
around the plaza of
the new Ray Charles Perf
orming Arts Center on Sept.29.
The $20 million, state-of-
the-art facility housing music
education and performance was
ready to become the modern
new home for the Music
Department.
“This has been a long time
coming,” he said. “This is a
great day.”
With nearly 300 people in
attendance, including Charles’
long-time business manager
and confidant, Joe Adams, the
ribbon was cut on the campus’
new south side anchor.
“This facility is not simply
just another building at
Morehouse,” said President
Robert M. Franklin ’75. “This is
also a symbol of the Morehouse
renaissance.”
The 76,000-square-foot fac
ility features 12 faculty studios,
nine practice rooms, two
rehearsal rooms (one each for
the Morehouse College “House
of Funk” Marching Band and
the Morehouse College Glee
Club) and three academic labs.
One of those is the David
Geffen Keyboard Digital Music
Laboratory, featuring 16 digital
keyboards and other computer
ized music equipment.
The performance space is
the 550-seat Joe and Emma
Adams Concert Hall, where the
ribbon-cutting audience moved
into to hear performances by
the Music Department’s stu
dents and faculty.
“This facility is the reflection
of the vision of two presidents,
Dr. Walter E. Massey ’58 and Dr.
Robert M. Franklin ’75, and is
truly a versatile, attractive and
unique structure dedicated to
the performing arts,” he said.
“The Ray Charles Center
Performing Arts Center will pro
vide an exceptional venue for the
performing arts it is destined to
become a beacon throughout
the Southeast and the nation for
performance.
President Emeritus Walter E. Massey ’58 and President Robert M.
Franklin '75 cut the ribbon to open the Ray Charles Performing Arts
Center. Also pictured are Joe Adams and Valerie Ervin.
OCTOBER 2010
AUC Blood Drive surpasses goal
Newsweek Names
Morehouse One of
Nation's Top Service-
Minded Institutions
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
For Richard Williams, going out
into the community to serve others
- be it mentoring high school stu
dents or serving food to the home
less - is not something used to pad
his resume. The junior psychology
major said it is a welcomed part of
being a Man of Morehouse.
“When you arrive at
Morehouse, you are told that you
have a responsibility to the world,”
he said. “It’s really a culture.”
Williams, who is part of the
College’s Bonner Office of
Community Service, is a prime
example of why Morehouse was
named by Newsweek magazine as
one of the nation’s Top 25 Schools
for the Service-Minded in its annu
al College Rankings: The Best
Schools in America issue.
The magazine focused on the
nation’s top institutions, particular
ly those with high academic stan
dards and a wide range of degree
programs. The editors looked at
colleges and universities that pre
pared students to be successful in
life educationally, socially and in
other aspects of life.
“Morehouse College is a school
steeped in tradition - including a
long history of service,” the article
states. “Morehouse men are all
about giving back to their commu
nity. A residential campus within a
city of 500,000, 75 percent of the
student body volunteers.”
Williams, who is from Moncks
Corner, S.C., mentored Atlanta
high school students this summer
among his many community serv
ice activities. He also is a campus
organizer for Advocates For Youth,
a Washington, D.C.-based organi
zation that educates young men
about sexual health and education.
Helping others is something
Williams and other Morehouse stu
dents take seriously.
“Community organizations
and people volunteering to help
had a direct effect on my life,” he
said. “I feel like now I have a per
sonal responsibility to do the
same.”
To see all of the rankings, go to
http://education.newsweek.com/
choosing-a-school/college-rank-
ings.html.