Morehouse College celebrated her 132nd Commencement last Sunday; it was a joyous ceremony filled with expressions of joy, tears of happiness, and black male success in academia antithetical to most mainstream depictions of black males. Morehouse College made me into who I am today: a young, black, relatively socially conscious doctor-to-be. Because of the 4 years I spent at this institution, I am something of an expert on the Morehouse student’s experience and what could be improved in order to make Morehouse a better place. All of the following comes from a place of love that I possess for Morehouse, my brothers, and what she represents.
Improve Alumni Contributions
This brings me to my first point about Mother Morehouse and her need for change. No institution–except maybe the military during a time of war–should have an acceptance rate of 84%. Ever. In its existence. How does decreasing the selectivity of our school bolster its reputation and make it more appealing to potential donators when a significant portion of that 84% might flunk out or simply be unable to afford a Morehouse education? What does a 35% 4-year graduation rate say about our institution? We hear and see that HBCUs are under attack all the time, but it oftentimes seems as if we sabotage ourselves.
One would assume that the administration at Morehouse has needed to admit such a large percentage of students because our endowment is so small. An institution’s endowment is derived from gifts and returns from investments. A significant, steady input into the “gifts” section should arise from alumni contributions. Well, as Dr. Wilson, president of the institution, said on Sunday morning, Morehouse College’s alumni donated $2,000,000 to the school this past year. J.J. Watt raised the same amount of money for afterschool athletic programs in a single night via a charity softball game with half as many people. Simply put, Morehouse alumni–on a whole–are failing our institution and the young black brothers walking in our footsteps. If Morehouse is to avoid the fate of other HBCUs that have closed in recent years, alumni contributions have to increase.
Something as simple as developing a monthly newsletter that is distributed to alumni may be sufficient to reconnect them to Mother Morehouse. Seeing young brothers in shoes that they formerly filled may have an impact that pushes them to contribute monetarily and more. Presenting a thorough financial report of how alumni’s moneys are being used may also inspire them to donate. Alumni desire transparency in order to inspire the confidence in Morehouse administration that is so desperately needed. However, the key to improving alumni participation may lie within the experience that students have at Morehouse.
Improve Customer Service, Improve Your Product
My second point lies in the fact that there is no reason that “surviving” Morehouse or graduating in four years should be exceptional; these things should be expected. Waiting in the financial aid office or registrar’s office for hours on end should not be part of the Morehouse experience. Dealing with headstrong egotists, both in the classroom and administration, should not be leveraged as a learning lesson for the average Morehouse student. When students complained that they still had not learned whether they were graduating the Monday of the week before commencement, we were told to be appreciative of the improvements that had been made in the process of procuring the list of graduating seniors. When my classmates and I told our tenured professor that we had sent him emails requesting his assistance, he replied that our emails arrived in his Spam folder, a folder that he refused to check. This tendency to commend mediocrity will continue to dig Morehouse’s grave for her.
Students will not be eager to give to an institution that subjects them to such indifference on the part of some members of its faculty and administration. Individuals are often left to fend for themselves in an environment that can seem as if it is constructed specifically for their downfall, while the institutional bureaucracy dichotomously presents Morehouse as an outstanding, nourishing environment.
Some students’ initial complaint with Dr. Wilson was that he appeared to be running Morehouse as a business. I feel that there is some method to Dr. Wilson’s apparent madness, and I appreciate his attempt to rebrand the institution. However–and I’m no business connoisseur so correct me if I’m wrong–a business’s focuses should primarily lie with improving its product and its customer service. Doing so usually makes branding that much easier.
While the lecture series known as Crown Forum may be a bragging point in brochures, most of the average Morehouse student’s experience is oriented around the classroom and classroom experiences. The classroom is where Morehouse’s product can be improved. Representatives from the provost's office (who could very well be students in the roles of curriculum developers) should visit each and every class throughout the school year, passively observe, and receive feedback from the students in that class. If there are overwhelmingly negative reviews, action should be taken against that professor. The curriculum should be more rigorous, and it should incorporate modern issues that require students to engage with and provide solutions to problems that plague our world today. Instead of focusing on covering a certain amount of pages, professors should be focused on their students’ mastering specific concepts that will enable them to become successful in their respective fields. Outdated teaching methods that rely on reading from PowerPoint presentations should be discarded. It is a new technological age, and just as students are expected to learn how to utilize technology, the same should be required of professors. However, admitting applicants so indiscriminately makes all of this significantly more difficult. That is why if such a large percentage of applicants are to be admitted, special emphasis should be placed on developing study skills and time management skills (Freshman Orientation just does not work). Career preparation offices in each area of study should be made a reality, and they should focus on developing the skills that students need to succeed in college, in addition to career preparation. That is why Morehouse’s efforts to downsize the Office of Health Professions are so bewildering to me when this particular department provides services that help ensure the success of students that take advantage of said services.
With regards to customer service, individuals who do not know the answers to certain questions should not be allowed to interact with students on behalf of, oh, the registrar, for example. There is no reason that I should be given two conflicting answers by administrative assistants in the registrar’s office, and there is no reason that I should have to explain my issue to a completely new administrative assistant a day after visiting the office. Simply providing honest answers such as, “I don’t know, let me get a registrar or a financial aid officer to assist you,” instead of “I’m not sure, but you can’t speak with anyone,” may go a long way in improving the Morehouse student’s experience. No one wants to be made to feel as if he is a bothersome burden, especially at the institution that claims to love him so dearly. Whether customer service training should be required or a student complaint service should be developed, something needs to change.
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Unless Morehouse plans to become a school of economics and business administration, more money needs to be diverted to other departments in order to support the ventures that will see ALL students do well. This means that STEM and the social sciences deserve larger stakes, and not just with regards to research. Morehouse is one of the largest producers of black male doctorates, but our institution lacks the infrastructure to support researchers on par with the top liberal arts institutions. Based on this, maybe we should be instead focused on doing what we can do well, like regaining our status as the top producer of black male M.D.s in the country. As an institution that supports an Innovation Expo, it is imperative that Morehouse utilizes its innovative spirit throughout the entire institution. Something as simple as a monthly newsletter that is distributed to alumni could go a very long way in reassuring wavering faith in the institution and gaining larger alumni contributions. Advocating for improved customer service could do the same. Indeed, improving research may sound nice, but the little things that determine a Morehouse student’s everyday life are what truly define his experience.
And, don’t even get me started on the dorms and the cafeteria.
The air of expectancy that is thought to define Morehouse has, in my opinion, become an air of mediocrity and complacency that is defined by the “finesse.” However, Mother Morehouse’s fighting spirit has always been there and will always exist. That spirit is what is needed to inspire changes on this campus and ensure that she survives long into the future. As a newly crowned alumnus, I will do my part in making sure that this takes place. I hope my fellow brothers do the same, as well, and I hope that more action is taken to ensure that Mother Morehouse grows into her own crown.
