Morgan State University: National Treasure and Model for Preservation

In May 2016, the nation’s leading preservation organization, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, designated Morgan State University a National Treasure. The designation served to recognize the University’s significance as an HBCU (Historically Black College and University) and as a compelling example of the challenges that colleges across the country face in stewarding their historic buildings while redeveloping their historic campuses.

Founded in 1867 as one of the nation’s earliest institutions to offer post-secondary education for African Americans and the largest in the state of Maryland, Morgan State University’s urban campus has an impressive collection of historic buildings. The University’s varied built landscape features 20 contributing structures—ranging from Classical and Italianate to Modern and Brutalist—eligible for listing on the National Register. Buildings on the campus were designed by pioneering and celebrated black architects such as Albert Cassell, Hilyard Robinson, Louis Fry, and Leon Bridges. In addition, the University is home to one of six HBCU accredited architecture programs and the only one accredited in historic preservation.

In its effort towards preserving the rich cultural legacy of HBCUs, the National Trust joined forces with the University to envision a forward-thinking stewardship strategy for preserving HBCU campuses. The partnership aimed at developing a campus heritage preservation plan for Morgan State University - a critical tool to inform campus master planning - that could be applied at other HBCUs across the country.

On its five-year anniversary as a designated National Treasure, we will hear about the University’s progress to create a preservation roadmap that stewards the many historic buildings on campus, while planning wisely for the university’s long-term, sustainable future.

About the Presenter:

Dale Glenwood Green is a descendant of Reverend Samuel Green, Sr. (a Visionary Founder of Morgan State University), Morgan Alumnus (a inaugural student of the Morgan undergraduate architecture program), and Professor of Architecture and Lead Faculty for Historic Preservation at Morgan State University School of Architecture and Planning. He has been teaching and leading research on Morgan’s campus heritage since he joined the faculty in 2008. He along with his faculty colleagues and students have collaborated with the University and the National Trust for Historic Preservation on preserving the campus and individually listing the University Memorial Chapel on the National Register of Historic Places. He has been leading the Preservation in Practice summer program with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, National Parks Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

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