Morehouse College News June 2012 Ten Milwaukee-area Students Become Men of Morehouse Through New Milwaukee Scholarship Program By Add Seymour, Jr. Ten Wisconsin students sat at a table, wearing maroon and white ties last week during "Signing Day " and put to ink scholarship papers to attend Morehouse College. They are the first group of what school officials say will become a new pipeline of black males from the Milwaukee area to Morehouse. Funded by Wisconsin and national donors, the young men will attend Morehouse this fall on four-year scholarships totaling more than $800,000. They become the largest-ever group of Wisconsin students to come to Morehouse. "We're creating a pathway for student success that runs through our schools and one of the nation's most renowned institutions of higher education," said Gregory Thornton, superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools. "It's an honor to partner with Morehouse." The Milwaukee scholarships are part of a pilot program in which Morehouse plans a nationwide push to recruit students from cities with low high-school graduation rates for young black men. "Milwaukee Public Schools has demonstrated its commitment to preparing boys of color for higher educational opportunities - and for providing access to institutions that will expand their horizons academically, socially and culturally," said President Robert M. Franklin '75. "This partnership allows Morehouse to fulfill that goal through a rigorous academic curriculum, coupled with co-curricular experiences that shape students for a successful career and a lifetime of leadership and service." The scholarship donors - BMO Harris Bank; the Hans Helmerich Foundation; Charles and Cheryl Harvey; the Johnson Controls Foundation; Dale E. Jones; Mr. and Mrs. Ulice Payne; Ildy and Skip Poliner; United Negro College Fund; Wisconsin Energy Foundation; and Scott Voynich - were all on hand for the Signing Day event at Milwaukee's Rufus King International School. Thornton and Franklin also thanked John Daniels, chairman of Quarles & Brady LLP, and Morehouse trustee Billye Aaron and her husband, baseball legend Hank Aaron, for connecting Morehouse with the Milwaukee philanthropic and business communities. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-520-0593 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/2012meeting-form.html for the October 21-23, 2012 HBCU Library Alliance 5th Membership Meeting and the Photographic Preservation Pre-Conference in New Orleans, LA. The Pre-Conference and Membership meeting are open to directors and other librarians.