Baltimore Business Journal February 11, 2020 Morgan State University to pilot degree programs in West Africa Baltimore's top historically black university wants to send its faculty across the Atlantic to forge an academic presence in West Africa. Starting this fall, Morgan State University<https://www.bizjournals.com/profile/company/org_ch_6f57f2e387e8d2ce7d5ab1007dae8fdd> plans to begin offering three new degree programs in Ghana in a pilot partnership with the African University College of Communications<http://www.aucc.edu.gh/> (AUCC) in Accra: a master of business administration, a master of science in global multimedia journalism and communications, and a bachelor of science in entrepreneurship. AUCC, founded in the town of Adabraka in 2002, currently offers bachelor's degrees mirroring those focuses, with tracks in communication studies and business administration, as well as a graduate journalism program. Per its website<http://www.aucc.edu.gh/about>, the school's mission is "to prepare lifelong learners to become innovative problem-solvers and ethical leaders through excellence in interdisciplinary teaching, research and collaboration using a Pan-African framework." In the planned partnership, professors from Morgan State's Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management and its School of Global Journalism and Communication would travel to the AUCC campus in Ghana to teach. Coursework will include a mix of face-to-face and online instruction. The goal is enroll at least 20 students in the pilot program, which will be evaluated at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. In a statement, school president David Wilson said the 153-year-old Northeast Baltimore institution has been "very interested in Africa" and expanding into other markets over the last five years. He hinted at the potential for more collaboration, assuming all goes well with the pilot. "We look forward to piloting these three academic degree programs in Ghana," he said, "and if this initiative is successful in attracting top-notch students and awarding them highly valued Morgan degrees, we will consider establishing a more physical presence in Africa." University administrators traveled to AUCC in Ghana last month for a site visit and to finalize details for the partnership. Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Lesia Crumpton-Young, who went on the trip, said the new programs "will serve as catalysts for economic growth and development throughout the African continent and beyond." Morgan State's 15-member board of regents approved the Ghana programs in principle - they must still give final approval at their next quarterly meeting in May - and one other addition on Morgan State's main campus in Baltimore at a meeting on Feb. 4. The other planned program will be a master of science in advanced computing, "the only degree of its kind offered at a Maryland university," a release said. That degree track awaits Maryland Higher Education Commission approval. The advanced computing graduate degree would complement a new bachelor of science in cloud computing track that's due to launch in the fall. Both computing programs would be offered in Morgan State's School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences. The announcement comes about a month after Wilson announced plans<https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2020/01/09/morgan-state-university-looks-to-add-medical.html> to add a new school of osteopathic medicine in Baltimore. For that, the university said it will partner with Salud Education LLC, a firm that has helped found other medical colleges in the U.S. to meet rising demand for more physicians. Salud plans to invest up to $125 million into the project, and would operate the school once it's built. "So long as I am the president of this institution, Morgan will never be in stasis," Wilson said in a statement today. "We cannot afford to stand still. It is incumbent upon the university to always lean forward and continuously explore all viable opportunities in this rapidly transforming higher education environment." SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Honor the ancestors, honor the children and those yet to come. Building Capacity for Humanities Special Collections at HBCUs - Become an ally and partner with us to protect, preserve and share a more authentic record of American history. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/humanities-2019.html for more information. 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