Lumina Foundation Awards $716,700 Grant to Morgan State

In an effort to bolster retention and increase graduation rates at Black colleges, the Lumina Foundation has awarded a grant of $716,700 to Morgan State University to implement initiatives that will increase completion rates and improve outcomes for historically underserved students.

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Student Success Project, is a three-year $1.5 million joint project between MSU, Howard University, and Dillard University.

The initiative will work to close attainment gaps between various students on campus, particularly those who are Pell-eligible.

“We are fortunate to have this opportunity to expand our relationship with Lumina Foundation by being selected as one of the standout HBCUs participating in this student success program,” said Morgan State President Dr. David Wilson. “Bringing this initiative to Morgan complements current efforts underway and serves to enhance our recent success with improved retention and graduation rates,” said Wilson, who added that last spring the university launched Morgan’s 50 by 25 Campaign, a university-wide effort to increase graduation rates at Morgan to 50 percent by the year 2025.

“And with Lumina’s support over the next three years, we are hoping to improve student retention by 4 percent while significantly increasing on-time and six-year completion rates on the road to that goal,” he added.

The Lumina Foundation — started in 2000 — is known throughout the United States for its sole focus on college access.