U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, Cellphone Pioneer Jesse Russell Addressed Nearly 500 Degree Candidates at MSU’s Fall Commencement
Pride was in the air today, as nearly 500 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree candidates, and hundreds of their supporters, braved a cold, rainy journey to Hill Field House for the Seventh Fall Commencement Exercises of Morgan State University. The third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Majority Whip James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, was the keynote speaker for the event, and communications technology expert Jesse E. Russell, a pioneer in the development of the cellphone’s wireless technology, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science. The event marked a number of significant institutional milestones for the 152-year-old Historically Black Institution as well as notable personal milestones for many of this season’s graduates.
The University conferred its 800th doctoral degree during the ceremony, a number that included a record 79 doctorates awarded in 2019, the most awarded in a calendar year since the University began offering doctoral degrees.
Kayla Huffman, from Randallstown, Maryland, and Jennai Charles, from Windsor, Connecticut, both received bachelor’s degrees in biology during the exercises and, like many of the candidates gathered in Morgan’s University Student Center before the ceremony, were happy to share their short-term career plans. Huffman plans to return to Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, where
