BALTIMORE— An unseasonably warm, rainy December morning did little to dampen the celebratory spirit of the families, friends and guests who gathered for Morgan State University’s 12th Annual Fall Commencement Exercises, held on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, inside the Talmadge L. Hill Field House. In what is believed to be the largest fall graduating class in the University’s history, 600 graduates reveled in the achievement of earning bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, officially joining the ranks of alumni from Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University.
The milestone occasion was further elevated by the presence of U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church and the first African American elected to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate, who delivered the keynote address. Senator Warnock was joined by Dean Emeritus DeWayne Wickham, founding dean of Morgan’s School of Global Journalism and Communication (SGJC), as both were conferred honorary doctoral degrees in recognition of their enduring commitments to public service, social justice, and uplifting underserved communities. Sen. Warnock was bestowed with an Honorary Doctor of Public Service, and Dean Emeritus Wickham received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
Academic Achievement and Research Momentum
The Fall Class of 2025 exemplified Morgan’s accelerating academic and research trajectory. Among the 600 graduates were 34 doctoral degree recipients, contributing to a combined total of 94 doctorates awarded by the University in 2025 when paired with the 60 conferred during the spring commencement—a milestone that further solidifies Morgan’s progress toward achieving the coveted R1 “very high research activity” classification in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education…