New President of Morehouse Announced

April 28, 2007 -- Atlanta

On behalf of the Morehouse College Board of Trustees, I am pleased to announce the selection of the 10th President of Morehouse College, Dr. Robert Michael Franklin Jr. '75. Dr. Franklin was unanimously confirmed by the Board of Trustees in a special meeting held on Saturday, April 28, 2007.

We are fortunate to have someone of Dr. Franklin's national stature - a man who exemplifies the best qualities of a Morehouse man, the one who rose to the top among a distinguished pool of candidates. He will succeed Dr. Walter E. Massey '58, who will retire June 30, 2007.

Dr. Franklin, who has built a national platform on social ethics and community values, currently serves as presidential distinguished professor of social ethics at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He also is theme leader for the University Strategic Theme Implementation Manager in the Office of the Provost and a senior fellow in the Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Religion in the School of Law. Prior to Emory, he served as president of the Interdenominational Theological Center in the Atlanta University Center.

A 1975 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and religion, Dr. Franklin earned the Masters of Divinity in Christian Social Ethics, Pastoral Care from Harvard Divinity School, and the Ph.D. in Ethics and Society, Religion and the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago Divinity School.

A distinguished speaker and prolific author, in latest book titled, Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope to African American Communities, Dr. Franklin identifies the crises resident within three anchor institutions that have played key roles in the black struggle for freedom - Black families, the Black church and historically black colleges and universities - and how they must address the rising rates of father absence, births to unmarried parents, divorce, and domestic abuse or relationship violence.

He currently serves on several prestigious boards including the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund (Jacksonville, FL); Character Education Partnership (Washington, DC); Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference (Chicago, IL); Joseph Lowery Institute for Justice and Human Rights at Clark Atlanta University (Atlanta, GA); Public Broadcasting of Atlanta - WABE (Atlanta, GA); and Visiting Committee, National Centers for Disease Control (Atlanta, GA).

I would like to acknowledge the commitment and hard work of the search committee throughout this process. I would especially like to thank the members of the Morehouse College family - faculty, staff, students and alumni - who provided invaluable input into the selection process through the series of on-campus interviews held this week.

Sincerely,

Willie "Flash" Davis
Chairman, Morehouse College Board of Trustees