The University of California, Los Angeles has entered into a partnership agreement with Morgan State University, a historically Black educational institution in Baltimore. The program will primarily be carried out through an exchange student opportunity between the two locations – something that will benefit students at both schools.
The UCLA-MSU collaboration is part of the UC-HBCU Initiative, a statewide program designed to address the underrepresentation of African American students in graduate studies through partnerships and research opportunities.
Roger Wakimoto, UCLA’s vice chancellor for research and creative activities, stated that “I’ve always been strongly supportive of UCLA working with minority institutions. It taps into a very diverse workforce or student population that makes us a stronger university. This is going to be a two-way partnership. We hope some of their students and faculty will come here and spend time at UCLA.’
UCLA’s historically Black colleges and universities coordinator Nasia Turner said that “all Black UCLA students need to know that HBCUs exist, that they have the opportunity to visit and study at HBCUs, and that they can see themselves in HBCU faculty. Research shows that Black students studying at Black colleges directly and positively impacts their sense of self and motivation.”
