(BALTIMORE – September 25, 2024) — Thanks to new funding from the Mellon Foundation— the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities — Morgan State University is advancing key liberal arts initiatives on and off campus. The Mellon Foundation awarded the University two grants totaling $710,000: one in the amount of $660,000 to support the inventory and digitization of the collection housed within the James E. Lewis Museum of Art (JELMA) and the recommissioning of a Mel Edwards sculpture to be located prominently on campus, and the other for $50,000 to support the Morgannale: Academy-Community Connection for Repairing Our Places project. Since 2015, the Mellon Foundation has awarded approximately $3.4 million in grant awards to support the arts and humanities efforts of Morgan, one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs).
“We are incredibly grateful to the Mellon Foundation for their continued generosity and support of Morgan State University. For nearly a decade, the Foundation’s unwavering commitment to advancing the arts and humanities at our institution has been transformative,” said David K. Wilson, president of Morgan. “The latest two grants will significantly enhance our capacity to provide enriched educational experiences and foster innovative scholarship. These funds will empower our faculty and students to explore new frontiers in their fields and contribute meaningfully to the broader academic and cultural landscape. We deeply appreciate the Mellon Foundation’s belief in Morgan’s mission and their partnership with us in cultivating a vibrant intellectual community.”
Since its founding, the Mellon Foundation has purposefully and carefully identified organizations and institutions to support with selective grant awards. The grants awarded fall within the focus areas of Arts and Culture, Higher Learning, Humanities in Place, and Public Knowledge. Morgan’s most recent funding comprised Arts and Culture and Humanities in Place grants.
Morgan’s digitization and sculpture project falls within the Foundation’s Critical Collections initiative, which supports the preservation and accessibility of museum collections. With the resources received from the Mellon Foundation, the University will train students to inventory and digitize approximately 2,500 pieces of artwork housed and overseen by JELMA, including flat art: 2D and 3D wall hangings such as paintings, sculptures, photography, prints, documents and manuscripts. The intention of the project is to create an incubator to empower students with practical technical innovative media skills, advancing their emergence as digital communications experts, all the while preserving and maintaining Morgan’s art assets…