By AFRO Staff

Memorial services for Dr. Earl Richardson, ninth president of Morgan State University, will be held Sept. 26-27 in Princess Anne, Md. Richardson, who served at Morgan State’s helm for 26 years, is widely regarded for the institution’s transformation from an undergraduate liberal arts institution into a doctoral research university and for his advocacy on behalf of HBCUs and African-American students. He died Sept. 12 at the age of 81.

Dr. Earl S. Richardson, Morgan State University’s ninth president who led the school’s transformation into a doctoral research institution, will be honored with homegoing services Sept. 26–27 in Princess Anne, Md. The services will include fraternity tributes, live-streaming options, and opportunities to contribute to scholarship funds established in his name.
Credit: Courtesy image / Facebook

Dr. Richardson will lie in repose on Friday, Sept. 26, from 6-8 p.m. at the Ella Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, , located at 30613 College Backbone Road in Princess Anne. The Omega Service of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Gamma Theta Boulé, will begin at 7 p.m. 

The funeral service will be held on Saturday, Sept. 27, beginning at 11 a.m., also at the Ella Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center. A family hour will take place from 9-11 a.m., with the Omega Service of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity beginning at 10:15 a.m. Interment will follow the funeral service at Green Acres Memorial Park, Inc., located on West Road in Salisbury.

For those unable to attend the funeral in person, the service will be live-streamed on the Lewis N. Watson Funeral Home, P.A. Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lewisnwatsonfuneralhome/ 

Additionally, Morgan State University is arranging for transportation to the funeral, with buses leaving from behind the Carl J. Murphy Fine Arts Center at 7 a.m. A donation of $40 to the Earl S. Richardson Scholarship Fund is requested from those reserving a bus seat. Checks should be made payable to the Morgan State University Foundation, with “Earl S. Richardson” noted on the memo line.

To reserve a seat, visit this link or contact Armada W. Grant at armada.grant@morgan.edu or 443-801-5623.

In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to:

The Earl S. Richardson Endowed Scholarship Fund (c/o Morgan State Foundation)
1700 Coldspring Lane, Baltimore, MD 21251
Online payments can be made at givetomorgan.org.

Donations can also be made to:

UMES Foundation Division of Institutional Advancement
Attn: Dr. Earl S. Richardson Scholarship Fund
JT Williams Hall, Suite 1105, Princess Anne, MD 21853
Online payments can be made at umes.edu/form/Give2UMES.

For more information, including Dr. Richardson’s obituary, visit: https://www.lewisnwatsonfuneralhome.com/obituary/dr-earl-richardson