By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
State and local officials convened at Morgan State University (MSU) on May 14 to officially break ground on a new 246,435 square foot science research center. The new facility is set to open in August 2028.
Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor of Maryland
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) joined Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott (D), U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.-07), Dr. David K. Wilson, president of MSU, and others for the historic event.
“I am proud that the state of Maryland is investing $337 million in Morgan State University’s Science Research Center,” said Moore, standing on the grounds of the university’s Northeast Baltimore campus. “Who you invest with, it sends a statement–one that should be heard loud and clear. Maryland is making a choice to invest in our HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). Maryland is making a choice to invest in East Baltimore.”
Moore touted how his administration has invested $1.34 billion in HBCUs, an increase of nearly 60 percent since he took office.
The governor’s office shared that $110 million in state funding has already been received for the new center’s construction, including $70 million in the fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget. The remaining funding from the state is scheduled in the Governor’s Capital Improvement Program through FY 2029.
Moody Nolan, architect of the science center, has committed to a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) goal of 47.75 percent. Barton Malow, the construction team of the project, has committed to an MBE goal of 45 percent. Moody Nolan is the largest African American-owned architectural firm in the U.S.
“This Morgan Science Center will be more than just a building,” said Wilson.
Wilson said it will be a beacon for innovation, an incubator for new ideas and a catalyst for breakthroughs.
Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of Morgan State University
The center will house the School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, the university’s biology and chemistry departments, tutoring centers, collaboration spaces and an environmental botanical greenhouse.
The science complex is expected to be a cornerstone of the university’s research endeavors and help its efforts to become an R1 school, the highest research classification given by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
“This groundbreaking is the next step in Morgan’s transformation,” said Scott. “When we talk about Black excellence, that orange and blue is it…Morgan is it.”
Scott acknowledged how federal actions have impacted state and local initiatives but promised to continue the fight to protect them.
“Universities, HBCUs in particular, and Blackness are under attack yet again from the highest position in the land,” said Scott. “But let’s be very clear, Baltimore stands loud, Black and proud behind our Black institutions like Morgan State that have and always will be pillars in our community.”