By Catherine Pugh
Special to the AFRO
Morgan State University (MSU) is pressing forward in its efforts to achieve R-1 status—a designation from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and the American Council on Education (ACE).
Institutions with an R-1 status operate at the highest level of research activity and are critical for innovation, as their research drives new products and business creation.
Presently MSU offers 20 plus doctoral degree granting programs; having invested over one billion dollars in infrastructure and hosting eight new State Supported Research Centers, including ones in cutting edge topical areas such as Cybersecurity, Al and Machine Learning and Microelectronics (CHIPS).
According to ACE, there are 187 R-1 institutions in the United States. Another 139 have R-2 status, including MSU. Aside from those two categories, there are 216 other research institutions that spend more than $2.5 million on research annually, but do not have R-1 or R-2 status in the United States.
Led by Dr. David K. Wilson, MSU’s 10th president, the university achieved R-2 status in December 2018, a recognition of its significant research and development activities. As an R-2 institution, MSU is required to allocate $5 million annually toward research and confer at least 20 doctoral degrees each year.
Wilson says reaching R-1 status will boost university spin-offs and increase small businesses in Baltimore, fostering the city’s growth as an innovation hub. He notes this recognition will attract more investment, residents and students to the city.
“MSU State University is embarking on a transformative journey to reach R-1 status by 2030,” said Wilson. “Achieving R-1 status would be of enormous benefit and value first to the City of Baltimore. We conducted an economic impact study just a couple of years ago and at the R-2 level it’s a billion dollars economic impact a year for the state of Maryland and over $500 million economic impact for the city of Baltimore.”
“At R-1, minimally, we could expect to double that impact for the City of Baltimore. That would mean a $1 billion dollar annual economic impact and minimally $2 billion and above for the state of Maryland,” Wilson said, adding that “it is quintessential” for the university to prepare MSU graduates for “the work of the future and future of work.”
The Carnegie Commission began evaluating higher education institutions in 1970, publishing its framework in 1973, with updates every three years. Currently, universities that hold R-1 status are required to spend at least $50 million in annual research and confer 70 research doctorates each year. In Maryland, only four universities have this distinction: Johns Hopkins University; University of Maryland, Baltimore; University of Maryland, Baltimore County and University of Maryland, College Park.
Wilson noted that MSU sets “ambitious, but realistic goals” and is committed to reaching them. He assigned the Division of Research and Economic Development to lead efforts toward the university’s R-1 status.
In 2018, Dr. Willie E. May, an accomplished scientist and former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, joined MSU, as vice president of Research and Economic Development and professor of Chemistry.
May is tasked with directing MSU in the following areas:
- Enhancing MSU’s research capacity, providing infrastructural support to increase external funding from public and private sources
- Ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including those related to the responsible conduct of research
- Assist in coordinating research in programs that span multiple schools
- Facilitate the commercialization of faculty and students generated intellectual property
- Spearhead MSU’s efforts in being seen as a well-recognized, well respected and well-rounded research institution
May said MSU is steadily advancing toward R-1 University status, having met key benchmarks and planning further expansion. The university has awarded over 1,000 doctoral degrees and conferred at least 70 doctorates each year from 2020–2022. Since 2016, the university has received 39 U.S. utility patents and has more than 30 pending.
May emphasizes the university’s focus on supporting student and faculty research through stipends and reduced course loads, allowing more time for research projects.
If approved, Morgan State University would be the first Black institution to receive R-1 status in the state of Maryland.
“We cannot forget who we are,” says May. “Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) came into being during the time when many schools barred their doors to African Americans. HBCUs offered the best– and often, the only– opportunity for higher education.
In a report prepared by May for the university’s board of regents, he notes HBCUs in the category of “underutilized national resources.”
“To maintain U.S. global competitiveness, it is in our Nation’s best interest for HBCUs to receive a greater share of federal research dollars and other support to help provide the U.S. STEM workforce of the future,” May wrote in the report.
Morgan State College became Morgan State University (MSU) in 1975, by the authority of the Maryland General Assembly permitting them to offer doctoral programs. According to MSU’s communications, the university as of fiscal year 2025, set a new record by earning over $104 million in sponsored research and $65 million in research expenditures.
“Achieving R-1 status guides our dedication to MSU’s mission as a resource for the Black community, ” May told the AFRO. “Morgan is committed to serving all levels—from local to global—by preparing empowered, diverse graduates to become leaders.”
The next round for Morgan State University to be reviewed for Carnegie R-1 status is 2028, which meets their goal of achieving that plateau by 2030.