BEL AIR, Md. -- The presidents of Baltimore's Morgan State University and Harford Community College signed a memorandum of understanding here Oct. 4 that will provide a new path to a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering to northeast Maryland students.
Called the 2+2 Agreement, the MOU was signed by Morgan State President Dr. David Wilson and Harford Community College President Dr. Dennis Gollady. Administrators and faculty members of both schools and about 40 community partners looked on.
As host of the ceremony, Gollady welcomed his guests, including Maj. Gen. Nick Justice, senior installation commander, Aberdeen Proving Ground, who also commented during the ceremony.
"Two years ago we actually had a good agreement worked out where our students could transfer after they complete their associate's degree here to Morgan State without interruption," Gollady said. "But that wasn't enough for Morgan State. They wanted an actual MOU where they would offer -- on this campus -- the last two years of an electrical engineering degree for students who had completed their associate's degree here."
Gollady added that the MOU was a culmination of a work in progress over the last several years.
"I have not been at the college very long, just a little over a year, but I don't know of any other MOU that we have like this. I'm just very impressed that Morgan State came to us and wanted to work with us on doing this," he said.
Wilson joked about the "bucolic nature of the campus" and how, coming from the city of Baltimore, he couldn't wait to perhaps push Gollady out of his office.
"This is really a win-win-win. This is a win for the students of Harford Community College. It's a win for those individuals on the installation (APG). It's a win for individuals in this region, actually, who want a baccalaureate degree in engineering," Wilson said.
"Gov. [Martin] O'Malley has been very active on the national Complete College America initiative, and there have been over 30 states that have signed on to that," Wilson said. "What that basically says is that we as a nation will not be competitive long term if we do not have more of our citizens with baccalaureate degrees. He has set a goal for this state of having 55 percent of our population with baccalaureate degrees by the year 2025.
"But it's more than just having 55 percent of our population with baccalaureate degrees. It is about having those baccalaureate degrees in critical areas, in areas that will drive innovation, in areas that will drive, if you will, a region's, a state's and a nation's competitiveness. And that is the reason why this is a win-win for everyone. It's a win for our state. It's a win for Harford Community College. It's a win for Morgan State University. And it's for the students that are matriculating here.
"We are very excited to be a part of this unique 2+2 Agreement. We hope to participate in more ceremonies like the one here today and bring this region additional high-demand degrees that we at Morgan, we think, are so ideally poised to deliver," Wilson said
"What a powerful synergy is going on in this state," Justice said. "People are focused on moving this state forward unlike we've seen in our nation since the space age.
"Maryland has reached out and is grasping a sense of purpose that's going to benefit all of our children and our nation.
"Community colleges are neighborhood schools," Justice continued. "It's an easy transition for the family. They're able to stay home. They're able to eat mother's cooking and have mother's discipline over them. Your freshmen students are my young Soldiers, and they can be a challenge until they learn that discipline and maturity.
"[This program] also gives access to those who missed the opportunity to transition from high school into college. For whatever reason they chose not to go that route, this is the home of second chance opportunity. Even baseball has three strikes. We need to give our kids and our young people in our nation more than one strike to get it right in life. Life's hard enough without doing that.
"We all stand to benefit from this," Justice said.
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