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Earl S. Richardson, the former president of Morgan State University who helped organize a 2006 lawsuit against the state of Maryland for providing more resources to predominantly white institutions that ended in a $577 million settlement, died at the age of 81.
The school released a statement Saturday about the death of Richardson, who served as president from November 1984 to June 2010. A school spokesman said in an email that after he stepped down as president, Richardson remained at the institution for several years and taught a graduate-level course, when he held the title president emeritus.
“Dr. Richardson’s commitment to excellence and his ability to inspire confidence restored faith in the University at a time when its future was uncertain,” said Morgan State President David K. Wilson in a statement. “He leaves behind a legacy of perseverance, innovation, and an unshakable belief in the transformative power of education.
“On a personal note, I am deeply humbled to have followed in the presidency after Dr. Richardson’s tenure,” Wilson said. “The foundation he built allowed us to continue Morgan’s upward trajectory, and much of what we have achieved in recent years is possible because of the strong platform he left behind.”
Richardson was the force behind the 15-year legal fight that got settled in 2021 when the state agreed to direct $577 million over the next decade to Morgan and the state’s other three Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Bowie State and Coppin universities and the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.
The suit claimed the state provided more resources to predominantly white institutions and allowed them to duplicate programs already offered at the four Black schools.
Because Richardson was a state employee as president of Morgan, he couldn’t sue. So a group of HBCU alumni and supporters became plaintiffs in the suit and formed the Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education Inc.
In addition, a group known as the Maryland HBCU advocates also pushed publicly on the importance of those schools in the state.
Sharon Blake, a 1972 Morgan State alumna and member of the HBCU advocacy group, said Richardson’s “history, vision and passion” served as the catalyst for why the settlement happened and helped all HBCUs nationwide. In addition, she said he understood those schools after graduating from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. When he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social science in 1965, the school was called Maryland State College.
“I remember when we talked about starting the advocacy piece, I said to Dr. Richardson, ‘If you’re serious about moving forward on this public piece, I’m going to go down with the ship,’” Blake said in an interview Saturday. “We saw the love and the passion that Dr. Richardson had. [His death] is a tremendous loss for our society and Morgan State University.”
Several people posted messages on social media including Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Gov. Wes Moore (D), who called Richardson “a pillar of Maryland and the Morgan State University community.”
Le Shaun Quander-Mosley, also a member of the Maryland HBCU advocacy group, said the work to fight for those schools continues.
Two years after the settlement, Wilson and other HBCU advocates accused Towson University of creating and duplicating a business analytics doctoral program that was similar a business administration doctoral program at Morgan. Towson eventually withdrew its proposal.
Last year, the General Assembly approved legislation that revised the program-approval progress when higher education officials want to establish new programs at state universities. Part of that included the Maryland Higher Education Commission approving bylaws for a 21-member Program Review Process Advisory Council to make sure processes are “practical, efficient, and transparent.”
“Dr. Richardson helped bring things to light. We’ve done taking the steps to adjust the laws, but now we have to look at practice [and] make sure that everyone is doing what the law requires,” Quander-Mosley said. “He meant everything to HBCUs in Maryland in the state of Maryland. His example emanates across the country to other HBCUs.”
