CEO of the National Urban League to speak at Cheyney University

April 19, 2009 - PRLog -- The faculty, staff and students’ growing excitement stems from Mr. Morial’s impressive professional career that has spanned 25 years. He is and has been an entrepreneur, lawyer, professor, legislator, mayor, and currently serves as the President and CEO of the National Urban League, the nation’s largest civil rights organization.  

President Michelle R. Howard-Vital said, “We are very excited to have Mr. Morial to serve as our commencement speaker. His work as a public servant, as a former mayor of New Orleans, as well as the leader of the National Urban League, will position him well to provide a strong message to our graduates about the importance of civic engagement.”

The nearly 100 year old civil rights organization has notably benefitted from his energetic and skilled leadership as he expanded the League’s work around an “Empowerment agenda.” This “agenda” redefines civil rights in the 21st century with a renewed emphasis on closing the economic gaps between Whites and Blacks as well as rich and poor Americans.  

Dr. Sulayman Clark, Vice President of Cheyney University’s Institutional Advancement, said, “We are pleased to have Mr. Morial join us on this very special occasion. He is a recognized spokesman on key issues that impact the African American community and the nation at large. We look forward to his message of hope, determination and responsible social change.”  

Mr. Morial is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Economics and African American Studies, he also holds a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., as well as honorary degrees from Xavier University, Wilberforce University, and the University of South Carolina Upstate.

His career accomplishments have afforded him a host of distinguished honors. While serving as Mayor of New Orleans, the city was recognized as the All-American City Award in 1996 for the first time in 50 years, as well as the prestigious City Livability Award.

He has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential Black Americans by Ebony Magazine, as well as one of the Top 50 Nonprofit Executives by the Nonprofit Times.

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). PASSHE comprises Pennsylvania’s 14 public universities, with a combined enrollment of more than 112,500, making it the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study.  Approximately 405,000 PASSHE alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The 14 PASSHE universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania.

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Cheyney University is the nation’s oldest historically Black institution of higher education. It is also the only Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. At its inception, the school successfully provided free classical education for qualified young people, and today the university offers baccalaureate degrees in more than 30 disciplines and six master’s degree programs. For more information, please visit the website at http://www.cheyney.edu.