CHICAGO – Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® is continuing to make good on its commitment to our nation’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This evening the sorority’s International President and CEO Dr. Glenda Glover presented Morris Brown College with a $100,000 donation to establish an endowment for scholarships and other operational needs to help bolster the institution’s sustainability. A check presentation took place on the historic campus at the Dr. Gloria Anderson Multi-purpose Complex.
“Alpha Kappa Alpha is pleased to make this donation to Morris Brown College, as we continue our support of the county’s HBCUs,” said AKA International President and CEO Dr. Glenda Glover.
“Our gift to this historic institution will be used to assist President Kevin James with scholarships, academic support, and programmatic activities that we believe will increase the sustainability of Morris Brown for years to come,” added Dr. Glover.
“I want to thank Alpha Kappa Alpha for their dedication to HBCUs and especially for the sorority’s commitment to strengthening our endowment, which could not have come at a better time with our full accreditation announcement,” said Morris Brown President Kevin James. “I want to thank President Glenda Glover for her leadership and to all the AKAs for their continued support as we continue our quest to restoring Morris Brown to her former glory.”
Alpha Kappa Alpha’s gift to Morris Brown is part of a four-year $10 million goal set by Dr. Glover under the sorority’s HBCU for Life: A Call to Action initiative. Glover implemented the program when she took over leadership of the sorority in 2018. A major component of the initiative is the sorority’s fundraising efforts to secure fiscal sustainability and success for accredited HBCUs around the country. For four consecutive years, members have surpassed their goal to raise $1 million in one day for HBCUs on a designated day in September.
“We started this journey in 2018 with a goal of raising $1 million in one day. Certainly, unchartered territory,” explained Dr. Glover, who is also president of her alma mater Tennessee State University. “We had the audacity to believe we could raise $1 million in one day. And, we did it then, as well as in 2019 and 2020, by exceeding our million-dollar goal. And, in 2021 to raise more than $2.4 million in our final year was simply phenomenal.”
Dr. Glover also shared that AKA has helped thousands of students get into the college of their choice through the sorority’s #CAP initiative. It stands for College Admissions Process and is the signature program she established to increase the number of students who want to attend any college, whether an HBCU or predominately white institution (PWI). Her focus has been on exposing students to HBCUs because she believes the needs of these institutions are so great, including the need to fill seats and to obtain funding.
“Many people are unaware of the significant contributions these legacy institutions continue to make in our cities and throughout the country, including graduating 22% of all African Americans with bachelor’s degrees, nearly 80% of all African-American judges, 50% of all Black lawyers, and 25% of African Americans with STEM degrees. HBCU grads also make up 50% of Black public school teachers.”
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