Morgan State University (MSU) has unveiled its new $171 million Health and Human Services Center, marking a significant step in addressing health disparities within the Baltimore community and beyond. The state-of-the-art facility, which opened its doors on October 3, 2024, aims to revolutionize health education and research while tackling pressing health issues disproportionately affecting African Americans.
The 208,000-square-foot, six-story building is the culmination of a project that began in 2019. It will serve as the hub for MSU’s School of Community Health and Policy, School of Social Work, University Counseling Center, Prevention Sciences Research Center, and the School of Education and Urban Studies’ Family and Consumer Sciences Department.
Dr. David Wilson, president of Morgan State University, emphasized the center’s mission: “We will serve Baltimore, we will serve the larger region. We will serve the nation by educating the next generation of health professionals, the next generation of public health leaders, the next generation of social workers and the next generation of scientists.”
The initiative comes at a crucial time, as research from Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute highlights significant health disparities in Baltimore. African Americans in the city face higher rates of diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, childhood asthma, and poor mental health compared to white residents.
Congressman Kwesi Mfume (D-Md.-07), chairman of the Board of Regents, underscored the center’s importance: “It’s important that a center like this will be here for many, many years to drive home the fact that we can overcome disparities if we are providing the correct health and human services to our communities.”
The center will provide students with access to demonstration areas, laboratories, offices, and communal spaces, fostering an environment of innovation and collaboration in addressing health inequities.
“Morgan State University unveils $171 million Health and Human Services Center” (October 5, 2024)