FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Media Contact: 
Elise Durham
Edurham@morehouse.edu
404-507-8648 

ATLANTA, July 21, 2003 - The GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the General Electric Company, awarded Morehouse College with a three-year, $300,000 grant to support initiatives for minority students as they prepare for careers in accounting, finance, information technology and engineering. During an event last week, Morehouse College President Dr. Walter E. Massey received the $300,000 check for the program, which is part of a GE Foundation initiative launched in 2001 to increase diversity in quantitative fields.

“We appreciate the philanthropy—the GE Foundation’s $300,000 donation to Morehouse,” said Dr. Walter E. Massey. “But beyond the financial gift, we appreciate that GE’s senior executives are part of the College experience for these young men. We want to partner with companies that share our values, and the kind of ethics they espouse is what we want our young men to experience.”

The grant will enable Morehouse faculty and students to collaborate with two Atlanta high schools to support professional development for teachers and boost student achievement in calculus, finance and accounting.

GE and the GE Foundation have maintained a relationship with Morehouse College through the years; to date, more than a dozen Morehouse students have had the opportunity to get real hands-on experience through exciting internships with General Electric. This summer, 14 Morehouse students served as interns at GE Power Systems, up from just two student interns in 2001.

John G. Rice, president and CEO of GE Power Systems said, “With this partnership, we’re investing in our future because we know that we’re going to need to hire even better people tomorrow than we did yesterday. The best days of this relationship are ahead of us.”

Students also join faculty and staff to provide under-represented high school students with opportunities and training that will increase their confidence and interests in similar careers. One of the programs even gives students the opportunity to give back to high school students in the classroom by serving as mentors. Students, in all six college mathematics majors, visit classrooms at local high schools to assist teachers in their instruction.

The $300,000 grant will count towards the College’s capital campaign, The Campaign for a New Century, and will be given to the College in three installments.

Ranked twice as the number one college in the nation for educating African American students by Black Enterprise magazine, Morehouse College is the nation’s largest, private liberal arts college for African-American men. Founded in 1867, the College enrolls approximately 3,000 students and confers bachelor’s degrees on more black men than any other institution in the world.

Morehouse offers a number of programs and activities to enhance its challenging liberal arts curriculum through the Leadership Center at Morehouse College, Morehouse Research Institute, and Andrew Young Center for International Affairs. Morehouse is one of only two Historically Black Colleges or Universities to produce two Rhodes Scholars.

Prominent alumni include Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize laureate and civil rights leader; Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General and director of the National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine; Sheldon “Spike” Lee, filmmaker and president of 40 Acres & A Mule Productions; Maynard H. Jackson, first African-American mayor of Atlanta; and Nima A. Warfield, the first African-American Rhodes Scholar from an Historically Black College or University.

About the GE Foundation
The GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the General Electric Company, marks its 50th year of giving in 2003 and will continue to support initiatives that improve educational opportunity and strengthen organizations in GE communities around the world. In 2002, the GE Family contributed $120 million to community and educational institutions, including $46 million from the GE Foundation. For more information, visit www.gefoundation.com.

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