Morehouse College News

Institutional Advancement * Division of Communications * 830 Westview Drive, S.W. n Atlanta, Georgia 30314

ATLANTA, Sept. 27, 2000 - Seven new Morehouse College students were named Gates Millennium Scholars, bringing the College's total to 17 students who have received the award, since it was created in 1999.

James Britton, 18, a sophomore, English major; Clarence Bryant, 18, a sophomore English major; Corttrell Kinney, 21, a senior biology major; Kenneth Knight, 20, a junior computer science major; Chinenye Ofodile, 19, a sophomore computer science major; Katarro Rountree, 18, a freshman chemistry major; and Bakari Vickerson who is scheduled to enroll in the spring semester, were all named scholars.

The Gates Millennium Scholars awards, which are administered through the United Negro College Fund, will enable 20,000 young Americans to attend undergraduate and graduate institutions of their choice. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation established this initiative to encourage and support students in completing college and in continuing on to earn masters and doctorate degrees in disciplines where ethnic and racial groups are currently underrepresented. Nomination materials and deadlines for next year's award will be announced in November.

"I am delighted to have so many of our students rewarded for their hard work through the Gates Millennium Scholarships," said President Walter E. Massey. "I am immensely appreciative of Bill Gates' commitment to increasing the number of African-Americans studying science, mathematics and technology."

One of the most distinguished institutions of higher education, Morehouse College is the nation's only historically black, private liberal arts college for 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. In addition to offering 36 majors in the humanities, natural and social sciences, Morehouse provides a number of programs and activities to enhance its challenging liberal arts curriculum, including the Leadership Center at Morehouse College, the Morehouse Research Institute, and the Andrew Young Center for International Affairs.

Prominent alumni include Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize laureate and civil rights leader; Dr. David Satcher, U.S. Surgeon General; Sheldon "Spike" Lee, filmmaker and president of 40 Acres & A Mule Productions; Maynard H. Jackson, president of Jackson Securities and the first African-American mayor of Atlanta; and Nima A. Warfield, the first African-American Rhodes Scholar from an historically black college or university.

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Media Contact:

Thonnia Lee
404-215-2680
Tlee@Morehouse.edu