Baccalaureate 2026
Saturday, the Sixteenth Day of May
Two Thousand and Twenty-Six Three o’clock in the Afternoon
the martin luther king jr. international chapel
Atlanta, Georgia
2026 baccalaureate OrderofBaccalaureate
presiding
The Reverend Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., Ph.D. , Founding Dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel
Prelude
Processional
Call to Baccalaureate
“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” arr. David Oliver
“Improvisation on Dear Old Morehouse” arr. David Oliver
“Trumpet Tune” by John Stanley
moment of silence
Evocation
The Occasion
*†Hymn
Scripture
Anthem
Introduction of Preacher
Sermon
Selection
Closing Remarks
Benediction
Morehouse College Hymn
Recessional
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
Hymn Text: Thomas O. Chisholm Hymn Tune: Faithfulness
Psalm 139:1-18 (KJV)
“Great is He, the Lord Eternal” arr. Bryan Davies
“These are They” Revelation 7:14 (NIV)
“My Everything” arr. Carlos Simon ’08
“Dear Old Morehouse” J.O.B. Moseley ’29
“Trumpet Voluntary” by Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell
David Francis Oliver, DMA
Dr. Oliver
The Reverend Dean Carter
The Reverend Keith A. Troy ’76, D.Min. Senior Pastor, New Salem Missionary Baptist Church Columbus, Ohio
Verdun Perry ’94, MBA Chairman, Morehouse College Board of Trustees
Global Head of Blackstone Strategic Partners, Blackstone
Morehouse College Glee Club
Elijah Lewis ’26 Senior Class President
Morehouse College Glee Club
F. DuBois Bowman ’92, Ph.D. 13th President, Morehouse College
The Reverend Winford K. Rice Jr. ’14, D.Min. Senior Pastor, Beulah Baptist Church Atlanta, Georgia
Morehouse College Glee Club
Soloist: Langston Bassett ’26, Baritone Pianist: Devan Durrett ’26
Dean Carter
The Reverend Charles E. Nesbitt Jr. ’76, D.D. Pastor, Providence Baptist Church College Park, Georgia
ALL
Dr. Oliver
David Edward Morrow, DMA ’80, Professor of Music and Director of the Morehouse College Glee Club
David Francis Oliver, DMA, College Organist
“Abandon Rank All Ye Who Enter Here”
BaccalaureatePreacher
The Reverend Dr. Winford Kennadean Rice Jr. ’14
Senior Pastor, Beulah Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia
The Reverend Dr. Winford Kennadean Rice Jr. is a 2014 Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude graduate of Morehouse College, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in religion and philosophy and was the top-ranking scholar in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. While in college, Rice served as president of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel Assistants Program, a presidential ambassador, the NAACP political action co-chair, a UPS Scholar, and a congressional intern for Rep. John Lewis.
Rice also traveled to Tokyo, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima, Japan as a peace ambassador for the non-proliferation of nuclear weaponry and was named the 2013-2014 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar. Additionally, he was initiated as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., published his first work in an anthology of sermons by the Academy of Preachers in 2013, and has since been cited in The New York Times.
He is a 2017 graduate of Harvard University Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he received his Master of Divinity degree. While at Harvard, Rice also served as Youth and Young Adult Pastor of the Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Rice was licensed and ordained by Dr. Steven G. Blunt at First Baptist Church Mahan in Suffolk, Virginia. He also served as a Religious Services Fellow and prison chaplain for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in Chicago; his research examined the correlation between the use of religious services and reduced recidivism rates among detainees in Cook County, Illinois.
Additionally, he was the 2014-2015 Scholar-in-Residence at Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton, Massachusetts.
In March 2017, after traveling to Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria, South Africa, Rice was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. College of Pastoral Leadership at Morehouse for his commitment to bridging civil societies, political institutions, and religious communities. He was also featured as one of the Late Night New Voices at the 103rd Annual Hampton Minister’s Conference in Hampton, Virginia.
In 2018, Rice graduated from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology with a Master of Theology degree. He subsequently continued his studies at Candler, completing his Doctor of Ministry degree in biblical hermeneutics.
Rice formerly served as the Minister of Outreach and Men’s Ministries at Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Georgia. He currently serves as senior pastor of Beulah Baptist Church in Historic Vine City (Atlanta) and as an adjunct professor of philosophy and religion at Morehouse College.
Rice is passionate about preaching, pastoring, and meeting the needs of people. He seeks to bridge the church and the academy by serving in the parish “with both head and heart.” In all things that he does, Rice has said, he aims to preach the gospel and, if necessary, use words.
He is the son of Winford K. Rice Sr. and Crystal S. Rice from Suffolk, Virginia.
2026 baccalaureate Necrology*
James “Jimmie” Abbington ’82
Cecil Bray ’58
Vincent Bursey ’82
Omar Idris Cheeseboro ’26
James W. Cooper ’62
Col. Clarence Dixon ’53
Kenneth J. Echols ’55
Hilliard Glover Jr. ’83
Herman E. Gregory Jr. ’49
Forrest C. Hackney ’77
Charles Wesley Harris ’49
Perry Henderson ’54
Duncan Hill ’98
William V. Howard ’78
Derrick E. James ’03
Lt. Col. Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Jordan Sr. ’66
James Kinsey ’70
Byron Christopher Leak ’98
Joseph Leonard Sr. ’56
Arzell Lester ’61
Jayden D. Mango Ex. ’26*
Col. Reginald Robert McKinney ’62
Capt. Gordon Alphonso Merritt ’52
Donald Morrow ’77
James Richard Nichols ’15
Richard Peacock Jr. ’96
Yancey Peyton ’01
William Henry Pillow ’64
De Vere Ranger ’65
Harold William Rutherford ’63
Tonny Saddler ’69
Thomas Gatewood Sampson ’68
Howard Smithson ’06
Leon Thompkins ’61
Charles J. Trotman M.D. ’62
Duane Walker ’91
Barry D. Watson ’64
Earl Turner Williams ’77
Walter Williams ’74
faculty & staff
Dr. Troy Lee Story Jr. ’62 Professor of Chemistry, 39 years
The list above honors the lives of all alumni, matriculating students, faculty, staff, and members of the Board of Trustees who have made their transition since Commencement 2025. The list, however, only includes the names that were reported to Morehouse College. We extend our apologies for any oversights and encourage anyone with additional names to kindly share them, so that we may pay proper tribute to all members of the Morehouse Community who have departed.
* Denotes students with the expected graduation date
2026 baccalaureate Hymns
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Hymn Text: Thomas O. Chisholm Hymn Tune: Faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not, As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold witness, To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with 10, 000 beside!
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Dear Old Morehouse
J. O. B. Moseley ’29
Dear old Morehouse, dear old Morehouse, We have pledged our lives to thee; And we’ll ever, yea forever, Give ourselves in loyalty.
True forever, true forever, To old Morehouse may we be; So to bind each son the other Into ties more brotherly.
Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Make us steadfast, honest, true, To old Morehouse and her ideals And in all things that we do.