Morehouse College Opening Convocation 2025 Program
OPENING CONVOCATION
CELEBRATING THE START OF THE 2025-2026 ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR
THursday, September 11, 2025 | 10:45 A.M.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. INTERNATIONAL CHAPEL AT MOREHOUSE COLLEGE
F. DuBois Bowman Ph.D.,
a 1992 graduate of Morehouse College, serves as the 13th president of the College. An internationally recognized expert in biostatistics and public health, his research has advanced understanding of mental and neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, schizophrenia, and addiction, as well as the effects of environmental exposures on brain development in youth.
Before returning to Morehouse, he was dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health and held leadership roles at Columbia University and Emory University. Dr. Bowman is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), vice president-elect of the American Statistical Association (ASA), past president of the Eastern North American Region (ENAR) of the International Biometric Society, and a proud member of the Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
He is married to Spelman College alumna Cynthia Bowman, and they are the parents of four children, including a 2024 Morehouse graduate and a student in the Morehouse Class of 2028.
CEREMONIAL MARSHALS
CHIEF CEREMONIAL MARSHAL
Dr. John K. Haynes ’64
MACEBEARER
Dr. Lance Shipman Young ’95
MARSHALS OF THE FACULTY
Dr. Adria Welcher
Dr. Nina Gilbert
MARSHALS OF THE PLATFORM PARTY
Dr. Aisha Meeks
Dr. Robert Tanner
LEAD MARSHALS OF STUDENTS
Mr. Illya E. Davis ’89
Dr. Brian Lawrence
MARSHALS OF THE STUDENTS
Dr. Jaime Chavez
Dr. Alison Ligon
Dr. Yohance Murray ’96
Dr. Wallace Sharif ’94
Dr. Corey Stayton
MARSHAL OF THE ALUMNI
Mr. Henry Goodgame ’84
PRELUDE
PROCESSIONAL
CALL TO ORDER
PROGRAM
Presiding
Kendrick Brown, Ph.D.
Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
“Chorale in E” Gordon Young
“War March of the Priests” Felix Mendelssohn
RINGING OF THE SPRINGFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH BELL
Dr. David Francis Oliver College Organist
Dr. David Francis Oliver
Provost Kendrick Brown, Ph.D.
OPENING PRAYER
PRESENTATION OF COLORS
WELCOME
OCCASION & INTRODUCTION OF SPEAKER
“The Star Spangled Banner” “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”
THe Reverend Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr. THe Reverend Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr. Dean, Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel
Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps
Mr. Kenneth Ugo ‘26 94th President, Student Government Association
Provost Kendrick Brown, Ph.D.
MUSICAL SELECTION
“Great is He the Lord Eternal” Arr. Bryan Davies
Morehouse College Glee Club
CONVOCATION MESSAGE
CLOSING REMARKS
COLLEGE HYMN
RECESSIONAL
“Dear Old Morehouse”
President F. DuBois Bowman ‘92, Ph.D. 13th President of Morehouse College
Provost Kendrick Brown, Ph.D.
J.O.B. Mosley ’29
“God of Our Fathers” George W. Warren
Dr. David Edward Morrow ’80 Professor & Director of the Morehouse College Glee Club Dr. David Francis Oliver College Organist
Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing
Lift every voice and sing, till earth and Heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won.
Dear Old Morehouse
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.
