SUMTER, SC – Morris College has announced that its Board of Trustees has named Said Sewell, Ph.D., CFRM, its eleventh president, succeeding the tenth president, Dr. Leroy Staggers. Dr. Sewell will begin his presidential term effective July 1.

According to the press release, the Morris College Board of Trustees, chaired by Dr. Phillip M. Baldwin, along with the greater Sumter community are excited about the possibilities Dr. Sewell brings. The Board of Trustees stand behind Dr. Sewell as he transitions into his role as the eleventh President of Morris College.

Dr. Sewell is the current president and managing partner of The Empowerment Group, a consulting firm that provides educational services to a broad network of higher educational institutions. He also serves as director/chief academic, research and student affairs officer to the Atlanta University Center Consortium, Inc., which is comprised of Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse School of Medicine.

Before serving at the consortium, Sewell served as vice president for student affairs at Morehouse College. He has also served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Lincoln University of Missouri, assistant provost for academic affairs and dean of Undergraduate Studies at Kent State University, executive director of the Academic Success Center at Fort Valley State University, interim department head at the University of West Georgia and founding director of the Center for African-American Males: Research, Success, and Leadership, Inc.

“I am humbled to stand on the shoulders of the predecessors who have gone before me. As their successor, I accept the torch to sustain and grow Morris at any cost,” said Sewell. “I am, also, honored to serve on behalf of the Board of Trustees of Morris College, along with joining the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the community in working collaboratively to support student success, grow enrollment, raise financial support, and enhance academic programs. The idea of returning Morris to the ranks of the nation’s premier HBCUs invigorates me.”

“We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Sewell and join the Morris College Board of Trustees in giving our full confidence in Dr. Sewell’s leadership that he will lead Morris College to greater heights as one of the nation’s premier HBCUs,” said HCF Founder, President & CEO Demetrius Johnson Jr. “We look forward to supporting Dr. Sewell and the Morris College community as the College enters a new transformational era of growth. I send my best wishes to President-Elect Sewell.”

Dr. Sewell is a graduate of Morehouse College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He earned a Master of Public Administration in Public Policy from the Honorable Barbara Jordan-Honorable Mikey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University and a Ph.D. from Clark Atlanta University in Political Science. Sewel also completed Indiana University’s Lilly School of Philanthropy’s Certificate of Fundraising Management, Clark Atlanta University’s Executive Leadership Institute, Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education’s Institute for Educational Management, Harvard University’s Divinity School’s Leadership Development Institute, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Millennium Leadership Institute and the Higher Education Leadership Foundation’s Leadership Institute.

Morris College is a four-year, coeducational, residential, liberal arts and career-focused historically black college awarding baccalaureate degrees in the arts and sciences, as well as certificates in career-based professional fields through public service programs and other civic engagement activities. Morris College is located in the City of Sumter, South Carolina.

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