Board Votes Against Renewing Morgan State University President's Contract

BALTIMORE (WJZ/SUN)--Change could be coming to Morgan State University. Morgan State's Board of Regents has voted not to renew President David Wilson's contract.

Wilson was named Morgan's 12th president in December 2009. His contract is set to expire June 30.

He released the following statement:

"I was recently informed of the Board of Regents' decision not to renew my contract as President of Morgan State University.  By any objective standard, my tenure at Morgan has been marked by measurable increases in practically every dimension at the University," Wilson said.

"I will not say or do anything to harm an institution that I love, respect and care about deeply.  I am just not that vindictive, especially when I know that my students, my faculty, staff and our outstanding alumni at Morgan would not be well served by it.  Let me also say, categorically, that I have committed no act of illegality, immorality or malfeasance.  I came to Morgan after much soul searching and after turning down presidencies and senior positions at several institutions across this nation.  I did so against the advice of some of my closest friends and mentors in higher education because I believed, and I still believe, so much in the mission of this institution."

The Northeast Baltimore university has received attention for a handful of public safety incidents in recent months. In May, student Alexander Kinyua was accused of dismembering a family friend and eating his heart and some of his brain. A school instructor had earlier called him "a Virginia Tech waiting to happen." University officials then in July revamped public safety leadership on the campus, promoting police Chief Adrian J. Wiggins to a new post as chief public safety officer.

Twice in the past three months, shootings have taken place on the campus. The latest was Nov. 30, when a 20-year-old man, whom police said is not a student at Morgan, shot a lineman on the university's football team as students wound down the last day of classes before fall semester finals.