Morgan State University Recognizes Standout Alumni Making a Difference

Alumnus of the Year, Young Alumna of the Year and Chapter of the Year Honored

Each year, the Morgan State University Alumni Association (MSUAA) recognizes selected alumni for their ongoing contributions and dedication to upholding the University’s Core Values. The following alumni have been selected for their support of the mission and purpose of both the University and the Alumni Association, as well as for their love for alma mater.

Alumnus of the Year

Arthuro V. (“Art”) Lawson, a native of Washington, D.C., earned his Bachelor of Science in urban studies from Morgan State University in 1974. He embarked the next year on the first of two successful careers, joining the District of Columbia Government as a senior center director for the D.C. Department of Recreation. Lawson retired from the D.C. Department of Public Works in 2000 and joined the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, from which he retired as a government relations officer in 2012.

Lawson has had a rich life of community leader­ship and service and has received numerous awards in recognition of that work, among them two Council of the District of Columbia Resolutions, in 2000 and 2012. He has also given invaluable service to the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area Chapter of the MSUAA, serving as Chapter President, Chair of the Membership Committee, Financial Sec­retary and in other important roles. He also represented the chapter as a Charter Member of the D.C. HBCU Alumni Alliance.

Lawson supports Morgan’s University Memorial Chapel as a member of the Friends of the Chapel. The Embrace-the-Chapel/Adopt-A-Service program he created in 2018 has yielded an additional $14,000 in revenue for the institution and helped increase atten­dance there tenfold during the 2018–19 academic year. He also conceived the 2017 concert featuring Morgan alumni Lonnie Liston Smith and Maysa at Murphy Fine Arts Center, in celebration of Morgan’s sesquicentennial anniversary. Lawson and his wife, Jacqueline, have established an endowed scholarship fund for MSU students.

There is no better example of Excellence, Integrity, Respect, Diversity, Innovation and Leadership than Art Lawson, and MSUAA was proud to name him as its 2020 Alumnus of the Year.

Young Alumna of the Year

Maya McAllister Anglin, a member of MSUAA’s Delaware Alumni Chapter, earned her Bachelor of Science in industrial and systems engineering, cum laude, during her four years as a student at Morgan. As a Morgan undergraduate, she embodied academic excellence, leadership and social responsibility, maintaining a high grade point average, serving in internships or research positions each summer, serving as a resident assistant and taking leadership positions in student organizations, among them the National Society of Black Engineers, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honors Society and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Anglin is cofounder and was co-president of the MSU Chapter of GlobeMed, a nonprofit organization of students striving for global health equity. She and other members of the chapter spent four weeks in Cameroon aiding in building and the developing hand washing stations for local primary schools.

Upon her graduation, Anglin accepted a full-time position as a software engineer with JP Morgan Chase & Co. During her first few years with the firm, she received multiple awards and her first promotion, to associate, in 2017. Two years later, she was promoted to senior associate and was offered a leadership opportunity within the business product team for a software application she had previously built. Outside of her day-to-day responsibilities, she enjoys working to advance numerous firm-wide initiatives. During her free time, she continues her work to increase diversity in STEM-related careers by recruiting top talent from Morgan and other HBCUs. She also mentors new employees in her workplace and coding students in the community, owns a cosmetology firm, is pursuing an M.B.A. at the University of Delaware and is active in her church.

For her wholehearted embrace of Morgan’s Core Values, the MSU Alumni Association was proud to select Maya Anglin as Young Alumna of the Year.

Chapter of the Year

MSUAA selected the Northern Virginia Alumni Chapter as its 2020 Chapter of the Year. In the short time since it was chartered in 2013, the Northern Virginia chapter has established itself as an exemplar of Leadership, Excellence, Integrity and Innovation, four of MSU’s six Core Values.

Over the past seven years, the chapter’s local membership has grown from 18 to 33 financial members, and its Life Membership has increased to 17. Its treasury has increased tremendously, positioning the group to offer book and financial scholarships to deserving students, and the chapter has developed a long-term strategy to establish a University endowment.

Countless hours and resources are devoted to creating a sense of family within the chapter, identifying alumni in the northern Virginia area and encouraging them to support Morgan and its students, financially and otherwise. The Northern Virginia chapter has represented Morgan at several HBCU college fairs and other student recruitment venues in the area, and it was recently recognized for that service by the MSU Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment. Chapter members participate regularly in all alumni activities, such as the Alumni Awards and Class Reunion Luncheon, MSUAA Board Meetings, and Homecoming activities, and the chapter supports the University Memorial Chapel and the MSU Alumni Association. The demographics of the chapter are shifting toward young, energetic alumni with fresh ideas, who are actively participating in community events through the Divine Nine organizations, the NAACP, the Coalition of 100 Black Women, community churches and schools, and more.

The Northern Virginia chapter strives to stay at the forefront of change, using current technology to connect its membership and enhance its giving to Morgan, while never losing sight of the ethical business practices, integrity and hard work at the foundation of its value system. Its Chapter Vision, “Morgan Forever,” continues to be its guiding light.