Black History Month Tribute: University of Arkansas Trailblazers

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Gordon Morgan

Gordon Morgan of Fayetteville is a University Professor of sociology and one of the first black faculty members hired at the University of Arkansas in 1969.

He earned his doctorate from Washington State University in 1961 and has served as a teacher, counselor, mentor, and role model to generations of students, especially minority students. Breaking down racial barriers has been a hallmark of Morgan's teaching and research. He brought to the University of Arkansas the belief that racial classification not only limits minorities but separates society as a whole, imposing limits even on the majority population. He determined that he would do all he could to free students from their prejudices, their oppression, and their tendency to view the world in black and white.

He has chronicled the history of the black experience at the U of A in his book "The Edge of Campus" and is the author of 16 other books including "Toward an American Sociology: Questioning the European Construct" and "Tilman C. Cothran: Second Generation Sociologist."

Over his long and distinguished career, Morgan has served as a consultant to the Arkansas Program on Basic Adult Education, as an expert witness before the Rockefeller Commission on Population and the American Future, and as an adviser to the American College Testing program. His research interests include investigating how African countries might be converted to the dollar standard, the Arkansas delta, and a comprehensive study of the discipline of sociology. He has said: "I believe much sociological knowledge can be gained by focus on the discipline. I continue to be interested in the Caribbean as an area of research and teaching."

He and his family established the Morgan Family Scholarship for minority students. He is married to Izola Preston Morgan.