Dr. Robert Michael Franklin, Jr. (born 1954) is an African-American educator, author, and the tenth president of Morehouse College, the nation's only historically black liberal arts college for men, located in Atlanta, Georgia. Franklin took office in July 2007.
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Previously, Franklin served as the Presidential Distinguished Professor of Social Ethics at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, and president of the Interdenominational Theological Center, both in Atlanta. He also served as a program officer in the Human Rights and Social Justice Program at the Ford Foundation (NY). In 2005, Dr. Franklin served as Theologian in Residence for The Chautauqua Institution (NY).
Since Dr. Franklin became president in 2007, Morehouse College has been recognized for being a premier institution for educating African American men and has been named the nation’s best liberal arts college by Washington Monthly. Under Dr. Franklin’s administration, the Howard Thurman Educational Trust Committee was convened to preserve, expand, and deepen the impact of Dr. Howard Thurman ’23, a noted alumnus who helped to transform modern American history. The College also has been the recipient of a number a major gifts, including $1.75 million from The Coca-Cola Company, $1 million from Delta Airlines for the Joseph E. Lowery Endowed Scholarship Fund, and a $2million, three-year planning grant from the Lilly Endowment for the WorldHouse Initiative Realized Program.
A core component of the College’s strategic plan is the internationalization of the campus, with a special emphasis on curriculum and travel abroad experiences. During the last four years, nearly 640 students have traveled to international destinations to study, conduct research, or render service. Additionally, an increasing number of faculty members are engaged in teaching and other programming at international institutions of higher learning.
Dr. Franklin’s vision for Morehouse is that the institution will produce Renaissance men--academically prepared, ethical leaders with a social conscience.
Franklin is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and the Kappa Boule of Sigma Pi Phi fraternity. He serves on numerous boards, including the Character Education Partnership (Washington,DC) and Public Broadcasting of Atlanta (WABE). Franklin is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; the Executive Committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Executive Committee); the HBCU Capital Financing Advisory Board; and the Naval War College Board of Advisors.
Dr. Franklin is the author of three books, Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope in African American Communities (2007), Another Day’s Journey: Black Churches Confronting the American Crisis (1997), and Liberating Visions: Human Fulfillment and Social Justice in African American Thought (1989).
He has provided commentaries for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and televised commentary for Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasting.
A native of Chicago, Dr. Franklin was educated at Morgan Park High School; Morehouse College (BA, 1975, Phi Beta Kappa); Harvard Divinity School (M.Div. 1978); and the University of Chicago Divinity School (Ph.D., 1985). In 1973, he received an English Speaking Union scholarship to attend the University of Durham in England. He is also the recipient of honorary degrees from Bethune Cookman University, Bates College, and Swarthmore College.
Franklin is married to Cheryl Goffney Franklin, M.D., an OB-GYN physician and graduate of Stanford University (B.A.), Columbia University School of Public Health (M.P.H.) and Harvard Medical School (M.D.). Franklin is the father of three children: Imani Renee Franklin; Robert M. Franklin, III and Julian Michael DeShazier. In 2005, DeShazier graduated from Morehouse College summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Franklin holds ministerial ordination from the nations largest Pentecostal denomination, Church of God in Christ, Worldwide (COGIC), headquarted in Memphis, TN.
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