Morgan State University’s School of Community Health and Policy Receives 2026 Health Professions HEED Award
First-Time National Honor Recognizes SCHP’s Commitment to Academic Excellence, Health Equity, Student Success and Community-Engaged Health Education
BALTIMORE — Morgan State University’s School of Community Health and Policy (SCHP) has been named a recipient of the 2026 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED) Award from Insight Into Academia magazine, marking the first time the School has earned the national distinction.
The Health Professions HEED Award recognizes U.S. and Canadian health profession schools that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to academic excellence, belonging and inclusive practices. Award recipients are distinguished for addressing critical health concerns, developing pathways for students entering the health professions and fostering cultures of excellence and innovation.
Morgan’s SCHP was selected following a rigorous review process that evaluates institutional leadership, student and employee recruitment and retention, campus climate, and innovative community outreach and support programs.
“Receiving the Health Professions HEED Award is a tremendous affirmation of Morgan’s commitment to preparing the next generation of health professionals,” said Hongtao Yu, DSc., provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at Morgan. “Congratulations to the leadership, faculty and staff of our School of Community Health and Policy whose dedication, expertise and mission-driven work have made this distinction possible. This national recognition is a well-deserved tribute to their excellence and the important work they carry forward every day.”
As the first doctoral-granting, urban practice-based community health program at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), SCHP occupies a distinctive position in health professions education. Its academic enterprise encompasses Public Health and Allied Health, Nursing and Nutritional Sciences and serves more than 1,800 undergraduate and graduate students. Through community-based participatory research and applied learning, students are prepared to address longstanding, systemic health disparities and improve health outcomes in underserved and under-resourced communities. SCHP ranks among the University’s top five schools in enrollment at every degree level (the only school to hold that distinction), driven by its strong undergraduate nursing and graduate public health programs, which prepare workforce-ready graduates to address critical health profession shortages, particularly among diverse practitioners.
The award comes amid a period of significant achievement and growth for SCHP.
The School is home to Morgan’s Center for Urban Health Equity (CUHE), established in 2021 to advance community-informed research addressing health inequities in diverse communities and among urban populations nationwide. The Center and SCHP have secured more than $15 million in federal grants supporting maternal and child health equity initiatives, including a five-year federal award of more than $11 million through which Morgan leads a network of research centers at HBCUs nationwide examining the underlying causes of disparities in maternal mortality.
SCHP’s Department of Nursing has also recorded notable gains in academic quality and student outcomes. Following a comprehensive review, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education extended accreditation of Morgan’s baccalaureate nursing program for the maximum 10-year term. Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates achieved a 100% first-time pass rate on the NCLEX-RN licensure examination in 2025, outperforming statewide and national averages and positioning Morgan among the nation’s highest-performing nursing programs.
The academic preparation is translating directly into community impact, evidenced in a comprehensive initiative with Baltimore City Public Schools: Morgan’s Department of Nursing is providing pediatric nursing services in health suites at five city schools, helping address the regional shortage of school nurses while expanding opportunities for the University to deploy its health expertise in service to Baltimore communities.
The School has also attracted philanthropic investment in its students and academic mission. A $1 million gift from the Bedford Falls Foundation established support for need-based Bachelor of Science in Nursing scholarships, student success and faculty development through the Joanne and William Conway Nursing Scholarship. Building on that partnership, Morgan’s Department of Nursing was selected to participate in the inaugural Academic Nursing Innovation Fellows (ANI Fellows) Program, a national initiative of the Bedford Falls Foundation and the Elisabeth C. DeLuca Foundation designed to transform nursing education and strengthen the future healthcare workforce.
Through urban agriculture, food access and its “food as medicine” approach, the Nutritional Sciences program echoes the strong community-conscious foundation of SCHP. Its campus greenhouse provides hands-on learning in urban farming while helping students and community members understand food deserts, nutrition and holistic health, complemented by groundbreaking geospatial mapping research that brings researchers and residents together to address community needs. New scholarship funding for undergraduate and graduate students is further strengthening the program’s capacity to advance nutrition education, research and community impact.
“At Morgan, academic excellence and community impact are intrinsically aligned—they are very intentional, not coincidental,” said Kim Dobson Sydnor, Ph.D., SCHP’s dean and director of CUHE. “Through the School of Community Health and Policy, we are developing highly skilled practitioners and researchers who understand that improving health outcomes requires innovation, engagement and a willingness to confront disparities where they exist. This national recognition validates that important work and the extraordinary faculty, staff and students driving it forward.”
The Health Professions HEED Award is part of the national HEED recognition program established in 2012. The health professions distinction was created specifically to recognize the unique educational environments of health-related schools and colleges. Awarded by Insight Into Diversity to Insight Into Academia, the oldest and largest publication focused on best practices in higher education. The HEED Awards comprise numerous categories and distinctions recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to academic excellence, belonging, and community-building across all levels of campus life.
“We use a detailed scoring process as well as a holistic approach to reviewing each application to determine who will be named a HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where academic excellence and belonging are woven into the work being done every day across their campus,” said Lenore Pearlstein, co-publisher of Insight Into Academia magazine.
Morgan State University’s School of Community Health and Policy will be featured, along with 60 other recipients, in the October 2026 issue of Insight Into Academia magazine.
About Morgan
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering more than 150 baccalaureate, master’s degree, doctorate and certificate programs. As Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
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