BGE Scholars Program Establishes Scholarships at Morgan State University

15 MSU Students to Receive $10,000 scholarships Each in 2021

BALTIMORE – BGE today announced a new partnership with Morgan State University and two other Maryland HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) to award scholarships to full-time students majoring in STEM. Each of the universities—Bowie State University, Coppin State University, and Morgan—will receive a $200,000 grant in 2021 to provide funding for $10,000 scholarships to 15 “BGE Scholars.”

“These scholarships are a critical tool to help students complete their studies affordably. By helping remove barriers to success, we hope that these talented individuals will have an opportunity to fulfill their full potential,” said BGE president and CEO Carim Khouzami. “In addition to the scholarships, we are also committed to building deeper relationships with the students through summer internships, providing mentors, and job shadowing opportunities. These career exposing activities will help students to gain a better appreciation of how their studies can translate into a career.”

BGE and the universities will also work to build their partnerships beyond financial support to help advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Maryland.

“BGE is a valued partner to Morgan and has continuously demonstrated its support of the vital role Maryland HBCUs play in addressing inequity by preparing students for future success and exposing them to transformative opportunities,” said David Wilson, president of Morgan State University. “We appreciate and embrace this opportunity to enhance our partnership through this generous investment in Morgan scholars and look forward to the future fruit it will bear by keeping more students engaged, enlightened, and most importantly enrolled.”

To be eligible for the scholarships, students must be a Maryland resident, maintain a minimum 2.8 GPA, major in a STEM field, and demonstrate financial need.

An additional $50,000 will be used to fund persistence grants at each school, and is available to any student to cover costs that might interfere with a student’s ability to continue college, such as text books, transportation, technology or food insecurities.

“BGE recognizes the role that HBCUs play as anchor institutions and in creating opportunity for economic equity and mobility, leading and supporting community development efforts, and supporting students experiencing systematic and generational marginalization,” said Rodney Oddoye, BGE’s senior vice president of governmental and external affairs. “Because of this, BGE has deepened our focus on supporting our region’s HBCUs which are uniquely positioned to directly and dramatically impact communities of color.”

BGE’s partnership with local HBCUs is aligned with Exelon's broader effort to support HBCUs via a partnership with the United Negro College Fund.

About BGE

BGE is Maryland's largest natural gas and electric utility, providing safe and reliable energy delivery to more than 1.3 million electric customers and more than 680,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. The company was founded in 1816 as the nation's first gas utility and remains headquartered in Baltimore City to this day. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (Nasdaq: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider. Engage with the latest BGE stories on bgenow.com and connect with BGE on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Morgan

Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering more than 130 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. 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.

Media Contacts:

Larry Jones or Dell Jackson
443-885-3022