Morgan State University Presents:

HONORS CONVOCATION 

Excellence: Honoring Morgan's Brightest and Best

Since the beginning of the 1989-90 academic year,  Morgan began a year-long celebration of African-American History and Culture to be marked by monthly convocations at which the Morgan Community reminds itself of the achievements of its past and the imperative for even greater triumphs in its future and at which it honors the great contributors to African-American history and culture. The Honors Convocation is the ninth convocation in the Convocation Series for the academic year at Morgan State University. It is the convocation at which the University acknowledges and rewards outstanding student achievement, particularly those students earning Dean's List status during the 2023 spring and fall semesters.

All freshmen and sophomores are required to attend this Convocation.

Faculty members are encouraged to require their students to attend this event and to give them assignments associated with this Convocation.

Keynote Speaker: Joyann Ferguson, Justice of the Bahamian Supreme Court and an Adjunct Professor in the Dept. of Law and Criminal Justice at the University of the Bahamas 

A graduate of Queen’s College High School, Nassau, The Bahamas, she pursued tertiary education at The College of the Bahamas, now the University of the Bahamas, where in 1985, her exemplary work ethic and scholarly prowess enabled her to graduate as class valedictorian with an Associate of Arts degree in Sociology/Psychology. Justice Ferguson furthered her studies at Morgan State University, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology/Criminal Justice. She then commenced legal studies in England at the University of Buckingham. Upon completing her law degree in England, she satisfied all the requirements to be called to the bar of England and Wales in 1997 by The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn. Subsequently, she returned to the Bahamas where she was admitted to The Bahamas Bar in 1998. She initialized her career as an attorney at the Attorney General’s Office of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in the entry position as a Criminal Prosecutor, and eventually was elevated to the post of Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions. Additionally, she held other leadership positions in the legal profession, including Deputy Registrar at the Registrar General’s Department.

In July 2023, Ferguson was appointed Acting Justice of the Supreme Court and was later confirmed in 2024, in the Criminal Division, where her calendar focuses on all serious indictable offenses. In discharging her duties, she is highly noted for her keen attention to analytical detail, as well as the expeditious movement of cases.

Justice Ferguson is a philanthropist and noted motivational speaker, who passionately addresses individuals on pertinent issues affecting social, educational, and spiritual development.