# Gordon Daniel Morgan > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gordon_Daniel_Morgan > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gordon_Daniel_Morgan.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Daniel_Morgan > Source revision: 1315848506 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Gordon Daniel Morgan** (October 31, 1931 – December 17, 2019) was an American sociologist who became the first Black professor at the [University of Arkansas](/source/University_of_Arkansas) in 1969.[1][2] ## Life Gordon Morgan was born in 1931 in [Mayflower, Arkansas](/source/Mayflower,_Arkansas) to Roosevelt Morgan and Georgia Madlock Morgan. He went to college at the [Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College](/source/Arkansas_Agricultural,_Mechanical_%26_Normal_College) (the largest and oldest historically black college in the state, which later (re)joined the University of Arkansas system as University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff),[3] where he graduated in sociology in 1953.[4] Morgan served in the US Army from 1953 in the [Korean War](/source/Korean_War), and became first lieutenant in the artillery.[1] He continued graduate studies as one of the first Black students at the [University of Arkansas](/source/University_of_Arkansas) (MA in sociology, 1956),[5] and then continued at the [University of Minnesota](/source/University_of_Minnesota) and [Washington State University](/source/Washington_State_University) (PhD, 1961).[6][1][7][5] He married in 1957 with Izola Preston, and they had 4 children.[1] ## Academic After working as researcher in [Kampala](/source/Kampala), [Uganda](/source/Uganda) and teaching at his alma mater Arkansas AM&N and [Lincoln University (Missouri)](/source/Lincoln_University_(Missouri)), Morgan was hired as the first Black assistant professor at the University of Arkansas in 1969.[4][8] He did research on a range of topics, including the intersection between race and education, the Caribbean, the use of the dollar standard in African countries and sociology in general.[7][9] Morgan co-founded the university's Black Student Association in the wake of [Martin Luther King Jr.](/source/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.)[10][11] in 1969 and mentored thousands of students.[7] Morgan published multiple books, including *America without Ethnicity* (1981) and more for public consumption *The Edge of Campus: A Journal of the Black Experience at the University of Arkansas* (1990, together with his wife). Morgan retired in 2012. ## Recognition Morgan was appointed as 'University Professor', a distinguished status reserved for professors with national or international recognition that have extensive tenure.[7] The university named one of the student residence halls after him: Gordon Morgan Hall. ## References 1. ["Morgan, Gordon D. 1931–"](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/morgan-gordon-d-1931). *www.encyclopedia.com*. Retrieved 2020-06-18. 1. ["Interviews"](https://pryorcenter.uark.edu/interview.php?thisProject=Arkansas%20Memories&thisProfileURL=MORGAN-Gordon&displayName=&thisInterviewee=341). *Pryor Center - University of Arkansas*. Retrieved 2020-06-18. 1. ["History - University of Arkansas System"](https://www.uasys.edu/about/history-of-the-university-of-arkansas-system/). *University of Arkansas System*. Retrieved 2020-06-18. 1. ["First black professor hired by UA dies at 88"](https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/dec/19/first-black-professor-hired-by-ua-dies-/). *Arkansas Online*. 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2020-06-18. 1. Inlow, Alana (2020). ["Remembering Gordon Morgan, "first, last, and always a sociologist" | Sociology News | Washington State University"](https://soc.wsu.edu/socnews/remembering-gordon-morgan-first-last-and-always-a-sociologist/). *Sociology News - College of Arts & Sciences, Washington State University*. Retrieved 2020-06-18. 1. ["Tribute to Gordon Morgan from the BAS President | Arkansas Alumni Association's Blog"](https://blog.arkansasalumni.org/tribute-to-gordon-morgan-from-the-bas-president/). *blog.arkansasalumni.org*. Retrieved 2020-06-18. 1. ["Remembering a Trailblazer, Mentor and University Professor: Gordon Morgan"](https://news.uark.edu/articles/51865). *University of Arkansas News*. Retrieved 2020-06-18. 1. ["Gordon Morgan Interviews"](https://pryorcenter.uark.edu/interview.php?thisProject=Arkansas%20Memories&thisProfileURL=MORGAN-Gordon&displayName=%20Gordon%20%20Morgan%20&thisInterviewee=341). *pryorcenter.uark.edu*. Retrieved 2020-06-18. 1. ["Gordon Morgan | University of Arkansas"](https://fulbright.uark.edu/area-studies/african-and-african-american-studies/directory/gmorgan.php). *fulbright.uark.edu*. Retrieved 2020-06-18. 1. Komar, Sarah (2020-02-04). ["Professor's Legacy Continues Through Students, Faculty He Inspired"](http://www.uatrav.com/lifestyles/human_interest/article_3514490c-47d8-11ea-8ef9-c3122106eb84.html). *The Arkansas Traveler*. Retrieved 2020-06-18. 1. Willis, James F. (2009-10-28). [*Southern Arkansas University: The Mulerider School's Centennial History, 1909-2009*](https://books.google.com/books?id=YORGiegf3rAC&q=black+student+association+university+of+arkansas+founded). Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4415-5363-8. ## External links - [Gordon Morgan's papers](https://libraries.uark.edu/specialcollections/findingaids/ead/transform.php?xml=mc1844) in the Special Collections of the University of Arkansas Libraries --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gordon Daniel Morgan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Daniel_Morgan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Daniel_Morgan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.