08/07/2020
Morgan Mourns The Loss of a Legend: Dr. Clara I. Adams
Please see a message from President Wilson below
Dear Morgan Family,
I am so saddened to inform you this afternoon of the passing of a Morgan legend, Dr. Clara I. Adams. She passed away earlier this morning. Dr. Adams is a distinguished graduate of Morgan State College. She earned the Bachelor of Science Degree (summa cm laude) in chemistry here and, three years later, took the Master of Science Degree at Iowa State College. Later she earned the Doctor of Philosophy Degree at the University of Massachusetts (in cooperation with Smith College, Mt. Holyoke College and Amherst College), where she focused her research on “Local Order in Alkali-Halide Solid Solutions.”
After being graduated from Morgan, Dr. Adams served as a research fellow at the Ames Laboratory of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, while pursuing the master’s degree at Iowa. Thereafter, she was employed as a chemist at the National Heart Institute of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Her long tenure on the faculty and administration at Morgan began in 1959, when she was appointed Assistant Professor of Chemistry. After taking leave from Morgan, and while pursuing her doctorate at Massachusetts, she was a Teaching Fellow and a Research Fellow at Smith College; and she returned to her Alma Mater in 1968 as Associate Professor of Chemistry. Her ascendancy from that moment was steady and sure-footed. From 1973 to 1975, after receiving her doctorate in 1970, she was Professor of Chemistry and Chairperson of the Chemistry Department. From 1975 to 1985, she was Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, and, after her ten-year tenure in that position, she was selected to head the Academic Division at Morgan.
Dr. Adams was appointed Vice President for Academic Affairs at Morgan in January 1986, after serving as acting Vice President for Academic Affairs from July to December 1985. She was appointed to the post of chief academic officer on the unanimous recommendation of the search committee, and she entered into this position during a time of critical challenges to Morgan’s survival—one that questioned the quality of academic programs and proposed the merger of Maryland’s historically black colleges and universities into a larger University of Maryland System. The calm elegance and intrepid persistence with which she maintained the integrity of Morgan’s academic program made her near-twenty--year tenure as Vice President for Academic Affairs one of the most significant in Morgan’s history.
Under the leadership and the watchful eye of Vice President Clara I. Adams, the Academic Division grew and was enhanced, and Morgan, as a consequence, moved steadily toward becoming a university, not only in name, but also in fact. Growth in virtually every aspect of the academic program was significant, sometimes phenomenal. Under Dr. Adams’s watch, five new bachelor’s degree programs, six new master’s degree programs, and 11 new doctoral programs were approved or implemented; the quality of students entering and graduating from Morgan increased; all eligible academic programs achieved national accreditation; sponsored research increased exponentially, and Morgan led other state institutions in the graduation of minorities in many fields.
Dr. Adams, a true Renaissance Woman, while making significant scholarly contributions to her field by publishing in the Journal of Organic Chemistry, A**lytical Chemistry and A**l. Chem. ACTA, has been involved extensively in the community and in professional organizations associated with higher education. On the Council of Graduate Studies, she served on a number of committees and was regional representative on its Board of Directors. For the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools, she served on the Executive Committee for two years and led the organization as President, 1984-86. She served as both Vice President and President of the Conference of Deans of Black Graduate Schools and held membership on the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Other affiliations include the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association of University Professors, the American Chemical Society, the Association of American Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges (Commission on Higher Education, periodic review teams), and the Quality Education for Minorities Network, on which she served as a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer. In 2010, she was named a Living Legend for her work in higher education by the Associated Black Charities of Maryland.
Her community involvement has been broad and varied. It includes, among many others, membership on the Boards (Directors, Trustees and Overseers) of the National Aquarium, Morgan Christian and Interfaith Center, and Baltimore School for the Arts; and membership on many community development, educational and cultural associations.
After serving as Vice President for Academic Affairs for nearly 20 years, Dr. Adams was appointed Special Assistant to the President in 2004, a position in which she served for 14 years, until her retirement in August 2018, bringing to a close one of the longest service records in the history of Morgan State University—59 years! The Clara I. Adams Honors College is named for her.
She was a mother to many of us, and knew more about the history of Morgan than anyone I know. I relied on her wisdom, her devotion to Morgan, and her judgement.
We will miss Dr. Adams more than any of us can process at this moment.
With sadness,
President Wilson
On behalf of the Howard L. Cornish Chapter of the Morgan State University Alumni Association,
I would like to send my condolences to the family and loved ones of Dr. Adams.
