Hugh Morris Gloster (May 11, 1911 - February 16, 2002) was the seventh president of

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

, responsible for establishing the Morehouse School of Medicine and the international studies program,. He was also one of the founders of the College Language Association.

Early years

Hugh Gloster was born in Brownsville, Tennessee to John and Dora Gloster and grew up in Memphis. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Gloster was USO Program Director at

Fort Huachuca Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation, established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca. The garrison is now under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is in Cochise County in southeast Arizona, appr ...

and USO Associate Regional Executive in Atlanta. After that, he served as an administrator with the

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

and the Hampton Institute. Before moving to Morehouse in 1967, Gloster taught at LeMoyne and Morehouse Colleges.

Morehouse College

Gloster was chosen as Morehouse's next president by Benjamin Mays, the previous president, with the agreement of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., then on the board of trustees. He was the first alumnus president of Morehouse College. Under Gloster's leadership the campus Morehouse doubled in size, as well as in the number of faculty members and their salaries. After retiring he served on the Morehouse College Board of Trustees until his death.

Personal life

Gloster was married three times, to Louise Elisabeth Torrence, Beulah Victoria Harold, and Yvonne King Gloster. He had three children and four step-children. On September 3, 1942 Gloster was beaten, arrested, and thrown off of the Jim Crow coach when he asked the conductor if two white occupants could move to another coach, due to overcrowding. Gloster signed a statement under duress and was fined $10, admitting to disorderly conduct and breaking Jim Crow law after he was threatened with a long jail term or a chain-gang sentence. Ironically, Spike Lee referenced Gloster as having voiced discriminating comments against Black people with dark complexion. Lee stated that Gloster complained that the actor portraying the college president in "School Daze" was too dark skinned.

Death and legacy

Hugh Gloster died on January 16, 2002, at the age of 90. The Hugh Gloster building of the medical school is named for him.

Publications

* Negro Voices in American Fiction (1948) * The Brown thrush : anthology of verse by Negro students (1935)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gloster, Hugh 1911 births 2002 deaths Presidents of Morehouse College 20th-century American academics