MORRIS COLLEGE PRESIDENT CALLS FOR NEW “MORRIS MINDSET” INSPIRED BY SOUTH CAROLINA INNOVATION PIONEER
SUMTER, S.C. — October 1, 2026 On the heels of a landmark technology partnership with Denmark Technical College and securing $1.25 million for a new Small Business Entrepreneur Incubator Center, Morris College President Dr. Said Sewell is calling for a renewed culture of innovation inspired by Sumter County native George Washington Murray.
Born September 22, 1853, Murray rose from Sumter County to become a U.S. Congressman, inventor and advocate for agricultural and industrial enterprise.
In a recent op-ed published in Carolina Panorama, Sewell connects Murray’s legacy of ingenuity and enterprise to the future of Morris College and proposes an annual statewide George Washington Murray Innovation Day each September.
The idea also reflects what Sewell calls The Morris Mindset, a shared culture of excellence that challenges students, faculty and staff to master, lead, succeed and serve as the College advances The Morris Movement, its strategic vision for the future.
“George Washington Murray proved that ingenuity knows no boundaries, using his mind to create enterprise out of the very soil of Sumter County,” Sewell said. “In today’s technology-driven landscape, we need that same spirit of innovation. Morris College is building an environment where our students can transform ideas into enterprise and help lead the next wave of progress.”
That environment is already taking shape.
A new academic alliance between Morris College and Denmark Technical College is expanding opportunities for students in high-demand fields, while a $1.25 million federal investment will support development of Morris College’s Small Business Entrepreneur Incubator Center, creating new capacity for entrepreneurship, workforce development and economic impact.
Together, these efforts demonstrate the Morris Mindset in action and advance the broader aspirations of The Morris Movement: strengthening academic relevance, modernizing the institution, expanding opportunity and increasing Morris College’s impact.
By reconnecting Murray’s legacy with the possibilities of the present, Sewell hopes Morris College can help inspire a new generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and technology professionals in Sumter and across South Carolina.
The full editorial, “Inspired by the Past, Ready for a New Mindset,” is available in Carolina Panorama. For more information about The Morris Movement and Morris College, visit the College’s website at www.morris.edu.
About Morris College Founded in 1908 by the Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina, Morris College is a historically Black, coeducational liberal arts institution in Sumter, South Carolina. Its mission is to produce graduates who can pursue useful and productive careers and, in doing so, enhance their own lives and the society in which they take their places.
Contact:
LAURA NEWSOME @ 803-934-3201
100 West College Street, Sumter, S.C. 29150
[email protected]
Date: October 1, 2026