HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENTS
Sandra L. Richard is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, where she leads the Firm's Global Sports & Entertainment Division and Segment Sales & Engagement Group. She has led an impressive career as a strategic and transformative business executive who champions change and is recognized nationally across the financial services industry.
At Morgan Stanley, Richard plays a significant role in the growth of the global unit and strategic leadership for more than 200 Financial Advisors, with the designation as a Global Sports and Entertainment Director in the Firm's Wealth Management business. She has helped Morgan Stanley's Global Sports and Entertainment business improve stagnated growth, set the foundation to expand international trade, and delivered proven methods for capturing significant revenue percentages from new high-net-worth clientele among athletes and entertainers.
Richards joined Morgan Stanley Wealth in 2007 as the Head of Segment Sales and Engagement Group, National Sales in Wealth Management. In that position, she drove a 30% increase in hiring diverse sales talent, attracted an unprecedented number of women in the industry, and successively formed the Women Financial Advisors Forum.
Before joining Morgan Stanley, Richards was the Development Officer and Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the Jackie Robinson Foundation, a national non-profit organization with strong ties to professional sports teams and owners. Richards fundamentally multiplied cash and year-over-year sponsorships with vital corporate executives and private foundation officials, which inspired board members to think more strategically.
The author of the children's book Rice and Rocks, Richards, visits schools to encourage literacy and celebrate diversity and culture. She has been a visiting author at Medgar Evers College, distributing her book to School of Education students to use in their fieldwork experience.
Sandra earned her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Masters of Public Administration in Judicial Administration from Seton Hall University. She has also completed The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports program at Harvard Executive Education, The Harvard Business School, The ASCENT Leadership Program, Tuck Executive Education, and Dartmouth College. Sandra is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and serves as the board Vice-Chair of Music's Promise.
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe is an American Professional Basketball player, Hall of Famer, and Entrepreneur. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Monroe was a playground legend from an early age. His high school teammates at John Bartram High School called him “Thomas Edison” because of the many moves he invented. Monroe was interested in soccer and baseball when he was younger, but by age 14, he had grown to 6 foot 3 and caught high school basketball coaches’ eye. Monroe played center most of his youth. His shake and bake moves originated in the tough contests on Philly’s asphalt playgrounds.
Monroe rose to national prominence while a student at then-Division II Winston-Salem State University. Under Hall of Fame coach Clarence Gaines, Monroe averaged 7.1 points his freshman year, 23.2 points as a sophomore, 29.8 as a junior, and 41.5 points his senior year. During that 1966-1967 season, Jerry McLeese, a sportswriter for the Winston-Salem Journal, called Monroe’s points “Earl’s Pearls.” Fans began to chant “Earl the Super Pearl,” and the nickname was born. In 1967, Monroe earned NCAA College Division Player of the year honors, leading Winston-Salem to the 1967 NCAA College Division Championship with a 77-74 victory over SW Missouri State. After Monroe graduated from Winston-Salem State, he passed the National Teacher’s Exam.
Monroe remains the leading scorer in CIAA basketball history. Spectators were amazed by Monroe’s number of points and how he scored them. His shots went in often enough for Monroe to compile a respectable .464 career field-goal percentage and earn four All-Star Game appearances. More importantly, he was a key leader in the late 1960s, and early 1970’s on the Baltimore Bullets and the New York Knicks. Former NBA Player and US Senator Bill Bradley described Monroe as the “ultimate playground player.” In 1985, Monroe was named commissioner of the United States Basketball League. In1989, Monroe was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA 75thAnniversary Team in 2021. Also, in 2021, the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School, a charter co-ed, tuition-free high school, was founded in the Bronx
Throughout his career, Monroe has remained active in the community. He has sponsored sports and fitness clinics and promoted literacy through the Literary Assistance Fund. He worked to bring basketball courts to local playgrounds in neighborhoods near Medgar Evers College in partnership with The Crown Heights Youth Collective. In 2008, Monroe was awarded a Peabody for producing the four-hour documentary Black Magic. The film examined the civil rights era through the lens of basketball at historically black colleges and universities.