The College Language Association mourns the loss of Dr. Hugh Morris Gloster, distinguished president emeritus of Morehouse College (1967-1987), who died Saturday morning, February 16, during the institution’s Founders’ Week in Atlanta, Georgia.  In 1937 Dr. Gloster, along with nine other scholars from historically black colleges and universities, was the Founding Father of the College Language Association (CLA) at Lemoyne College in Memphis, Tennessee.  Moreover, he was the first president of this distinguished organization (1937-38) and he served a second term (1948-50) during the post-World War II era.   The CLA is privileged to have had its founder and first president on its executive board for 65 years.  Dr. Gloster will be greatly missed, for we had looked forward so much to honoring him at the April, 2002 convention in the city of our birth.  Nevertheless, we will still pay homage to this fallen giant and celebrate the legacy he passed on to us. 

Dr. Gloster was born and reared in Brownsville, Tennessee.  He received a B.A. degree from Morehouse College (1931), an M.A. from Atlanta University (1933), and a Ph.D. in English from New York University (1943).  In addition, he was the recipient of the CLA President’s Award (1997), the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, and a Lifetime Achievement Award at Hampton University (1999).  Dr. Gloster was a prominent educator, scholar and world traveler whose most well-known work was NEGRO VOICES IN AMERICAN FICTION (1948).  Before he retired from Morehouse College, Dr. Gloster was named by his peers as one of the 100 best college presidents in the nation.  In addition, he served as a member of the Morehouse College Board of Trustees until his death.  Articles by several CLA scholars about Dr. Gloster’s contributions to higher education and to the CLA can be found in THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION (July 22, 1987), CALL AND RESPONSE: THE RIVERSIDE ANTHOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERARY TRADITION (1998) and THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BLACK AMERICA (1988).  Dr. Gloster is survived by his devoted wife, Mrs. Yvonne Gloster, Esq., several children and grandchildren.  

Funeral services for Dr. Gloster will be held on Thursday, February 21, 2002, at 11:00 a.m., in the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel, Morehouse College Campus, in Atlanta, Georgia.  Arrangements are by Carl Williams Funeral Home, 492 Larkin Street, Atlanta, Georgia, (404) 522-8454.  CLA will be well represented by its current president Dellita Martin-Ogunsola and many members at Dr. Gloster’s homegoing celebration.

The family welcomes various expressions of condolences and strongly encourages donations to one of two scholarship funds in his honor: (1) the Hugh M. Gloster Endowed Scholarship Fund for English majors at Morehouse College; (2) the Hugh M. Gloster Endowed Scholarship Fund of the CLA, established in 1999.  To make a contribution to the CLA Gloster Endowed Scholarship Fund, please contact Dr. James J. Davis, Office of the Treasurer, The College Language Association, 12138 Central Avenue, Suite 576, Mitchellville, MD 20721-1932.