Earl Richardson was a Black college president — “armed with history,” as a colleague described him — when he led a 15-year-long lawsuit that ended in a historic settlement for four Black schools in Maryland and put a spotlight on funding disparities for all of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Richardson’s death, at 81, was announced on Saturday by Morgan State University, located in Baltimore, where he served as president when he helped organize the lawsuit that began in 2006. It was settled in 2021 when the state of Maryland agreed to give $577 million in supplemental funding over 10 years to four HBCUs.

Richardson led Morgan State from 1984 to 2010 and he had long chafed at stretching the little funding he got from the state. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs argued that Maryland had historically underfunded its Black colleges and had put them at a disadvantage by starting and boosting similar programs at nearby majority-white schools.

David Burton, one of the plaintiffs, told NPR that the case was compared to Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark lawsuit that brought up similar issues of disparities in educational opportunities for Black students, but the Maryland case raised the issues for students in higher education.

In 1990, when Richardson was a new school president, students took over the administration building for six days to protest the school’s dilapidated classrooms and dorms, with roofs that leaked and science labs stocked with outdated equipment.

Edwin Johnson was one of those student protesters. “We originally were protesting against Morgan’s administration,” including Richardson, he said. “But then after we dig and do a little research, we find out it’s not our administration, but it’s the governor down in Annapolis that isn’t equipping the administration with what they need to appropriately run the school.”

The protest ended when the students marched 34 miles to Annapolis to demand a meeting with the governor.

Richardson, who spoke of taking part in civil rights demonstrations when he was in school, had subtly guided the students to the correct target, said Johnson, who is now the university’s historian and special assistant to the provost.

That protest helped pave the way to the future, historic lawsuit.

Because Richardson was the university’s president, and an employee of the state, he couldn’t sue the state. So, a coalition of students and former students was created, the Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education Inc., to serve as the plaintiff.

Still, Richardson was the visionary behind the lawsuit, said Burton, a Morgan State alumnus and now a strategic planner for businesses. “He was armed with history,” Burton said.

“Dr. Richardson knew where the skeletons were,” Burton added. He was “a force that the state could not reckon with because of his institutional knowledge.”

At one point, during the trial, state attorneys objected to Richardson’s presence in the courtroom and asked the judge to make him leave, even though he had a right to be there as an expert witness, said Jon Greenbaum, then the chief counsel of the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, who helped argue the lawsuit.

Richardson stayed in the courtroom and “because this was really a desegregation case,” said Greenbaum, he provided historical detail that became critical to the arguments made by the lawyers representing the plaintiffs.

The funding that resulted, and Richardson’s leadership, jump-started what is now called on campus “Morgan’s Renaissance.” Or sometimes, said Johnson: “Richardson’s Renaissance” — because during Richardson’s presidency, enrollment doubled, the campus expanded with new buildings and new schools were added, including a school of architecture and a school of social work.

Richardson’s work put a spotlight, too, on the funding disparities faced by HBCUs across the country. They are more likely than other schools to rely upon federal, state and local funding — money that has faced budget cuts in recent years. Compared to other universities and colleges, HBCUs get a higher percentage of their revenue from tuition and less from private gifts and grants, according to one study.

In testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, Richardson emphasized the mission of HBCUs when he told lawmakers that Black schools like his educated the most talented Black students but also sought to attract students who didn’t consider, or thought they couldn’t afford, to go to college. “We can make them the scientists and the engineers and the teachers and the professors — all of those things,” he said. But only if “we can have our institutions develop to a level of comparability and parity so that we are as competitive as other institutions.”

Chennai: When Akansha (name changed) fumbled over a poorly worded maths question in her unit test, it wasn’t her teacher but an AI tool that came to her defence — flagging the flaw in the question and praising her for critical thinking instead of marking her wrong.“The software we are testing pointed out that though the student did not answer the question in a conventional sense, she possessed a critical-thinking ability that surpassed other students. It also pointed out that teachers should have framed the question better,” said Lakshmi Priya, principal, Prasan Vidya Mandir.Increasingly, private schools are purchasing tech and enterprise resource platforms to help teachers understand students’ mindsets better. Primarily set for elementary grades, up to Class V, these tools reduce the workload of teachers and help avoid bias creeping in during evaluation, Uma Kannan, owner, Sri Venkateshwara Institutions, said. “We experimented with a tool called AI Samrat in four of our schools. The improvements were very evident. Manually, it is difficult for teachers to understand where a student lacks if the class strength is high,” she added.Some schools started with a holistic progress card before transitioning into AI tools, which aligns with the vision outlined in the NEP. In this case, the answer sheets are manually corrected and uploaded onto the software. “The software then tells us ways to improve. Parents are also encouraged to provide their inputs for the holistic progress of a child,” said Radha Srikanth, principal, SV High, Arumbakkam.Chitra Ravi, founder of Chrysalis AI, a platform that provides such tools to schools, said there was a need for teachers to update themselves on the tech front to cater to students better. “AI constantly upgrades, and with time, we can even provide tech that can bring in a deeper assessment,” she added.Some schools, such as The Indian Public Schools, have also designed their own AI curriculum instead of purchasing software. Experts are appointed to train teachers in AI models that simplify lessons and draft assessments for students.“While the vision is to be appreciated, over-reliance on technology by teachers can eventually lead to them slacking off. There always has to be a human touch,” said Arumainathan, president, TN Students Parents Welfare Association.

In the rapidly evolving world of higher education, artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept but a practical tool reshaping how professors teach and students learn. At the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, mechanical engineering professor John Abraham has emerged as a vocal advocate for integrating AI into the classroom, viewing it not as a threat but as an enhancer of human potential. In a recent interview with FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Abraham detailed how he incorporates AI in his courses, emphasizing its role in fostering deeper understanding rather than replacing traditional methods.

Abraham, who also researches climate science and thermal sciences, argues that AI can handle rote tasks, freeing students to focus on critical thinking and creativity. He described using AI for simulations in engineering problems, allowing students to experiment with complex models that would otherwise be time-consuming. This approach aligns with broader trends in education, where tools like ChatGPT are being harnessed to personalize learning experiences.

Embracing AI for Personalized Education

Recent discussions on social media platform X highlight a growing consensus among educators that AI can democratize access to tailored instruction. Posts from users like educators and tech enthusiasts note how AI analyzes student performance in real-time, identifying weaknesses and suggesting customized resources—much like Abraham’s methods at St. Thomas. For instance, one X thread from early 2025 praised AI’s ability to accelerate learning by providing instant feedback, echoing Abraham’s own classroom experiments.

Yet, this integration isn’t without challenges. Abraham acknowledges concerns about academic integrity, stressing the need for guidelines to prevent misuse. In his FOX 9 appearance, he shared how he designs assignments that require students to explain AI-generated outputs, turning potential shortcuts into opportunities for deeper analysis. This mirrors sentiments in a The Atlantic article from August 2025, which reported that nearly all incoming college freshmen are already using AI for homework, signaling a shift that institutions must address proactively.

Broader Implications for STEM Fields

Abraham’s work extends beyond the classroom; he’s co-authored a book on AI in heat transfer, as covered in a July 2025 University of St. Thomas Newsroom piece, demonstrating how AI revolutionizes thermal sciences by predicting outcomes in ways humans can’t match. He envisions AI preventing real-world disasters, like bridge collapses, through predictive modeling—a topic he explored in another St. Thomas study from earlier this year.

Industry insiders see this as part of a larger movement. A Chronicle of Higher Education report from September 2025 notes that most colleges lack comprehensive AI policies, leaving professors like Abraham to pioneer their own. On X, debates rage about AI’s potential to undermine traditional grading, with one viral post from June 2025 claiming it spells the “death of education” due to undetectable cheating, yet Abraham counters this by integrating AI ethically.

Navigating Ethical and Practical Hurdles

To mitigate risks, Abraham advocates for transparency. In his St. Thomas classes, students must disclose AI usage, fostering accountability. This stance is supported by insights from a St. John’s University event in October 2024, where experts discussed AI as a complement to, not a substitute for, human teaching.

Looking ahead, Abraham’s optimism is tempered by calls for broader preparation. A recent MPR News segment featuring St. Thomas colleague Thomas Feeney, published just hours ago on the University of St. Thomas Newsroom, emphasized understanding AI’s societal implications. As web searches reveal, schools nationwide are grappling with similar issues, from AI-driven plagiarism detection to emotional analysis in classrooms, as noted in Benzinga posts on X from September 2025.

Future Prospects and Institutional Adaptation

Ultimately, Abraham’s approach at St. Thomas could serve as a model for other institutions. By blending AI with hands-on engineering, he’s preparing students for a job market where AI proficiency is essential. Recent X discussions, including those from tech leaders like Arvind Narayanan in March 2025, suggest separating credentialing from learning to adapt to AI’s disruptions.

As education adapts, figures like Abraham remind us that AI’s true value lies in augmenting human ingenuity. With ongoing innovations, such as his work on AI for climate energy solutions detailed in a June 2025 WCCO Radio interview via the University of St. Thomas Newsroom, the professor is not just teaching about AI—he’s living its transformative power.