Howard University in Spotlight with Recent Hires, VP Harris

 

"It's official!"

Howard University announced on Twitter as Kamala Harris took the oath of office as Vice¹ President of the United States on January 20 earlier this year.

Right away, Harris became Howard's best-known graduate, passing even Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme² Court justice. Harris graduated in 1986. Marshall received his law degree in 1934.

Howard is one of about 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, known as HBCUs, in the U.S. HBCUs started in the late 1800s so Black Americans could go to college at a time when many universities did not accept them.

Howard, about three kilometers from the White House, was founded in 1867. Its long list of famous graduates includes Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison, and actors Chadwick Boseman and Phylicia Rashad.

Boseman starred in several recent Hollywood movies, including "Black Panther." Boseman, just 43, died of cancer last August. Rashad graduated in 1970. She became famous as Claire Huxtable in the popular television series "The Cosby Show."

For most universities, having a graduate as the first female U.S. Vice President would be the year's most important moment. But for Howard, the news kept getting better.

In May, Rashad returned to the university to be the leader of the College of Fine Arts. And in July, two important Black writers, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Nikole Hannah-Jones accepted long-term teaching positions at Howard.

Ta-Nehisi Coates won the National Book Award for Between the World and Me. Hannah-Jones won the Pulitzer Prize as the creator of The New York Times' 1619 Project. Both could have gone to teach at any university, but they chose Howard. Hannah-Jones said she wanted to be at a school where she would be welcomed and not just tolerated.

"The buzz has been fantastic"

The moves signaled Howard's plan to become more than just a college for Black Americans. It wants to be a place where the nation's leading scholars and thinkers come to teach.

"The buzz has been fantastic," said Anthony Wutoh about the three new professors. He is the school's provost and a Howard graduate. The provost is one of a university's top leaders. Wutoh said the hires are part of Howard's recent improvement plan.

"... that as we continue to be increasingly a destination of choice for the best students and we can assure them that they will receive the best quality education, period, not only as a historically black college or university but the strongest academic experience that they can receive among the best institutions in the country."

Black students always saw Howard as a great place to study, make lifelong friendships and take leadership roles in student organizations. Even Harris, who ran and won the offices of attorney general and U.S. senator in California, says the most difficult political race she ever ran was for a position on the school's student council.

Students' experience

It's not just politics, arts, journalism³ and medicine that is causing people to think more about Howard. The school's sports teams are also getting some attention. Once the football and basketball teams at major universities in Texas, Alabama and Georgia accepted Black student-players in the 1960s, some of the best stopped going to HBCUs like Howard.

Just recently, NBA basketball star Steph Curry⁴ gave Howard $3 million to support its golf team. And Makur Maker⁵, a basketball player from South Sudan who mostly grew up in Australia, became one of the highest-rated players to join Howard in many years. He had considered strong college basketball teams including UCLA, Kentucky and Memphis before choosing Howard.

Jonathan Rhone will start his final year at Howard later this month. The chemical engineering student grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. Although his parents met at Howard, he was not sure if he wanted to go there. At one point he thought he would go to the University of Colorado. But after three years, he is happy about his choice.

"One thing that's useful is that you get to focus more on your actual experience rather than focusing on a lot of external factors like worrying if you're going to be fitting in socially."

Rhone added that he met a lot of people at Howard who are "living proof" that you can go to an HBCU and "have a very, very successful life."

Rhone observed that Howard's president, Dr. Wayne Frederick, has been "aggressive" in spreading the word about Howard, especially its graduate programs, such as the medical school. Frederick worked as a cancer surgeon before taking the leadership role at Howard.

Jheannelle Johnson will start her second year at Howard after a year of learning from home in Florida because of COVID-19 restrictions⁶. She said she is excited to meet other students and professors in person. But she is perhaps most excited about joining a large Black community in Washington.

Drawing new students

Inside Higher Ed is a publication that centers on colleges and universities in the U.S. It calls 2021 a "breakthrough" year for many HBCUs in terms of drawing new students.

At Howard, Wutoh said the school is also drawing international students from Africa, the Caribbean, and surprisingly, Nepal.

"Many of whom are interested in information technology majors: computer science, computer engineering, information systems and it really started with one or two students who came to Howard had a great experience, and by word of mouth, you know, spread to other young people in Nepal."

Last year, Howard received a $40 million donation from MacKenzie Scott, the largest gift from a single donor⁷ in the school's history. Scott is the former wife of Amazon founder⁸ Jeff Bezos and a former student of Howard graduate, Toni Morrison. Recently, it received $20 million from several foundations and another donor. But more is needed as HBCUs like Howard were ignored for many years.

Wutoh said the school uses donations to reduce tuition. But it could not give money, known as a scholarship, to every student who is qualified⁹. And the school has not been able to build new buildings and research centers.

"You know, we're not endowed the way a Harvard or Yale or (Johns) Hopkins is," Wutoh said. "We have students who are just as capable and exceptional and we need to be able to find ways to provide support to them."

Words in This Story

graduate– n. a person who has earned a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

tolerate – v. to allow (something that is bad, unpleasant, etc.) to exist, happen, or be done

scholar– n. a person who has studied a subject for a long time and knows a lot about it : an intelligent and well-educated person who knows a particular subject very well

buzz – n. excited talk about something

destination– n. a place to which a person is going or something is being sent

academic– adj. relating to schools and education

institution – n. an established organization

focus– v. to direct your attention or effort at something specific

factor– n. something that helps produce or influence a result : one of the things that cause something to happen

tuition – n. money that is paid to a school for the right to study there

endow – v. to give a large amount of money to a school, hospital, etc., in order to pay for the creation or continuing support of (something)

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

4 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

5 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。