Howard—we have the imagination, the fortitude, the brilliance, and the confidence. Let us journey together to our newest, boldest horizons yet. I charge this audience to focus on excellence, to embrace and uphold our University’s value of truth and service, to build and foster our sense of community, and to not let barriers stand in our way. We need you at maximum strength.
I want to underscore just how much we appreciate every person who has dedicated their labor in service to Howard University. Thank you – we simply could not be who we are without your treasured service.
As we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, it is especially disheartening that we also must grieve another racist mass shooting, this time in Jacksonville, Florida.
Dean Phylicia Rashad of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts will be stepping down as dean at the end of her term following the 2023-2024 academic year.
Sandra Edmonds Crewe, PhD, dean of the School of Social Work, will depart the position at the culmination of the 2023-2024 academic year. The University will launch a national decanal search for the School of Social Work imminently.
Gracie Lawson-Borders, PhD, dean of the Cathy Hughes School of Communications (CHSOC), will depart the position at the culmination of the 2023-2024 academic year. The University will promptly launch a national decanal search for the CHSOC.
Even as we celebrate America’s freedom, we must examine the contradictions between the principles we hold dear, and the realities still experienced by far too many. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said 58 years ago today, “If America is to remain a first-class nation, she can no longer have second-class citizens.”
Juneteenth should be an annual remembrance of how rights have been historically apportioned unevenly, and our continued responsibility to ensure the American ideals of liberty and justice for all.
As renewed attacks on LGBTQ+ rights emerge nationwide, we must remain firm in our allyship and unapologetic that Howard University is and will forever be a champion of the LGBTQ+ community.
As I looked out at the graduates and their families during this year’s Commencement Convocation, I could not help but feel humbled at the scene of collective humanity encompassing Capital One Arena. The excitement and joy that binds us all together during these moments of celebration serve to highlight those details we share in common, instead of the ones that threaten to keep us splintered.
Memorial Day is a forceful and humbling reminder that the continued struggle for equality must be inextricably linked with an unrelenting passion for amplifying each other’s humanity.
To the graduates, I especially want to extend my thanks to you for your understanding and grace as we navigated this situation. I sincerely hope our efforts made clear just how deeply proud this community — this family — is of each and every one of you.