A new month for new beginnings, new mindsets, and new intentions.

UNIVERSITY NEWS AND EVENTS

Congratulations Dr. Araujo

Congratulations to Dr. Ana Lucia Araujo, a history professor, in College of Arts and Sciences who has been recognized by the Carnegie Corporation of New York as a Great Immigrant, Great American recipient.

The 2023 Class of Great Immigrants consists of naturalized citizens from 33 different nations, representing a range of professions and backgrounds. The Carnegie Corporation of New York recognizes individuals on July 4th for their contributions as educators, mentors, benefactors, job creators, public servants, storytellers, and champions who have helped others realize their potential.

Dr. Araujo's transnational and comparative study as a social and cultural historian examines the history and memory of the Atlantic slave trade and slavery as well as their current social and cultural repercussions. Reparations for slavery, public memory, heritage, visual culture, and the material culture of slavery are some of her areas of interest in research.

To learn more about the Great Immigrant honorees, please visit the website below.

On June 5, 2023, Dr. Phiwokuhle Mnyandu led the first-ever Howard University Zulu South African Study Abroad Program. Nine students participated in a 6-week immersive study of the Zulu language and culture; eight of them are holders of the Foreign Language and Areas Studies Fellowship (FLAS). Professor Krista Johnson, Director of the Center for African Studies, helped prepare the students for their study abroad experience.

To learn more about the program, please visit HU Zulu in South Africa link below.

Faculty Publications

Associate Professor Dr. Maria Roof, a retiree from the Department of World Languages and Cultures has published the 2nd volume in a book series called Essential Writers of Central America of which she is General Editor. Julio Escoto (Honduras): Memoria e imaginación en su obra literaria, edited by Helen Umaña (Casasola Editores, 2023), contains 520 pages of interviews, reviews, and critical articles by renowned national and international scholars, in addition to summaries of the novels, stories, children’s literature, essays, opinion articles, and keynote addresses by a well-known contemporary Honduran writer.

To read more, you can purchase the book below. 

In Memoriam of Labor Economist William E. Spriggs

On June 6, 2023, Dr. William E. Spriggs, a professor, labor economist, and former chair of the Department of Economics at Howard University who served as Chief Economist to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), sadly passed away.

In the community, Dr. Spriggs was a true advocate who spoke about the intersectional vision of racial, social, and economic justice. Dr. Spriggs was deemed by the New York Times as "One of the most prominent Black economists of his generation." He will be remembered for his work outside of the government and support of workers, particularly African Americans. Dr. Spriggs mentored and inspired several black economists to reverse the field's trend of being dominated by Caucasian economists throughout his tenure as a professor and former chair of Economics at Howard University.

From 2009 to 2012, Dr. Spriggs served as assistant secretary for the Office of Policy at the Department of Labor, appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

His extensive career and service centered on racial inequities in the labor market, trade, education, the minimum wage, and Social Security. Dr. Spriggs has pioneered economics throughout his career, inspiring and guiding other African Americans to become economists to alter society.

On Saturday, July 8, 2023, at 11:00 a.m., Howard University will hold a celebration of life for William E. Spriggs in Cramton Auditorium. 

To RSVP for the celebration of life, please register below.