HOWARD FORWARD in Action
January - March 2022
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When the University came together to create the Howard Forward strategic plan, we collectively set out aspirational goals and milestones that would propel an already historic University that is often the “first” or “only” institution of higher education to achieve many lofty goals into a creative, transformative and inspirational space to attract and retain the best and brightest students, faculty and staff. While the goals of the Howard Forward plan are no small feat, this challenge is one that Howard University is primed to accomplish. The five pillars that make up the strategic plan depend on the collaborative and consistent progress of each of the other pillars. In February, the University made huge progress in pillar five, “achieve financial sustainability,” through years of improved fiscal management, compliance and accountability that led two of the world’s leading economic analysis firms, Fitch and S&P Global, to revise their rating outlooks for the University from stable to positive, recognizing the exceptional strategy Howard University has executed over multiple years to increase its financial strength.
The significance of this improvement underscores the University’s financial stability and potential and sets the stage for continued progress in the financing plan of the phased Central Campus Master Plan (CCMP). To execute on our multiyear campus renewal, the University’s Board of Trustees has approved issuing $500 million of bonds, including $300 million of taxable bonds in March 2022, that will be applied to completing key academic facilities to enhance the student and faculty experience. The bond funds will be used for site due diligence, programming, design, permitting, new construction and/or renovation of physical facilities.
In March, we announced plans for the largest construction real estate initiative in the institution’s history, a historic investment of $785 million to build three new state-of-the-art multidisciplinary academic halls and renovate several existing facilities. This announcement supports pillar four, “improve efficiency and effectiveness,” through its prioritizing of the campus master plan and aligning renovations and new construction with academic and research priorities. Further, this announcement supports pillar one, “enhance academic excellence,” by creating new and innovative physical and virtual learning spaces with enhanced technology to support the academic enterprise.
Facility investments include:
- Renovating the historic Myrtilla Miner Building, which sits prominently on Georgia Avenue, that will house the School of Education and the Howard University Middle School for Mathematics and Science;
- A new state-of-the-art facility to house the Center for Arts and Communications (home of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts and the Cathy Hughes School of Communications);
- A new state-of-the-art Academic Health Sciences Complex (home of the College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, College of Dentistry, and College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences); and
- A new state-of-the-art STEM Center to house various STEM programs and disciplines, including physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, mathematics and associated labs.
The projects are slated to begin this year with the renovation of the Miner Building and design of the new buildings and are expected to be completed by 2026. We are currently undertaking visioning and engagement efforts with stakeholders around campus to keep everyone abreast of these projects. If our walls could talk, they would write the scholastic history of this country. They would sing the soundtrack that is the backbone of Black history. They would debate the collective voices that make up the generations of Bison alike. And this announcement lays the foundation for the many future Bison to connect with the alumni and guests that roamed this inspirational campus.
Excellence in Truth and Service,
Rashad Young
Senior Vice President
Chief Strategy Officer
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Senior Vice President Young Welcome Letter |
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DATA DASHBOARD FEATURE -
Achieve Financial Sustainability Pillar
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The University’s record breaking fundraising and operating results, coupled with Fitch/S&P’s upgrades of their outlooks to positive, provide further proof that Howard University’s growing financial strength now mirrors its international brand of excellence. |
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SPOTLIGHT FEATURES - POWER PLAYERS |
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Howard Forward implementation is a collaborative effort that touches every corner and aspect of the Howard community. While there are many power players behind the scenes that do integral work that pushes this plan forward, we are recognizing people that have made the Howard Forward plan central to their everyday work. |
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As Senior Budget Officer, Terrez advises and coordinates the development of accountable unit’s operating budgets. He manages and monitors unrestricted, designated, and grant funded actual spending activity versus planned spending and provides guidance and support on various Workday requirements. He assists department leaders with their spending plans and provides recommendations for funding allocations, to eliminate and/or reduce the risk of budget overruns. His efforts have generated more effective reporting and partnerships across campus which align with the Howard Forward strategic pillars. |
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The Division of Development & Alumni Relations is essential to the University achieving financial stability. In his role as the Senior Special Assistant to the Senior Vice President, Bilal has a high-level of visibility into the ways multiple departments can work together to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors and prospects. He works collaboratively to rethink processes and procedures to improve effectiveness and serve our constituents to reach benchmark goals and move Howard Forward. Outside of this position, Bilal is a doctoral candidate, working to shine a light on the ways fraternity and sorority students experience belonging at Minority Serving Institutions, through his dissertation research. Further, Bilal assists President Wayne A.I. Frederick in teaching the ELPS 603 course "College & University Presidency".
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ENHANCE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE |
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New Center For Journalism & Democracy |
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Howard University is launching the Center for Journalism & Democracy to train and prepare a new generation of investigative journalists to confront this test. Led by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, and professor at the Cathy Hughes School of Communications, Nikole Hannah-Jones, the center will serve to help students hone their investigative reporting skills and learn to do historically informed journalism in service of democracy and equality. With the center, Howard will be one of few journalism programs nationwide to offer courses with an investigative focus.
“We intend to create and to fund investigate reporting courses, create visiting professorships and bolster the student newspapers at [historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that have] large journalism programs,” Hannah-Jones says, adding that the center will also fund technology upgrades for campus newspapers, faculty stipends, and student financial support. Through a partnership with the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC), the Center for Journalism & Democracy will also help make a thousands of publications in the Black Press Archives available in a digital repository for worldwide research, made possible in part by a $2 million grant from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. The Center for Journalism & Democracy and the MSRC are currently fundraising to match the Logan Family Foundation grant.
This announcement supports the Professional Development initiative and the Recruitment, Retention and Access to Education initiative through its promotion of academic programs and strategies that drive student success.
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Mastercard Invests $5 Million in Howard University to Drive Racial Equity Through Data Science |
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Howard University announced a $5 million grant from Mastercard that will support the creation of the Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics (CADSA). The center will advance Howard’s leadership as a major hub of data science for social impact research and training for the next generation of data scientists with expertise in incorporating analysis of racial bias in financial services. CADSA is an interdisciplinary hub at Howard University that will include a master’s degree in applied data science and a thought leadership series on racial equity and inclusive growth.
This announcement is part of the "enhance academic excellence" pillar's Recruitment, Retention and Access to Education initiative as well as the Research Success for a Changing World initiative in the inspire new knowledge pillar.
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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Award Supports Formation of Office of Digital and Online Learning |
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Howard University has received a $240,000 award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in support of a Digital Learning Infrastructure and Knowledge Sharing Support grant. This funding will facilitate the formation of the Office of Digital and Online Learning and allow the University to continue developing a centralized online instructional strategy, online courses consistent with that strategy, as well as processes for online program development and implementation.- Morris Thomas, Ph.D., PMP, current director of CETLA, will serve as the inaugural lead for the newly established Office of Digital and Online Learning in the Office of the Provost. As assistant provost for digital and online learning, Thomas will oversee the selection and implementation of digital learning tools as well as coordinate matters pertaining to online course and degree program development. This new office will also facilitate our efforts to create an effective and efficient digital learning infrastructure that supports the Howard Forward strategic plan. The effort supports the Academic Innovation initiative, formerly the Technology that Supports 21st Century Academy.
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American Cancer Society Awards Howard University $4 Million to Establish Cancer Health Equity Research Center |
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The American Cancer Society (ACS) has awarded Howard University a four-year $4.08 million grant to establish a Cancer Health Equity Research Center (CHERC), one of multiple such centers that ACS is creating with other educational institutions and amounts to an investment of $16 million nationally.
ACS officials said addressing the root causes of cancer health disparities in the context of the social determinants of health is essential to accelerating progress in health equity research. This announcement aligns with the Research Success for a Changing World initiative. This partnership supports research that addresses local, national and global health challenges through collaboration with STEM academic fields, such as biology, chemistry, medicine, engineering and computer science, and the social sciences.
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Howard University Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership Receives Support to Provide More Research for Women of Color |
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The Howard University Center for Women, Gender, and Global Leadership has received support from Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company, to develop innovative research and strong, sustainable, multinational global partnerships. Pivotal Ventures’ support will primarily be used to establish The Consortium, a national collaborative using intersectional frameworks to center the experiences of Black women and girls through positive narratives and empowerment and will provide innovative research, data, and programming to advance gender equity and close the achievement gaps for women of color. Additionally, the center plans to launch an annual HBCU conference on women and leadership. This conference will bring together scholars who are women of color across the United States to engage on the important topics of women and gender issues and compile research into special editions of peer-reviewed journals, edited books, anthologies, and other creative works.
The center is the first of its kind to be established at Howard University and in any historically Black college and university (HBCU). This announcement supports the Research Success for a Changing World initiative through its support of opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and co-creation that produces 20% joint academic programs and research collaborations.
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Howard University Department of Economics Receives $4.5 Million to Establish a Housing, Urban and Economic Development Research Center |
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The Howard University Department of Economics was awarded $4.5 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish a center of excellence for housing, urban and economic development research. The center’s goal is to achieve an equitable and inclusionary society where currently underserved populations come to be properly served and inequities in housing, health, education, economic well-being, and community development are overcome through research and policy implementation. This three-year grant supports two graduate students and a post-doctoral fellow each year. |
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Howard Launches Multidisciplinary Research Center, Joins $40M Effort to Reimagine Capitalism |
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The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, announced $40M in grants to fund the creation and growth of multidisciplinary academic centers. Howard’s Center for an Equitable and Sustainable Society will study the causes and effects of racial and economic inequities in order to determine solutions that can properly address those issues. Support and funding for the centers were to pursue ideas and solutions contributing to the movement to rethink neoliberalism. In addition to developing new bodies of research and collaborating with other research institutions through a multidisciplinary approach, the centers will host convenings to engage scholars, policymakers, and other stakeholders to explore new ways of thinking about our economy. |
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Howard University Alternative Spring Break Returns with 15 Service Initiatives Across the Country |
With the theme “The Comeback” for this year’s Howard University’s Alternative Spring Break (HUASB) program, the return of the in-person HUASB since the COVID-19 pandemic forced events to be virtual. HUASB is also unique because it is offered at no cost to participants. Students raised more than $90k during annual Helping Hands Radiothon to support the first in-person alternative spring break program since the pandemic. This year the program moved forward with fifteen sites including: Puerto Rico; Oakland, CA (virtual site); El Paso, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Milwaukee, WI; St Louis, MO; Baltimore, MD; Philadelphia, PA; NYC (Bronx County), NY; Washington, D.C.; Memphis, TN; Newark, NJ; New Orleans, LA; and Columbia, SC.
This effort supports the Strategic Corporate and Community Engagement initiative and the Leaving a Positive Impact on the World initiative.
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Harris Teeter to Partner with Howard University to Combat Food Insecurity |
Howard University announced a partnership with Harris Teeter to support the University’s hunger relief efforts. The supermarket chain has committed to donate $50,000, payable over five years. The donation will help stock and replenish shelves at Howard University’s food pantry, The Store@HU.
Howard launched The Store@HU in 2018. Increasingly, food insecurity on college campuses is a growing issue. The College and University Food Bank Alliance estimates that 30% of college students in the U.S. are food insecure. Since last June, Howard’s pantry has served more than 300 students. The University’s goal is to reduce short-term food insecurity among its student body, thus supporting educational success and retention. The Store@HU is available to all currently registered students.
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IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS |
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Kiwibots Take Over Howard - With Food Deliveries |
Kiwibots deployed around campus beginning March 14. The remote-controlled fleet will allow students, faculty, and staff to order meals through HU Dining’s Bite mobile app, and have food delivered to more than 20 residential, academic, and business offices throughout main campus. Initially launched as part of the university's Bison S.A.F.E. mitigation plan for socially distant food service delivery, testing has been underway for the Kiwibots throughout campus for the last month and met with positive reviews from students.
Customers will meet the Kiwibots at a variety of staging locations to enter a special code and retrieve their food. There are no worries about meals being picked up by someone who didn’t make the order, or someone taking the robot itself; each Kiwibot is equipped with its own tracking system and made with heavy metal to prohibit tampering or theft.
Howard is the first historically Black institution to join the Sodexo-Kiwibot campus partnership.
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Pilot Begins for Faster 5G Broadband Wireless Internet at Howard |
Howard University is partnering with Samsung Electronics America and Amdocs to pilot 5G broadband wireless internet access on campus, a program that delivers faster and more secure campus-wide connectivity for students, faculty, and staff.
Currently being piloted at College Hall North and South, the network provides a private CBRS network for users that creates optimal 5G connectivity.
The upgrades are part of the University's strategic commitment to improving efficiency and effectiveness, and recent surveying of student residents in the complex indicates high levels of reliability and satisfaction with the new network. Howard partnered with two small businesses, Matek Inc. and WAZ Wireless, for installation and testing of the network equipment.
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ACHIEVE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY |
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Howard University Receives Increased Rating Outlooks from Fitch and S&P |
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Both the Fitch and S&P Global Ratings agencies revised their rating outlooks for Howard University to positive from stable, recognizing the exceptional strategy Howard University has executed over multiple years to increase its financial strength. S&P Global Ratings stated its outlook “reflects the university’s solid enrollment trend despite the pandemic, execution of some strategic initiatives, including program developments and identifying health care partnerships as well as improved operating performance.” Fitch affirmed its bond rating and revised its outlook to positive. They also assigned the same rating/outlook to the expected series 2022 issuance. |
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Howard University Announces $785 Million Investment to Accelerate Renovations and Construct New Academic Centers |
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Howard University announced plans for the largest construction real estate initiative in the institution’s history. The University will invest $785 million to build three new state-of-the-art multidisciplinary academic halls and renovate several existing structures, including the historic Myrtilla Miner Building, which sits prominently on Georgia Avenue, that will house the School of Education and the Howard University Middle School for Mathematics and Science. The new academic centers will house teaching and research in health sciences; arts and communications; and associated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs. The new construction projects are slated to begin this year and are expected to be completed by 2026.
In addition to this announcement supporting the "achieve financial sustainability" pillar, it also supports the "improve efficiency & effectiveness" pillar through its prioritization of the campus masterplan and alignment of renovations and new construction with academic and research priorities.
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Howard University, Rock Creek Property Group to Develop Mixed-Use Building at Prime Georgia Avenue NW Corner |
Howard University is pleased to announce a collaboration with Rock Creek Property Group to develop a $62 million mixed-use building adjacent to Howard’s campus at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Fairmont Street in Washington, D.C. The five story, 140,000 square foot building will include 93 residential units, below grade parking, and over 41,000 square feet of commercial space. The new facility will include fully furnished residential units; a lounge area and deck with views overlooking Howard’s campus; and Howard has entered into a lease for the entirety of the commercial space, which will house the Office of Development and Alumni Relations and Office of University Communications, as well as other administrative functions. Located adjacent to Howard’s campus, just two blocks from Greene Stadium, this strategic site is intended to better connect the University’s alumni and development offices to on-campus activities.
The transaction is part of a strategic initiative by Howard University to maximize the value of the University's real estate portfolio.
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HOWARD FORWARD IN THE NEWS |
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Inspiring New Knowledge to New Heights
Vice president of research Bruce Jones, PhD, shares his plans to elevate Howard to an R1-designated University and serve wild Alaskan salmon to celebrate. As vice president of the Office of Research, he is creating a research strategy that increases participation in grant-funded research activity. His office and leadership are at the crux of the University’s five-year strategic plan’s second pillar: “inspire new knowledge.”
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VP Kamala Harris Returns to Howard University, with Commerce Secretary Raimondo and SBA Administrator Guzman to Tout Small Businesses Investments
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Vice President Kamala D. Harris, returned to Howard University, to promote a Greater Washington Partnership event touting $4.7 billion in new regional economic investments. Vice President Harris, who has led in the White House on helping small businesses in underserved communities, delivered remarks and shared ways that the Biden-Harris Administration is supporting small business growth. The Greater Washington Partnership investments are designed to lift underserved communities and minority businesses from Richmond to Baltimore. This event at Howard University also featured U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Guzman. The event was hosted by Howard University President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick. To learn more about this event, visit here.
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U.S. Congressman Meeks Affirms Howard's Legacy in Charter Day Address |
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U.S. Congressman and alumnus Gregory W. Meeks called on Howard University students to speak truth to power and confront distortions on a range of high-profile political and civic topics, including critical race theory.
“I call on the students of Howard University to be today’s friends of the truth and to leverage Howard’s powerful legacy as an inspiration in our fight to defend and promote the truth,” said Meeks, who served as orator of the 155th Charter Day Convocation ceremony.
To view the Charter Day Convocation address, visit here.
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If These Walls Could Talk: A Black History Month Tour of Howard’s Famous Places (Historic Campus Buildings) |
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When walking the campus of Howard University, it is common to feel overcome. The iconic buildings, the imposing spaces, the artwork and cultural artifacts – not to mention the many esteemed alumni and luminaries of American history who have inhabited these buildings, walked these spaces and appreciated these artifacts. When we remember the history of the place we occupy, when we take in and absorb the excellence of the physical space around us, we can be inspired to achieve greatness ourselves.
As we strive to write our own chapters and leave our marks upon this institution, it is important to know the history that has taken place inside these very walls. Take a look at part two of the historic campus buildings here.
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If These Walls Could Talk: A Black History Month Tour of Howard’s Famous Places (Residences) |
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We know where they studied, worked, taught, researched and made greatness, but where did Howard’s esteemed alumni and faculty sleep, dine, entertain and call home during the New Negro Renaissance of the 1920s and ’30s? Take a walk through history around Washington, D.C. to visit the homes of Howard’s greats – many of which still stand as private residences. If you’re not in the Washington area, you can still put on some virtual sneakers and visit through Google Maps (we’ve included links to some interior photos from recent home sales). To browse and learn more, click here.
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2400 Sixth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20059 | (202) 806-6100 |
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