The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation Announces $20 Million Endowment to Establish the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership |
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The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation together with Howard announced the establishment of the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership in honor of Marriott International’s (NASDAQ: MAR) beloved president and CEO, Arne Sorenson, who tragically passed away last month from pancreatic cancer. The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation will provide a $20 million endowment to launch the center.
In addition, Marriott International announced the creation of the Arne M. Sorenson Hospitality Fund, which will support the critical programmatic and career development elements of the center. This fund is dedicated to helping the industry build leadership talent in hospitality. Marriott has pledged the first donation of $1 million and is inviting other companies, organizations and individuals – from all industries – to support this effort.
“I can think of no better tribute to the amazing legacy of Arne Sorenson than to focus on educating and advancing future leaders of the hospitality industry,” said J.W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr., executive chairman and chairman of the board, Marriott International. “Arne’s passion for creating a culture of opportunity brought real change in the executive ranks of our company. But work remains to be done. Our industry needs a pipeline of diverse leadership talent and that’s exactly what this center will achieve. We are proud to bring Marriott International and our family foundation together to partner with this esteemed university in the city of our founding. This innovative program will foster leadership excellence and help drive greater inclusion at the most senior levels of the hospitality industry. We hope that other hospitality companies will join us in designing the program and providing experiential opportunities to generate talent that will meet the needs of the industry well into the future.”
“Through this partnership with The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation and Marriott International, we are best positioned to further our existing commitment and address this most pressing issue. As I have gotten to know the Marriott family over the years, I have been impressed with their commitment to the community and excellence. This program will be a game changer for Howard University students and the hospitality industry by designing unique educational opportunities that meet the future demands of the industry, shaping the already promising talents and passions of our business students, and connecting those students with meaningful careers in the industry. What we are creating is a direct connection between an industry that is on the edge of change and a top caliber talent pool for them to recruit from,” said President Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA.
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A NOTE FROM...
JOHN M. M. ANDERSON, Ph.D.,
DEAN, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
AND ARCHITECTURE
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Dear Howard University Community,
As we become more familiar with and accustomed to our ever-present virtual environment, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all Howard University students, faculty, staff and administrators. Despite challenging and unprecedented circumstances, we continue to band together and have successfully worked towards building a more resilient environment for our campus community.
I remain impressed by the strength and resilience of our students, especially our first-year students, who bravely and boldly virtually entered college. Go Bison!
It is an honor to be a part of the team that is responsible for the stewardship and invaluable educational experience of a body of students who have demonstrated such strong will and determination in the face of adversity. I became a Bison in 2002 when I joined the Howard University community as a faculty member in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science within the College of Engineering and Architecture. Our college remains steadfast in its upwards trajectory. In the most recent “Engineering by the Numbers” report by the American Society for Engineering Education, the percentage of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to women by our college (40.4%) is almost twice the national average (21.9%), which places Howard in the top ten by school. Additionally, by school, Howard is number 12 in terms of the number of engineering bachelor's degrees awarded to Blacks or
African-Americans. We strive to ensure that women have greater opportunities for leadership in engineering, architecture and computer science.
Speaking of our women leaders, one of our most exciting research projects is being led by Claudia Marin, Ph.D., civil and environmental engineering professor. You may have recently read about this project in the Howard University Newsroom. Dr. Marin is leading a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded convergence accelerator team to develop an intelligent surveillance platform for damage detection and localization of civil infrastructure. NSF awarded Dr. Marin a $760,000 grant for Phase I of a two-phased project through the NSF Convergence Accelerator program, which is designed to leverage the convergence research paradigm for transitioning basic research and discovery into practice.
Another exciting research project is led by our Hazel R. Edwards, Ph.D., Department of Architecture chair and alumna. Dr. Edwards is conducting smart space habitat research for deep space habitat design as part of a seven-university team funded by a $15 million grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, also known as NASA. Together with assistant professor Dahlia Nduom, Dr. Edwards and selected architecture students will support the project to sustain human presence in space. Dr. Edwards also serves on the Steering Committee, which is responsible for overseeing the project and providing guidance. We aim to stay current as talks of space travel become more commonplace.
Lastly, we recently celebrated the kickoff for our Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, known as CoE-AIML. The center is supported by a $7.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense. The project is led by Danda B. Rawat, Ph.D., professor of computer science and director of Howard’s Data Science & Cybersecurity Center (DSC2). Dr. Rawat’s research team will explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in vital civilian applications and multidomain operations.
Together as one community, we have successfully completed two semesters nearly 100% online. I close having complete optimism that this semester will also be filled with educational and research accomplishments that bring into sharp focus Howard’s contributions to its larger community and the nation.
Bison Pride!
John M. M. Anderson, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Engineering and Architecture
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President Wayne A. I. Frederick to Serve as 2021 Charter Day Convocation Speaker on March 5 |
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President Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA, will serve as keynote speaker for the 2021 Charter Day Convocation on Friday, March 5 at 11 a.m. Dr. Frederick holds three academic degrees from Howard University and exemplifies the institutional motto of truth and service.
Each year, the Charter Day Convocation ceremony commemorates the signing of the federal charter on March 2, 1867 establishing Howard as a university. At this year’s ceremony, Dr. Frederick is expected to speak about the challenges, and latest signs of hope, related to the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Frederick will also aim to recommit members of the University community to Howard’s widely recognized leadership role in ameliorating social injustices and inequality, as well as other values such as student opportunity and campus diversity. In January, Howard University celebrated the inauguration of Howard alumna Kamala Harris as vice president of the United States, the first time an African-American or a woman has ever held that office.
Over the past year, Dr. Frederick has galvanized Howard University’s historic response to the coronavirus outbreak, which has disproportionately affected communities of color. Through his leadership, Howard University has played an important role through its various medical-related entities and scientific infrastructure, research expertise and successful outreach initiatives in diverse communities.
The March 5 Convocation sets the stage for this year’s Charter Day Virtual Celebration. Traditionally a black-tie gala, the virtual celebration will be a fundraising event with the proceeds supporting financial aid for Howard students.
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Howard University Libraries Joins HathiTrust, Global Collaborative of Research and Academic Libraries |
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Howard University Libraries has become the newest member of HathiTrust, a global collaborative of research and academic libraries working towards its mission to ensure that the cultural record is preserved and accessible long into the future. Today, HathiTrust offers reading access to the fullest extent allowable by U.S. copyright law, computational access to the entire corpus for scholarly research and other emerging services based on the combined collection. HathiTrust members steward this collection under the aims of scholarly interests. HathiTrust holds the largest set of digitized books managed by the academic, research and library community.
HathiTrust serves a dual role. First, as a trusted repository, it guarantees the long-term preservation of the materials it holds, providing expert curation and consistent access long associated with research libraries. Second, as a service for members and the public good, HathiTrust offers persistent access to digital collections. This includes viewing, downloading and searching public domain volumes and searching access to copyrighted works. Specialized features are also available that facilitate access by persons with print disabilities and allow users to gather subsets of the digital library into “collections” that can be searched and browsed.
“Our membership with HathiTrust will enable online and remote access to digitized print books within University Libraries’ collections. With COVID restrictions and limited access to research materials, Howard University Libraries is exhausting every opportunity to provide resources to the University community, safely and remotely,” says Alexandra Wilson, administrative officer for Howard University Libraries and the Moorland Spingarn Research Center. “As a preservation solution, HathiTrust will serve as the library’s digital repository for over 239,789 titles.”
For more information on HathiTrust, please read the information provided here or email Alliah Humber, head of acquisitions and serials at Howard University Libraries at ahumber@howard.edu.
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PAE Internship Info Session |
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Attention all students! PAE is hosting an internship info session on March 8 through Handshake. Attend the session to learn about the company’s opportunities and have the chance to interact with senior leadership and CEO John Heller.
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Cancer Research Education Program
Application Now Open
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‘In Great Company: David C. Driskell and Howard University,’ Opens Virtually Today
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Vote Now for the 2021
Retool Your School Competition!
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Airing on WHUT-TV: ‘White House Chronicle’
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WHUT-TV Screening and Discussion of
‘THE BLACK CHURCH’
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Women in Leadership: A Tribute to Howard Women Frontline Workers |
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Howard University will celebrate International Women’s Day for the fifth year with a virtual event on Wednesday, March 3 from 12-1:30 p.m. EST. The event, titled “Women in Leadership: A Tribute to Howard Women Frontline Workers,” will align with the United Nations Women (UN Women) theme of women in leadership. Registration is available here to watch via Zoom.
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Watch ‘I Am HOWARD’ March 6!
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Check out our special series of interviews with alumni from the Department of Fine Arts, “I Am Howard,” launching on Saturday, March 6 with alumni Kimberly Evans Paige, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at BET, and Laz Alonso, celebrity actor currently in “The Boys” on Amazon.
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On Sunday, March 7, the Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel will host Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, presiding prelate, Tenth Episcopal District, African Methodist Episcopal Church as its speaker for the 11 a.m. virtual service.
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To get your events placed in the HU Happenings section, visit https://calendar.howard.edu, click “submit event” and fill in the necessary information. OUC will select events from this section to also be included in the weekly newsletter.
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If you want to submit content to HU! You Know!, email ouc@howard.edu with the subject line "HU! You Know! Submission.”
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Howard University
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