Howard University
Encyclopedia
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private
, coeducation
al, nonsectarian
, historically black
university
located in Washington, D.C.
, United States
. It has a Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
status of RU/H: Research Universities (high research activity).
Today, it is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund
and is partially funded by the US Government, which gives approximately $235 million annually. From its outset it has been nonsectarian
and open to people of both genders and all races. Howard has graduate schools of business, pharmacy, law, medicine, dentistry and divinity, in addition to the undergraduate program.
Shortly after the end of the Civil War, members of The First Congregational Society of Washington considered establishing a theological seminary for the education of African-American clergymen. Within a few weeks, the project expanded to include a provision for establishing a university. Within two years, the University consisted of the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Medicine. The new institution was named for General Oliver Otis Howard, a Civil War hero, who was both the founder of the University and, at the time, Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau. Howard later served as President of the university from 1869-74.
Congress chartered Howard on March 2, 1867, and much of its early funding came from endowment, private benefaction, and tuition. An annual congressional appropriation administered by the U.S. Department of Education
funds Howard University and Howard University Hospital.
Howard Hall was renovated and made a dormitory for girls; many improvements were made on campus; J. Stanley Durkee, Howard's last white president, was appointed in 1918.
Howard University has played an important role in American history and the Civil Rights Movement on a number of occasions. Alain Locke, Chair of the Department of Philosophy and first African American
Rhodes Scholar, authored The New Negro
, which helped to usher in the Harlem Renaissance
. Ralph Bunche
, the first Nobel Peace Prize
winner of African descent, served as chair of the Department of Political Science
. Beginning in 1942, Howard University students pioneered the "stool-sitting" technique, which was to play a prominent role in the later civil rights movement. By January, 1943, students had begun to organize regular sit-ins and pickets at cigar stores and cafeterias around Washington, D.C. which refused to serve them because of their race. These protests continued until the administration asked the students to stop in the Fall of 1944. Stokely Carmichael
, also known as Kwame Toure, a student in the Department of Philosophy
and the Howard University School of Divinity coined the term "Black Power
" and worked in Lowndes County
, Alabama
as a voting rights activist. Historian Rayford Logan
served as chair of the Department of History
. E. Franklin Frazier
served as chair of the Department of Sociology
. Sterling Allen Brown
served as chair of the Department of English
.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson
delivered a speech to the graduating class at Howard, where he outlined his plans for civil rights legislation and endorsed aggressive affirmative action
to combat the effects of years of segregation of blacks from the nation's economic opportunities.
In 1975 the historic Freedman's Hospital
closed after 112 years of use as Howard University College of Medicine
's primary teaching hospital. Howard University Hospital opened that same year and continues to be used as Howard University College of Medicine's primary teaching hospital with service to the surrounding community.
In 1989, Howard gained national attention when students rose up in protest against the appointment of then-Republican National Committee Chairman Lee Atwater
as a new member of the university's Board of Trustees. Student activists disrupted Howard's 122nd anniversary celebrations, and eventually occupied the university's Administration building. Within days, both Atwater and Howard's President, James E. Cheek, resigned.
In April 2007 the head of the faculty senate called for the ouster of Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert
, saying that the school was in a state of crisis and it was time to end “an intolerable condition of incompetence and dysfunction at the highest level.” This came on the heels of several criticisms of Howard University and its management. The following month, Swygert announced that he would retire in June 2008. The university announced in May 2008 that Sidney Ribeau of Bowling Green State University
would succeed Swygert as president. Ribeau appointed a Presidential Commission on Academic Renewal to conduct a year-long self-evaluation that resulted in reducing or closing 20 out of 171 academic programs. For example, they proposed closing the undergraduate philosophy major and African studies major.
On September 4, 2009, 350 students and union workers protested the failure of the financial aid office to distribute promised funds to students. Students also sought a recycling program, technology upgrades and more on-campus housing. Members of SEIU local 32BJ protested the possible outsourcing of cleaning services to contractors whose wages would undercut Howard's union contract.
Major improvements, additions, and changes occurred at the school in the aftermath of World War I
. New buildings were built under the direction of architect Albert Cassell
. Howard's buildings and plant have a value of $567.6 million
Howard University has several historic landmarks on campus, such as Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel, Fredrick Douglass Memorial Hall, and the Founders Library.
Howard University has ten dorms in which students can live: Bethune Annex (women's undergraduate dorms), Tubman Quadrangle (women's freshman dorms), Carver Hall and Drew Hall (men's undergraduate dorms), Cook Hall (co-ed, undergraduate students), Plaza Towers West (co-ed, for juniors and seniors only), Plaza Towers East (graduate and undergraduate honor students), Meridian Hill Hall (co-ed, off campus residence), Slowe Hall (co-ed) and Mays Hall (co-ed graduate facility).
Howard University Hospital, opened in 1975 on the eastern end of campus, was built on the site of Griffith Stadium
, in use from the 1890s to 1965 as home of the first, second
and third
incarnations of the MLB
Senators, as well as the NFL's
Washington Redskins
, several college football teams (including Georgetown
, GWU
and Maryland
) and part-time home of the Homestead Grays
of the Negro National League.
Howard University is home to WHUR-FM
96.3, also known as Howard University Radio. Howard is also home to WHUT-TV
, which is a television station located on campus beside WHUR-FM.
, the Americas
, and other parts of the world. The MSRC
collects, preserves, and makes available for research a wide range of resources chronicling black experiences.
campus of Howard University. BCCSO consists of a multidisciplinary group of Howard faculty in partnership with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Sciences Division, other academic institutions, and government. This group is led by three Principal Investigators, Everette Joseph, also the director of BCCSO, Demetrius Venable and Belay Demoz. BCCSO trains science and academic leaders to understand atmospheric processes through atmospheric observing systems and analytical methods.
, the nation's only daily newspaper at an HBCU. Founded in 1924 by Zora Neale Hurston
, The Hilltop enjoys a long legacy at the university, providing students with the ability to learn the newspaper industry.
Howard University is the publisher of The Journal of Negro Education
, which began publication in 1932. The Howard University Bison Yearbook is created, edited and published during the school year to provide students a year-in-review. Howard University also publishes the Capstone, the official e-newsletter for the university; and the Howard Magazine, the official magazine for the university, which is published three times a year.
(NPHC) organizations; however, it is a historic site for six NPHC groups. The Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha
was the first to appear in 1907. The Alpha Chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha
(1908), Delta Sigma Theta
(1913), Omega Psi Phi
(1911), Phi Beta Sigma
(1914), and Zeta Phi Beta
(1920) were established on the Howard campus. Also in 1920, the Xi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi
appeared on the campus, followed by the Alpha Phi Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho
in 1939, and the Alpha Tau Chapter of Iota Phi Theta in 1983.
Other Greek letter organizations registered at Howard include Delta Sigma Pi
, Phi Sigma Pi
, Alpha Phi Omega
, Alpha Nu Omega
, Alpha Kappa Psi
, Phi Sigma Rho
, Gamma Iota Sigma
, Phi Mu Alpha, Sigma Alpha Iota
, Gamma Sigma Sigma
, Kappa Kappa Psi
, Tau Beta Sigma
and Phi Alpha Delta
.
professional football team.
, Howard's six year graduation rate was 67.5%. In 2009, 1,270 of the 1,476 full time freshmen enrolled were found to have financial need (86%). Of these, Howard could meet the full financial aid needs of 316 freshmen. Howard's average undergraduate student's indebtedness at graduation is $16,798.
Between 1998 and 2009, Howard University produced a Marshall Scholar, two Rhodes Scholars, two Truman Scholars, twenty-two Fulbright Scholars and ten Pickering Fellows.http://www.howard.edu/nas/scholarships.htm
, marine biologist Ernest Everett Just
, political consultant Ron Walters
, blood shipment pioneer Charles Drew, psychiatrist Francis Cress Welsing, civil rights lawyer Charles Hamilton Houston
, Emmy-winning actor Al Freeman Jr.., John Davis
, political science professor and
Roscoe Bartlett
, member of Congress from Maryland.
(co-founder and owner of Ben's Chili Bowl
, the famous restaurant in Washington, DC.), choreographer, actress and singer Debbie Allen
, the first Nigerian President Nnamdi Azikiwe
, NFL players Antoine Bethea
and Marques Douglas
, Thurgood Marshall
(former U.S. Supreme Court Justice), United States Ambassador Andrew Young
, attorney Vernon Jordan, Congressman Elijah Cummings
, actor Ossie Davis
, David Dinkins
(the first African-American Mayor of New York City), Mike Espy
(the first African-American U.S. Secretary of Agriculture), Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia Kasim Reed
, Former Mayor of the District of Columbia Adrian Fenty
, Gus Johnson
(American Sports Broadcaster), American television personality Ananda Lewis
, Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison
, American actress and singer Phylicia Rashad
, and Crystal Waters
(American dance music and house music singer and songwriter).
Private university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
, coeducation
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
al, nonsectarian
Nonsectarian
Nonsectarian, in its most literal sense, refers to a lack of sectarianism. The term is also more narrowly used to describe secular private educational institutions or other organizations either not affiliated with or not restricted to a particular religious denomination though the organization...
, historically black
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It has a Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is a framework for classifying, or grouping, colleges and universities in the United States. The primary purpose of the framework is for educational research and analysis, where it is often important to identify groups of roughly...
status of RU/H: Research Universities (high research activity).
Today, it is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund
Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund , named for the U.S. Supreme Court's first African-American Justice, was established in 1987. TMCF supports and represents nearly 300,000 students attending 47-member schools, which include public Historically Black Colleges & Universities and Predominantly Black...
and is partially funded by the US Government, which gives approximately $235 million annually. From its outset it has been nonsectarian
Nonsectarian
Nonsectarian, in its most literal sense, refers to a lack of sectarianism. The term is also more narrowly used to describe secular private educational institutions or other organizations either not affiliated with or not restricted to a particular religious denomination though the organization...
and open to people of both genders and all races. Howard has graduate schools of business, pharmacy, law, medicine, dentistry and divinity, in addition to the undergraduate program.
History
Congress chartered Howard on March 2, 1867, and much of its early funding came from endowment, private benefaction, and tuition. An annual congressional appropriation administered by the U.S. Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
funds Howard University and Howard University Hospital.
Howard Hall was renovated and made a dormitory for girls; many improvements were made on campus; J. Stanley Durkee, Howard's last white president, was appointed in 1918.
Howard University has played an important role in American history and the Civil Rights Movement on a number of occasions. Alain Locke, Chair of the Department of Philosophy and first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Rhodes Scholar, authored The New Negro
The New Negro
The New Negro: An Interpretation is an anthology of fiction, poetry, and essays on African and African American art and literature edited by Alain Locke, who lived in Washington, DC and taught at Howard University during the Harlem Renaissance...
, which helped to usher in the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
. Ralph Bunche
Ralph Bunche
Ralph Johnson Bunche or 1904December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize...
, the first Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
winner of African descent, served as chair of the Department of Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. Beginning in 1942, Howard University students pioneered the "stool-sitting" technique, which was to play a prominent role in the later civil rights movement. By January, 1943, students had begun to organize regular sit-ins and pickets at cigar stores and cafeterias around Washington, D.C. which refused to serve them because of their race. These protests continued until the administration asked the students to stop in the Fall of 1944. Stokely Carmichael
Stokely Carmichael
Kwame Ture , also known as Stokely Carmichael, was a Trinidadian-American black activist active in the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. He rose to prominence first as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later as the "Honorary Prime Minister" of the Black Panther Party...
, also known as Kwame Toure, a student in the Department of Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and the Howard University School of Divinity coined the term "Black Power
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
" and worked in Lowndes County
Lowndes County, Alabama
Lowndes County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of William Lowndes, a member of the United States Congress from South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,299...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
as a voting rights activist. Historian Rayford Logan
Rayford Logan
Rayford Whittingham Logan was an African-American historian and Pan-African activist. He was best known for his study of post-Reconstruction America, a period he termed "the nadir of American race relations"...
served as chair of the Department of History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. E. Franklin Frazier
E. Franklin Frazier
Edward Franklin Frazier , was an American sociologist. His 1932 Ph.D. dissertation The Negro Family in Chicago, later released as a book The Negro Family in the United States in 1939, analyzed the cultural and historical forces that influenced the development of the African American family from the...
served as chair of the Department of Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. Sterling Allen Brown
Sterling Allen Brown
Sterling Allen Brown was an African-American professor, author of works on folklore, poet and literary critic. He was interested chiefly in black culture of the Southern United States.-Early life:...
served as chair of the Department of English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
.
| 1867 | Charles B. Boynton |
| 1867 – 1869 | Byron Sunderland Byron Sunderland Byron Sunderland was an American Presbyterian minister and served as a Chaplain of the United States Senate during the American Civil War.-Biography:... |
| 1869 – 1874 | Oliver Otis Howard |
| 1875 – 1876 | Edward P. Smith |
| 1877 – 1889 | William W. Patton |
| 1890 – 1903 | Jeremiah E. Rankin |
| 1903 – 1906 | John Gordon |
| 1906 – 1912 | Wilbur P. Thirkield Wilbur P. Thirkield Wilbur Patterson Thirkield was born on September 25, 1854 in Franklin, Ohio. He was the son of Eden Burrows Thirkield, a prominent merchant of that town. The Thirkield family had long been involved with the Methodist Church. James E. Thirkield, Wilbur's grandfather, had moved from Pennsylvania... |
| 1912 – 1918 | Stephen M. Newman |
| 1918 – 1926 | J. Stanley Durkee |
| 1926 – 1960 | Mordecai Wyatt Johnson Mordecai Wyatt Johnson Mordecai Wyatt Johnson was an American educator. He served as the first black president of Howard University, from 1926 until 1960.... |
| 1960 – 1969 | James M. Nabrit |
| 1969 – 1989 | James E. Cheek |
| 1990 – 1994 | Franklyn G. Jenifer |
| 1994 –1995 | Joyce A. Ladner |
| 1995 – 2008 | H. Patrick Swygert H. Patrick Swygert Haywood Patrick Swygert was the president of Howard University in Washington, DC from 1995 until 2008.- Career :Swygert graduated from Howard University in 1965, the same year President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered his historic speech to the graduating class. He later received a J.D... |
| 2008 – present | Sidney A. Ribeau Sidney A. Ribeau Sidney Ribeau is the current president of Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Prior to accepting the position at Howard, Ribeau was for 13 years the president of Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Ribeau, a married father of three, is the 16th president of the 11,000-student... |
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
delivered a speech to the graduating class at Howard, where he outlined his plans for civil rights legislation and endorsed aggressive affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
to combat the effects of years of segregation of blacks from the nation's economic opportunities.
In 1975 the historic Freedman's Hospital
Freedman's Hospital
Forerunner of the Howard University Hospital, Freedmen's Hospital served the black community in the District of Columbia for more than a century. First established in 1862 on the grounds of the Camp Barker, 13th and R Streets, NW, Freedmen's Hospital and Asylum cared for freed, disabled, and aged...
closed after 112 years of use as Howard University College of Medicine
Howard University College of Medicine
The Howard University College of Medicine is an academic division of Howard University, and grants the Doctor of Medicine , Ph.D., MS, and the MPH...
's primary teaching hospital. Howard University Hospital opened that same year and continues to be used as Howard University College of Medicine's primary teaching hospital with service to the surrounding community.
In 1989, Howard gained national attention when students rose up in protest against the appointment of then-Republican National Committee Chairman Lee Atwater
Lee Atwater
Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater was an American political consultant and strategist to the Republican Party. He was an advisor of U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and Chairman of the Republican National Committee.-Childhood and early life:...
as a new member of the university's Board of Trustees. Student activists disrupted Howard's 122nd anniversary celebrations, and eventually occupied the university's Administration building. Within days, both Atwater and Howard's President, James E. Cheek, resigned.
In April 2007 the head of the faculty senate called for the ouster of Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert
H. Patrick Swygert
Haywood Patrick Swygert was the president of Howard University in Washington, DC from 1995 until 2008.- Career :Swygert graduated from Howard University in 1965, the same year President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered his historic speech to the graduating class. He later received a J.D...
, saying that the school was in a state of crisis and it was time to end “an intolerable condition of incompetence and dysfunction at the highest level.” This came on the heels of several criticisms of Howard University and its management. The following month, Swygert announced that he would retire in June 2008. The university announced in May 2008 that Sidney Ribeau of Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
would succeed Swygert as president. Ribeau appointed a Presidential Commission on Academic Renewal to conduct a year-long self-evaluation that resulted in reducing or closing 20 out of 171 academic programs. For example, they proposed closing the undergraduate philosophy major and African studies major.
On September 4, 2009, 350 students and union workers protested the failure of the financial aid office to distribute promised funds to students. Students also sought a recycling program, technology upgrades and more on-campus housing. Members of SEIU local 32BJ protested the possible outsourcing of cleaning services to contractors whose wages would undercut Howard's union contract.
Campus
The 256 acre (1 km²; 0.400000353669577 sq mi) campus is located in northwest Washington.Major improvements, additions, and changes occurred at the school in the aftermath of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. New buildings were built under the direction of architect Albert Cassell
Albert Cassell
Albert Irvin Cassell was a prominent mid-twentieth-century African American architect in Washington, D.C., whose work shaped many academic communities in the United States. He designed buildings for Howard University in Washington D.C., Morgan State University in Baltimore, and Virginia Union...
. Howard's buildings and plant have a value of $567.6 million
Howard University has several historic landmarks on campus, such as Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel, Fredrick Douglass Memorial Hall, and the Founders Library.
Howard University has ten dorms in which students can live: Bethune Annex (women's undergraduate dorms), Tubman Quadrangle (women's freshman dorms), Carver Hall and Drew Hall (men's undergraduate dorms), Cook Hall (co-ed, undergraduate students), Plaza Towers West (co-ed, for juniors and seniors only), Plaza Towers East (graduate and undergraduate honor students), Meridian Hill Hall (co-ed, off campus residence), Slowe Hall (co-ed) and Mays Hall (co-ed graduate facility).
Howard University Hospital, opened in 1975 on the eastern end of campus, was built on the site of Griffith Stadium
Griffith Stadium
Griffith Stadium was a sports stadium that stood in Washington, D.C. from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street, and between W Street and Florida Avenue, NW. An earlier wooden baseball park had been built on the same site in 1891...
, in use from the 1890s to 1965 as home of the first, second
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
and third
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
incarnations of the MLB
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
Senators, as well as the NFL's
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, several college football teams (including Georgetown
Georgetown Hoyas
Georgetown's nickname is The Hoyas, but its mascot is "Jack the Bulldog." Various breeds of dogs have been used by the sports teams as mascots since the early 1900s. Several notable bull terriers like Sergeant Stubby and "Hoya" were used at football games in the 1920s, as was a Great Dane in the...
, GWU
George Washington Colonials
The George Washington Colonials are the athletic teams of George Washington University. The school sponsors 21 varsity sports , the majority of which compete in the Division I Atlantic 10 Conference. The men's and women's water polo teams compete in the Collegiate Water Polo Association and the...
and Maryland
Maryland Terrapins
The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 27 men's and women's athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition...
) and part-time home of the Homestead Grays
Homestead Grays
The Homestead Grays were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and would remain in continuous operation for 38 seasons. The team was based in Homestead, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh.-Franchise...
of the Negro National League.
WHUR-FM
WHUR-FM is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station that serves the Washington D.C. area. WHUR is licensed to Washington, D.C. and is owned by Howard University. Also, the staff of the station mentors the students of the university's school of communications. WHUR is also the home of the...
96.3, also known as Howard University Radio. Howard is also home to WHUT-TV
WHUT-TV
WHUT-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station in the Washington, D.C. area. The station is owned and operated by Howard University, a historically black college. The studios are on the Howard University campus.-History:...
, which is a television station located on campus beside WHUR-FM.
Organization
The university is led by a Board of Trustees that includes a faculty trustee from the undergraduate colleges, a faculty trustee from the graduate and professional colleges serving 3-year terms, two student trustees, each serving 1-year terms, and three alumni-elected trustees, each serving 3-year terms.Schools and colleges
- College of Arts and Sciences
- School of Business
- John H. Johnson School of Communications
- College of DentistryHoward University College of DentistryHoward University College of Dentistry is a school of dentistry located in the United States city of Washington, D.C.. The school is the only dental school in Washington, D.C..- History :Howard University College of Dentistry is a part of Howard University...
- School of Divinity
- School of Education
- College of Engineering, Architecture & Computer Sciences
- Graduate School
- College of MedicineHoward University College of MedicineThe Howard University College of Medicine is an academic division of Howard University, and grants the Doctor of Medicine , Ph.D., MS, and the MPH...
- College of Pharmacy, Nursing & Allied Health Sciences
- School of Social Work
- (MS)2 Middle School of Mathematics and Science
- School of LawHoward University School of LawHoward University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of Howard University. Located in Washington, D.C., it is one the oldest law schools in the country and the oldest historically black college or university law school in the United States...
Research
Howard is the only historically black college that is rated as a "Research I" tier university. "The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) is recognized as one of the world's largest and most comprehensive repositories for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, and other parts of the world. The MSRC
Research library
A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects . A research library will generally include primary sources as well as secondary sources...
collects, preserves, and makes available for research a wide range of resources chronicling black experiences.
NASA University Research Center (BCCSO)
The Beltsville Center for Climate System Observation (BCCSO) is a NASA University Research Center located at the Beltsville, MarylandBeltsville, Maryland
Beltsville is a census-designated place in northern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,691 at the 2000 census. Beltsville includes the unincorporated community of Vansville.-Geography:...
campus of Howard University. BCCSO consists of a multidisciplinary group of Howard faculty in partnership with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Sciences Division, other academic institutions, and government. This group is led by three Principal Investigators, Everette Joseph, also the director of BCCSO, Demetrius Venable and Belay Demoz. BCCSO trains science and academic leaders to understand atmospheric processes through atmospheric observing systems and analytical methods.
Publications
Howard University is home to The HilltopThe Hilltop (newspaper)
The Hilltop is the student newspaper of Howard University, a historically Black college, located in Washington, D.C. Co-founded in 1924 by Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston and Louis Eugene King, the Hilltop is the first and only daily newspaper at a historically Black college or...
, the nation's only daily newspaper at an HBCU. Founded in 1924 by Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance...
, The Hilltop enjoys a long legacy at the university, providing students with the ability to learn the newspaper industry.
Howard University is the publisher of The Journal of Negro Education
Journal of Negro Education
The Journal of Negro Education is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Howard University established in 1932...
, which began publication in 1932. The Howard University Bison Yearbook is created, edited and published during the school year to provide students a year-in-review. Howard University also publishes the Capstone, the official e-newsletter for the university; and the Howard Magazine, the official magazine for the university, which is published three times a year.
Mock Trial
Howard University was the first team to win two national championships in the same year, both the 1997 National Silver Flight Tournament and the 1997 National Championship. Additionally, the Howard Team has been listed in the Top Ten Teams in the nation over 9 times and won the 2000 National Silver Flight Championship, the 1998 and 2003 Eastern Regional Championship and the 2003 National Division Title. In April 2006, the team placed third in the nation. Howard University continues to qualify for national tournaments.Greek letter organizations
Howard University is a home to all nine National Pan-Hellenic CouncilNational Pan-Hellenic Council
The National Pan-Hellenic Council is a collaborative organization of nine historically African American, international Greek lettered fraternities and sororities. The nine NPHC organizations are sometimes collectively referred to as the "Divine Nine"...
(NPHC) organizations; however, it is a historic site for six NPHC groups. The Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
was the first to appear in 1907. The Alpha Chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
(1908), Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...
(1913), Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi is a fraternity and is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. The founders were three Howard University juniors, Edgar Amos...
(1911), Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
(1914), and Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...
(1920) were established on the Howard campus. Also in 1920, the Xi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
appeared on the campus, followed by the Alpha Phi Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...
in 1939, and the Alpha Tau Chapter of Iota Phi Theta in 1983.
Other Greek letter organizations registered at Howard include Delta Sigma Pi
Delta Sigma Pi
ΔΣΠ ' is one of the largest co-ed professional business fraternities. Delta Sigma Pi was founded on November 7, 1907 at the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, New York University, New York, New York and is currently headquartered in Oxford, Ohio...
, Phi Sigma Pi
Phi Sigma Pi
Phi Sigma Pi is a national coeducational honor fraternity based in the United States. The fraternity is a 501 not-for-profit organization incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania, with the purpose of fostering the ideals of scholarship, leadership and fellowship...
, Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members...
, Alpha Nu Omega
Alpha Nu Omega
Alpha Nu Omega is a national Greek letter organization founded in 1988 that comprises both a fraternity and sorority under one Constitution. The Constitution mandates that both branches of ANQ are Christian social Greek letter organizations.-History:...
, Alpha Kappa Psi
Alpha Kappa Psi
ΑΚΨ is the oldest and largest professional business fraternity. The Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity was founded on October 5, 1904 at New York University, and was incorporated on May 20, 1905...
, Phi Sigma Rho
Phi Sigma Rho
Phi Sigma Rho is a social sorority for women in engineering and engineering technology. The sorority was founded in 1984 at Purdue University by two young women. The first chapter of Phi Sigma Rho was installed on September 24, 1984, with 10 charter members....
, Gamma Iota Sigma
Gamma Iota Sigma
Gamma Iota Sigma is a college academic fraternity, founded on April 16, 1966 at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.Gamma Iota Sigma is an international professional fraternity organized to promote, encourage and sustain student interest in insurance, risk management and actuarial science as...
, Phi Mu Alpha, Sigma Alpha Iota
Sigma Alpha Iota
Sigma Alpha Iota , International Music Fraternity for Women. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its members and the general public...
, Gamma Sigma Sigma
Gamma Sigma Sigma
Gamma Sigma Sigma is a national service sorority founded in October 1952 at Beekman Tower in New York City by representatives of Boston University, Brooklyn College, Drexel Institute of Technology, Los Angeles City College, New York University, Queens College, and the University of Houston. ...
, Kappa Kappa Psi
Kappa Kappa Psi
Kappa Kappa Psi is a fraternity for college and university band members. It was founded on November 27, 1919 at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in Stillwater, Oklahoma. William Scroggs, now regarded as the "Founder," together with "Mr. Kappa Kappa Psi" A...
, Tau Beta Sigma
Tau Beta Sigma
Tau Beta Sigma is a co-educational national honorary band sorority dedicated to serving college and university bands. The Sorority, headquartered at the historic Stillwater Station in Stillwater, Oklahoma, numbers over 3,500 active members in 145 active chapters, and over 40,000 alumni...
and Phi Alpha Delta
Phi Alpha Delta
ΦAΔ , or P.A.D., is the largest co-ed professional law fraternity in the United States of America. Phi Alpha Delta has members who are university students, law school students, lawyers, judges, senators, and even presidents. It was founded in 1902 and today has over 300,000 initiated members...
.
Athletics
Athletic teams compete in the NCAA as a part of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The teams play under the name Howard Bison and use a similar logo to that of the Buffalo BillsBuffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
professional football team.
Marching Band
The Howard University "Showtime" Marching Band, is under the direction of John Newson and Kelvin Washington. The Showtime marching band performs at football games, band competitions, and even NFL halftime shows.Students
Howard undergraduates have a mean composite SAT score of 1,082. The students come from the following regions: New England 2%, Mid-West 8%. South 22%, Mid-Atlantic 55%, and West 12%., Howard's six year graduation rate was 67.5%. In 2009, 1,270 of the 1,476 full time freshmen enrolled were found to have financial need (86%). Of these, Howard could meet the full financial aid needs of 316 freshmen. Howard's average undergraduate student's indebtedness at graduation is $16,798.
Between 1998 and 2009, Howard University produced a Marshall Scholar, two Rhodes Scholars, two Truman Scholars, twenty-two Fulbright Scholars and ten Pickering Fellows.http://www.howard.edu/nas/scholarships.htm
Faculty
Howard faculty include media entrepreneur Cathy HughesCathy Hughes
Cathy Hughes, born Catherine Elizabeth Woods in Omaha, Nebraska on April 22, 1947, is an African-American entrepreneur, radio and television personality and business executive. Hughes founded the media company Radio One and later expanded into TV One, the company went public in 1998, making...
, marine biologist Ernest Everett Just
Ernest Everett Just
Ernest Everett Just was a pioneering African American biologist, academic and science writer. Just's primary legacy is his recognition of the fundamental role of the cell surface in the development of organisms...
, political consultant Ron Walters
Ron Walters
Ronald W. "Ron" Walters was an American scholar known worldwide for his knowledge of African-American politics through his leadership and his writing...
, blood shipment pioneer Charles Drew, psychiatrist Francis Cress Welsing, civil rights lawyer Charles Hamilton Houston
Charles Hamilton Houston
Charles Hamilton Houston was an African American lawyer, Dean of Howard University Law School and NAACP Litigation Director who played a significant role in dismantling the Jim Crow laws and trained future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.Houston was born in Washington, D.C. His father...
, Emmy-winning actor Al Freeman Jr.., John Davis
John Aubrey Davis, Sr.
Dr. John Aubrey Davis, Sr. was an African American political science professor and American Civil Rights activist who served as the head academic researcher on the historic Brown v. Board of Education case.-Civil rights work:...
, political science professor and
Roscoe Bartlett
Roscoe Bartlett
Roscoe Gardner Bartlett, Ph.D. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party, and a member of the Tea Party Caucus...
, member of Congress from Maryland.
Notable alumni
Howard is the alma mater of several notable individuals to include: Ben AliBen Ali (businessman)
Mahaboob Ben Ali, known as Ben Ali, was a Trinidadian-born American businessman and restaurateur. Ali co-founded Ben's Chili Bowl, a landmark restaurant located on U Street in Washington D.C., with his wife, Virginia Ali, in 1958...
(co-founder and owner of Ben's Chili Bowl
Ben's Chili Bowl
Ben's Chili Bowl is a landmark restaurant in Washington, D.C., located at 1213 U Street, next to Lincoln Theatre, in the Shaw neighborhood of northwest D.C. It is known locally for its chili dogs, half-smokes, and milkshakes, and has been an integral part of the neighborhood's history since its...
, the famous restaurant in Washington, DC.), choreographer, actress and singer Debbie Allen
Debbie Allen
Deborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities...
, the first Nigerian President Nnamdi Azikiwe
Nnamdi Azikiwe
Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe , usually referred to as Nnamdi Azikiwe and popularly known as "Zik", was one of the leading figures of modern Nigerian nationalism who became the first President of Nigeria after Nigeria secured its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960; holding the...
, NFL players Antoine Bethea
Antoine Bethea
Antoine Bethea is a professional American football safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Colts...
and Marques Douglas
Marques Douglas
Marques Lamont Douglas is an American football defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 1999...
, Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
(former U.S. Supreme Court Justice), United States Ambassador Andrew Young
Andrew Young
Andrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations...
, attorney Vernon Jordan, Congressman Elijah Cummings
Elijah Cummings
Elijah Eugene Cummings is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1996. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes just over half of Baltimore City, as well as most of Howard County...
, actor Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
, David Dinkins
David Dinkins
David Norman Dinkins is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.-Early life:...
(the first African-American Mayor of New York City), Mike Espy
Mike Espy
Alphonso Michael "Mike" Espy is a former United States political figure. From 1987 to 1993, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi. He served as the Secretary of Agriculture from 1993 to 1994. He was the first African American Secretary of Agriculture...
(the first African-American U.S. Secretary of Agriculture), Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia Kasim Reed
Kasim Reed
Mohammed Kasim Reed, known as Kasim Reed, is a Democratic politician and the 59th Mayor of Atlanta, who previously represented the 35th District of the Georgia State Senate. He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1998 to 2002...
, Former Mayor of the District of Columbia Adrian Fenty
Adrian Fenty
Adrian Malik Fenty was the sixth, and at age 36, the youngest, mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term—from 2007 to 2011—losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gray...
, Gus Johnson
Gus Johnson (sportscaster)
Augustus Cornelius "Gus" Johnson, Jr. is an American sportscaster. Formerly employed by CBS Sports, he currently calls play-by-play for Fox Sports, Showtime, the Big Ten Network and EA Sports.-Education:...
(American Sports Broadcaster), American television personality Ananda Lewis
Ananda Lewis
Ananda Lewis is an American television personality, social activist, and model. She appeared on Maxim and AskMen.com's Hottest Celebrity Lists in 2001...
, Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved...
, American actress and singer Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashād is an American Tony Award winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show....
, and Crystal Waters
Crystal Waters
Crystal Waters is an American dance music singer and songwriter.-Childhood and young adult life:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Waters is the daughter of Betty and Junior Waters, a famed jazz musician; her great aunt, Ethel Waters, was one of the first African-American vocalists to appear in...
(American dance music and house music singer and songwriter).
See also
- A Bridge Across and BeyondA Bridge Across and BeyondA Bridge Across and Beyond, is a public artwork by American artist Richard Hunt, located at the Blackburn Center on the Howard University campus in Washington, D.C., United States...
by artist Richard HuntRichard Hunt (sculptor)Richard Hunt is an internationally renowned sculptor.He was born in 1935 on Chicago's South Side. From an early age he was interested in the arts, as his mother was an artist. As a young boy, Hunt began to show enthusiasm and talent in artistic disciplines such as drawing and painting, and also...
(a sculpture located at the Blackburn Fountain)