New Bison Appointments

Keith L. Alexander, Howard

alumnus and Pulitzer Prize-winning crime and courts reporter for The Washington Post, has been named The Hilltop’s new technical editorial adviser. He has also worked as an adjunct journalism professor at various Washington-area colleges, including Howard University, the University of Maryland and Trinity College. He is a three-time winner of the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual writing awards, finalist for the 2002 Livingston Awards, and contributor to the team at The Post for its Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Virginia Tech mass shooting.

Kenneth Anderson, Ph.D., is the new

associate provost for undergraduate studies in the Office of the Provost. As a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education, Anderson has served in roles of increasing responsibility, including most recently as associate dean of research and sponsored programs in the School of Education. Anderson is also a former middle school teacher. and Family Medicine within the College of Medicine. Copeland is fellowship-trained in adolescent medicine and completed her residency in family medicine in Chicago. Most recently, Copeland served as director of adolescent medicine at Morris Heights Health Center in the Bronx, New York, where she was responsible for the clinical and programmatic aspects of the Young Adult and Adolescent Health Unit.

Cynthia Evers, Ed.D, has been named vice president of student affairs. Evers has progressively served in responsible senior leadership positions at Howard University, including, most recently, interim vice president of student affairs and dean of students. Evers provides more than 20 years of higher education experience. Previously, she was appointed to serve on several committees instituted by the University System of Georgia’s vice chancellor, including Complete College Georgia, Guided Pathways and Hispanic Latino College Completion Policy.

Ta-Nehisi Coates, award-winning author and journalist, joins as faculty member in the flagship College of Arts and Sciences as the Sterling Brown Chair in the Department of English. Coates previously attended Howard and is author of “Between the World and Me,” a New York Times #1 bestselling novel and winner of the National Book Award.

Ebony Rose Copeland, M.D., MPH, is the new director of the Howard University Student Health Center and assistant professor in the Department of Community Nikole Hannah-Jones joins the faculty of the Cathy Hughes School of Communications, filling the newly created Knight Chair in Race and Journalism. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist will also found the Center for Journalism and Democracy, which will focus on training and supporting aspiring journalists in acquiring the investigative skills and historical and analytical expertise needed to cover the crisis our democracy is facing. She is the inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Journalism. Hannah-Jones is the creator of The New York Times’ 1619 Project, an examination of the repercussions of the slave trade.

Andrea A. Hayes, M.D., FACS, FAAP, was

named professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at Howard University College of Medicine and Howard University Hospital. Hayes is the first female chair of surgery at Howard University and just the second Black woman to serve as the chair of surgery at an academic institution in the nation. Hayes will also serve as the associate director of the Cancer Center at Howard.

Hayes joins Howard after serving as the surgeon-in-chief and division chief of pediatric surgery at the University of North Carolina Children’s Hospital, where she also served as a professor of pediatric surgery and surgical oncology. She specializes in refractory and resistant tumors in children, specifically soft tissue sarcomas in children.

Olga Osaghae is the

interim chief information officer and head of Enterprise Technology Services (ETS). Osaghae most recently served as the director of enterprise applications and deputy project manager for the Workday human capital management (HCM) system. She has worked with leaders from across campus to launch Workday finance and payroll systems as well as HCM. For the past 13 years, she has worked at Howard in a variety of capacities, including manager of database administration services, project manager, senior functional analyst and senior IT auditor. Sean Plater has been appointed the new general manager of public television station WHUT-TV. Plater will retain his role as general manager of 96.3 WHUR-FM, which he has led to become the No. 1 music radio station in Washington, D.C. Plater earned a bachelor’s degree from the Howard University School of Communications in 2007.

Phylicia Rashad is the new dean of the reestablished Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts. Rashad graduated from Howard with a bachelor’s in fine arts. Rashad is one of many Howard University alumni who have transformed the arts and entertainment industry through legendary careers on screen and behind the scenes, in front of the microphone and from within the boardroom.

An accomplished actor and stage director, Rashad became a household name when she portrayed Claire Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” a character whose enduring appeal has earned her numerous honors and awards for over two decades. More recent roles in television and film include appearances as Carol on “This Is Us”; Diana Dubois on “Empire”; Dr. Woods-Trap in “David Makes Man”; Libba Gardner in “Soul”; and Dr. Jones in “Between the World and Me” as well as extensive onstage performances including Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” and Aunt Ester in August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean.” Rashad has also served as adjunct faculty at several universities and arts schools.