A Monthly Newsletter from the Office of the President
BISON BEAT August 2016 | Volume 5 Issue 7
Howard University Welcomes New Students August 2016 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | PAGE 1
Dear Class of 2020, August 22, 2016 was more than the first day of school. It was the day that new members were officially welcomed with opened arms into the Howard University family. Some universities refer to these new family members as freshmen. But the word “freshman” may not be befitting for the future trailblazers, professionals and provocateurs of our time. Howard University has entrusted generations of Bison to pass on the torch, to reach back and pull forward, to mentor and to teach the classes that come after them—and that is what makes us a family. There are generations of Bison who are climbing corporate ladders, negotiating with NGOs, pursuing additional degrees, teaching in their communities, traveling the world, serving and working overtime to pave the way for you. They are not only invested in your success. They are also invested in the future of Howard University. They recognize that the Howard University legacy is not one to be rested on—the Howard legacy began with Thurgood Marshall and Zora Neale Hurston, was passed on to Elijah Cummings and Kamala Harris and awaits the grasp of a new class of Bison.
For nearly 150 years, Howard University has captured the hearts of generations of Bison and inscribed the words “Truth and Service” on their hearts. Howard exists for the young ladies who live across the country and dream of one day attending this University and for young men who are carrying on their family legacy. It exists for the students who have never felt that their voices were heard and those students who want to continue to be nurtured and educated by those who look like them. Finally, Howard exists for those who would have otherwise never considered an HBCU education and, in the words of President Obama, Howard University exists to remind us to “be confident in [your] Blackness.” For these reasons and more, Howard University must continue to exist. This year, Howard Bison from both near and far pass the torch to capable young men and women from different walks of life. You are capable, you are equipped, you are supported.
Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA
PAGE 2 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | August 2016
Inside AROUND CAMPUS 4
Howard Upperclassmen Welcome Incoming Students to Campus
6
Tips For Successful Matriculation at HU
7
Howard Students Benefit from Early/On-Time Tuition Rebate Program
7
Howard Makes Campus Improvements
8
Howard University Day of Service Expands
10
Preparations for 92nd Annual Howard Homecoming Underway
12
School of Communications to Celebrate 45th Anniversary
13
Dr. Kimberly L. Jones Appointed Associate Dean
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Dr. Hazel Ruth Edwards Appointed Chair
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Rev. Waltrina N. Middleton Appointed Associate Dean
August 2016 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | PAGE 3
AROUND CAMPUS
Howard Upperclassmen Welcome Incoming Students to Campus Howard University faculty, staff, personnel and returning students welcomed a freshman class of 1,032 students this fall 2016 academic year, as they began arriving on campus in mid-August. Take a look at the sentiments from those passing the torch and those grasping a hold of it that were shared via social media:
PAGE 4 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | August 2016
53,000+ 53,000+ Number of application materials this cycle, including incomplete applications, that the Office of Admissions has handled
19 The states and U.S. territories with the highest yield for the incoming class: New York, Maryland, Georgia, California, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Delaware, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Connecticut
Number of nations represented in the fall 2016 incoming class. Nations with the highest yield for women in the Fall 2016 incoming class: Jamaica, Nigeria, Nepal, Trinidad and Tobago, Bangladesh, Barbados, Chad, Ethiopia, Guyana, Madagascar
August 2016 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | PAGE 5
Tips For Successful Matriculation at HU
15 Meet with your Academic Advisor or a Student Success Counselor at least twice a semester and develop a plan. Remember, your goal is to graduate in four years.
Make school your priority and work your schedule around your classes, not the other way around.
Choose a major and stick with it! Meet with your advisor about new academic interests.
Register for 15 credits every fall and spring semester. Use the summer semester to catch up if needed, or to get ahead.
ASK FOR HELP! Your Academic Advisor or a Student Success Counselor would love to help you. Utilize Degree Works, a web-based degree audit program that will help students and Academic Advisors monitor progress toward degree completion. Using the Degree Works tool will help to ensure that you stay on track. Learn more about it by visiting http://www.ellucian.com/Software/EllucianDegree-Works/
PAGE 6 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | August 2016
Howard Students Benefit from Early/On-Time Tuition Rebate Program The Howard University Class of 2016 included 85 students who received an Early/On-Time tuition rebate of 50 percent of direct payments made in their last semester. This incentive
is one we hope will allow parents and students alike to avoid taking out as many loans as they have in the past, encourage early and on-time graduations and to circumvent the idea of a fifth or sixth year in college. Howard University remains focused on maximizing the return on student investments and continues to be one of our nation’s best, most accessible and affordable comprehensive research institutions.
Howard Makes Campus Improvements The University has made and continues to make several campus improvements: 1. Technologically-enhanced classrooms that include audio-visual upgrades, smart boards, versatile furniture to replace the traditional chalk boards and lecture-style learning environments. These classrooms now provide ease of laptop and tablet connectivity for professors and students. 2. Gender-neutral restrooms across campus. 3. Capital Projects are underway, including key HVAC equipment replacements, laundry and exercise facility upgrades, and roofing and lab renovations. 4. Beautification and safety initiatives include landscaping redesign and concrete projects.
August 2016 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | PAGE 7
Howard University Day of Service Expands PAGE 8 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | August 2016
Howard University Day of Service (HUDOS), a 2013-established annual service-learning event serving the DC metropolitan area and modeled after the University's nationally recognized Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program, expanded this year to include sites focused on police and community relations. About 600 incoming and current students served at more than 40 service sites across the city during the event, which took place Aug. 19. According to HUDOS public relations Coordinator and senior Public Relations major Na’ima Jenkins, the new initiative is a sign of
the program’s ability to address issues currently facing DC communities and the country at large. The Trenton, New Jersey native said the HUDOS program has not only grown in its initiatives, but in the involvement of a greater mix of the Howard community as volunteers. Returning HUDOS initiatives included: education, environmental services, HIV/ AIDS awareness, homelessness and poverty, violence, and voter registration. This year’s sites included Tubman Elementary School, the Father McKenna Center, the Emergence Community Arts Collective, the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project, among others.
August 2016 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | PAGE 9
Preparations for 92nd Annual Howard Homecoming Underway
#HUHOMECOMING16 This year, Howard University will host its 92nd annual homecoming celebration on Saturday, Oct. 22. For decades, Howard’s homecoming has been lauded as one of the nation’s premiere homecoming celebrations, and is credited for creating the homecoming blueprint for other universities to follow. The University hopes to continue on its archetype, this year, in a way that recognizes the past, celebrates the present and embraces the future.
PAGE 10 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | August 2016
The Bison will take on the Aggies of North Carolina A&T at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, in Greene Stadium. To be kept up to date on all homecoming activities, and to view the homecoming teaser, follow on social @bisonhomecoming and @howardalumni. You can join the conversation by using #HUHomecoming16 on all social media platforms. For more information, visit www.bisonhomecoming.com.
August 2016 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | PAGE 11
School of Communications to Celebrate 45th Anniversary
The School of Communications will host a 45th Anniversary Soirée from 6:30-11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Newseum/Knight Conference Center in Washington, DC. National co-hosts of the event are alumna Michelle Miller, CBS news correspondent; and Miller’s husband, Marc Morial, former mayor of New Orleans and president and CEO of the National Urban League. School of Communications’ graduates will be honored and NBCUniversal will receive the Corporate Award. Soirée tickets are $75 for individuals and $45 for their companions. Student tickets are also $45. Proceeds benefit the School of Communications Anniversary Fund for
PAGE 12 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | August 2016
scholarships and program support. In addition to scholarships, funding opportunities include endowed professorships, the Speech and Hearing Clinic, the Tech Center, the Debate Team and the Media Innovation Center. For tickets, sponsorships, donations and other details, contact Maria Johnson at (202) 2382518 or maria.johnson@howard.edu, or Victor Montgomery at vmontgomery@howard.edu.
$75 Soiree Tickets
$45
Companion Tickets
Recent appointments
Recent appointments
Dr. Kimberly L. Jones
Dr. Hazel Ruth Edwards
Dr. Kimberly L. Jones was appointed acting associate dean for Research and Graduate Education in the College of Engineering and Architecture. In this new role, Jones will provide leadership and strategic vision to increase research activities and promote graduate programs in the college. She reports to the Dean, Dr. Achille Messac. Jones has served as the chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for six years and continues to serve as acting department chair. She earned a bachelor’s in civil engineering from Howard University, a master’s in environmental engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.
Dr. Hazel Ruth Edwards was appointed chair of the Department of Architecture, College of Engineering and Architecture. Throughout her unique 28-year career, her design background has served as a foundation for her talent in translating and representing ideas and concepts, as well as creating alternatives. Edwards has served as a member of the faculty of the Graduate Program in City and Regional Planning at the Institute of Architecture and Planning, Morgan State University, and at the School of Architecture and Planning at The Catholic University of America. Shortly thereafter, she became the founding director of its new Master of City and Regional Planning, which was ranked in 2014 by Planetizen as one of the Top 15 Small Programs in North America. Edwards earned a bachelor’s from Howard, a master’s from Harvard, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
APPOINTED ASSOCIATE DEAN
APPOINTED CHAIR
August 2016 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | PAGE 13
Recent appointments
Rev. Waltrina N. Middleton APPOINTED ASSOCIATE DEAN
Rev. Waltrina N. Middleton was appointed as associate dean of the historic Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel. Rev. Middleton has served as the national minister for Youth Advocacy and Leadership Formation and the program director for the National Youth Event. She has shared her vision and message of faith, love and justice in diverse settings, including World Council of Churches Forum on Peace and Justice in Trondheim, Norway; National Council of Churches; The Carter Center; Coalition of Black Trade Unionists; and as a part of a United Nations delegation addressing U.S. drug policies and mass incarceration. Rev. Middleton earned a bachelor’s from Howard, a master’s from DePaul University, and a Master of Divinity at the Chicago Theological Seminary.
PAGE 14 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | August 2016
Bridging the Gap PLEDGE CARD A $25 MILLION STUDENT AID CAMPAIGN
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Will You Answer the Call? August 2016 | Bison Beat Monthly Newsletter | PAGE 15