President's Bison Beat June 2014

BISON BEAT

A Monthly N e ws l e tte r f r o m the O f f i c e o f the P res i d en t JUNE 2014

INSIDE

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AROUND CAMPUS

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EXCELLENCE AT HOWARD

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SUMMER ACTIVITIES

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 6

TIME-LAPSE VIDEO: VIEW PROGRESS ON NEW RESIDENCE HALLS Dear Howard University Community: While summer means a well-deserved break for most students and faculty, several members of the university community are hard at work revitalizing campus. Connectivity-bolstering technology upgrades include: refurbishing and reopening seven computer labs in the residence halls as well as Wi-Fi-enhancements in all the halls and several campus buildings. We will also install smart technology in nearly 60 classrooms. Significant progress has been made on our two new residence halls, which will open on time for incoming freshmen and rising sophomores, and add 1360 new student beds. We are also adding a new synthetic turf in Greene Memorial Stadium. The nearly 22,000 square feet of existing turf will be repurposed to establish an auxiliary athletic field.

As I have shared over the last several months, it is imperative that we engage strategic business partners to fulfill non-core functions, which allows us to reinvest in research, teaching and service. Beginning this fall, we will unveil a new and improved shuttle service in partnership with Reston Limousine.

Thompson Facilities Management was selected as our partner responsible for planning, designing, constructing, maintaining and operating a physical environment that supports our mission under the direction of a new AVP for Physical Facilities Management. Likewise, in collaboration with Barnes and Noble, we are completing renovations to the Howard University Bookstore.

After an extensive national search, I am pleased to welcome our new Dean of the Law School, Danielle Holley-Walker. As an accomplished scholar and respected administrator, Dean Holley-Walker combines a demonstrated record of success with a keen knowledge of contemporary academic programs in law schools and is an excellent addition to our campus community.

Over the last few weeks, we have hosted students from the Class of 2018 as part of our summer orientation program. We look forward to welcoming the class this fall.

Have an enjoyable summer.

In Truth and Service,

Wayne A.I. Frederick Interim President

AROUND CAMPUS UNIVERSITY APPOINTMENTS Holley-Walker Named School of Law Dean After a national search, Howard University has appointed Danielle R. Holley-Walker as the new School of Law dean. Holley-Walker currently serves as a law professor and associate dean for academic affairs at the University of South Carolina School of Law. Holley-Walker, who teaches civil procedure, federal courts and administrative law, said she is honored to be named dean of Howard Law and to build on its legacy of producing lawyers who are transformative leaders and social engineers.​ She earned a B.A. from Yale University and a law degree from Harvard University. She went on to a prestigious clerkship for the chief judge of the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Prior to teaching, Holley-Walker practiced civil litigation at Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP, in Houston. (Read More)

HHS SECRETARY DELIVERS KEYNOTE AT MEDICAL RESIDENT CEREMONY

Prioleau tapped as AVP for Government Affairs and Interim General Counsel Florence Prioleau will serve as Associate Vice President for Government Affairs and Interim General Counsel effective July 1. Ms. Prioleau brings an extensive and varied legal practice and experience as a public policy partner, former White House official and senior Congressional aide. For more than 25 years, she has provided counsel to clients on a wide range of issues before Congress and the federal agencies including healthcare, food and drug, higher education, tax, insurance, agricultural subsidies, federal grant funding, Internet gaming, environment and natural resources, and aviation.

HUSA SEEKS STRONGER TIES WITH NEIGHBORHOODS ​

Members of Howard University Student Association (HUSA) crisscrossed nearby communities as part of Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a leading voice on health policy and healthcare reform, delivered their 2014 Summer Canvassing Project. The initiative is meant to improve communication between Howard the keynote address at the Medical Resident Ceremony on June 13. She told 83 graduating residents and fellows that they were students and residents who live near campus. More entering the medical profession at one of the most important than 40 Howard students participated in June. The times in medical history and that they had a “solemn responsineighborhoods included, Pleasant Plains, LeDroit Park, bility” to the community. Secretary Sebelius expressed special Shaw and the U Street Corridor. appreciation for the nation’s doctors.

“After five years as HHS (Health and Human Services) secretary, six years as governor (of Kansas), and eight years as insurance commissioner, I continue to be inspired every day by the essential goodness, compassion, and generosity of doctors – and by the small miracles they perform every day even in the most basic elements of their practice,” Sebelius said.

“As students on an open campus, it’s important to futher foster a collaborative relationship between us and our surrounding community,” said Leighton Watson, president of the Howard University Student Association.​

EXCELLENCE AT HOWARD EDUCATION STUDENT SELECTED FOR FULBRIGHT AWARD TO BRAZIL Jonathan Ware (M.Ed., ’14) is the recipient of the 2014-15 Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award and will be traveling to Brazil in March 2015 to represent the United States as a cultural ambassador.

While at Howard, Ware was a recipient of the prestigious Helen Matthews Rand Endowed Scholarship. He plans to one day establish a charter school focused on global literacy, and pursue a doctorate in special education or in education policy.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program of the United States. It is designed to foster better understanding between Americans and the people of other nations.

SOPHOMORE BECOMES YOUNGEST DC ELECTED OFFICIAL Allyson Carpenter, a sophomore who studies political science, was elected to the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) for Ward 1 in Washington. The achievement makes her one of the youngest elected officials in the history of the District of Columbia.

Carpenter also serves as the deputy chief of staff of the Howard University Student Association (HUSA). In addition, she works for the Office of the City Administrator as a District Leadership Intern. The Cleveland native has served in the offices of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, both in Ohio and on Capitol Hill.

As an ANC commissioner, Carpenter said she looks forward to bridging the gap between Howard University students and the community.

LARGEST DELEGATION OF FRESHMEN TO VISIT CHINA

The Freshman Leadership Academy (FLA) will participate in its fourth annual academic and cultural visit to China July 13Aug. 3. More than 60 students are participating, the largest delegation from Howard’s freshman class to visit the region.

Students will visit important economic and historic landmarks as well as the U.S. consulate and major U.S. corporations based in China. This year, alumnus and award-winning actor Lance Gross will accompany FLA as the organization’s first global ambassador.

FLA is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs in conjunction with the Howard University Student Association.

This year, students raised more than $145,000 to help defray expenses.

SUMMER ACTIVITIES

YOUNG AFRICAN SCHOLARS ARRIVE AT HOWARD AS PART OF OBAMA INITIATIVE Howard University is hosting 25 emerging African leaders from President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) from June 15 - July 25. This U.S. State Department program is the Obama administration’s signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders.

During their time in the program, fellows will meet with U.S. government, civic and business leaders. African leaders from countries including Nigeria, Djibouti, Cameroon and South Africa are participating in the program at Howard.

Lucinda Acquaye, Ph.D., the initiative’s program manager at Howard, said Howard is including a strong service-learning component in its program.

CEACS PREPARES FUTURE SCIENTISTS THROUGH SUMMER ENRICHMENT Howard University’s College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Science (CEACS) is engaging young students from around the nation in science, technology and mathematics through enrichment programs this summer.

The programs include the Intel Boot Camp, the Precollege for Engineering (PCES) program, the Howard University Summer Transportation Institute (HUSTI) and summer immersion activities for students from the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (MS)2, in partnership with the Consortium for Additive Manufacturing (CAM).

HOWARD HOSTS REGIONAL NSF MATH CONFERENCE

SUMMER STUDENT ORIENTATION We are happy to welcome members of the Class of 2018! This summer, we will host five summer orientation sessions for incoming freshmen. The Student Orientation Program, in its second year, features a resources fair including career services, registration, financial aid, academic advising, a DC Tour and an Alumni Torch Passing Ceremony.

For more information, visit http://www.howard.edu/orientation/orientation.htm

The National Science Foundation-CBMS Regional Conference took place at Howard University June 10-15. The conference, “Mathematical Foundations on Transformation Optics,” covered topics concerning both the theoretical basis for transformation optics designs, such as cloaks, field rotators and electromagnetic wormholes, and some of the issues that arise from trying to physically realize them. Guest speakers included: Ulf Leonhardt of Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; Allan Greenleaf, University of Rochester; Ting Zhou, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Daniel Onofrei, University of Houston; and Alexander Kildishev, Purdue University.

2014 NATIONAL BLACK GRADUATE CONFERENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY HELD AT HOWARD

Howard University hosted the 20th annual National Black Graduate Conference in Psychology from June 5-8. The conference offered an opportunity for graduate students in all fields of psychology to present ongoing research, gain professional development experience and network with peers in a welcoming environment.