President's Bison Beat March 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 MARCH 2014

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3

INSIDE CONVOCATION

2 CHARTER DAY DINNER

3

ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK

4

EXCELLENCE AT HOWARD

5

AROUND CAMPUS

6

Dear Howard University Community: During our recent Charter Day celebration, alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends paused to celebrate our institution’s rich past and promising future. Convocation orator, Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, challenged our students and lauded our University for its distinctive role in advancing education and social change in the United States.

The gala was one of the largest in its 90-year history with 1,800 guests. Special thanks to Howard alumna, board member and award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad for serving as the Mistress of Ceremonies.

I was pleased to announce $8.9 million in gifts to the University. I would like to once again thank Arthur Reynolds and Robert McLeod for awarding the University a $4.9 million gift from the Dr. Richard Francis Jones Trust. Additionally, I would like to express sincere gratitude to Alfred C. Liggins for his gift of $4 million in honor of his mother, Radio One chairperson/founder and Howard alumna, Cathy Hughes.The gift will benefit the School of Communications.

Congratulations to our 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients: Dr. Patricia E. Bath, Ms.T. Eloise Foster, Dr. James H. Johnson Jr. and Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall Jr. Special commendation to Mrs. Nesta H. Bernard, who received the inaugural Capstone Service Award.

There are many sources of excellence at Howard University, including the Howard Gospel Choir. I recently had the opportunity to hear them perform at the Howard University Alumni Club (HUAC) of Atlanta Charter Day celebration.

They were truly uplifting! I thank the HUAC of Atlanta for hosting me.

Howard University’s unparalleled commitment to service sets us apart. Approximately 400 Howard students spent spring break conducting a variety of service projects in six U.S. cities and Haiti as part of our Alternative Spring Break program. I was honored to participate in the send-off ceremony as well as visit volunteers in Washington and Baltimore.

Without question, our future is strong and these young men and women are changing the world around them.

In Truth and Service,

Wayne A.I. Frederick Interim President

CONVOCATION

CHARTER DAY ORATOR LAUDS HOWARD AS A CHAMPION OF CHANGE Jamie Dimon, board chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co., delivered an inspirational address at Howard University’s 147th Charter Day Convocation.

for successful corporate and government initiatives that support young minority students. He said there may be “an Einstein or a President Obama” among those who fail to graduate from high school.

“The U.S. is a good example of a nation that continues to earn its way -- to learn, to reform, to change and to get better,” Dimon said in his remarks. “Howard is a shining example of that.”

In 2006, Dimon was named chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, and became chairman one year later. He has led the bank since JPMorgan Chase’s merger with Bank One Corporation in 2004. Named Institutional Investor’s CEO of the Year in 2011, Dimon has had a long career in investment banking. He serves on the boards of several corporations and non-profit organizations, including the United Negro College Fund.

Dimon encouraged students to “maintain fortitude” as they pursue success. He said his own success was built on hard work and cultivating loyalty. He said he never worked as hard as he did in the years immediately following college. “Success is hard. It is not easy,” Dimon said. “Each one of you has an opportunity to be a leader - to bend the arc of history that Martin Luther King spoke about.” Dimon also underscored the need

To watch the Convocation online, click here.

CHARTER DAY 2014

90TH CHARTER DAY GALA ATTRACTS 1,800 GUESTS, RECOGNIZES NEARLY $10 MILLION IN GIFTS On March 8, Howard hosted one of the largest Charter Day galas in its history with 1,800 guests gathering at the Washington Hilton.

Celebrating the 147th anniversary of the University, the annual fundraiser is a must-attend event in the nation’s capital.

Interim President Wayne A.I. Frederick announced nearly $10 million in gifts to the University. Award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad, a Howard alumna, was the mistress of ceremonies. Arthur Reynolds and Robert McLeod were recognized for a $4.9 million gift from the Dr. Richard Francis Jones Trust. Dr. Jones was a former chief of Urology at Howard. Alfred C. Liggins was also acknowledged for his gift of $4 million in honor of his mother, Radio One chairperson/founder and Howard alumna, Cathy Hughes. The gift will benefit the School of Communications.

The University honored four alumni for their extraordinary accomplishments in their respective fields: Dr. Patricia E. Bath, in medicine, ophthalmology and research; T. Eloise Foster, in public service; Dr. James H. Johnson Jr., in science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM) education; and Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., in medicine, surgery and public health. Nesta H. Bernard, vice president for Development and Alumni Relations, was presented with the inaugural Capstone Distinguished Service Award for three decades of dedicated service to Howard University.

CHARTER DAY CELEBRATION IN ATLANTA Howard University Alumni Club of Atlanta’s E-Board joined by alumni Judge Kimberly Adams and Portia Bruner of Fox 5 singing the Alma Mater at the 2014 Charter Day Gala in Atlanta.

ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK 2014

ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK MARKS 20 YEARS OF SERVICE Spring break for college students usually means a getaway to sandy beaches and warmer climates for the 20th year, many Howard University students spent their spring break completing service projects around the world instead.

Nearly 400 Howard students volunteered 16,000 hours in Haiti, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Memphis, New Orleans, and locally in Washington, D.C. Students volunteered from March 8-15, for the Alternative Spring Break program. In Chicago, students worked with organizations including, Downtown Advocacy and Donda’s House. The group also advocated for the implementation of gun control through petitioning, protesting and community engagement. In other cities, participants mentored students, helped lead sexual health workshops, worked with the homeless and those infected with HIV, and led other community projects.

Since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, students have traveled to the Caribbean nation every year. Volunteers worked at the Haitian-American Caucus in Croix Des Bouquets. Volunteers learn ways to fight child slavery and domestic violence and work with the YWCA to conduct health screenings and workshops for young girls.

EXCELLENCE AT HOWARD

HOWARD LAW RANKED AMONG TOP 50 LAW SCHOOLS

The Howard University School of Law was recently ranked one of the top 50 Go-To Law Schools in a report by the National Law Journal & Legal Times (NLJ). The report highlights law schools that produce the most new associates in the nation’s largest law firms. Schools on the Go-To list were identified based on the percentage of 2013 law graduates who took jobs as first-year associates at one of NLJ’s 250 firms. Howard Law, listed among law schools with significantly higher tuition costs, also outperformed its U.S. News ranking by the largest margin of any law school on the list.

FACULTY MEMBER AWARDED DEPT. OF ENERGY GRANT

Howard University Chemistry Professor Jason S. Matthews, Ph.D., was recently awarded a $200,000 grant by the Department of Energy, National EnergyTechnology Laboratory (DOENETL), for research in the fight against global warming.The two-year research project is centered on the development of new processes to capture pure carbon dioxide -- CO2 -- and generate electricity.According to Matthews, researchers will develop synthetic routes toward the preparation of core shell iron oxide particles for use in the chemical looping process developed by Professor Liang-Shih Fan at Ohio State University. In chemical looping, coal efficiently reacts with iron oxide to generate electricity and a pure CO2 stream, which can be easily captured and stored underground.This cost-effective process is expected to capture more that 99 percent of coal’s CO2 emissions.

PROFESSOR AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS HUMANITIES FELLOWSHIP Quito Swan, Ph.D., an associate professor of History at Howard University, has been named a 2014 University Teachers Fellow of the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH).

The eight-month fellowship, titled Pauulu Kamarakafego, Indigenous Technology, and Global Black Power, provides Swan with $33,000 to support research for his book about Pauulu Kamarakafego, an ecological engineer and political activist from Bermuda. Swan’s application was one of 40 selected by the NEH for funding from a field of more than 1,200 applicants.

CENTER AWARDED $500K FORD GRANT

The Ford Foundation has awarded the Howard University Center on Race and Wealth (CRW) a two-year $500,000 grant to address wealth inequality in America. “Wealth disparity in America is one of today’s most pressing issues,” said Janet Griffin Graves, Ph.D., program director of CRW. Ford Foundation’s grant allows Howard University and other institutions throughout America to tackle this issue. The grant, awarded under Ford’s Building Economic Security over a Lifetime Initiative, will allow the CRW to work with other Ford Foundation grantees across the country to develop and advance policies focused on asset building in low-wealth and low-income communities as well as closing the racial wealth gap.

BIOLOGY PROFESSOR RECEIVES DEFENSE DEPARTMENT GRANT

Department of Biology Assistant Professor Anna K. Allen, Ph.D., was recently awarded a $450,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to fund the acquisition of a spinning disc fluorescent confocal microscope.

The grant was awarded under the DoD’s Research and Education Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and MinorityServing Institutions. The grant, titled “Acquisition of a Spinning Disk Confocal Microscope to Enhance Research and Training in the STEM Fields at Howard University,” will enhance the technical and instructional capabilities of the department, as well as help to increase diversity in the STEM fields. “This next generation of imaging capability will revolutionize both the instructional training as well as research that faculty and other local colleges and universities can accomplish, ” said Allen, principal investigator on the project.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HILLTOP ON 90 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE AND ACHIEVEMENT!

AROUND CAMPUS

HOWARD UNIVERSITY, BARNES& NOBLE COLLEGE ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP Beginning in April, Barnes & Noble College will manage day-to-day

operations for the Howard University Bookstore. Students and faculty will find an expanded selection of Howard University textbook offerings, services, merchandise and apparel. The new “Barnes & Noble at Howard University” will officially open on Monday, April 7. The current space will undergo a remodel throughout the summer.

“This partnership will improve our offerings and provide students, staff and faculty with more options to support teaching and learning,” said Howard University Interim President Wayne A.I. Frederick. “Additionally, the renovated space will further enhance our service to the campus and the community at large.”

ART DEPT. PRESENTS 25th ANNUAL JAMES A. PORTER COLLOQUIUM

The Howard University Department of Art will host the 25th Annual James A. Porter Colloquium on African-American Art and Art of the African Diaspora on April 11-12. Named after a pioneering Howard University art historian and professor, the colloquium is the leading forum for scholars, artists, curators as well as art enthusiasts in the field of African-American art and visual culture. The colloquium’s theme is “Bridging the Past to Present: African American Contributions in Public Art.” Participants will examine the contributions of African-American artists in the public space. The program is free and open to the public.

TRIBUTE TO AMIRI BARAKA The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC), the Department of English, and the Department of Afro-American Studies honored Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) with a symposium and commemorative program titled, “IN THE TRADITION,” which celebrated his life and work. Baraka’s poetry, plays, essays, criticism and activism challenged the boundaries of contemporary American thought and actions. Baraka died on Jan. 9, at the age of 79. He became one of America’s most renowned and prolific writers. His ties to Howard University spanned six decades. Baraka frequently lectured and performed on campus, educated all of his children here, and designated the MSRC as the repository of his works.

HOWARD IN THE NEWS

SAY YES TO HOWARD UNIVERSITY On Friday, April 4, the University will host our Fall 2014 Accepted Student Day. We invite faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends to help us encourage accepted students to SAY YES to Howard University by May 1. Additionally, we are seeking volunteers to interview applicants. If you would like to be considered or to receive additional information, please contact the Office of Admission at ExploreHU@howard.edu.

HUFFINGTON POST On Campus: Alternative Spring Break

THE WASHINGTON POST For Howard University students, a spring break is for an altruistic purpose

ABC 7 Howard med students anticipate ‘Match Day’

Actress Phylicia Rashad celebrates Howard University’s 147th birthday

WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL ‘Match Day’ makes hospitals just as nervous as med students amid changing landscape

DETROIT FREE PRESS Howard University students trade spring break trips for metro Detroit volunteering WASHINGTON INFORMER To lead, you first must serve

THE AFRO Howard University and Jumpstart to Host Educational Fair for LowIncome Students

BET Howard University students gear up for alternative spring break

NY DAILY NEWS Howard Professor Receives the Pratt Institute’s 2014 Community Commitment Award

MEMPHIS DAILY NEWS Howard Students Volunteer Spring Break in Memphis

DIVERSE ISSUES IN HIGHER ED HBCUs Gather in Silicon Valley for Innovation, Entrepreneurship Symposium

STAY CONNECTED

Howard.edu twitter.com/HowardU facebook.com/howarduniversity

THE NEW YORK TIMES The Drug War Has Only Grown More Futile

VOTE FOR HOWARD UNIVERSITY Please vote for Howard University in the 2014 Home Depot ‘Retool Your School’ Contest. The Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant Program provides support for on-campus enhancement projects.

To vote, visit http://www.retoolyourschool. com/vote-now/ or @THD_RYS.