Howard University: Mecca of Black education

IT is the richest Black educational institution in America, and one of the country's top research schools. Armed with a $312 million general endowment and a successful recruiting strategy that has attracted students who can hold their own with counterparts at prestigious White institutions, Howard University is experiencing one of the most successful periods in its 136-year history.

Having bounced back from a tight budget and low student and faculty morale, Howard has made strides in the last few years that, by many standards, have propelled it into ranks of the nation's elite schools. Top students from across the country and the world are now flocking to the university to major in one of the more than 120 areas of studies leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The result has been unprecedented recognition for the Washington, D.C., university, which has produced two Rhodes Scholars, a Truman Scholar, six Fulbright Scholars, nine Pickering Fellows, one Miss USA, and a Nobel Peace Prize contender--and that's just in the last five years.

Long considered the Mecca of Black education, having produced leaders in virtually every area imaginable, Howard, on some lists, now ranks as one of the top 100 schools in the country, and the university's hospital as one of the 50 best nationwide. CEOs of Fortune 500 companies now line up to visit the campus, talk to students, teach classes and perhaps get first dibs on graduates.

One of 48 private universities (the only African-American university) supported mostly by funds from the U.S. Congress, the school now ranks as the 131st richest school (tops among Black institutions).

Howard has awarded more than 95,000 degrees. In fact, Howard produces more African-American Ph.D.s and MDs than any other university in the world. And with more than 3,000 faculty members, it has the largest concentration of African-American scholars in the world.

This year, Howard has 10,500 students enrolled in 12 schools and colleges, which include arts and sciences, business, communications, medicine, dentistry, divinity, pharmacy, nursing and allied health, social work, graduate school, education, engineering, architecture and computer sciences, and law.

For administrators, faculty, students and alumni, the national and international recognition being bestowed on their school only confirms what they have known all along: Howard produces graduates who not only have a high sense of cultural awareness and pride, but who are ready for cutting-edge careers in competitive areas of expertise.

Leading this push to higher ground is the university's president H. Patrick Swygert. For Swygert, who left his president post at the State University of New York (Albany) in 1995 to come to Howard, his mission is two-fold: Never forget Howard's steep history, but also never get so caught up in it that he doesn't adequately prepare the school for the ever-changing future. "I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to those who come before me, and an even greater responsibility to those who come after me," he says. "One challenge is to continue to convince our community that if you attend Howard University or an HBCU, your child has a full opportunity to be successful, both in terms of human growth and potential, and professional growth and potential in this society."

Swygert points to such notable Howard alumni as Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, Emmy Award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad, singer Jessye Norman, actress-producer Debbie Allen, Dr. LaSalle Leffall, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, L. Douglas Wilder, and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young.

Wayman Smith, chairman emeritus of the Board of Trustees, says he's very pleased with Howard's progress. "The school is on a track where it is competing with some of the top schools in the country," he says. "We are in a competitive environment. Howard has always been the pinnacle, the capstone of education in the African-American community. What has not been quite as self-evident is how well Howard University is competing against all other universities. When our students graduate, they can compete with anybody who graduated from any other school. We must continue that growth."

Award-winning actor, activist and Howard alumnus Ossie Davis says the school is an "outstanding university. It's a first-class university, one of the premiere educational institutions in the country," he says. "Howard is one of those bastions that define us, articulate our point of view, defend our interest."

In addition to educating its students, Howard has always had roots in civic-minded activism. That continues today with highly public stands taken recently by students on such issues as affirmative action and the crisis at historic Morris Brown College. "We are committed to the agenda of the African-American community nationally and worldwide," Swygert says. "For us, it's not simply about our doing well. But it's doing well with a purpose. It's a very old vision, but one that I want to build upon. It's not just about bricks and mortar. It's about purpose. I'd like to think that it's a live vision. It's not a static one."