159th Opening Convocation HOWARD UNIVERSITY
Friday, September Eighteenth Two Thousand Twenty-Six Eleven O’Clock in the Morning Cramton Auditorium Main Campus
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Minnie V. Baylor-Henry, Esq. Dr. Richard E. Besser Mr. Chris Carr Mr. Donald B. Christian The Honorable Arne Duncan Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick Interim President, President Emeritus, and Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery Mr. Godfrey Gill Reverend Dr. Michele V. Hagans
Ms. Leslie D. Hale Chair Dr. Lena Hill Dr. Danette G. Howard Vice Chair Mr. Marc S. Lampkin Dr. Nandi Olive Leslie Mr. Andrew Lindsay Mr. Kevin E. Lofton Mr. Mark A. L. Mason Vice Chair
Ms. Depelsha McGruder Mr. James J. Murren Mr. Ziad Ojakli Mr. Levoyd E. Robinson Ms. Hilary Rosen Mr. Shelley Stewart Jr. Mr. Bruce E. Thompson Mr. Christopher J. Tyson Dr. A. Eugene Washington Mr. Chris Washington
TRUSTEES EMERITI Dr. John E. Jacob Chairman Emeritus The Honorable Marie C. Johns Mr. Robert Lumpkins The Honorable Gabrielle K. McDonald Stacey J. Mobley, Esq. Chairman Emeritus
Dr. Laurence C. Morse Chairman Emeritus Martin D. Payson, Esq. The Honorable M. Kasim Reed The Honorable L. Douglas Wilder Mrs. Benaree Pratt Wiley
PATRON EX-OFFICIO The Honorable Linda McMahon United States Secretary of Education
OFFICERS OF THE UNIVERSITY Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA Interim President, President Emeritus, and Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery
Anthony K. Wutoh, Ph.D., R.Ph. Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Dawn Williams, Ph.D. Deputy Provost
Aristide J. Collins Jr., Ed.D. Senior Vice President and Secretary
Cynthia Evers, Ed.D. Senior Vice President for Student Affairs
Florence W. Prioleau, Esq. Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Keyana M. Scales, Ed.D. Senior Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success
Rebecca Vazquez-Skillings Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Rashad Young Senior Vice President for Administration and Chief Administrative Officer
Allison Bryant, Ph.D. Vice President of Corporate Relations
Princess Gamble Vice President and Interim Chief Development Officer
Kim M. Lewis, Ph.D. Vice President of Research and Chief Research Officer
Warren Petty, Ed.D. Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Lydia G. Sermons-Wilkerson Vice President of Communications and Chief Communications Officer
2026 OPENING CONVOCATION PROGRAM BOOK PRESIDING Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA Interim President, President Emeritus, and Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery ACADEMIC AND PLATFORM PARTY PROCESSION Felix Mendelssohn War March of the Priests The Howard University Concert Band Mr. Chancellor Mills, Conductor PRESENTATION OF COLORS THE NATIONAL ANTHEM The Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING by James Weldon Johnson INVOCATION Reverend Bernard L. Richardson, Ph.D. Dean, Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel PRESIDENT’S WELCOME Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA BOARD OF TRUSTEES CHAIR’S WELCOME Leslie D. Hale, MBA Chair, Howard University Board of Trustees MUSIC Charles Francois Gounod, Arranger Sanctus from St. Cecilia Mass The Howard University Concert Chorale Sanaa Stephen, Soprano Soloist Dr. Mickey Thomas Terry, Pianist Dr. Eric O. Poole, Conductor PRESENTATIONS OF CONVOCATION SPEAKERS Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA PRESENTATIONS Reflections from the Academy Clive O. Callender, M.D. Okianer Christian Dark, J.D. Reflections from the Staff Mrs. Anita L. English Mr. Andrew Rivers MUSIC Roland Marvin Carter, Arranger This Lit’l Light of Mine The Howard University Concert Chorale Victoria Williams, Soprano Soloist Dr. Poole, Conductor CLOSING REMARKS Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA ALMA MATER BENEDICTION Reverend Bernard L. Richardson, Ph.D. RETIRING OF THE COLORS ACADEMIC AND PLATFORM RECESSIONAL
THE CONVOCATION SPEAKERS Clive O. Callender, M.D. Professor of Surgery Howard University College of Medicine Clive Callender is a pioneering transplant surgeon and professor of surgery at the Howard University College of Medicine whose career has transformed organ transplantation and donation among underserved communities. After returning to Howard University Hospital in 1973, he helped establish the nation’s first minoritydirected dialysis and transplant center. In 1991, Dr. Callender founded the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP), a groundbreaking national initiative focused on increasing organ donation and reducing the need for transplantation through education and disease prevention. His many honors include the American Society of Transplant Surgeons’ prestigious Pioneer Award, recognizing his groundbreaking contributions to the field. Over six decades, he has performed over 600 transplant surgeries, trained generations of physicians, and authored more than 140 publications. Okianer Christian Dark, J.D. Associate Provost for Faculty Development Office of the Provost Okianer Christian Dark is professor of law and associate provost for faculty development at Howard University, where she has served on the law faculty since 2001. Over 25 years at Howard, she has held numerous leadership roles, including associate dean for academic affairs and interim dean of the Howard University School of Law. In 2015, she established Howard’s Office of Faculty Development, creating programs to strengthen faculty mentorship, scholarship, professional development and academic leadership across the University. Before entering academia, Professor Dark served as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and as an assistant U.S. attorney. She earned her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law and is a respected scholar and educator in torts, products liability, and health law. Mrs. Anita L. English Assistant Secretary for University Operations and Director of Policy Management Office of the Secretary Anita English has devoted over three decades of service to Howard University, joining the institution in 1995 and later serving as assistant secretary for University operations and director of policy management in the Office of the Secretary. Her work has been integral to University governance, including the development and administration of institutional policies, stewardship of official Board of Trustees records, and support of multiple presidential searches. Before Howard, English served in the Peace Corps and worked as a policy analyst for the District of Columbia. She holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University. In 2023, Howard honored her exemplary service with the LaRue V. Barkwell Capstone Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Andrew Rivers Executive Director, Office of University Events and Protocol Executive Director, Cramton Auditorium Division of Development and Alumni Relations Andrew Rivers has served Howard University in senior administrative and events leadership roles for nearly two decades, shaping the institution’s most significant traditions and celebrations. A former chief of staff to President Sidney A. Ribeau, Rivers was appointed senior director of University Events and Protocol in 2014. In that role, he has overseen the planning and execution of signature University occasions including Opening and Commencement Convocations, Charter Day, Homecoming, and other major ceremonial events. Throughout his tenure, Rivers has helped Howard preserve the traditions and pageantry that define the Bison experience while continually reimagining how the University welcomes and celebrates its community.
THE ALMA MATER Reared against the eastern sky Proudly there on hilltop high. Far above the lake so blue, Stands old Howard firm and true. There she stands for truth and right, Sending forth her rays of light, Clad in robes of majesty; O Howard, we sing of thee. Be thou still our guide and stay Leading us from day to day; Make us true and leal and strong, Ever hold to battle wrong. When from thee we’ve gone away, May we strive for thee each day. As we sail life’s rugged sea, O Howard, we’ll sing of thee.
—Words, J. H. Brooks, Class of 1916 —Music, F. D. Malone, Class of 1916
THE MACE The mace is the ceremonial symbol of the University and is carried by the University Marshal. One of the earliest visual images of the mace is the front side of the “Narmer Palette” of Ancient Egypt, an oval-shaped cosmetic palette inscribed with human and anthropomorphic figures. King Narmer is depicted on the palette as a mighty conqueror yielding a mace over a symbolic enemy. King Narmer, also known as King Menes or King Midas to the ancient Greeks, unified Upper and Lower Egypt circa 3100 B.C., ushering in the great pyramid-building of the old kingdom dynasties (c. 3000–2150 B.C.) of imperial Egypt. At today’s Opening Convocation, the entry of the mace heralds the arrival of the academic procession.
THE PRESIDENTIAL CHAIN OF OFFICE The Presidential Chain of Office was presented to the University on the occasion of the Centennial Celebration in 1967 by Trustee Emeritus Herman B. Wells and his mother, Mrs. Granville Wells. It is a visible symbol of the Office of the President and has been worn by all presidents of Howard University since 1967. The basic material of the chain is sterling silver plated with hard gold. Both the University seal and the centennial seal are appended to the chain.
LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING Lift every voice and sing, Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise. High as the listening skies. Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun. Let us march on till victory is won. Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet, Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered; Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou Who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou Who has by Thy might, led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee, Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand, True to our God, true to our native land. —James Weldon Johnson (1900)