Howard University has been named a Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders for a fifth consecutive year in 2024, every year since the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs launched the initiative in 2019.
Howard President Ben Vinson III, PhD, was named the 18th President of Howard University in 2023. He has a distinguished career as a historian of the African Diaspora and colonial Latin America. His experiences living abroad, including growing up on a military base in Italy, and studying abroad in Venezuela, have shaped his international outlook. While earning his PhD in history, Dr. Vinson was awarded a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant to conduct research in Mexico to investigate class, race, caste, and military service, with regards to African populations in Mexico in the early modern period. Since his Fulbright, he has published numerous articles and books on the African diaspora in Mexico and held multiple administrative positions at U.S. colleges and universities.
According to the New York Times, the chairman of the Howard board of trustees, Laurence C. Morse, said that Dr. Vinson had “demonstrated his commitment to elevating the diversity of experiences of people of the African diaspora — a commitment that aligns well with Howard University’s mission and vision.”
Dr. Vinson remarks in the video recorded for Fulbright that “as a Fulbright Program alum myself, I can say firsthand that the experience broadens your perspective and enriches your approach to leadership and scholarship. . . Our Fulbrighters return to the Howard community with fresh insights, a deepened cultural understanding, and a broadened worldview, laying the foundation for their personal and professional growth.”
From 2023-2024, Howard University demonstrated deep and sustained engagement with the Fulbright Program. Howard hosted a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Maame Efua Adaddzi-Koom from Ghana, and sent their graduating seniors, graduate students, and scholars abroad through Fulbright.
Two Howard and Fulbright alums, Lyndsie Whitehead and Virgil Parker, currently serve as Fulbright U.S. Student Alumni Ambassadors. Alumni Ambassadors are selected as envoys to colleges and universities around the United States, representing diverse communities with the goal of everyone envisioning themselves as a Fulbrighter.