WASHINGTON – Five Ph.D. candidates in The Howard University Graduate School were inducted into the Edward Bouchet Graduate Honor Society. The inductees are Adisa Vera Beatty, a Ph.D. candidate in history, Amber Davis, a Ph.D. candidate in social work, Ashley Lewis, a Ph.D. candidate in communication culture and media studies, DeAnna Nara, a Ph.D. candidate in nutritional sciences and Morgan Smalls, a Ph.D. candidate in communication culture and media studies. 

“We are proud of the five Ph.D. candidates, who are making great strides in their doctoral education, that received such an honor,” said Interim Dean of the Graduate School Dana A. Williams, Ph.D.  “The Edward Bouchet Society is deeply rooted in our University and an exclusive advancement for a select few annually. This opportunity and others like it allow for our best students to think deeply, and respond with action to carry on our mission of truth and service.”

During the induction weekend, 13 students from the Graduate School, including the inductees, made oral and poster presentations at the Annual Yale Bouchet Conference on Diversity and Graduate Education.  Sylvia McDonald-Kaufman, assistant dean for Graduate Student Affairs and Assessment, the co-founding representative from Howard University, introduced the Graduate School’s inductees at the ceremony and attended the conference and executive meeting. 

“Our Graduate School inductees and research presenters are sustaining Howard’s place-making legacy of excellence at the highest echelons of Academe, worldwide,” said McDonald-Kaufman.

“This historic Howard-Yale collaboration advances Dr. Bouchet's struggle for African American inclusion and leadership in research doctoral education and seeks to transform the graduate education landscape into an equitable space for all people.”

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Photo: The 4 of the 5 Howard University Graduate School Ph.D. candidates who are among the 71 inductees from 15 chapter institutions are pictured from left to right. Captured at Yale University by Jonothan Olson.

• Amber Davis is a candidate for the Ph.D. in Social Work.
• Ashley Lewis is a candidate for the Ph.D. in Communication, Culture and Media Studies.
• Dean Sylvia McDonald-Kaufman, Esq., Graduate Student Affairs, The Graduate School
• Adisa Vera Beatty is a candidate for the Ph.D. in History.
• DeAnna Nara is a candidate for a Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences. 
• Morgan Smalls is a candidate for a Ph.D. in Communication, Culture and Media Studies. [Not pictured]

About the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society

Named for Edward Alexander Bouchet, the first African American doctoral recipient in the United States, the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society (Bouchet Society) recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. The Bouchet Society was inaugurated on Thursday, September 15, 2005, with a simulcast ceremony held at Yale University and Howard University. As the co-founding chapters, Yale University and Howard University seek to recognize and continue Dr. Bouchet’ s pioneering contributions to doctoral education. The Bouchet Society seeks to develop a network of preeminent scholars who exemplify academic and personal excellence, foster environments of support and serve as examples of scholarship, leadership, character, service, and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy. In the spirit of Bouchet’s commitment to these pursuits both within and without the academic realm, inductees into the honor society bearing his name should also exhibit these qualities.

About Howard University Graduate School

Howard University offered its first master’s degree in 1867—the same year it was established. In 1934, the Graduate School was formally established and reorganized to its current structure with divisions in the arts and humanities, biological and life sciences, engineering and physical sciences, and social sciences. The school awarded its first doctorate degree in 1958 in the field of chemistry. The school offers 24 master’s, 31 Ph.D. and 7 M.D./Ph.D. Programs. The Graduate School has consistently issued on average over 100 doctoral degrees per year for the last three years.  For more information, visit, www.gs.howard.edu 

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 70 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States.  For more information on Howard University visit www.howard.edu

Media Contact: Imani Pope-Johns, Imani.popejohns@howard.edu