Each year in Howard University’s 157-year history has invariably featured distinctive moments. However, it is hard to argue that 2024 was a year that catapulted Howard even further forward on the global stage. Each moment in time is undoubtedly important, impacting the course of human history in countless ways, but 24 moments involving the Howard family during the 2024 calendar year stood out as remarkable highlights in Howard’s history.
1. OpenAI CEO and ChatGPT Founder Sam Altman Gave Howard a Front-Row Seat for the Artificial Intelligence Revolution
January 2024
Artificial Intelligence visionary Sam Altman joined Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D., and William Sutherland, Ph.D., director of the University’s Center for Computational Biology & Bioinformatics to explore the uncharted artificial intelligence terrain, including its impact on diverse or historically marginalized communities.
Howard alumna Aprille Ericsson, Ph.D., was sworn in as the nation's first ever assistant secretary of defense for science and technology on March 29, 2024. Dr. Ericsson was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard and served on the university's Board of Trustees from 2004-2010. In her role, she has had responsibility for areas critical to national security, including workforce and laboratory infrastructure, manufacturing technology, small business innovation, federally funded research and university-affiliated research, advanced materials, biotechnology, quantum science, FutureG, along with developing system capabilities for hypersonics, PNT, nuclear delivery, human and unmanned platforms.
- Watch a Ted Talk by Dr. Ericsson here.
Some 1,500 students fanned out to cities including Chicago, Cleveland, New Orleans, and Flint, Michigan as part of the largest student-run Alternative Spring Break (HUASB) in the country. Through HUASB, students forgo the traditional Spring Break traditions of partying and beach-going to volunteer in service to others. The program, which grew from an original 12 students in 1994, facilitates community service projects in underserved neighborhoods, including mentoring, clean-up, youth engagement, food distribution, and more.
- Listen to HU2U Podcast: A Legacy of Paying It Forward: 30 Years of Howard's Alternative Spring Break here.
4. Anthony Anderson and Kenny Lattimore Headlined 100th Charter Day Dinner
March 2024
Alumnus Anthony Anderson and Grammy nominee Kenny Lattimore ushered in Howard University's 100th Charter Day Dinner. The dinner, through which approximately 1,000 people financially supported scholarships at the university, March 2, 1867, when Howard received its official charter from the United States Congress.
5. Howard Paid Tribute to Alumni Gospel Legends Richard Smallwood and Twinkie Clark
April 2024
The School of Divinity and the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts honored two of its own during a star-studded gospel showcase in Cramton Auditorium, Grammy and Stellar Award-Winner Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark of the Clark Sisters and Stellar Award-Winner Richard Smallwood, author of the anthem Total Praise and a founder of the Howard University Gospel Choir.
Read coverage in The Washington Informer here.
6. A Record Number of New Students Joined the Herd
August 2024
Howard's ongoing legacy received the largest infusion of talent in history, as some 2,700 new students began classes. The record number of new students is seven percent of the approximately 37,000 applications the university received, also a record.
Read coverage in Black Enterprise here.
7. Largest Gift Ever of $175 Million Was Received from Bloomberg Philanthropies
August 2024
The university's work to combat health disparities, promoting health equity, and increase the number of Black doctors received a vote of confidence as Bloomberg Philanthropies provided a record $175 million to Howard University's College of Medicine through its Greenwood Initiative.
8. Alumna Kamala Harris (B.A. '86) Became the First HBCU Graduate to Win a Major Party's Presidential Nomination
August 2024
Kamala Harris received 4,567 delegate votes, or 99% of the total, during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, overwhelmingly becoming the first Black woman and first Asian to win a major party's nomination in America. She formally accepted two days later, entering a raucous convention hall while speakers blared "Freedom" by Beyonce.
Watch Vice President Harris' historic acceptance speech here.
9. Alumna Sydney Satchel (B.A. '14) Won Paralympic Gold Medal with Team USA's Sitting Volleyball Squad
September 2024
After recovering from losing her leg in a car crash, former Howard University lacrosse standout Sydney Satchel decided she needed another challenge. She tackled the world stage and helped USA defeat China in the Paris 2024 Paralympics to capture the world's top honors.
Read coverage from The Hilltop here.
10. Howard University College of Medicine Dean Andrea A. Hayes Dixon, MD Was Appointed Chair of the Scientific Management Review Board
September 2024
Howard University College of Medicine Dean Andrea A. Hayes Dixon, M.D., was appointed chair of the Scientific Management Review Board at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which plays a critical role in supervising and reviewing the management and operations of scientific research programs within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
11. Howard Launched a Post-Silicon Microchip Validation Lab
September 2024
Funded through $1.3 million in grants from Apple and other partners, Howard's Post-Silicon Microchip Validation Lab and related programming will allow faculty and student teams to test, debug, and validate applications-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) microchips. ASIC chips are used to power tech equipment in industry, intelligence agencies, and defense systems.
12. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe, and Molly Qerim Learned That It's Always "Showtime" at Howard
September 2024
Greek-lettered organizations strolled, Howard's "Showtime" Marching Band performed, the cheerleaders chanted, and of course, there was lots of talk about sports. Hosts Molly Qerim, Stephen A. Smith, and Shannon Sharpe broadcast ESPN’s popular morning show from The Yard, bringing an international audience to campus for the first of what would prove to be many times during the semester. Howard students Oseghale Esen, Bryce Harris, Kelsie Jarrett, and Harmony Bailey, got their shot at stardom by interviewing the hosts on air.
13. Howard Flexed Its $1.575 Billion Economic Muscle
September 2024
With some 15,000 students, hundreds of faculty and staff members, a major hospital, and public events occurring routinely, few had any doubt that Howard was a major contributor to the Washington, D.C. economy. Just how much, though, was opaquer until the university joined with the Greater Washington Partnership to release a report detailing a more than $1.5 billion annual impact on the region.
14. Forbes Confirmed What We Already Knew: Howard is the #1 HBCU in the Nation.
September 2024
Forbes magazine recognized Howard University as the #1 historically Black college or university (HBCU) in the nation, according to its 2024-2025 America’s Top Colleges rankings. The annual list showcased 500 schools producing “successful, high-earning and influential graduates from all economic backgrounds, with less student debt.” The colleges were ranked based on return on investment, average student debt, and outcomes for graduates. The publication also considered freshman-to-sophomore retention rates, on-time graduation, and alumni salaries. In addition to its ranking as the top HBCU, Howard was also ranked among the top 100 colleges in the northeast (#95).
15. U.S. News and World Report Named Howard One of the Nation's Top 100 Universities.
September 2024
Howard University leaped 29 points into the class of the top 100 universities in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2025 Best Colleges rankings. U.S. News also ranked Howard as the No. 12 university for social mobility, a measure of a person’s ability to expand their professional network and enhance their economic security. Howard is the only university in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in the social mobility ranking’s top 40. Howard is also tied with Georgetown University and Northwestern University as the No. 21 university for undergraduate teaching. In addition, U.S. News ranked Howard as the top HBCU among national universities and the No. 2 HBCU overall. The publication also ranked Howard as the No. 1 HBCU undergraduate program in business, computer science, economics, engineering, and psychology. The university’s business, engineering, and psychology programs are all in the top 100 among all national colleges and universities, with respective rankings of No. 77, No. 90, and No. 68.
16. Howard University Volleyball Coach Shaun Kupferberg Notched 400th Win
September 2024
Howard University volleyball team's September sweep over Princeton University at Burr Gymnasium gave Kupferberg his 400th career coaching win, the 206th win since arriving at the University in 2012. Within three years of his arrival, Kupferberg began a five-year winning streak in the MEAC Tournament and six NCAA Tournament appearances. In that span, Kupferberg earned three MEAC Coach of the Year honors in 2014, 2016 and 2018. More than two dozen of his players have earned All-MEAC and MEAC All-Academic honors.
17. Dangerous Acts: Howard University Won an Emmy Award
October 2024
Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts Dean Emeritus Phylicia Rashad directed Dangerous Acts: Howard University, which won a New York Emmy Award in the Arts/Entertainment – Long-Form Content category. The broadcast explores the historic works of Black playwrights Mary Burrill and Willis Richardson. Howard University students staged readings of Burrill's "Aftermath," a play about a Black World War I hero who confronts racial oppression after returning home to the American South and discovering his father has been lynched, and Richardson's "The Deacon's Awakening," which examined sexism and patriarchy in the first half of the twentieth century.
Watch an episode featuring the Howard students here.
18. Barrier-Breaking Howard Soccer Team Were Inducted into the HU Sports Hall of Fame
October 2024
Fifty years after the 1974 Howard University Soccer Team became the first HBCU soccer team to win an NCAA national championship, the players were recognized for their triumph over institutional racism and their dominance on the athletic field. They remain the only NCAA soccer team in history to have had an undefeated season.
19. Howard Celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the Homecoming That Has Become a National Sensation
October 2024
A cultural vanguard of the HBCU Homecoming experience, the University welcomed thousands of Bison back to campus to celebrate their personal and institutional legacies created at The Mecca, a moment 100 years in the making.
20. Alumnus and Sterling Brown Chair Ta-Nehisi Coates Returned Home to Promote Book That Becomes Best-Seller
October 2024
In conversation with Graduate School Dean Dana A. Williams (MA ’95, Ph.D. ’98) in Cramton Auditorium, Coates reflected on his undergraduate days, literary career, and experiences that led to his new book The Message, a book which explores deep questions about how we tell stories that "expose and distort our realities." The book intertwines essays about Coates' first trip to Africa, the banning of his book in South Carolina, and his trip to Palestine after the war with Israel began there in 2024.
21. Howard's Women's Soccer Team Earned First Northeast Conference Regular Season Title
October 2024
Howard University women's soccer team ended the regular season as first-time Northeast Conference (NEC) Champions with a 6-0 shutout over Delaware State University, its sixth of the season.
22. Vice President Kamala Harris (B.A. '86) Came Home to Concede the 2024 Presidential Election on The Yard
November 2024
Kamala Harris conceded the presidential election after losing the popular vote by less than 1.5%, reviving the tradition of the peaceful transfer of power. Her campaign procured space on The Yard for the historic event.
23. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson Came to Howard University Law School to Discuss Life and the Law
November 2024
Ketanji Brown-Jackson visited Howard University Law School to discuss her book, life experiences, and views on contemporary legal issues with her unique perspective on the role of the judiciary.
24. Howard Prioleau Made History as the First HBCU Student Selected in Google’s Ph.D. Fellowship Program
November 2024
Howard University graduate student Howard Prioleau (B.S. ’23) became the first HBCU student selected as a Google Ph.D. fellow. The Google PhD Fellowship Program supports graduate students who are innovators in computer science and related fields.
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